Johnson Leather Jacket

[TheDonEffect]

Don, when you handled their Phantom black leather at JL shop, how does it feel? And is it stiffer vs. Shinki vs. CXL?

IIRC it was slightly stiffer than Shinki but much less so than CXL. Looking back at my earlier post to jog my memory, it was more akin to the Masaye leather which is very wearable from day one.

 

[TheDonEffect]

Keep in mind you can't just talk about shinki like a monolith any more than you can say all horween is x or all cf stead is y. It's gonna vary from batch to batch even if they have certain frequent themes.

For sure. Even within this batch, there apparently is some that has a little more sheen than others, same goes with CXL. And then when you compare to other makers, particularly the JDMs, the variance is even great since they get first dibs on batches and apply their secret sauce to it.

But there are some characteristics that remain pretty consistent. Shinki is far more wearable out the box, and CXL has a more rustic appeal/charm to it.

 

[MadCat]

Thanks for the insights, Tom. This will be my first time with JL.

I used a local alteration shop in Gastown before. You probably know this place. It's right across from the old Cambie hostel. Nice little place with a lot of characters, but don't let the charm fools you. This place is a fraud.

What I wanted is to shorten the sleeves on my vintage cafe racer by moving the zipper up. The lady there seemed to know what she's talking about when I dropped it off. I asked her to make sure to maintain the same taper when she cuts the sleeves off because the cuff opening will be larger than before. I also asked her to make sure the stitching is nice and neat because that's important to me.

Paid up front for about $300 CAD. Waiting time was 10 days. What I got back is horrible. One sleeve was slightly shorter than the other. Stitching was wonky and amateur with uneven tension between topstitch and bottom stitch. The worst of all was that she didn't even taper the sleeves after the shortening, making them look weird at an angle. Mind you, this is a vintage cafe racer therefore the sleeves are baggy so you can image the weird shape they have now after the alteration.

I asked her to rectify the situation but she claimed that she was a human and she couldn't do a neat job like at the factory. Then why would you agree to take on a job like this and charge a hefty price for this amateur level of work? After more arguing, she just stood there and waited for me to leave without even trying to do anything. So that was the last time I would come back there.

In hindsight, she has a really old Singer stitcher and a small table next to it in her workshop. That should tell me to stay away. You can't achieve a professional level of work with those equipments. You need ample of space to spread the jacket out and an industrial stitcher like a Juki to sew through its many layers properly.

I have high hope that JL will deliver. I agree with you that even though we pay a little more, we can rest easy that the work will be done correctly.

Sorry for the rant. This experience still weighs heavily on me. But you live and learn.

EDIT: By the way, how much did they charge you for the new sleeves if you don't mind me asking? If it's reasonable, I might send my cafe racer to them for a complete new sleeves.

That’s too bad! Seems like everyone charges a premium in Vancouver. I’ve used Awl to shorten sleeves on a leather jacket before and they did a fantastic job!

 

[navetsea]

Thanks for the insights, Tom. This will be my first time with JL.

I used a local alteration shop in Gastown before. You probably know this place. It's right across from the old Cambie hostel. Nice little place with a lot of characters, but don't let the charm fools you. This place is a fraud.

What I wanted is to shorten the sleeves on my vintage cafe racer by moving the zipper up. The lady there seemed to know what she's talking about when I dropped it off. I asked her to make sure to maintain the same taper when she cuts the sleeves off because the cuff opening will be larger than before. I also asked her to make sure the stitching is nice and neat because that's important to me.

Paid up front for about $300 CAD. Waiting time was 10 days. What I got back is horrible. One sleeve was slightly shorter than the other. Stitching was wonky and amateur with uneven tension between topstitch and bottom stitch. The worst of all was that she didn't even taper the sleeves after the shortening, making them look weird at an angle. Mind you, this is a vintage cafe racer therefore the sleeves are baggy so you can image the weird shape they have now after the alteration.

I asked her to rectify the situation but she claimed that she was a human and she couldn't do a neat job like at the factory. Then why would you agree to take on a job like this and charge a hefty price for this amateur level of work? After more arguing, she just stood there and waited for me to leave without even trying to do anything. So that was the last time I would come back there.

In hindsight, she has a really old Singer stitcher and a small table next to it in her workshop. That should tell me to stay away. You can't achieve a professional level of work with those equipments. You need ample of space to spread the jacket out and an industrial stitcher like a Juki to sew through its many layers properly.

I have high hope that JL will deliver. I agree with you that even though we pay a little more, we can rest easy that the work will be done correctly.

Sorry for the rant. This experience still weighs heavily on me. But you live and learn.

