IRVIN NUTS?...the ULTIMATE thread for those who love 'em!

[Smithy]

The poor bloke has the look that the real model for the photo-shoot dropped out and he was the first fellow the boss walked past in the office and roped in for the pictures.

 

[Spitfire]

Zippers and beltbuckel are not the same as AL.
AL do have underarm ventilation.
Their website only says this about the sheepskin:

"All of our sheepskin is prepared especially for us and we’re delighted to have sourced a very hard-wearing, high grade sheepskin. The sheepskin we settled upon is the most beautifully supple skin we’ve ever encountered. Combining this quality of material with craft skills of the highest order allows us to produce jackets here in England that endure."

 

[Smithy]

Zippers and beltbuckel are not the same as AL.
AL do have underarm ventilation.
Their website only says this about the sheepskin:

"All of our sheepskin is prepared especially for us and we’re delighted to have sourced a very hard-wearing, high grade sheepskin. The sheepskin we settled upon is the most beautifully supple skin we’ve ever encountered. Combining this quality of material with craft skills of the highest order allows us to produce jackets here in England that endure."

That sounds like they might be British to me. I know it's a bit pedantic but to my mind Irvin fleeces should be British

 

[irvinsuit]

Greycar Irvin

I like the look of the jacket, and I rather fancy one. If they also made Irvin trousers faithful to the original pattern then I'd be very interested in getting a suit from them. I know that the jacket isn't for the purists amongst you, however that said it isn't a bad copy although the leather could be a little less black and a bit more brown.

 

[Edward]

ALC do the trousers... I'm sure there's someone else too (maybe Cirrus?).

 

[Smithy]

Both of them do sheepskin trousers Edward but I believe neither are correct repros of wartime Irvin trousers. A chap I know in the UK uses some AL ones and an ELC 1940 Irvin when driving his open top Land Rover in winter

 

[Edward]

Oh no, given what I've seen of their jackets I would expect them to be more a generalise Irvin trouser than an accurate repro, I agree. I think they're the only ones doing it, though. Interesting that it seems there's a market among the folks they sell to, but not the hardcore repro crowd.... Guess the jackets have simply been romanticised and are therefore of interest in a way that the trousers aren't? [huh]

 

[wildbluesea]

quality shearling or not

Sorry to sneak into your forum guys - I posted this in the general outwear forum before I thought about it. But you guys are the Shearling experts, even if this is not an Irvin, so a little off topic: I have just purchased a Noble House B9 jacket from Germany. It's a good fit and warm as hell. Appears well made, but I have a question on the outer finish. What is the outside of the shearling meant to be like - thick, hard leather, like that of a normal leather cow hide jacket? Or soft and thin feeling? I have never seen an original Irvin flying jacket. And reproductions are rare in Australia as most of it has a hot climate. The outside of my Noble House jacket is very soft, almost feels like those cheap vinyl fake leather jackets, with just a thin layer of vinyl on the outside. I'm not suggesting it's not meant to be like this - it's just that I've seen pics of some Irvins on this forum that appear so thick and stiff that they can stand up on their own. The outside of mine feels like the outer layer could rip easily, but perhaps it's tougher than it looks. And maybe that's what good, new, shearling is meant to be like - soft as a baby's butt. The inner is great, but the overall jacket is soft and floppy. So what do you guys reckon the outisde of a good shearling/Irvin is meant to be like? I can get a refund, but I don't know if I have a good jacket or not. Website says quality US Shearling. I paid about $500 AUD including postage from Germany. The Ozzy dollar is worth about .97 USD nowerdays, so there's not much difference. Oh I know, the cuffs are a bit poodle like too, windsock!!
Thanks

 

[aswatland]

If you plough through all the posts in the Irvin thread you will see what quality sheepskin should look like.

 

[wildbluesea]

I've gone through just about every page of this thread over the past 10 days. Some of the Irvin jackets LOOK similar, including the Greycar one a few posts back, which looks almost identical in texture to the outerskin of mine. But a picture doesn't describe the feel or thickness. My jacket is very heavy, but the outer shell feels very soft - so perhaps it's an illusion that it's thin. As a comparison, mine feels like a soft, south african kid leather jacket that I had a few years back, compared to a stiffer, thicker? cowhide ex-police jacket that I purchased a few months back that is almost indestructable. So what I'm asking is should a good shearling (irvin) feel indestructable, or be soft and subtle? I'm sure there are a lot of newbies out there, like me that just don't know what we should be looking for in a good shearling jacket. Should it be tough as old boots leather or is shearling not like that? After all, I notice that some irvin's have cow hide patches for protection, which would indicate that cow hide is much tougher?

