Vegecow Lewis Leathers quality

[Damon141]

Honestly I believe this is a blessing in disguise. Not settling is not a bad thing.
Lewis makes great jackets but there are many others who do too.
Aero/SB will give you a lot of value but not refinement like your Himel.
BK offers Shinki now but I don’t have one yet to see how well they’re put together.
I don’t know about Addict but it seems FW and RMC are the two go to brands for the top tier stuff.
I know I’m not much help with these info, but just keep plugging at it, you’ll find what you’re after. Enjoy along the way!

No you are 100% right. And since I don’t NEED a jacket considering I’m on the list for two styles with Fields leathers it makes it much easier to wait.

I would absolutely love to find a Freewheelers or similar with the attention to detail they exude which I would be satisfied with forever. Plus like a few mentioned that when you buy a FW they really do hold their value compared to anything $1,500 or so which sells for $500-600 in brand new used condition.

I could still end up with a Lewis one day I don’t hold any resentment, maybe I’ll find a used one

It’s given me the opportunity to think more of Johnson leathers. Until I saw this picture below, I thought they didn’t have the shape I was looking for, now I can picture this jacket with a mandarin collar, I think that combination would really look better than their current racer designs because of the slight flair at the hip.

Or I could be the board Guinea Pig and have a Bill Kelso Harley made. The construction looks top notch, almost to Japanese quality.

Plus I have not heard anything about his jackets not fitting correctly and if anything I’ve heard of customer service above and beyond by remaking jackets that shrunk due to no cause of his.

This is a milled cowhide

 

[handymike]

Have you looked into Flat Head?

 

[7amza]

Sorry to hear you've had such a bad experience but yes, as mentioned, you should not settle for a jacket at any cost, especially at that price range. Customer service and communication should be top notch as it was under the old regime. Hopefully this is a temporary crisis for LL and you'll get to try again once things get back to how many of us have know them to be.

In addition to the japanese makers suggest above by yourself and @handymike - I have seen a few Rainbow Country jackets which looked pretty cool, great leather and very well put together. The challenge would then lie in getting accurate sizing and a retailer/stockist for the brand as with all Japanese brands.

 

[Damon141]

Have you looked into Flat Head?

Love their designs, it does seem though lately they have been producing less jacket designs and more shirts/denim.

Not yet have I found one that I’m confident that would fit in all areas, I’ve noticed though that one model might have wide shoulders, the next average, one might have a 48” chest on a size 46 then maybe another model or brand might have 45” chest on a size 46. At first I thought it was strange but maybe it it based on the original they based the reproduction on and the way it was intended to fit for that design or period.
One day one will pop up with a combo of p2p,length, sleeve length I can wear.

Don’t let this detur anyone from purchasing a Lewis Leather because they still make cool jackets, this probably is due to RIP’s departure and poor order timing more than anything. Especially if your size is off the rack or a simple sleeve shortening.
I needed shoulders brought in slightly from a size 44 or 46,( I was still waiting on a recommendation). Then the waist tapered, and sleeves tapered.
Wrong alterations at the wrong time.

 

[Canuck Panda]

No you are 100% right. And since I don’t NEED a jacket considering I’m on the list for two styles with Fields leathers it makes it much easier to wait.

I would absolutely love to find a Freewheelers or similar with the attention to detail they exude which I would be satisfied with forever. Plus like a few mentioned that when you buy a FW they really do hold their value compared to anything $1,500 or so which sells for $500-600 in brand new used condition.

I could still end up with a Lewis one day I don’t hold any resentment, maybe I’ll find a used one

It’s given me the opportunity to think more of Johnson leathers. Until I saw this picture below, I thought they didn’t have the shape I was looking for, now I can picture this jacket with a mandarin collar, I think that combination would really look better than their current racer designs because of the slight flair at the hip.

Or I could be the board Guinea Pig and have a Bill Kelso Harley made. The construction looks top notch, almost to Japanese quality.

Plus I have not heard anything about his jackets not fitting correctly and if anything I’ve heard of customer service above and beyond by remaking jackets that shrunk due to no cause of his.

This is a milled cowhide

Lewis feels like a posh UK version of Langlitz to me, but with fancier leather. Construction is about the same, more rugged than refined. Used Lewis can be found for a lot less money, same with Langlitz. And I don't think they're any less. The sizing issue will exist with both new or used for these brands.

I offered 2k for a used FW jacket that was asking $2200. I didn't get it. Shows you the craziness of the price, even in the used market. But eventually I will get there, FW and RMC. I find that if I wait long enough, I would be able to get one within my budget. Luckily jackets prices don't behave like real estate prices.

Johnson is more like Vanson but with endless leather options. Finishing will be rugged and not as refined as the (Juki machine) makers like GW/HB/FL...etc.