EDIT: By the way, how much did they charge you for the new sleeves if you don't mind me asking? If it's reasonable, I might send my cafe racer to them for a complete new sleeves.

those old singer can sew through leather, I had my bike seat custom made and the guy who made it using those kind of old machine with foot pedal, probably it has more to do with type of needle suitable for different kind of surfaces, my mother also use that old singer machine also opting to use its foot pedal to have a better control of the pace suitable for her, so maybe it was just that lady being less skilled, as how she claimed she was just human suggesting factory workers are not human? basically she said she is less skilled and experienced than a factory worker who do it allday everyday.

when we visit these small shops there are some where the shop owner/keeper is just standing around or reading newspaper or playing around with his/her phone, and another shop where the shop owner/keeper is always working on something perhaps making a pouch or doing a repair or anything that make them busy, I rather to be a client of the latter even when they have a lot more waiting time with longer turnover.

 

[Nacho]

those old singer can sew through leather, I had my bike seat custom made and the guy who made it using those kind of old machine with foot pedal, probably it has more to do with type of needle suitable for different kind of surfaces, my mother also use that old singer machine also opting to use its foot pedal to have a better control of the pace suitable for her, so maybe it was just that lady being less skilled, as how she claimed she was just human suggesting factory workers are not human? basically she said she is less skilled and experienced than a factory worker who do it allday everyday.

when we visit these small shops there are some where the shop owner/keeper is just standing around or reading newspaper or playing around with his/her phone, and another shop where the shop owner/keeper is always working on something perhaps making a pouch or doing a repair or anything that make them busy, I rather to be a client of the latter even when they have a lot more waiting time with longer turnover.

I see what you're saying. I don't deny the fact that old Singer can sew through leather. It's the set up that isn't conducive to produce a quality result. My thinking with this lady is that because of the lack of space, she has to hold the jacket while trying to sew it at the same time. I don't see any foot pedal at all so I'd say she uses the hand crank to get the stitcher going. Imagine doing that while holding a heavy leather jacket, you're not going to have nice and straight stitch lines.

But yeah, this lady is certainly less skilled. Her shop has many positive reviews. But these were probably from people dropping off cheap mall jackets. Like I said, in hindsight, I should have walked out when I saw the setup. But the need for a quicker and less expensive repair clouded my judgement. Not again!

 

[Nacho]

My jacket just arrived in San Fran and in the JL’s repair queue. Damon quoted me 2 weeks this time. Jacket will be done and shipped out on November 14th. Really happy with the timeline for now. Excited for the final result. I will probably post pics here after all said and done.

EDIT: Also no payment up front. Pay after the work is done. Love it.

 

[Canuck Panda]

The depth of JL's pattern library continues to surprise me. Found this corded pocket jacket in the wild under the Beams label. Looks to be CXL.

Nice worsted wool lining.

 

[Canuck Panda]

A compressed diary of my custom JL trucker jacket (M-LEI).

In the beginning, there were two sheets of thick horsehides, about 2mm, for the outside panels of the jacket.

And one sheet of thinner horsehide, for the underarm/action panels. Didn't take photos because it's only 3oz, but perfect weight for the moving panels.

The customization was sizing. Stock size 44 slimmed one to two size from the chest down down so it's relaxed fit but not bagging out at the waist.

Then came the navy paint job

After the paint job:

Many days of wear after the new paint job:

Thanks for reading.

 

[cbez]

thats sick. I like the natural version too.

 

[MadCat]

Just got my custom Johnson Leathers CR-76 in 2.75oz Horween CXL.

This is my second custom leather jacket. My first one was a Fivestar halfbelt in 2mm steerhide which I sold (was a superb jacket, but far too thick to wear imo).

Anyway, the craftsmanship of this Johnson is OUTSTANDING. Thank you Damon for the amazing customer service. You have a customer for life!

The jacket fits well but is damn stiff right out of the box. It will break in overtime I hope! I think for the future, I will go for a bigger p2p measurement. I have a 43” chest and went with a 23” p2p measurement for this jacket.

Anyway, here are the pics!

 

[Canuck Panda]

Very nice. CXL starts off a bit stiff but they do get easier with wears. Congrats.

 

[tuanhng614]

Finally received my Shinki JL jacket. Actually had to pick it up after two failed attempted deliveries by UPS.

And thank you very much to @Canuck Panda for sourcing the Shinki leather to make this first custom jacket came true for me.

Picked up from UPS center

Box opening ceremony

And The jacket

After inspecting the jacket to check it out, making sure that there’s no major flaw in the construction of the jacket (just in case I need to bring it to Damon’s attention), and there’s nothing that my naked eyes could spot out. The jacket now went back to the box, wrapped, under the Christmas tree

From the brief touch and feel, this Shinki leather feels medium stiff, but it seems that breaking it in would be a lot easier than my second hand FW Little Wing jacket in goat hide.

 

[Aloysius]

@Canuck Panda is this the batch of black Shinki you were considering ordering to JL for TFL group buy jackets?

 

[Canuck Panda]

Finally received my Shinki JL jacket. Actually had to pick it up after two failed attempted deliveries by UPS.

And thank you very much to @Canuck Panda for sourcing the Shinki leather to make this first custom jacket came true for me.

