The New Alexander .... 1st the Detroit (warning picture heavy)

[Dr H]

It's you Dr H.
Every time you read "Aero" mentioned anywhere on the FL..you tend to bristle up unable to contain yourself. Just the same as one or two members that eventually come unglued over anything 'Alexander'. Worf is of course blameless..innocent...with no editing needed to his post.
Relax..chill. 'Aero' is mentioned often since many own them..like them..happily wear them...and compare them.

HD

Van
I'm not sure about being unable to contain myself - hardly, you're exaggerating a little.
Yes, I do have a low boredom threshold with the 'it's Aero so it must be brilliant regardless' posts - no argument there. Although I am similarly turned off by similar posts featuring other makers. I'm not a fan of the jacket designs, although the tailoring and materials are clearly good (apart from the repair work, which was shoddy and inaccurate in my experience), but I am objective and honest/straightforward about it.
On this occasion though, I was hacked off with the bristling on the part of the poster/posters keen to keep fuelling the Aero/AL 'debate/feud'.
Worff doesn't need to edit anything - the original post was deleted.
Cheers
Ian

 

[Fanch]

Probably all my fault as I attempted to create a bit of levity by poking my bony finger in the well protected rib cage of my old friend Worf.

 

[ButteMT61]

Probably all my fault as I attempted to create a bit of levity by poking my bony finger in the well protected rib cage of my old friend Worf.

You're calling him fat now Fanch? lolJK!!!

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Van
Yes, I do have a low boredom threshold with the 'it's Aero so it must be brilliant regardless' posts - no argument there. Although I am similarly turned off by similar posts featuring other makers. I'm not a fan of the jacket designs,
Cheers
Ian

So,again,with these comments...your only/main interest in these utility jacket threads seems to be in offering derogatory comments directed at Aero's popularity..and,in this case..that dreaded name being brought up at all in another utility jacket thread. Just too irritating not to comment...especially if there's a feud. I see...

 

[Fanch]

You're calling him fat now Fanch? lolJK!!!

Need to deflect some the blame away from me to Worf, whose broad shoulders should be able to handle the abuselol

 

[Dr H]

So,again,with these comments...your only/main interest in these utility jacket threads seems to be in offering derogatory comments directed at Aero's popularity..and,in this case..that dreaded name being brought up at all in another utility jacket thread. Just too irritating not to comment...especially if there's a feud. I see...

Sorry Van, I don't know what you're looking for here. I've given you an honest answer, but that isn't it? I recognise that Aero is popular, certainly, I don't worship at the shrine, but then I've said so - you know where I stand.
So we disagree on what we like: not a problem at this end.
As far as 'dreaded' is concerned, I recently sold an AN-J-3 jacket to Ken and dealt with Holly - I have no axe to grind here about Aero. I've bought jackets from them and sold to them in the past; I might do again.
I simply don't like their jacket patterns and I had poor service with a repair job that ruined a valued jacket.
On the other hand, I do find posters squabbling about who is copying whom (given that the jacket designs have been around since the '20s, if not considerably earlier) dull and mildly irritating. Rather than stoking a feud as you appear to think was the case, I was keen to move on from it.
Should I simply not read/not post? Is that what you're getting at?

 

[schitzo]

You're calling him fat now Fanch? lolJK!!!

and old! lols

 

[Worf]

Need to deflect some the blame away from me to Worf, whose broad shoulders should be able to handle the abuselol

ACK!!!! Stay away from a thread for a couple of days and you find your self the subject of abuse and bad language. (mumble grumble)! Laid low... cut from ambush by Texicans, Californicators and Hoosiers from some mid-western dust bowl! (mumble grumble some more) You watch I'm gonna leave one day and you'll miss my fat, ole, black posterior..... Philistines....

Worf

 

[Worf]

and old! lols

Oh and don't you start! Ah'll take some measure of abuse from my countrymin but I'll be danged if'n ah'm gonna take abuse from some minion of the Queen!

Worf

 

[HoosierDaddy]

You watch I'm gonna leave one day and you'll miss my fat, ole, black posterior..... Philistines....

Worf

...You can checkout any time you want..but you can never leave. :ballchain:

 

[Capesofwrath]

i think the new "limited" roadster in very heavy steer is the hide i got the sample of that there making my jacket from, looks like it from the pics.

I'm not sure which one the limited roadster is. Is it the three pocket or four pocket? I am curious about the samples you were sent though as I simply bought one from the introductory offers page. As I said before I might have gone with the steer myself if it had been available a day earlier but I don't think that would have been heavy steer. How much thicker was the heavy steer? If you had samples of both.

As it happens I'm now glad I bought the goat since the jacket is mainly for wearing on mild winter days, cool summer ones and seasons in between. It's just that I've had brown goat before but never black, and I wasn't sure about that combination at first. This hide is 3oz I would say about 1.2mm, and unlike some paper thin stuff I've seen on eighties US issue jackets for example it needs a little bit of breaking in.

 

[Swoosed]

its the detroit, i made a mistake on the jacket type. its sold now anyway. to get samples just e mail amanda. i got what's called chocolate steer, very simmilar to fqhh. mine will be here next week so i'll post some pics.

 

[Capesofwrath]

its the detroit, i made a mistake on the jacket type. its sold now anyway. to get samples just e mail amanda. i got what's called chocolate steer, very simmilar to fqhh. mine will be here next week so i'll post some pics.

