Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Bill Kelso's New Californian half belt, a new release I think.

schitzo

Suspended
Messages
1,472
Location
London
Do you know where I can find the pictures of Canadian, Wingman and original Californian?

You can add HERACLES to that list, and my answer is the same: I wish I did!

I'm wagering that with 7 halfbelts in the range one of them at least has to be a longer length HB. Perhaps that'd be the Canadian or the Original Californian

At least Andy informed us of BK's special one time deal in his posts when he was here. As for the comments, "trashing?" etc, one can always skip if unhappy with them. I know I did.

When I mentioned the part about 'most would agree' I was counting myself in the minority who wouldn't. FWIW I thought he graced this place with a lot of very interesting info and that tfl with him here is better than without. But there you go. Once a populist bandwagon gets rolling I guess it's hard to halt the momentum
 

zhz

Practically Family
Messages
890
Location
China, London and Coventry UK
You can add HERACLES to that list, and my answer is the same: I wish I did!

I'm wagering that with 7 halfbelts in the range one of them at least has to be a longer length HB. Perhaps that'd be the Canadian or the Original Californian



When I mentioned the part about 'most would agree' I was counting myself in the minority who wouldn't. FWIW I thought he graced this place with a lot of very interesting info and that tfl with him here is better than without. But there you go. Once a populist bandwagon gets rolling I guess it's hard to halt the momentum

I think we have to wait until their new website go alive. Really looking forward to see these new design.
 

bretron

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,519
Location
NW
True indeed. I guess they got the russet liberty well enough in stock, just the color of the last batch of seal that was at issue. Hopefully not too long of a delay. Was looking forward to receiving the Aeronaut for an early Xmas gift :)

We're still pullin for ya, Andy!
 

zhz

Practically Family
Messages
890
Location
China, London and Coventry UK
True indeed. I guess they got the russet liberty well enough in stock, just the color of the last batch of seal that was at issue. Hopefully not too long of a delay. Was looking forward to receiving the Aeronaut for an early Xmas gift :)

We're still pullin for ya, Andy!

Luck, I ordered my Werber in russet, but i am still on the production queue...dont know how long it gonna take...
 

Carlos840

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,944
Location
London
Last year i ordered a BK jacket, just before the whole Andy incident.

I was originally told everything was in stock and quoted 12 weeks to delivery, i had asked for specific measurements which i was told was fine.
After 4 months and still no jacket i started to dig deeper and realized that some people on the forum had been waiting close to a year for their jackets!

After 10 months the jacket finally arrived, by that time i had grown to hate the whole "we have the best leather in the world, oh wait, this new batch is actually even better, actually, this last batch is THE best leather on the world" , and the "our jackets are the best, everything else is not worth wearing"...
Honestly i didn't even really want to have anything to do with them anymore.

When i opened the parcel, i noticed none of my measurements had been respected, they basically sent me a regular size 44 instead of what i had ordered.
When i inquired with Andy it was pretty much "we know what you need better than you do!"

To top it all, although the leather was nice, it was not "the best leather in the world", the stitching was not great, on par with a Schott, but not close to a Lewis Leathers, and the attention to detail was disappointing.

I sent the jacket back, asking for a refund, which was a nightmare, it took ages, many emails, and was done in 3 different payments over a month.

I will NEVER order form them again or recommend them, they have bad business practice (selling you things they tell you are in stock when they haven't had the leather available for 6 months and have no idea when it will come in) a bad attitude and bad customer service.
If they gave me a jacket for free i would dump it in the Thames!
 

nick123

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,367
Location
California
My experience with them was positive. But this was right before they introduced the Victory Horse. I had a russet 23380 I unfortunately ordered in a size too small. No complaints with the stitching or construction (I looked and couldn't find any loose threads). I wish I had done my homework on sizing. I'd still have it today.

My one complaint is that they don't stock that old horsehide anymore. It would be nice to still have that option and save several hundred euros. They have the Liberty hide, but honestly I prefer the look of the old leather!
A few years back someone here posted a dark seal Dubow (old leather). I thought that was one of the most crackin' jackets I'd ever seen. I know I'm in the minority, but the shininess of the new hides don't appeal to me as much as the older matte hides. I know it goes away in time, but still.
 
Last edited:

nick123

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,367
Location
California
Here's that Dubow. Looks the part. Still a bit shiny I suppose.
image.jpg
 

Carlos840

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,944
Location
London
And i forgot to add that they charged €40 for shipping from Greece to the UK but when i added up all the value of the stamps it came up to €12 or something like that, take away the price of the box and the literature, they still make €25 just on shipping...

Add to that the cheeky switch they did from Euros to Pounds, and you have all the signs of a very dodgy and unscrupulous business! Never again...
 

Sloan1874

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,421
Location
Glasgow
I think we've always taken it for granted they were a tiny company. Thought they have been bought by a somewhat larger operation.

I've never been sure how small they were, I guess I thought they were sort LW size, but I forgot about the buy out. We never learned who that was, did we? Wasn't the rumour mill suggesting AL or Lewis? Guess we were wrong. [huh]
 

Forum statistics

Threads
108,477
Messages
3,061,900
Members
53,662
Latest member
CLUless82
Top