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Some one-off Aeros?

Bunyip

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,069
Location
Australia
Well spotted mate, hopefully for once a couple of big boy 48 or 50 sizes....,good heads up, will start doing some OT...cash in hand, ready to rock.....
 

Edward

Bartender
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25,081
Location
London, UK
Sounds interesting - I'll be curious to see what they put out. I like Ken's policy of putting different labels on these things. Back when I bought my HWM as an Apprentice Made, it had a different label on it to my other jackets, since replaced by a specific label for the AM product. Much fairer to the would-be buyer on the used market, IMO: otherwise, it would be terribly easy for an unscrupulous buyer to try to pass them off on eBay and the likes as full price jackets, turning a profit by underhand means.
 

majormajor

One Too Many
Messages
1,713
Location
UK
Sounds interesting - I'll be curious to see what they put out. I like Ken's policy of putting different labels on these things. Back when I bought my HWM as an Apprentice Made, it had a different label on it to my other jackets, since replaced by a specific label for the AM product. Much fairer to the would-be buyer on the used market, IMO: otherwise, it would be terribly easy for an unscrupulous buyer to try to pass them off on eBay and the likes as full price jackets, turning a profit by underhand means.

Too true, Edward.

I'm interested in the "abandoned projects". Who knows what we will see!
 

Worf

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,207
Location
Troy, New York, USA
This is great news and a good policy. Hopefully there'll be a couple of pieces on the higher end of the size range for us large framed loungers.

Worf
 

Sloan1874

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,427
Location
Glasgow
I can see that being big on the fetish market.... Maybe now the Ace Cafe line seems to be done, Aero could line up a new Limited Edition partnersip with Torture Garden? :p

Imagine they'd need double up on strap and buckle orders.
 

rocketeer

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,605
Location
England
Sounds interesting - I'll be curious to see what they put out. I like Ken's policy of putting different labels on these things. Back when I bought my HWM as an Apprentice Made, it had a different label on it to my other jackets, since replaced by a specific label for the AM product. Much fairer to the would-be buyer on the used market, IMO: otherwise, it would be terribly easy for an unscrupulous buyer to try to pass them off on eBay and the likes as full price jackets, turning a profit by underhand means.

I would just advertise it as an 'Aero Leather Jacket' (Highwayman, A2 or whatever), give an accurate description of condition and size etc, show a few pics with the label and let the buyer decide. Thats not unfair is it?
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,081
Location
London, UK
Hopefully they make some in sizes bigger than a 38.

I've noticed a lot of the sale jackets are small... I'd put that down to a combination of work being made for the Japanese market (where a 38 is as common an average size as 42/44 is here), and maybe smaller sizes being better for training purposes (using less hide?).

I would just advertise it as an 'Aero Leather Jacket' (Highwayman, A2 or whatever), give an accurate description of condition and size etc, show a few pics with the label and let the buyer decide. Thats not unfair is it?

I can see your point, though I know I'd feel very different about it if I paid, say, £400 for a nearly new Aero thinking I'd gotten a bargain (as compared to the GBP650 top end price for the regular model), then discovered I'd paid more than the seller had new.... Caveat Emptor, sure, I'm just not sure I'd feel comfortable selling like that. Now, if I had labelled it correctly as an AM model and the buyer still bid it way up, well.... that's different. [huh] I imagine with Aero it's partly a quality control thing. Mine is flawless (and I have no intention of selling it in the foreseeable future!) but I know some of them have a minor flaw here and there, which they do point out. I imagine the specific label gives them the possibility of some level of control (obviously excepting fraudulent resellers), if they do feel the jacket is good enough to sell, but not perfect. Word of mouth reputation being so important to niche manufacturers like this.
 