Right, so what jacket are you buying? I won't be buying anymore from them for the foreseeable future so no point is asking her for samples. I was just retrospectively curious as to the thickness of the normal steer since I came close to buying that instead. I would post a couple of pics of this black goat Roadster but I don't use a photo hosting site so I have no way of doing it.

 

[Swoosed]

Right, so what jacket are you buying? I won't be buying anymore from them for the foreseeable future so no point is asking her for samples. I was just retrospectively curious as to the thickness of the normal steer since I came close to buying that instead. I would post a couple of pics of this black goat Roadster but I don't use a photo hosting site so I have no way of doing it.

i'm getting the arkansas, basically a 30's half belt. the sample i got was about the same weight as the regular grainy steer but the finish is completely different, theres no finish applied, analine hide dark brown with undertones. gonna be awesome.

 

[Swoosed]

sign up to photobucket, its free and way easy to use.

 

[Capesofwrath]

Can't be arsed for the use I would get from it. Pictures are mainly for selling stuff on eBay as far as I'm concerned.

 

[majormajor]

Can't be arsed for the use I would get from it. Pictures are mainly for selling stuff on eBay as far as I'm concerned.

Imageshack is what I use for Ebay shots. Very easy.

 

[hpalapdog]

I looked at the AL 'introductory offers' page the other day and at the price I really couldn't resist going over to the dark side to get one. I bought a 4 Pocket Roadster in black goat. They shortened the sleeves a little bit and it was sent the day after I bought it. So excellent service there.

Impressions are that it's a well made jacket as you would expect, and the hide is thick and good quality. About the same weight and feel as an Eastman M422 I have and a nice tight grain. It's 44" but measures exactly the same as my 42" HWM except for the shoulders which are almost half an inch wider. A better fit for me as it happens since the HWM can be a bit tight there with even a light jumper. So essentially they've sized down one size. One difference is that there is no makers slip anywhere in the pockets.

I don't think that these offers have anything to do with old labels though since the offer jackets are missing a couple of small features which are standard on the full price ones. This has no inside pocket which is listed as standard at the full price, cotton hand warmer pocket instead of moleskin, and a YKK zip instead of a Talon. That has a kind of skeletal pull which I don't like much, and the hide has a very small area of scarring at the back. Just a couple of little marks a couple of mm across. Nothing really, but they and another tiny blemish on a top pocket might not have passed muster at the full price. So these are slightly cost cutting jackets being run off to keep the cash flow moving I would think. But at the price I'm not complaining.

The fit is very good and it's a smart looking jacket and very easy and comfortable right out of the box. The only thing I'm not really sure about is the black goat hide. Goat is very hard wearing and water resistant, useful where I live, and good skin to wear for comfort and great for cooler summer days. But had there been a steer option in this style I might have gone with that, and now a couple of days later there is. So Sod's Third Law again. The one he won the Noble prize for.

Today I see they have listed almost their full range at the introductory price of £300 so some very nice jackets at bargain prices. If they could make jackets in Horween's FQHH at a keen price it would be the icing on the cake. But I don't suppose they will be doing that. Their challenge will be to move people on from the offer price to the full price jackets I suspect. Anyway good luck to them. I'm a long standing Aero customer but I don't wish them any ill and this is a nice jacket which I am happy with.

I bought a size 44R Roadster in jerky horse. The one pictured on their website.

The leather is really nice. A strong leather smell that only comes from veg tanned leather. A bit like walking into an expensive furniture shop. The hide is a medium weight full grain English leather. Black finish on tan leather. The variation in thickness strongly suggests horsehide as does the leathers crisp handle when new.

I've had it a week and it's breaking in quite quickly. I can tell this will develop character over time with the grain popping. Don't confuse that with crinkling. For me, it's preferable to Horween chromexcel which is a more processed leather stuffed with oils and often without hair follicle pores visible. I'm not to keen some of the other matte finish leathers Alexander offer either.

AL would clean up if they could continue to offer jackets like these at the lower price point. I paid £300
($ 447 usd for colonial types at today's exchange rate !)

The jacket came with an inside snap pocket. The lining is mid-weight cotton.The paper tag says made by Edith.

shoulders 19.5"
arms 25"
back length 26"
chest 24.5"

 

[gtdean48]

I bought a size 44R Roadster in jerky horse. The one pictured on their website.
...

Very nice! I got a 44R Dirt Rider in jerky horse. Only 2 issues for me so far, the European zipper configuration & there is a roll across my shoulders at the color. Not sure if breaking in will remove it. It is not there when jacket is unzipped.

What exactly is "jerky" horse? I know what beef & venison jerky is but not when referring to hides. TIA

 

[hpalapdog]

What exactly is "jerky" horse? I know what beef & venison jerky is but not when referring to hides. TIA

For me it means mismatched panels. During the war for economy reasons A2's used the whole hide. That means heavily marked and wriggled leather, that would normally end up in the bin, being used as well as smooth on the same jacket.
In the modern era many people like stuff that looks less man made. Cue marketing speak 'jerky'. Useful for the manufacturers because these hides are graded lower by the tanneries and cheaper.
Having said that, I'm pretty sure the hide used on my jacket and yours was expensive veg. tanned stuff.