New Johnson Leathers custom half belt headed my way this week

[ForestForTheTrees]

Alan called this weekend to let me know that they've finished up with my custom order half belt jacket (based off of JL's M-200L which is longer in length than their M-200). It is made of 3 oz. brown Chromexcel horsehide from Horween (which I ordered directly from the tannery). I believe this jacket is going to develop a lot of patina in very short order. Alan had some extremely nice wool lining left over from another job that he passed along to me for free which is not insignificant as it sells for around $150/square yard. I also asked if he had access to any of the "ball & chain" style pulls (I'm not sure what exactly they're called) for the outer chest pocket and he actually managed to round up some old hardware for me.

Today he took a few photos before it is packed up for shipping. I should receive the jacket before the end of the week and will try to post up more details and impressions then. Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to this one.

In the meantime, here are the photos that Alan sent to me.

 

[Wconly]

My, my, my...boy the colour explodes from this one! Love this colour and the styling is superb! The pull on the zipper is interesing -- yeah: 'ball and chain' seems to cover any name I can come up with! Keep us posted on this and how it works for you! Great jacket! Congrats! W>

 

[Ntshebe]

That's a beauty. I think it will develop some nice characteristic in short order. Well done!

 

[nick123]

Did Alan imply that it was difficult sourcing this hide? Also, what were the costs involved? Looks great.

 

[ForestForTheTrees]

Did Alan imply that it was difficult sourcing this hide? Also, what were the costs involved? Looks great.

I sourced the leather on my own and it was a rather drawn out process. Basically, Horween allowed me to piggyback my small order on a large order that they already had in their queue and the horse fronts were then sent directly to Johnson Leather once they were ready. When the test fit jacket was sent to me, Alan sent along one of the hides for me to look over so that I knew exactly what the leather looked like. Even though Horween sent swatches early on, the hides I ended up with differed from those. Fortunately I liked them better. The process of dealing with Horween was a bit nerve-racking, but I really like their Chromexcel tannage and I grew up in Illinois where Horween is located so I had sentimental reasons for doing this as well. While I had to jump through a few hoops, and this was definitely not inexpensive, once I got things wrapped up with Horween it's been smooth sailing. Since I sourced the leather on my own, Johnson Leathers discounted the order accordingly. Alan definitely went the extra mile by sourcing the primo wool lining for me and digging up the vintage hardware. All together I'm looking at around $800 for this jacket.

I'm not a collector of leather jackets. I simply started out to buy a single brown leather jacket from JL, but I ended up with a black one the first time around as I couldn't resist the hide on offer. I was so impressed with the overall quality of that jacket I ended up ordering this new one and with these two I'll be more than content. With that in mind, I was willing to do the extra legwork this time around to get exactly what I wanted. I can't say that I would recommend this strategy to others who might be interested, but at least this jacket will always have a very unique back story.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Nice - my custom half-belt by Johnson Leathers is one of my favorites. It's a great company and this one is sure to spark even more interest.

 

[Vespizzare]

I want something very similar; but I already have a JL M-200 and don't want the same thing just longer. I especially don't want the same shoulder pleats and like just leather all the way across. Since it's a bike jacket and I need room to reach the handlebars, other jackets like Aero seem to have extra hide up top that they take in with pleats at the belt. In any case, I'll probably go with Allen; but since I'm going to wait a bit before I place the order, the collector in me is curious to see what the Alexander Leathers website will look like. I think it'll be up and running soon. I'm pretty sure that with the measurements from a jacket that fits, I could get a good fit from them, I hope.

 

[les_garten]

Wow! Both of these Jackets are really nice!

The Johnson Leathers website is holding that company back IMO. You just can't tell that they are making this type of product from their website because it is so bad.

 

[Vespizzare]

Wow! Both of these Jackets are really nice!

The Johnson Leathers website is holding that company back IMO. You just can't tell that they are making this type of product from their website because it is so bad.

The jacket I posted is an Aero, I think; but right you are regarding the website's promise versus Johnson Leather's actual performance.

 

[ForestForTheTrees]

Good luck with the decision Vespizzare. It all comes down to personal preference in the end. Ironically, I prefer the functionality and the look of the "bi-swing" or "action back" design which is more common in motorcycle jackets rather than having a big piece of leather bunched up at the back as on many fashion jackets. (Ironically, I won't be wearing this jacket on my bike.) I can also understand wanting to see what the folks at Alexander have on offer soon as the photos of their product floating around here so far looked pretty darn nice to me as well.