Capesofwrath

Practically Family
Messages
780
Location
Somewhere on Earth
I think the apprentice jackets use a different hide usually. I bought one a few years ago in steer and it was a fairly lightweight hide quite nice and soft. Interestingly it also had the old blue label as did the other apprentice ones being sold then. I sold it on eBay later and got what I paid for it, but rather regretted selling it since it was such a comfortable jacket in the lighter hide.

There was a blue label trainee made jacket on eBay in the last few weeks where a bit of micturate taking was going on. No mention of it being an apprentice jacket and the description spoke of an extra run of holes in a sleeve. I assume where the machinist must have missed. He got a good price too.


You can see why Aero would want to put proper labels on them. They don't want people to think that mistakes like that are the norm for a full price production jacket.
 

Fanch

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,490
Location
Texas
I think the apprentice jackets use a different hide usually. I bought one a few years ago in steer and it was a fairly lightweight hide quite nice and soft. Interestingly it also had the old blue label as did the other apprentice ones being sold then. I sold it on eBay later and got what I paid for it, but rather regretted selling it since it was such a comfortable jacket in the lighter hide.

There was a blue label trainee made jacket on eBay in the last few weeks where a bit of micturate taking was going on. No mention of it being an apprentice jacket and the description spoke of an extra run of holes in a sleeve. I assume where the machinist must have missed. He got a good price too.


You can see why Aero would want to put proper labels on them. They don't want people to think that mistakes like that are the norm for a full price production jacket.

I have a size 44 Highwayman with the blue label just like what you described. I was told that a regular machinist, not apprentice, made my jacket from materials that were left over, although it appears to be uniform and without any defact that I can find. It is definitely much lighter and more flexible than my vintage FQHH Highwaymen. Other than fitting a bit big for me, the sleeves are only 26" which is too short for my long arms that require at least 27" sleeves. I'll likely sell it as soon as I can work up the energy to do it.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,081
Location
London, UK
I think the apprentice jackets use a different hide usually. I bought one a few years ago in steer and it was a fairly lightweight hide quite nice and soft. Interestingly it also had the old blue label as did the other apprentice ones being sold then. I sold it on eBay later and got what I paid for it, but rather regretted selling it since it was such a comfortable jacket in the lighter hide.

Sounds like mine. Bought it about a year ago. It was lited as steer on the site, though the label says "cowhide" - not sure what hide it is exactly. I mean, it's obvious some type of cow ;) but I don't know which tanning process etc (i.e. naked cowhide and steer are both cow...). You're bang on about it being soft - lovely drape. Perfect for the Highwayman, IMO... I've handled quite a few 50s and 60s originals in this particular style, and they all had that soft feel. Not the sort of soft you get with a broken in FQHH, the sort of soft that was always a softer hide to begin with. (If anything, that's the one big historical inaccuracy with a lot of Aero product if you want to get technical about it - though personally, as a rule I like my leather thick and tough so it's not a problem). Mine is thick as my FQHH jackets, but much more subtle. I really much prefer the drape it has as against a much heavier hide in this boxier cut.

There was a blue label trainee made jacket on eBay in the last few weeks where a bit of micturate taking was going on. No mention of it being an apprentice jacket and the description spoke of an extra run of holes in a sleeve. I assume where the machinist must have missed. He got a good price too.

Yeah, see I could understand Aero being a little peeved if someone was to buy a bunch of AM jackets from them and sell them at a mark-up... Is the 'blue label' you mean the one with sky blue, clouds and a plane on it? That's the one on mine - different than my other Aeros, but from the batch of AM HWM jackets Aero had on sale before the AM label was created.


You can see why Aero would want to put proper labels on them. They don't want people to think that mistakes like that are the norm for a full price production jacket.

Absolutely. I think it's a good policy myself. TBH, I don't think I'd ever have ordered a HWM at full price, but at GBP315 I took a punt and am really, really happy with what I got, especially the combination of cut and hide, which I don't think I'd have thought to order otherwise. If Ken ever does read this, I think it would be a great idea to do some Sunburst AMs in russet goat.... ;)
 

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