Howdy folks,
I’ve been considering putting this up for a couple of years, and a recent purchase of a Lost Worlds J-23 has finally tipped me over the edge. $625 (PayPal F&F) gets it shipped and insured to anyone in the continental US.
For the backstory, I ordered this new back in early 2019 to serve as my primary motorcycling jacket. I went through the whole custom fitting process, including having a mock-up made. Later that summer, I received this beauty, featuring heavy black overdye Chromexcel steerhide, brass Talon zips, and a removable natural mouton collar.
After the honeymoon period was over, I realized the fit was a lot boxier than I had wanted. Alan graciously took it back and took in the sides a bit, yet the fit remained boxy on me. I continued to wear the jacket, although I picked up a Simmons Bilt cafe racer in 2020, which became my main riding jacket, as I stopped riding much in cold weather. At some point in 2021, I voiced some hesitation in a thread in here on Johnson Leathers about going the customization route, after which Alan dm’d me to ask what he could do to increase my satisfaction with the jacket. Free of charge, he took the jacket back, repaired some loose stitching, and took a bit more width out of the chest. All the same, the fit remained less than ideal on me, leading me to ultimately conclude that I just don’t wear it nearly enough to justify keeping it.
The Good: The heavy steerhide has picked up some nice character, particularly on the front and sleeves, without any deep scratches or abrasions. Although thick—I measured it at close to 2mm at the sleeve gusset—the leather is soft and doesn’t feel nearly as waxy as Aero’s CXL. The wool lining is in great shape and seems much sturdier than the tartans Aero uses. The nylon lining in the sleeves similarly shows no signs of wear. Finally, the zippers all run smoothly.
The Bad: The stitching is not terribly neat in a fair number of places. Some of this may be due to Alan going back and resizing the jackets, but some of it is original. None of this affects the integrity of the jacket; it’s just that nobody will mistaken this for a Freewheelers.
The Ugly: There are two areas in the back of the jacket where a) the finish is anomalous, and b) a small animal (I suspect my pug) scratched the jacket. I don’t remember the first spot being there when I first received the jacket, although I likewise don’t remember any event leading to its development. In any case, the leather itself is fine—there’s no damage or difference in texture. I believe the overdye was either applied in an uneven fashion or it was exposed to some thinning agent there. As for the scratches, they are quite subtle and are imperceptible by touch alone, but they are visible in well-lit settings.
Measurement are as follows:
Pit to pit - 22.5 inches
Sleeve length (straight down from shoulder seam to cuff) - 24.5 inches
Shoulder width - 20.5 inches
Back length - 24 inches
Hem opening width - 19.75 inches
I’ve been considering putting this up for a couple of years, and a recent purchase of a Lost Worlds J-23 has finally tipped me over the edge. $625 (PayPal F&F) gets it shipped and insured to anyone in the continental US.
For the backstory, I ordered this new back in early 2019 to serve as my primary motorcycling jacket. I went through the whole custom fitting process, including having a mock-up made. Later that summer, I received this beauty, featuring heavy black overdye Chromexcel steerhide, brass Talon zips, and a removable natural mouton collar.
After the honeymoon period was over, I realized the fit was a lot boxier than I had wanted. Alan graciously took it back and took in the sides a bit, yet the fit remained boxy on me. I continued to wear the jacket, although I picked up a Simmons Bilt cafe racer in 2020, which became my main riding jacket, as I stopped riding much in cold weather. At some point in 2021, I voiced some hesitation in a thread in here on Johnson Leathers about going the customization route, after which Alan dm’d me to ask what he could do to increase my satisfaction with the jacket. Free of charge, he took the jacket back, repaired some loose stitching, and took a bit more width out of the chest. All the same, the fit remained less than ideal on me, leading me to ultimately conclude that I just don’t wear it nearly enough to justify keeping it.
The Good: The heavy steerhide has picked up some nice character, particularly on the front and sleeves, without any deep scratches or abrasions. Although thick—I measured it at close to 2mm at the sleeve gusset—the leather is soft and doesn’t feel nearly as waxy as Aero’s CXL. The wool lining is in great shape and seems much sturdier than the tartans Aero uses. The nylon lining in the sleeves similarly shows no signs of wear. Finally, the zippers all run smoothly.
The Bad: The stitching is not terribly neat in a fair number of places. Some of this may be due to Alan going back and resizing the jackets, but some of it is original. None of this affects the integrity of the jacket; it’s just that nobody will mistaken this for a Freewheelers.
The Ugly: There are two areas in the back of the jacket where a) the finish is anomalous, and b) a small animal (I suspect my pug) scratched the jacket. I don’t remember the first spot being there when I first received the jacket, although I likewise don’t remember any event leading to its development. In any case, the leather itself is fine—there’s no damage or difference in texture. I believe the overdye was either applied in an uneven fashion or it was exposed to some thinning agent there. As for the scratches, they are quite subtle and are imperceptible by touch alone, but they are visible in well-lit settings.
Measurement are as follows:
Pit to pit - 22.5 inches
Sleeve length (straight down from shoulder seam to cuff) - 24.5 inches
Shoulder width - 20.5 inches
Back length - 24 inches
Hem opening width - 19.75 inches
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