Picked up from UPS center

View attachment 567547

Box opening ceremony

View attachment 567548

View attachment 567549

And The jacket

View attachment 567552

View attachment 567553

View attachment 567556

After inspecting the jacket to check it out, making sure that there’s no major flaw in the construction of the jacket (just in case I need to bring it to Damon’s attention), and there’s nothing that my naked eyes could spot out. The jacket now went back to the box, wrapped, under the Christmas tree

From the brief touch and feel, this Shinki leather feels medium stiff, but it seems that breaking it in would be a lot easier than my second hand FW Little Wing jacket in goat hide.

Wow! Congrats.
Great choice of design. I always prefer the bottom banded jackets, they just add an extra punch and grounds the whole jacket. Very classic.
This batch of Shinki takes photos very well. I can already see the drape and the famous Shinki wrinkling grains. It will break in fast and wear well. Seven Berry is a good lining choice too.
It's only about 3 weeks until Xmas... No peeking...

@Canuck Panda is this the batch of black Shinki you were considering ordering to JL for TFL group buy jackets?

yeah this was made from that. black teacore shinki.

 

[Aloysius]

I had been holding off on ordering a Johnson until I was in SF for work (mostly because they're hopeless at responding to communication), but it seems like that won't happen for a while so I might call them to get an order going.

 

[Canuck Panda]

I had been holding off on ordering a Johnson until I was in SF for work (mostly because they're hopeless at responding to communication), but it seems like that won't happen for a while so I might call them to get an order going.

It's probably most beneficial if you are there in person and try on whatever they've got in store. They have a very wide different patterns. Most people seems to go for the more modern M200 variants but they've got a ton more very deep different fitting jackets. I will try to document all here. But nothing beats trying on in store. The same can be said for any brand really, but particular JL as their range is quite wide and deep, it does pay to try things on in person, if you're there anyways. There is no rush when it comes to jackets, no matter custom, off rack, new, use...etc. it's not a 100 meter dash.

 

[tuanhng614]

I had been holding off on ordering a Johnson until I was in SF for work (mostly because they're hopeless at responding to communication), but it seems like that won't happen for a while so I might call them to get an order going.

The communication with Damon wasn’t that bad for me. It took two weeks for him to respond on my initial inquiry, but after that, almost everyday to sort out all the measurements and design details until I completely satisfied.

Once we committed to the design, he knocked out the muslin very quickly as well. It was the timing on my end not being able to visit the shop to try on.

As @Canuck Panda suggested, being able to visit the shop was a major reason of ordering with JL haha. I tried on the muslin to make sure all the measurements checked out, which they did. I’m amazed that Damon was able to get my measurements fitted to the tee. We adjusted the sleeve length, added a chest pocket, and that was it.

Then I was free to roam their showroom, put on various jackets for different styles. Most of the size are too big for me to get proper idea but styling wise, it was a great experience.

Damon knocked my jacket out in 3 days, lolz. If I was around SF for another day, I would have been able to pick up the jacket from the shop and would have had it 1 and half week ago.

Overall, it was great and pleasure experience interacting with JL, from customer service to end product.

 

[TheDonEffect]

Beautiful jacket!

 

[Aloysius]

The communication with Damon wasn’t that bad for me. It took two weeks for him to respond on my initial inquiry, but after that, almost everyday to sort out all the measurements and design details until I completely satisfied.

Once we committed to the design, he knocked out the muslin very quickly as well. It was the timing on my end not being able to visit the shop to try on.

As @Canuck Panda suggested, being able to visit the shop was a major reason of ordering with JL haha. I tried on the muslin to make sure all the measurements checked out, which they did. I’m amazed that Damon was able to get my measurements fitted to the tee. We adjusted the sleeve length, added a chest pocket, and that was it.

Then I was free to roam their showroom, put on various jackets for different styles. Most of the size are too big for me to get proper idea but styling wise, it was a great experience.

Damon knocked my jacket out in 3 days, lolz. If I was around SF for another day, I would have been able to pick up the jacket from the shop and would have had it 1 and half week ago.

Overall, it was great and pleasure experience interacting with JL, from customer service to end product.

Do you mind DMing me your point of contact?

They never replied to my email and I think they finally replied to Instagram DM, months later and basically just saying hi lol.

 

[tuanhng614]

Wow! Congrats.
Great choice of design. I always prefer the bottom banded jackets, they just add an extra punch and grounds the whole jacket. Very classic.
This batch of Shinki takes photos very well. I can already see the drape and the famous Shinki wrinkling grains. It will break in fast and wear well. Seven Berry is a good lining choice too.
It's only about 3 weeks until Xmas... No peeking...


yeah this was made from that. black teacore shinki.

Thanks. And I can’t thanks you enough for all of your help and idea and insight up to this point.

At the time of ordering, it would have been my first real leather jacket, so I decided to go with the classic design look on the classic black color on the classic Shinki horsehide. It turns out to be fabulous.

I cannot wait to wear it hard and popping those grain out of the Shinki. As I already mentioned, it feels that the hide would be easily broken in after a few wears, and will drape nicely, especially on the back.

Now, I’m more anxious to count down till Christmas, more so than my kids haha!!!