BK's Site Relaunch

[bretron]

i dig it!

http://www.billkelsomfg.com/store/en.php?p=home

 

[kojax]

i dig it!

http://www.billkelsomfg.com/store/en.php?p=home

 

[kojax]

nice website i miss the music they used to play i feel sad now

 

[ButteMT61]

thank god - I've been waiting and waiting...

 

[pawineguy]

Site looks good... has that always been the price for Victory HH jackets?? $2400 - $2800?

 

[Sloan1874]

Looks a lot better - personally, I'm glad the music has gone. The original one actually put me off buying from them because it looked like it was aimed solely at re-enactors.

Talking of price hikes, I notice Aces High are charging £1,200 for an Irvin *faints*.

 

[Bunyip]

Never again for me!

 

[Grayland]

I bought a second hand BK Werber that I was told was Liberty hide. I bought it as the hide was the best looking leather I'd ever seen. Andy saw my post, contacted me via email and let me know that my hide was actually Antique Russet Victory hide. I've had/still have: Aero FQHH, Aero Goatskin, G&B Goatskin, LW FQHH, GW Shinki. The BK Victory Hide is the nicest by far and 2nd place is a mile away. The new website looks great. I always thought it was odd to have a website and feature totally different jackets on their Facebook page. Glad they put things together.

 

[ProteinNerd]

Website looks great but those prices!......Holy #%}*

 

[nick123]

Another great logo. I love it.

 

[Superfluous]

I like the look of the new website. However, BK once again proffers countless hyperbolic statements and plays fast and loose with its representations. For example (http://www.billkelsomfg.com/store/en.php?p=ourleathers):

· "Victory horsehide is the . . . most expensive in the World.”

I have been told by more than once industry insider that HH from the Victoria tannery is less expensive than Shinki HH. In fact, certain Shinki customers have explored Victoria HH as a less expensive option.

· "Victory horsehide . . . is the most natural horsehide known to man.”

What does this mean? What is the standard for measuring how “natural” a HH is compared to other HHs? How is Victory HH more “natural” than Shinki HH or any other veg tanned HHs that do not use chemicals?

· “Natural dyeing of leather . . . is protected . . . Our tannery is the only one in Italy and the world that applies these techniques on horsehide.”

The only tannery in the world? Has BK surveyed the tanning methods employed by every single tannery on the planet? I am informed that other tanneries, including Shinki, implement “natural dyeing.”

· “[P]roduction of Victory horsehide requires at least six times the production time used in other leathers.”

ALL veg tanned HH takes much longer to tan than chrome tanned leather. Victory HH is not unique in this regard. Shinki HH can take up to one year to produce. Is BK claiming that Victoria HH takes six years to produce?

· “Victory horsehide is produced exclusively for Bill Kelso.”

Anyone can purchase HH from the Victoria tannery. BK has merely private labeled a particular hide produced by the Victoria tannery. Himel recently visiting the Victoria tannery and I think he purchases hides from Victoria (from Himel's Instagram):

· “[W]e guarantee that you will not find the quality of Victory horsehide, or even close, anywhere in the world.”

· “Victory horsehide has no peer. It is really unbeatable and hence the name. Victory horsehide will age better than any other hide you might have seen.”

I have no doubt that Victoria HH, including BK's Victory hide, is first rate. Moreover, manufacturers are indisputably entitled to tout the stellar quality of their products. However, at some point, the chest pounding hyperbolic claims of superiority exceed good taste and become downright silly.

What did the leather wearing world do before BK began offering Victoria produced HH private labeled as Victory HH?

The over/under is 36 hours before BK responds to this post on its FB page.

 

[tmitchell59]

Like that website.

Here are their two Champions side by side; Victory and Liberty.

 

[Superfluous]

^ The color of that brown Victory hide is fantastic!

 

[Ralph_Phillips]

I wouldn't normally care for anything with markings or patches but the one with the Virgil Hilts name tag is pretty neat, even if only because of the movie.

 

[Ralph_Phillips]

Site looks good... has that always been the price for Victory HH jackets?? $2400 - $2800?

It costs more because it's not horsehide, it's actually unicorn hide.

 

[tmitchell59]

^ The color of that brown Victory hide is fantastic!

Yes it is. That would be my choice of color.

How close is Victory to the Italian HH that Aero and Eastman or other use? I have a ELMC Californian and it similar to the Victory, except they do something with the finish. but parts of it look and feel similar, just much lighter weight leather. The Victory Duke is heavy. How heavy is the Aero Italian? It looks great in the pictures. Can it be had in different weights?

 

[nick123]

Site looks good... has that always been the price for Victory HH jackets?? $2400 - $2800?

That's a nuts price increase. Maybe something out of their control happened. They have been promoting the Liberty a lot more as of late.

 

[Otter]

It costs so much because someone has to keep the Greek economy running !

 

[Justhandguns]

It costs so much because someone has to keep the Greek economy running !

I thought they are now owned by the Brits even though the factory remains in Greece...?

 

[Edward]

I'm surprised it's taken this long, if this is only new: it seems like they were promoting, even as long ago as when Andy was on here, many of those civilian designs, which were not previously on the website. It makes sense to have the site revamped to better reflect the range. I like the simplicity of the website, and not having music blare loudly as soon as you click on it is a good idea. I didn't mind the 're-enactor look' myself so much, but I can completey see how it could put some folks off.

I am disappointed to see that they are persisting with the legally dubious "Aeronaut" name for some of their models. It's a shame that they seem to insist on doing this, given that they've really established a range of designs with their own character that doesn't make them otherwise look like a copycat outfit. I'm sure there are plenty of other options for jacket names, though perhaps it's stubbirness as much as anything else, if Andy is in charge of calling the shots. His online persona certain never came across as someone who would back down rather than stick to his guns when challenged - though I've never encountered him away from fourms and email, so that may or may not ring true in person.

I wouldn't normally care for anything with markings or patches but the one with the Virgil Hilts name tag is pretty neat, even if only because of the movie.

View attachment 39696

That one's interesting. It's a logical design to pull in, given as I'd put money on Steve Macqueen having sold more A2s than Harrison Ford has brown fedoras. They must have dome a lot of groundwork on the ownership of the Hilts intellectual property; I think only one of the Japanese companies to date have openly marketed a Hilts jacket. It'll add an extra level of expense to a jacket if there are royalties to be paid, but commercially it will certainly help sell it too.

I thought they are now owned by the Brits even though the factory remains in Greece...?

Wasn't there a much-promised, big-reveal of the new owner that never materialised? Or were American Classics the new owner, rather than a stockist? I'd forgotten about that.