Himel Heron-Bill Kelso A-1 Aeronaut

[tmitchell59]

Here they are on and off in all their glory

 

[tmitchell59]

This pre-war Windward is hard to beat. Not the same. I know.

 

[CBI]

wow, the brown jacket is one of the nicest I have seen in a long time. what type of leather???? is this out of the box????

 

[tmitchell59]

wow, the brown jacket is one of the nicest I have seen in a long time. what type of leather???? is this out of the box????

The Brown A-1 Aeronaut is Badalassi Cowhide. It did come in a box but I'm the second owner.

 

[bretron]

love badalassi so dang much. Wish people would get hip to it already

 

[tmitchell59]

love badalassi so dang much. Wish people would get hip to it already

I've not seen any here that I recall. I know a member here who has one..What other makers offer it?

The fellow I bought it from has excellent taste in leather jackets.

 

[CBI]

so you are the second owner. What I mean was (out of the box) did it come new that way? It looks to me like the jacket may have been hot water treated by the first owner. if the jacket looked like that BRAND NEW, I would be particularly impressed but its very cool either way!!!

Badalassi IMO, sometimes does not translate well in photographs, looks artificially aged, not in a good way.

 

[handymike]

Thanks for the side by side Terry!
I gotta say that the black Heron is all class, sir.
The BK is nice, but boy is it loud.
I think a mid weight hide translates nicely for this style.

 

[bretron]

so you are the second owner. What I mean was (out of the box) did it come new that way? It looks to me like the jacket may have been hot water treated by the first owner. if the jacket looked like that BRAND NEW, I would be particularly impressed but its very cool either way!!!

Badalassi IMO, sometimes does not translate well in photographs, looks artificially aged, not in a good way.

If not mistaken this was Tito's jacket, and was HWT'd

 

[bretron]

I've not seen any here that I recall. I know a member here who has one..What other makers offer it?

The fellow I bought it from has excellent taste in leather jackets.

John Chapman was offering it for a while; still may but cannot confirm. It's rich rich stuff- grain, softness, thickness etc.

BK reportedly stopped ordering it as a standard option. Only for large lot stockists. But if more people ask for it...

Ill take superb cowhide over mediocre to standard horsehide all day long

 

[Grayland]

The BK in that hide does look great. Nice to see such high armholes and slim sleeves. I seem to recall an issue with some of the BK models where the sleeves were quite large - or maybe that was just the cuff area. That issue kept me away from ordering a BK, but I may have to check them out again.

 

[tmitchell59]

so you are the second owner. What I mean was (out of the box) did it come new that way? It looks to me like the jacket may have been hot water treated by the first owner. if the jacket looked like that BRAND NEW, I would be particularly impressed but its very cool either way!!!

Badalassi IMO, sometimes does not translate well in photographs, looks artificially aged, not in a good way.

I didn't know what you were asking. I'm only familiar with the term hot water treatment. I've never done it and not sure what it does. No issues with the jacket or seller. I got one of my favs from the seller and just did a trade on another jacket.

The surface on this jacket is like goatskin. It has lot of "pixels" that reflect/absorb light in different directions that can give the hide a sheen. Really stands out on some of my goatskin jackets. It is a cool jacket.

 

[tmitchell59]

Thanks for the side by side Terry!
I gotta say that the black Heron is all class, sir.
The BK is nice, but boy is it loud.
I think a mid weight hide translates nicely for this style.

You are Welcome!

Similar but very different jackets. If you know guitars, sorta like a Gibson and a Martin.

 

[tmitchell59]

The BK in that hide does look great. Nice to see such high armholes and slim sleeves. I seem to recall an issue with some of the BK models where the sleeves were quite large - or maybe that was just the cuff area. That issue kept me away from ordering a BK, but I may have to check them out again.

Yes, I remember the wide cuff/sleeve discussion. I find that vintage jackets have wider sleeves wider cuffs. This BK has comfortable closures. The Heron is really narrow and the sleeves tapered which works well on that jacket.

 

[Roma]

Why BK's jackets in Victory horsehide are so expensive? Isn't it the same as Aero's Vicenza? Does anybody know? I went thru their web site and saw no difference with Vicenza which is as much as twice cheaper. Or are there any other reasons?

 

[Superfluous]

Why BK's jackets in Victory horsehide are so expensive?

Because BK has unilaterally anointed its "Victory" hide the single greatest achievement since the invention of the wheel. In reality, BK's Victory hide is simply horsehide tanned by the Victoria tannery in Italy. Other jacket manufacturers also purchase horsehide from the Victoria tannery.

 

[handymike]

I think Vicenza is a different tannery, one used by Eastman as well. Both Italian however...
Please correct me if I'm wrong here.

 

[Peter Mackin]

If your ever gonna part with your Himel please let me know...its beautiful .

 

[Roma]

Because BK has unilaterally anointed its "Victory" hide the single greatest achievement since the invention of the wheel. In reality, BK's Victory hide is simply horsehide tanned by the Victoria tannery in Italy. Other jacket manufacturers also purchase horsehide from the Victoria tannery.

Pure PR? Ok, thanks.

 

[ProteinNerd]

I think Vicenza is a different tannery, one used by Eastman as well. Both Italian however...
Please correct me if I'm wrong here.

They just admitted on their FB page that they use the exact same leather that Himel uses (so BK Victory HH is the same as Himel Victoria HH) ...so much for it being unique and ONLY available to BK....