Black goatskin half-belt by Johnson Leathers

[MuyJingo]

So, for my second attempt at my dream jacket I went with Johnson Leathers, due to the things I had heard regarding quality and price.

I was not disappointed! Alan was a pleasure to work with, making sure I had everything as I wanted. The jacket arrived yesterday and is a thing of beauty.

Very soft, not needing to be broken in and at the same time it has a good weight to it and it's easy to see it is durable.

So for this jacket, I have two side pockets with zip that are very deep, a forest green gabardine lining, silver zipper, plain cuffs and a curved bi-swing back

Jacket is 28" long. The collar was modeled after an old jacket I was fond of. There is a hidden pocket in the sleeve that opens with Velcro. The half-belt stitching was copied from the Bruno half-belt from Film Jackets.

So, some pictures:

Curious what you guys think.

Another glowing recommendation for Johnson Leathers here.

 

[Jägernaut]

Awesome. You look really happy.

 

[Bunyip]

Good work! Alan is great bloke, the goat drapes really well, it suits you.

 

[Superfluous]

Looks good. 28in is long for that style . . . how tall are you?

 

[Seb Lucas]

It looks like a 3/4 length or long half belt although your pictures are unclear.

The Bruno is a 1940's Californian sportswear half-belt copied from the underwhelming Bruce Willis film Surrogates. Great jacket.

How much does it weigh in pounds?

 

[MuyJingo]

Looks good. 28in is long for that style . . . how tall are you?

I'm just under 6"1. The coat doesn't feel too long at all...I think it's the perfect length for me.

 

[MuyJingo]

The Bruno half-belt on film jackets in black jerky horse seemed to have different stitching on the half-belt to other Bruno half-belt's I had seen.

Shipping weight was 8 pounds, so it would weigh close to that I think after adjusting for the box and excess fabric that was returned. I'd say about 7.

 

[ProteinNerd]

Glad you finally got a jacket you were happy with.

Looks good! Although it doesn't look like its 28inches long, you must be pretty tall then?

 

[ProteinNerd]

The Bruno is a 1940's Californian sportswear half-belt copied from the underwhelming Bruce Willis film Surrogates. Great jacket.

LOL yeah, its funny that the best/most memorable thing from that movie was the jacket.

 

[MuyJingo]

I don't think I'm that tall, just under 6'1.

 

[morrison2951]

Nice! Enjoy it!

 

[nick123]

Wonderful jacket, excellent fit. Alan has black goatskin now?

 

[Seb Lucas]

The Bruno half-belt on film jackets in black jerky horse seemed to have different stitching on the half-belt to other Bruno half-belt's I had seen.

Shipping weight was 8 pounds, so it would weigh close to that I think after adjusting for the box and excess fabric that was returned. I'd say about 7.

That weight must have been an estimate. Goat skin is lighter than FQHH and a size 44 Areo long FQHH Cheyenne I had weighed was only 5.8 pounds. My size 42 Aero in FQHH weighed 4 pounds. I have yet to see a goatskin jacket in that style weigh over 4 pounds. I have a Johnson's goat cafe racer in size 44 and it weighs 3 pounds but it is a thin hide.

 

[Cooperson]

Good looking half belt, looks very well made. I've yet to own a goatskin jacket, but looking at the quality of that hide and the way it's draping already, I'd be very tempted. Great fit too, enjoy!

 

[Vespizzare]

I think it's great. I think Alan and JL are great. The only thing I think I would have done differently is go with a two-way zipper. I know it doesn't look as "classic" as a regular zipper, but I think it would make the jacket easier to wear if you were sitting down (in a car or on a bike). I think the Eastman cafe racer (or another high-end one I saw) was a similar length, but the bottom of the zipper wasn't all the way to the bottom of the jacket. But maybe goat's pliability renders all that moot.

 

[MuyJingo]

Thanks all for the feedback and compliments, Will try to add some more photos later.

That weight must have been an estimate. Goat skin is lighter than FQHH and a size 44 Areo long FQHH Cheyenne I had weighed was only 5.8 pounds. My size 42 Aero in FQHH weighed 4 pounds. I have yet to see a goatskin jacket in that style weigh over 4 pounds. I have a Johnson's goat cafe racer in size 44 and it weighs 3 pounds but it is a thin hide.

Yeah, you're right. After weighing with and without on scales, the difference is 3.3 pounds.

I think it's great. I think Alan and JL are great. The only thing I think I would have done differently is go with a two-way zipper. I know it doesn't look as "classic" as a regular zipper, but I think it would make the jacket easier to wear if you were sitting down (in a car or on a bike). I think the Eastman cafe racer (or another high-end one I saw) was a similar length, but the bottom of the zipper wasn't all the way to the bottom of the jacket. But maybe goat's pliability renders all that moot.

I don't drive living in NYC, and don't ride although I am going to start learning later this year. I like the look of one zip too much and figure I can modify it later if need be So far no issues sitting down though.

 

[MuyJingo]

Getting it sent back to replace the front with a single piece of leather to remove the top yoke, as it wasn't part of my order and Alan found a piece of leather big enough he can use.

Truly amazed at the customer service and commitment to customer satisfaction here!

 

[ProteinNerd]

Getting it sent back to replace the front with a single piece of leather to remove the top yoke, as it wasn't part of my order and Alan found a piece of leather big enough he can use.

Truly amazed at the customer service and commitment to customer satisfaction here!

Damn! That is pretty amazing aftercare....I've seen some great examples coming out of JL recently. If only I needed another jacket lol

 

[MuyJingo]

Just wanted to post some more pics after getting it back.

I couldn't be happier...this is THE jacket I wanted. Literally every detail is now perfect.

Alan is a pleasure to work with....I can not recommend him highly enough.

Anyway, changes made were:

- Replace calfskin pockets with cloth, as hands were getting sweaty when it was warmer out
- Removed the front top yoke

So, photos:

Jacket open, unzipped:

Front zipped:

Unzipped from back:

Zipped from back:

 

[ProteinNerd]

Looks good, glad you finally got there