Brown Tea Core? Bill Kelso Liberty Horsehide Dodger at 10 months.

[regius]

Hi Reg,
I know you haven’t asked me but I had a BK jacket once. It was beautiful, just not my colour. Concerning strength, I had two broken seams, the lining had holes and one zipper rider broke. All this in three months! I mean I was wearing this jacket, every day, but still, this is ridiculous.
In my opinion the BK jackets need to be pampered. Those seams would break in the moment you fold it wrongly.
I don’t have a lot of experience with different makers but the BK felt the weakest I’ve had. Even really cheap mall jackets were more rugged than my jacket. Maybe I was just unlucky.

Good Wear sounds like a really good idea! John seems to be making some of the best A-2 jackets around, plus he also seems to be a great guy!

Plus, dealing with BK was the worst. Andy is a really nice guy unless you criticize anything. When you have a problem with their jackets, he can be a total ****. I would never deal with them again.

A-1, by all means, chime in! and thank you thank you thank you! Feedbacks like yours was exactly what I was after (and not to fulfil my own prophecy). Interesting experience with your BK. When BK came out, I was one of the first to test the water. I was confidently one of the first few, if not the first, to won the Hilt jacket before it was official and when it was made in Victory. My impression was it was a solid jacket, the Victory was a "pain in the ass" to deal with though, I am certain it's the same leather as the one Eastman uses on their wallet!! It's jerky, thick and squeaks (totally not historically accurate, a pilot would malfunction in the cockpit wearing this jacket when new, 'cause he can't move!!). Anyhow, I also had two regular A2 from BK and they were pretty nice, funny pattern at the time, though, the entire bodice tends to be pulled by gravity and gather at the stomach.... sadly, I didn't pay attention to the seams, all I noticed was the knits had no elasticity (on the tight side, won't stretch). Goodwear, for sure, they are one of the top, most "tightly" put together jackets. Another one that's tight is Langlitz, the leather would get soft and rip but the seams and threads stay new, probably because it's very heavy and nylon threads.

 

[A-1]

Yeah, I would also go for nylon or mixed blend threads. Cotton is time accurate but it may tear easier. However, I think there are differences there as well.

I can only say that if I was looking for an A-2, there was no other option for me but Good Wear. Other models and jackets, maybe Thedi Leather or Whitefeather MFG.
There are so many options but I think you'll be fine with most of them really. Just make sure what you really want and go for it. Don't lower your sight because of time.


When everything's collapsing, trust the kids!
- www.zekimin.com -

 

[regius]

Aero B3 tea core emerging!

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[regius]

Aero B3 tea core emerging!

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[regius]

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[tmitchell59]

Here is my Bill Kelso Monarch A-2 Liberty Horsehide. I wanted to do an update so I chose the Monarch. Fooling around with the smart phone camera, which is new to me.

 

[tmitchell59]

A Video I did recently and forgot. No narration. I compare the Bill Kelso Dodger with a 50s Californian Steerhide.

 

[navetsea]

since you have a lot of other jacket to rotate to, the amount of color loss on the back of the sleeve on that one is scary.