How many jackets do you have to sew to be an expert?

[pawineguy]

For those of you that aren't following, Ken Calder has been posting on another forum over the past couple of days, in response to some accusations made against his company. The most interesting quote to me that I pulled from that thread was the number of jackets that have been produced by his top machinists:

"I think Julie is well past 12,000, Paula, Moira and Christine are in the 6000/7000 region"

That's a LOT of jackets, considering the type of heavy leather used!

 

[Carlos840]

Any chance you can post a link to that forum?

And that's a lot of jackets!

 

[Doctor Damage]

I read a book a while back which examined the careers and experience of some of the most successful people in their fields and they all put in some 10,000 hours before big time success came to them. Other people in their fields were probably just as smart and hard working, but for various reasons, including accidents of fortune, they didn't get in the 10,000 hours and never made it to the top. This was a finding that ran across human endeavour, too, from business to sports, and I suspect it applies to art and other things as well.

 

[Big J]

I read a book a while back which examined the careers and experience of some of the most successful people in their fields and they all put in some 10,000 hours before big time success came to them. Other people in their fields were probably just as smart and hard working, but for various reasons, including accidents of fortune, they didn't get in the 10,000 hours and never made it to the top. This was a finding that ran across human endeavour, too, from business to sports, and I suspect it applies to art and other things as well.

I read that. But I also read a really convincing counter-argument also. [huh]

 

[pawineguy]

Regardless of whether it takes 10,000 hours (that book got a lot of play here in the US), or more or less, these ladies are all WAY past that threshold. Very impressive.

 

[Big J]

Regardless of whether it takes 10,000 hours (that book got a lot of play here in the US), or more or less, these ladies are all WAY past that threshold. Very impressive.

Fair point. I'm not a member over there, so I just submitted for registration. Then I'll be able to have a read.

 

[pawineguy]

Fair point. I'm not a member over there, so I just submitted for registration. Then I'll be able to have a read.

And to clarify, the point of this is not to denigrate others that haven't produced that many jackets, I'm not sure I buy into the 10,000 hours either. I was just blown away by the total number of jackets produced.

 

[Big J]

And to clarify, the point of this is not to denigrate others that haven't produced that many jackets, I'm not sure I buy into the 10,000 hours either. I was just blown away by the total number of jackets produced.

No, no, it's ok. The '10,000 hour' thing came up, and I just remembered that I had read a really convincing counter-argument. Hasn't got anything to do with jackets, really.
I'll go away and come back after I've had my VLJ membership approved/declined.
I'm a little surprised to hear of 'heat' between DD and KC, since I thought they were both pretty tight with JC. But hey, what do I know?

 

[nick123]

Perhaps only the jacket maker him/herself will realize the moment they become well-versed in their craft. One can still make10,000 bad jackets!

 

[navetsea]

I think someone can be called expert when he/she can do flawless job in any situations and unpredictable problems at their field, geradless of how many hours or how many number of items they have produced or worked on. Someone who experiment more on different technique or material would be there faster I think.

 

[Otter]

Ken, if you are reading this, out of idle curiosity, how many hours does it take for the average jacket to go from uncut hide to finished item ? I was going to ask on VLJ but I think that thread has gone on long enough.

 

[pawineguy]

Ken, if you are reading this, out of idle curiosity, how many hours does it take for the average jacket to go from uncut hide to finished item ? I was going to ask on VLJ but I think that thread has gone on long enough.

+1, great question for @cloudylemonade

 

[ButteMT61]

If I remember a chat I had with JC @GW - I thought it was around three days for one jacket, give or take. Now it might be different in a shop with lots of workers - not sure if they divvy up some of the labor at a place like Aero, but rest assured, the money we spend is well earned.

 

[AdeeC]

If I remember a chat I had with JC @GW - I thought it was around three days for one jacket, give or take. Now it might be different in a shop with lots of workers - not sure if they divvy up some of the labor at a place like Aero, but rest assured, the money we spend is well earned.

At Aero, a machinist will do not much else other than assemble the jacket. All the cutting, prep and finishing like buttons will be done by someone else. They will be significantly faster as a team. Someone like JC has to do all the work step by step himself.

BTW that thread on VLJ has been deleted. Was getting too hot headed and argy bargy.

 

[Sloan1874]

There was some very weird stuff. At least one person was demanding that the FL mods issue a statement on the VLJ avowing that Aero isn't a secret sponsor! :eeek::eusa_doh:

 

[Big J]

There was some very weird stuff. At least one person was demanding that the FL mods issue a statement on the VLJ avowing that Aero isn't a secret sponsor! :eeek::eusa_doh:

Yeah, because Aero being a secret sponsor would make much more 'sense' than the fact that there are just loads of satisfied customers speaking up? Some people are, well, a bit mental it seems.

 

[Sloan1874]

It's the idea that this ridiculous belief seems to have persisted among some individuals, without any basis in fact.

 

[Bunyip]

Bummer. I missed the whole thing.....

 

[ButteMT61]

Nothing missed. Just the usual Aero haters there.
Place gets maybe 10 posts a day. Surprised it's still up.

 

[Bunyip]

Ken, if you are reading this, out of idle curiosity, how many hours does it take for the average jacket to go from uncut hide to finished item ? I was going to ask on VLJ but I think that thread has gone on long enough.

At Langlitz, it's one worker, one day I think? I'm pretty sure one guy just cuts leather, then the machinist takes over. I seem to remember something like 4 jackets a day getting put together once cut? I might be wrong, but I know it's not huge numbers. It would be a similar scene scene at Aero with heavy leathers and attention to detail....