Seal leather samples for ANJ-4 poll

[Sloan1874]

Right, Rachel at Aero very kindly sent me a few samples of the different seal leather choices that I have for the panels on my ANJ-4. Naturally, it's like being offered several types of beer and being told that you can only have one. Anyway, I thought I'd throw it over this place to see what you guys think - I showed my other half, who looked at them all and declared 'I cannot tell the difference, so I have no opinion',and rolled her eyes in a way that I'm sure you're all familiar with. So, that aside, I'm tending towards goat at the moment, I like the grain, but y'know, the vicenza's really nice too. So, I turn to you all and your forensic eye: here are the choices compared with the seal shearling, what does the choir think?

Vicenza:

Goat:

Jerky:

Together (L-R: Vicenza, Goat, Jerky):

(L-R: Goat, Jerky, Seal)

And a last one of the current Aero shearling thickness:

 

[ButteMT61]

I'm going with Vinnie!

 

[Sloan1874]

Vote sir! What about the hard wearing nature of goat?

 

[Superfluous]

 

[ButteMT61]

I voted @Sloan1874 - but I'm still sucka for the HH. And the pics lately of the Vinnie have me going that route...ya can't lose you know?

 

[Sloan1874]

Yes, it's a tricky one. The HH is objectively darker. If only it was a goat steer combo, then it would be a stoat jacket...

 

[pawineguy]

Voted for goat... I think it fits this jacket and I happen to like the way it looks too. My Seal goat gets compliments all the time.

 

[ChiTownScion]

Hope that this doesn't expose me as woefully ignorant, but wasn't goat primarily a Navy hide, and unlikely to be used in a USAAF jacket- even the technically "all services" ANJ-4? (Yeah, I know that the A-1 utilized a capeskin goat.. but that was pre-war/ USAAC.)

 

[Sloan1874]

Good point, but Aero actually have an ANJ-4 in goat as part of the their archive - Denny and I stood and stared at it in much the same way that you'd consider whether a set of shelves look straight. Really.

 

[Sloan1874]

Ooh, interesting, a vote for jerky HH. Anyone want to speak up for it?

 

[ChiTownScion]

Okay...my own opinion here. And if there isn't disagreement among other thinking individuals on the subject, I'll be somewhat disappointed.. but here goes:

I think the Vicenza looks elegant.... maybe too elegant for a jacket designed for the unforgiving confines of a high altitude strategic bomber crew. I got jerky on my own ANJ-4 and I have to say that I am amazed at how tough and solid it seems. So thus, I voted for it.

My own very personal bias: I wear my flight jackets as much out of respect for the airmen and officers who fought that deadly fight so many years ago as I do out of a strict sense of pure fashion. I deeply admire them (both RAF and USAAF) for the risks that they took and the sacrifices that they made. If a jacket is "too nice," well, it just doesn't have the same appeal to me.

 

[Sloan1874]

Good reply. I know where you're coming from, the jerky has a utilitarian look that I guess you would describe as 'authentic'. I get what you're getting at about the vicenza, though it's the darker it's got a shiny top coat but I'm not sure if jackets back then were like that, so that's why I've gone initially with the goat. I like striations on the goat too. Blimey, it's a thick old shearling, btw. I will be able to continue my spring-fall habit of living in long sleeve t-shirts!

 

[ChiTownScion]

Well, let's face it: you're going to have a terrific jacket no matter which option you choose. It's a personal decision as to what you like best, and only the ignorant who are not worth your time and effort will be so low as to say that they don't like it. I think that the variations in any bespoke item are what make them so enjoyable: if they all were identical, they'd be discount mall jackets.

 

[Sloan1874]

All true, but this is an OCD forum, and I will be dogged by uncertainty until I get the damn thing handed to me!

 

[Fanch]

I voted for the Vicenza based on my own personal bias without supporting rationale (or rationalization). Wouldn't take much of a push though for me to choose the goat. Or even the jerky HH. The only reservation about jerky is that it is less flexible than the other two, at least based on my limited experience. Actually I almost deleted my post but strained for the "Post Reply" instead.

 

[Gromulus]

I have goat on my ANJ-4 and find it to be a great material for the facing. A sheepskin jacket like the ANJ-4 is bit bulky at times and, especially in cold weather, horsehide will be quite a bit stiffer than goat.

http://www.lostworldsinc.com/ANJ-4_Sheepskin_Leather_Flight_Jacket.htm

 

[ChiTownScion]

Correction: my trim is oil pull, not jerky. I think that they're somewhat similar- it sure is a tough leather.

 

[Steve S.]

All three look nice, but voted for the Vicenza based on the fact that the grain pattern on that one resembled the pattern on the sheepskin sample. I'm very anal about details & textures blending together & just like the look of those two together.

I'll have to look at the two originals I have in the "rebuild bin" & see what they have on them.

 

[dan_t]

Just voted for Goat. For my eyes, the grain is better matched with the seal shearling.

 

[Siggmund]

I'm for the Vinnie, too. I love that hide. It is SO much like the hide on my original C-2 USAAF vest. Dark and pebbly-grained.