 

[ForestForTheTrees]

The Johnson Leathers website is holding that company back IMO. You just can't tell that they are making this type of product from their website because it is so bad.

The folks at JL are quite aware of this. Sounds like their new site is still coming together, but in the meantime they just keep on doing what they do: cranking out quality jackets. That's one of the reasons that I found this forum to be so valuable.

 

[Fanch]

Whatever shortcomings are present on the JL website definitely appears not to reflect the quality and service that they provide. We are all looking forward to seeing pictures of your wearing your new JL.

 

[les_garten]

The folks at JL are quite aware of this. Sounds like their new site is still coming together, but in the meantime they just keep on doing what they do: cranking out quality jackets. That's one of the reasons that I found this forum to be so valuable.

Yeah it's a shame. I was looking at jackets recently and they weren't considered because you just can't tell anything from their site. Thir products aren't presented at all. But everytime I see one of their jackets, it looks amazing.

 

[Vespizzare]

Who knows what kind of shoulders I'll wind up going with? I've changed my mind a million times already. What's the story on the wool lining and does it itch? And what would you say is the temperature range on the jacket is with that lining?

 

[ForestForTheTrees]

The wool doesn't itch, it has a very nice feel to it. As far as the temperature range goes, I'm not sure, but it's been below freezing here at night lately so I'll be able to give it a good test once the jacket gets here.

 

[nick123]

I sourced the leather on my own and it was a rather drawn out process. Basically, Horween allowed me to piggyback my small order on a large order that they already had in their queue and the horse fronts were then sent directly to Johnson Leather once they were ready. When the test fit jacket was sent to me, Alan sent along one of the hides for me to look over so that I knew exactly what the leather looked like. Even though Horween sent swatches early on, the hides I ended up with differed from those. Fortunately I liked them better. The process of dealing with Horween was a bit nerve-racking, but I really like their Chromexcel tannage and I grew up in Illinois where Horween is located so I had sentimental reasons for doing this as well. While I had to jump through a few hoops, and this was definitely not inexpensive, once I got things wrapped up with Horween it's been smooth sailing. Since I sourced the leather on my own, Johnson Leathers discounted the order accordingly. Alan definitely went the extra mile by sourcing the primo wool lining for me and digging up the vintage hardware. All together I'm looking at around $800 for this jacket.

I'm not a collector of leather jackets. I simply started out to buy a single brown leather jacket from JL, but I ended up with a black one the first time around as I couldn't resist the hide on offer. I was so impressed with the overall quality of that jacket I ended up ordering this new one and with these two I'll be more than content. With that in mind, I was willing to do the extra legwork this time around to get exactly what I wanted. I can't say that I would recommend this strategy to others who might be interested, but at least this jacket will always have a very unique back story.

Thanks for your response. I really like that "marbled" finish your jacket has. It looks to my eye very much like brown fqhh. I don't want to copy you exactly, so I will probably opt for a different leather when it's my time to head over there again, but that is the nicest looking leather I've seen on a Johnson jacket so far.
If I can ask, what is your height vs the jacket length?
Again, great job. So far Alan and Craig seem to be the best at custom orders. I don't really think they have any limits (besides impossible leather weights).

 

[Deleted member 16736]

Nice jacket. What is the name of the leather? I might try the same thing. Alan makes a long version of his m-200 (the m-200L) that's very similar to this jacket. And he's great at copying jackets too, which he did for me on a 30's halfbelt in black steerhide. That jacket is just too heavy, but I may ask him to re-make it in this type of leather. Thank you.

 

[Tony B]

Chromexcel horsehide...the same as aero use.

He bought direct from horween which is not fun but ,for you lot over the pond at least, they have opened a site called tannery row where pivate punters can buy small orders direct....been so long since I last posted I can't remember how to post links but google "tannery row horween" and you should turn it up.

 

[nabottle]

That leather looks amazing! Now I want one of those. Damn it!

 

[ForestForTheTrees]

Tony has it right. The leather is Horween's Chromexcel front quarter horsehide. I used Tannery Row to place my order with Horween. It was an interesting experience, but if anyone else chooses to go this route it's best to remember that your order of hides needed for a single jacket is rather infinitesimal in comparison to the quantities Horween is used to dealing with. You might need to be very patient depending on what they have available at the time.