Johnson Leather Jacket

[marker2037]

^^^ Marc
Thick Leather + non skived edges + cooler temperature = very uncomfortable, you are correct
warmer = better
skived + warmer = even better
I am testing to see if combination weights + skived edges = best
If you do plan to get a Tochigi jacket they are best known for their veg tan 2mm steerhide. Best to skive the edges for comfortable fit. I saw Greg playing around with a skiving machine once on instagram stories and he cut himself. He was right about skiving in general (that it's better for heavier leather).

Now a photo for Johnson Leather. This is a 4/5 oz Horween Deerskin jacket they are working on. Yes, you read that right, big hulking American deers that wears their armor at 4/5 oz, yet still super soft, and at a bargain price. Little rustic for some, but 4/5 oz super soft deerskin jacket, 840 shipped (to Vancouver) price is pretty decent deal. I bought the leather from Maverick and drop shipped to JL. 50 sf of Horween Deer was 190 plus 650 for JL to make the stock pattern jacket. Custom would cost more, pushing it into Aero price range. I am in it for the leather, so stock pattern and less money.

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Lovely choice of leather. Can't wait to see the finished product. I hope you choose that tan quilted liner as it's amazing and a great match for the skin.

 

[Canuck Panda]

^^^me too I can't wait!

 

[hondurasdave47]

Anyone have a JL Del-66 in 2.5 oz veg tan like this?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CL5RMyUDZ6a/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I’d love to see fit pics if you do. I think it’s a beauty!

I'm pretty sure that's the only half-belt JL has made in that hide to date. I have a sample of the hide - beautiful stuff. I can't wait to see how it ages!

 

[jadub]

Have you pulled the trigger on an order? It does look like a great “natural” option if it hasn’t been treated yet. Beautiful even if the did treat it. I love the whole package with this jacket.

 

[ES335]

Have Mercy!

 

[JCSD]

A little preview of my custom cross zip from JL. Same Horween Vermont hide that @Jin431 and @Mrfrown utilized for their pieces.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Saw this on JL's facebook page

 

[Jin431]

Cross post to the WJAYWT thread.

Picked up my Cal that needed alteration over at JL. The sleeves were tapered and shortened. The armholes were too big so they couldn't slim the biceps/elbow all the way as it would have looked off. Happy with how this turned out, this is wearable now. I also dropped off another Cal for sleeves to be tapered and a mouton collar to be placed.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Great pick up!
These bike jackets all have hulking arms. I think the officers like it with some room up top, makes their daily tasks a lot easier.

 

[Jin431]

Great pick up!
These bike jackets all have hulking arms. I think the officers like it with some room up top, makes their daily tasks a lot easier.

JL had to remove almost 4" in width to get it to this shape, so I'm glad it's not as baggy as it was when I first received it.

The other Cal I'm getting fixed up has the same massive arms and armholes so it's probably going to look similar to this after they slim it up

 

[Canuck Panda]

JL had to remove almost 4" in width to get it to this shape, so I'm glad it's not as baggy as it was when I first received it.

The other Cal I'm getting fixed up has the same massive arms and armholes so it's probably going to look similar to this after they slim it up

4” is a lot!
These bike jackets can have 19” ish or more in diameter for sleeves biceps, for medium/large tag sizes. I highly doubt that most officers had Arnold sized arms. But they are very comfortable, and most still tapers down to about 9” ish in diameter at the wrist. Definitely not slim fit but it’s not bagging out either if it tapers.
The other Cal is a cross zip?

 

[Jin431]

4” is a lot!
These bike jackets can have 19” ish or more in diameter for sleeves biceps, for medium/large tag sizes. I highly doubt that most officers had Arnold sized arms. But they are very comfortable, and most still tapers down to about 9” ish in diameter at the wrist. Definitely not slim fit but it’s not bagging out either if it tapers.
The other Cal is a cross zip?

It was massive lol but the armhole is too so I guess it makes sense. It really is very comfy sleeve design but it does not look good to look at so it had to be tapered. Good thing JL is so close by.

The other Cal is also a straight zip CHP, that one is a real MC cop jacket since it has a badge holder. Its similar to this jacket with the clean one piece back with no western yoke and no shoulder gussets, it has snaps on the sleeves for closure and side laces to the bottom hem. I also removed the belt holder already. The leather is much thicker on that one and it has the tear drop shaped zipper pull on the pockets.

 

[JCSD]

JL J24 inspired Cross Zip

 

[TheDonEffect]

For those interested in the Horween Vermont Horsehide I took a few pics of it in light morning sun. I also wore both a wool sweater and my 24 oz wool Filson vest to fill in the big boy. Just makes me more excited for the trimmer 2.0.

The hide is very soft temper, with a sheen in direct light. Drapes very easily as you can see on the back pic.

The color is rich, but not a lot of depth. There is a lot of character out of the box, little lines and grains here and there, without looking too busy.

It has a solid, comfortable heft. Lighter than the naked cowhide on my Schott 141 but the feel reminds me of that, but a little easier wearing.

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So that Vermont leather... why the hell did I let TFL talk me into CXL, lol, jk. The Vermont leather is supple, pliable, and remarkably light, vs CXL being stiff, hard wearing, and heavy. Vermont is very easy wearing, you could almost equate it to a lambskin jacket. And I got to see your original jacket, beautiful jacket btw, wish it was in my size, actually, probably best that it wasn't, lol.

I'd say the character and richness isn't quite on par with CXL, but they're definitely related/close, and the trade off for comfort easily outweighs what small amount of aesthetic you give up.

 

[Pandemic]

I posted pics of the jacket Damon made himself in the other thread, but I didn’t mention the reason I contacted him was to ask how he’d feel about doing a custom LL lighting. He seemed to like the idea.

 

[TheDonEffect]

I saw the jacket he made himself with the skived CXL, same batch of leather used for my car jacket. Beautiful jacket, but we just laughed about how stiff CXL is even after being skived down, mine still looks like it did when it was new only a little bit more pliable now.

 

[Mrfrown]

@TheDonEffect yes it was indeed nice, and I’m very happy to receive the remake which is MUCH more to my size.

With regard to Horween Vermont, you could say perhaps we’ve both seen the light eh?

I’ll post a few of version 2.0 from the WJAYWT thread here for consolidation purposes

Unfortunately the next 3 weeks are statistically the hottest of the year here so…here’s to air conditioning, jackets, and Johnson Leather!

 

[handymike]

This looks fantastic!

 

[Mrfrown]

This looks fantastic!

Thanks HM!

 

[TheDonEffect]

I indeed see the light now. I once was blind but now I see.