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Finds and Deals - Leather Jacket Edition

Claybertrand

One Too Many
Messages
1,548
Nice looking Fidelity police jacket, size 38, $100 shipped plus tax. Has anyone handled their police stuff? I’ve only had their cafe racers.

il_794xN.3015765395_jhte.jpg


https://www.etsy.com/listing/974193...llery-1-25&organic_search_click=1&frs=1&cns=1


My 2 Cents:

I like the look of these. I have one (size 44) and I really like everything about it except for the patch mark from the Boston PD patch on the upper left shoulder. Nothing super heavy about the hide or anything. I have a few police jackets and these are certainly not some bullet proof older horsehide type of weight. I suppose quality wise, they are much like the Fidelity Cafe Racers that are prevalent. Decently made and decent lighter weight hide etc. I just like the look and the fit. The 2 way zipper is cool/useful and the two double snap chest pockets make for really a clean look. I've been keeping my eye out for a size 46 that was never in police service. So far, I haven't seen one. They are all former cop jackets from what I see. Sometimes you can find Schotts and other Police jackets that were never issued for police use. But these seem to be all used Boston PD jackets.

Despite the fairly high prevalence of the Fidelity jackets -- the vast majority of them being Cafe Racers -- these jackets are among the best bargains you can find for a cool vintage leather jacket IMO. I would put Fidelity, Lesco, Branded, Apparel Annex all in the category of "Pretty Damn Nice Jacket FOR THE PRICE." At a price point of $150 (Max) or less and often, much less, you can get something really cool. Dare I say you could walk around in a Fidelity and pretty much the only people that would know how little you paid for it, would be a few Fedora Loungers.
 
Messages
10,598
My 2 Cents:

I like the look of these. I have one (size 44) and I really like everything about it except for the patch mark from the Boston PD patch on the upper left shoulder. Nothing super heavy about the hide or anything. I have a few police jackets and these are certainly not some bullet proof older horsehide type of weight. I suppose quality wise, they are much like the Fidelity Cafe Racers that are prevalent. Decently made and decent lighter weight hide etc. I just like the look and the fit. The 2 way zipper is cool/useful and the two double snap chest pockets make for really a clean look. I've been keeping my eye out for a size 46 that was never in police service. So far, I haven't seen one. They are all former cop jackets from what I see. Sometimes you can find Schotts and other Police jackets that were never issued for police use. But these seem to be all used Boston PD jackets.

Despite the fairly high prevalence of the Fidelity jackets -- the vast majority of them being Cafe Racers -- these jackets are among the best bargains you can find for a cool vintage leather jacket IMO. I would put Fidelity, Lesco, Branded, Apparel Annex all in the category of "Pretty Damn Nice Jacket FOR THE PRICE." At a price point of $150 (Max) or less and often, much less, you can get something really cool. Dare I say you could walk around in a Fidelity and pretty much the only people that would know how little you paid for it, would be a few Fedora Loungers.

I agree. My Steerhide Fidelity IR was cool and perfectly fits your description. Extremely serviceable. I liked the look and grain. Lighter weight. Very nice jacket.

That said, Fidelity HH is top-tier—

93903A82-A4A4-4F88-9EDE-9726851DD1F5.jpeg
 

Moontanning

One of the Regulars
Messages
158
Location
Philadelphia
Nice jacket, but is this a red flag to anyone else?

"To loosen it up I’ve applied at least 20 doses of leather conditioner over the years I’ve owned it. "

Assuming they used a good quality product and did a good job of application, is the concern that they would have damaged the leather? At some point the leather would be saturated and stop absorbing more conditioner but would any damage be done? Or it would just feel greasy, un-necessarily heavy, alter the color or something else?

The jacket as measured is too small for me anyway but but I am looking for something like it that does fit. If there's something to look out for when buying used jackets I'm always happy to learn something.
 

Moontanning

One of the Regulars
Messages
158
Location
Philadelphia

Kubatu

A-List Customer
Messages
458
Really cool looking set from Cycle Leather Wear. I know nothing about this brand and have found out nothing with some searching. The only result I see on TFL is that @JMax posted a CHP-style jacket they made awhile back.

Some cracking on the collar cuff, but besides that, it looks nice. Big size too. https://www.etsy.com/il-en/listing/711685134/motorcycle-leather-jacket-side-lace-with

il_1588xN.1960665526_s62n.jpg


Many of their jackets seem to have this trapezoid-style Talon zip. I don't think it's like any of the ones on the big Talon zip guide here. Any ideas when this would be?
 
Messages
10,598
I haven’t been able to find information about this label/brand. The CHP you mention looks cool and is in my watchlist. It has some cool little details. This set looks good too. Seems on par with outfits like Apparel Annex. Wish I could find info about them.
 

Coriu

One Too Many
Messages
1,154
Location
Virginia
Nice jacket, but is this a red flag to anyone else?

"To loosen it up I’ve applied at least 20 doses of leather conditioner over the years I’ve owned it. "
He says he had it 15 years, so let's say he conditioned it every 9 months. I wouldn't necessarily call that a red flag, especially if he was using something light that does not darken leather, ie Bick 4. If he was using something like Pecard's paste every nine months for 15 years, that's a different story.
 

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