JanSolo
Practically Family
- Messages
- 879
- Location
- Ever so sunny Westphalia, Germany
It’s the old spray bottle trick again! This time used on a brand new Mil Spec G1 made by the Cockpit (formerly Avirex). When the jacket arrived I was impressed by how well it was made…
….Although it’s certainly not up to the same degree of quality or as heavy as an Aero M422a or its Eastman or Real McCoy counterpart. But nevertheless it is a neatly put together jacket with thick and even goatskin, genuine mouton collar, strong lining and precise stitching. It is as good if not better than any US Wings or Cooper G1 I’ve seen and as well made as the Gibson&Barnes I used to own a couple of years ago. Plus the fit on this jacket is trimmer than on any of my previous jackets without being too restrictive.
As I’ve said before the first impression upon arrival was very good but not “super duper”. The goatskin shell looked dead without much grain variation and the leather (although of decent weight and thickness) felt a bit too floppy. This could have been due to overprocessing i.e. too much fat stuffed into the leather and too much tumbling. Also one should not forget that this is not the high quality stiff veg tanned goat Aero uses but sort of a mass produced mil spec chrome tanned goatskin….
Anyway, to cut the long story short:
• Spray bottle filled with boiling hot water with a bit of detergent for better penetration of the hide
• Evenly misted the ENTIRE jacket including collar and lining
• Did that 4 times until the jacket weighed 3 tons
• Shaped pockets, throat latch and collar. Rolled and kneaded the whole jacket for 5 minutes.
• Put it on a wide hanger and left it to air dry in a heated room over night
• After it was fully dry two layers of leather conditioner were applied
• Job done !
The jacket was purchased from www.original-flightjackets.com and I have received a sterling service from placing the order on to receiving the jacket two days later. I can highly recommend them!
As you can see the jacket has changed quite a bit. The mouton looks very much worn in. The pockets look better. The grain is very irregular now displaying the true nature of goatskin. This was all done without doing any harm to the jacket or the top stitching…No sanding, no solvents, no washing machine!
Yet the effect is quite dramatic and the jacket looks like it’s been on my back for quite a while.
Here are some more pictures:
It's too cold for more pics!
I'm going in!
….Although it’s certainly not up to the same degree of quality or as heavy as an Aero M422a or its Eastman or Real McCoy counterpart. But nevertheless it is a neatly put together jacket with thick and even goatskin, genuine mouton collar, strong lining and precise stitching. It is as good if not better than any US Wings or Cooper G1 I’ve seen and as well made as the Gibson&Barnes I used to own a couple of years ago. Plus the fit on this jacket is trimmer than on any of my previous jackets without being too restrictive.
As I’ve said before the first impression upon arrival was very good but not “super duper”. The goatskin shell looked dead without much grain variation and the leather (although of decent weight and thickness) felt a bit too floppy. This could have been due to overprocessing i.e. too much fat stuffed into the leather and too much tumbling. Also one should not forget that this is not the high quality stiff veg tanned goat Aero uses but sort of a mass produced mil spec chrome tanned goatskin….
Anyway, to cut the long story short:
• Spray bottle filled with boiling hot water with a bit of detergent for better penetration of the hide
• Evenly misted the ENTIRE jacket including collar and lining
• Did that 4 times until the jacket weighed 3 tons
• Shaped pockets, throat latch and collar. Rolled and kneaded the whole jacket for 5 minutes.
• Put it on a wide hanger and left it to air dry in a heated room over night
• After it was fully dry two layers of leather conditioner were applied
• Job done !
The jacket was purchased from www.original-flightjackets.com and I have received a sterling service from placing the order on to receiving the jacket two days later. I can highly recommend them!
As you can see the jacket has changed quite a bit. The mouton looks very much worn in. The pockets look better. The grain is very irregular now displaying the true nature of goatskin. This was all done without doing any harm to the jacket or the top stitching…No sanding, no solvents, no washing machine!
Yet the effect is quite dramatic and the jacket looks like it’s been on my back for quite a while.
Here are some more pictures:
It's too cold for more pics!
I'm going in!
Last edited:
Did you order from the German shop or from the USA? I ask because I'm interested in a Cockpit too but I'm currently in Europe.
