My Custom Aero NYPD/Highwayman Hybrid in memory of my Indian Police Chief Grandfather

[1087]

I agree!
That picture of you looks excellent!
In fact the HH it is like body armor, that's the way I feel with my other HH jackets.
I'm been riding motorcycles for many years and I can't go out without wearing one of my HH jackets.

 

[Lone_Ranger]

Looks like it turned out very nice. Aero hit the mark. Looks good on you!

 

[Erik]

Thanks for sharing; both the jacket and your grandfather. Best - E

 

[Stearmen]

^^^^ Thanks Carlos!

I think your grandfather would defiantly approve of that photo of you!

 

[Elmonteman]

collar grommets

Thanks Griff! Yes, I asked them not to include the holes (grommets) for the badge, however they left one grommet hole on the tip of each collar... no worries though... it's not very noticeable.

Navin, beautiful design. Thanks for sharing it. The grommets on the tips of the collar are an Aero mystery. I customized an Aero CHP jacket and asked that they not include the collar snaps because the online photo was so bad I couldn't tell that they were grommets and not snaps. Naturally the jacket arrived with the grommets. I've tried to find historical justification for these eyelets/grommets on CHP or NYPD jackets and haven't really come up with much. They're too low on the collar tip for rank insignia. No other jacket maker that I know of utilizes that design. I ended up removing the grommets with needle nose pliers and inserting brass black rivets from http://www.wwlhardware.com/cat-wf.htm

 

[Lear]

Very nice jacket Navin323i. The first I've seen one like that :eusa_clap. I know how exciting this whole FQHH journey has been for you. I'm very happy that it fits you perfectly. There's always the few seconds before you rip it out of the box, wondering whether you actually got the measurements right.

I can feel the weight of that black FQHH through my computer screen. Aero say that it's not unusual for a wearer to gain several pounds of solid muscle, simply by wearing one of their garments five days a week

A spare label was also put in with my Aero. I'm still not that sure what it's for. If you have the lining replaced, you'll probably want to reuse the same weatherbeaten one that's in there anyway.

Lear

 

[Navin323i]

I agree!
That picture of you looks excellent!
In fact the HH it is like body armor, that's the way I feel with my other HH jackets.
I'm been riding motorcycles for many years and I can't go out without wearing one of my HH jackets.

Thanks!! I'll be sure and pass your compliment on to my dad who took the picture at his house (he had me intentionally stand at that spot by the wall pictures and Ganesha statue to the left of me).

Do you find that the horsehide protects you in the event you fall off the bike (hopefully that's never happened to you) versus the other motorcycle jackets out there with body armor?

I'm so hooked on horsehide leather now... I'm considering picking up a vest made of horsehide... I know they're pretty popular with biking but since I don't bike at all I'm not sure whether a vest like that would be good for casual wear. Here's an example of one I'm considering...

either this...
http://www.hillsideusa.com/Hillside_USA_HorseHide_Biker_Vest_p/602h.htm

or this (I like the indian head nickel front snaps)...
http://www.hillsideusa.com/Ultimate_Horsehide_Biker_Vest_p/706h.htm

 

[Navin323i]

Looks like it turned out very nice. Aero hit the mark. Looks good on you!

Thanks David! I just responded to your PM and asked if you saw my post here BEFORE I actually saw you responded here so please disregard that.

 

[Navin323i]

Thanks for sharing; both the jacket and your grandfather. Best - E

Thank you, Erik! That's really cool of you to say that... thanks.

 

[Navin323i]

I think your grandfather would defiantly approve of that photo of you!

Bless your heart for saying that, my friend. Thank you so much.

 

[Navin323i]

Navin, beautiful design. Thanks for sharing it. The grommets on the tips of the collar are an Aero mystery. I customized an Aero CHP jacket and asked that they not include the collar snaps because the online photo was so bad I couldn't tell that they were grommets and not snaps. Naturally the jacket arrived with the grommets. I've tried to find historical justification for these eyelets/grommets on CHP or NYPD jackets and haven't really come up with much. They're too low on the collar tip for rank insignia. No other jacket maker that I know of utilizes that design. I ended up removing the grommets with needle nose pliers and inserting brass black rivets from http://www.wwlhardware.com/cat-wf.htm

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Thanks for the valuable info you provided. Do you have any pictures you can post of your jacket with the brass black rivets on them? I'd love to see how that looks. Were the original grommets easy to remove with the needle nose pliers? My main concern would be if there was any risk of tearing the jacket leather when removing the grommets. Fortunately the collar grommets aren't that noticeable but unfortunate that they don't serve a functional purpose given how low they are on the collar tip.

 

[Navin323i]

Very nice jacket Navin323i. The first I've seen one like that :eusa_clap. I know how exciting this whole FQHH journey has been for you. I'm very happy that it fits you perfectly. There's always the few seconds before you rip it out of the box, wondering whether you actually got the measurements right.

I can feel the weight of that black FQHH through my computer screen. Aero say that it's not unusual for a wearer to gain several pounds of solid muscle, simply by wearing one of their garments five days a week

A spare label was also put in with my Aero. I'm still not that sure what it's for. If you have the lining replaced, you'll probably want to reuse the same weatherbeaten one that's in there anyway.

Lear

Thank you so much, Lear. Yes, my friend... the journey has been extremely exciting for me. I was pretty nervous that the jacket might not fit me especially with all the special measurements I had to send them due to my herniated tummy bulge, but man... Aero nailed it on the dot and it's definitely the best-fitting jacket I've ever worn.

I definitely get a good workout when wearing my FQHH jacket, especially when wearing it while driving my car.

I'm still trying to figure out what thickness of FQHH that Aero uses. From what little I understand, horsehide comes in various thicknesses and I know that places like Schott pad their horsehide jackets with some material to make the horsehide appear thicker than it actually is... I've heard that the horsehide feels more spongy than the Aero horsehide jackets.

 

[Navin323i]

Thanks!! I'll be sure and pass your compliment on to my dad who took the picture at his house (he had me intentionally stand at that spot by the wall pictures and Ganesha statue to the left of me).

Do you find that the horsehide protects you in the event you fall off the bike (hopefully that's never happened to you) versus the other motorcycle jackets out there with body armor?

I'm so hooked on horsehide leather now... I'm considering picking up a vest made of horsehide... I know they're pretty popular with biking but since I don't bike at all I'm not sure whether a vest like that would be good for casual wear. Here's an example of one I'm considering...

either this...
http://www.hillsideusa.com/Hillside_USA_HorseHide_Biker_Vest_p/602h.htm

or this (I like the indian head nickel front snaps)...
http://www.hillsideusa.com/Ultimate_Horsehide_Biker_Vest_p/706h.htm

So I spoke to the folks at Hillside USA... not sure how familiar you all are with them but they're based out of Brooklyn, NY and apparently used to make the horsehide leather jackets for other vendors who would apply their own label to the jackets.

I plan on purchasing their "basic horsehide vest" (i.e. the first link I posted in my quoted post above) but have them add the indian head nickel front snaps for an extra $20... get the best of both worlds.

Once I receive the vest I'll provide a detailed review of the vest.