 

[aswatland]

I've gone through just about every page of this thread over the past 10 days. Some of the Irvin jackets LOOK similar, including the Greycar one a few posts back, which looks almost identical in texture to the outerskin of mine. But a picture doesn't describe the feel or thickness. My jacket is very heavy, but the outer shell feels very soft - so perhaps it's an illusion that it's thin. As a comparison, mine feels like a soft, south african kid leather jacket that I had a few years back, compared to a stiffer, thicker? cowhide ex-police jacket that I purchased a few months back that is almost indestructable. So what I'm asking is should a good shearling (irvin) feel indestructable, or be soft and subtle? I'm sure there are a lot of newbies out there, like me that just don't know what we should be looking for in a good shearling jacket. Should it be tough as old boots leather or is shearling not like that? After all, I notice that some irvin's have cow hide patches for protection, which would indicate that cow hide is much tougher?

OK. I have owned and handled many original Sheepskin jackets over the years. The thickness of the skins varies as does the suppleness of the leather. They were designed to keep aircrew warm at altitude and were not intended to be a tough as old boots! I would however say most originals are made of thicker skin than yours and would not be as soft and supple. They were usually given a fire-retardent coating which stiffened the sheepskin. British RAF Irvins used cowhide for the seam tapes and back of the collar because cowhide was plentiful in the UK and the Americans used horsehide and goatskin(HLB Corp) on the seam tapes and arm facings on their B3s. You really need to handle originals to see how yours compares.

 

[Smithy]

Andrew is right. Something like an Irvin is not going to have the same thickness and feel as an horsehide or cowhide jacket. I think you might be worried about your new jacket as this might be your first sheepskin jacket and you are more used to the feel of horse/cowhide which are thicker and more rigid.

As Andrew also pointed out sheepskin flying jackets were made primarily for warmth not to be bulletproof, they weren't designed like a motorcycle jacket.

 

[ethanedwards]

Wildbluesea, here's a shot of an original which shows a bit of the leather.
It's supple and conforming, with a touch of stiffness although it can't stand up
on its own. As it's somewhat old I wouldn't like to test how tough it really is, but I reckon it'll comfortably outlast me. Shearlings do seen 'softer' than other leather jackets but I think this is a difference in function as pointed out by Tim and Andrew.
I think it's fairly unanimous that Eastman makes the best contemporary Irvin,(ducks for cover) but if your own jacket does the job, why worry?

 

[wildbluesea]

Thanks guys. I found a bit of the outer leather tucked away on the inside of the jacket, normally out of site and scraped at it with a sharp implement. To my surprise the top surface didn't peel away like cheap vinyl. It was tough and took some scraping before I finally got to the under layer. I'm talking about a tiny little test area here, but it's a lot tougher than it looks! Think it's a keeper, although it's nowhere near the quality of the original pic above and doesn't have the shine - it's kind of dull looking without the flash. Anyway, the clincher is that the wife, seeing how much I wanted to love the jacket told me not to send it back, but to wear it for now and buy another, Easman or similar, for next winter!!! I'll do my homework properly before my next purchase! Thanks for your advice gentlemen.

 

[Edward]

Sounds like the wife's a keeper, anyhow (or should that be 'enabler' lol)!

 

[krasno35]

RAF 1942 impression...

cheers
jerome

 

[Smithy]

Nice pic Jerome but a Station Commander would have your guts for garters for not having had a shave

 

[krasno35]

Sorry smithy, but was just coming back from a Wuperthal night raid!

Jerome

 

[Smithy]

Sorry smithy, but was just coming back from a Wuperthal night raid!

Jerome

You could say it was a bit of a hairy one!

 

[krasno35]

Here is another use of the Irvin: lend lease to the soviet...;Smithy all is OK on this one??? ))!!