BK is a wild card to me at this point. When I get mine I will post about it. I am expecting it to be more refined than Aero/SB but less than FL. But it's hard to say.

Were you able to get money back from your Lewis order?

 

[Damon141]

Lewis feels like a posh UK version of Langlitz to me, but with fancier leather. Construction is about the same, more rugged than refined. Used Lewis can be found for a lot less money, same with Langlitz. And I don't think they're any less. The sizing issue will exist with both new or used for these brands.

I offered 2k for a used FW jacket that was asking $2200. I didn't get it. Shows you the craziness of the price, even in the used market. But eventually I will get there, FW and RMC. I find that if I wait long enough, I would be able to get one within my budget. Luckily jackets prices don't behave like real estate prices.

Johnson is more like Vanson but with endless leather options. Finishing will be rugged and not as refined as the (Juki machine) makers like GW/HB/FL...etc.

BK is a wild card to me at this point. When I get mine I will post about it. I am expecting it to be more refined than Aero/SB but less than FL. But it's hard to say.

Were you able to get money back from your Lewis order?

Im still waiting on a response, they are ghosting me. I’ve saved all correspondence with them, all have been courteous so honestly I’m scratching my head.
They have only responded twice the whole time, once when I reached out to to ask if they received the order, then the time with the short response including only 3 measurements which were wrong.

Your Johnson Leathers look good, maybe not high stitch count but they were clean lines. Lewis is the same way, you just notice around the pockets, but that didn’t bother me because of the overall design. They really seem to fit well. Seeing the Addict leather clone of the dominator does make you wonder why a long standing company can’t match the stitching of a relatively new company.

I can’t wait to see the BK, they don’t get much attention here but they seem to love the flight jackets on that vintage jacket forum. The pictures I see look great, especially on instagram. I like how the prices change with the model, corresponding to the difficulty or complexity of the design.
Were they easy to correspond with?
When did you order if you don’t mind me asking?

 

[Salmosalar]

Im still waiting on a response, they are ghosting me. I’ve saved all correspondence with them, all have been courteous so honestly I’m scratching my head.
They have only responded twice the whole time, once when I reached out to to ask if they received the order, then the time with the short response including only 3 measurements which were wrong.

Your Johnson Leathers look good, maybe not high stitch count but they were clean lines. Lewis is the same way, you just notice around the pockets, but that didn’t bother me because of the overall design. They really seem to fit well. Seeing the Addict leather clone of the dominator does make you wonder why a long standing company can’t match the stitching of a relatively new company.

I can’t wait to see the BK, they don’t get much attention here but they seem to love the flight jackets on that vintage jacket forum. The pictures I see look great, especially on instagram. I like how the prices change with the model, corresponding to the difficulty or complexity of the design.
Were they easy to correspond with?
When did you order if you don’t mind me asking?

I have also had no response to a query I sent to LL on 12th April….seems their customer service has fallen into a black hole….

 

[Damon141]

I have also had no response to a query I sent to LL on 12th April….seems their customer service has fallen into a black hole….

April 12th, do you have an order or was it an inquiry?

It shouldn’t be that hard to respond, as a business owner myself I would sit up all night if I had to just to reply to emails, that’s what you do but then again work ethic is terrible these days.
Just look at John Chapman, he could care less about emailing people as long as those $200 deposits keep coming. I bet he would be quick to answer if they stopped.
It’s not hard to imagine he’s probably terrible to work for and that’s why he can’t expand and have a normal operation like the Japanese brands. Any intelligent person with his talents would hire a few machinists and an office person to handle day to day and you would then see California Sportswear on standardandstrainge.com, rivetandhide.com etc.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Im still waiting on a response, they are ghosting me. I’ve saved all correspondence with them, all have been courteous so honestly I’m scratching my head.
They have only responded twice the whole time, once when I reached out to to ask if they received the order, then the time with the short response including only 3 measurements which were wrong.

Your Johnson Leathers look good, maybe not high stitch count but they were clean lines. Lewis is the same way, you just notice around the pockets, but that didn’t bother me because of the overall design. They really seem to fit well. Seeing the Addict leather clone of the dominator does make you wonder why a long standing company can’t match the stitching of a relatively new company.

I can’t wait to see the BK, they don’t get much attention here but they seem to love the flight jackets on that vintage jacket forum. The pictures I see look great, especially on instagram. I like how the prices change with the model, corresponding to the difficulty or complexity of the design.
Were they easy to correspond with?
When did you order if you don’t mind me asking?

Sounds like they have some internal issues right now. This usually happens when there is sudden changes like Rip leaving. You should be covered in the worst case. The communication limbo is the worst though.

The brands that make motorcycle jackets are not gonna be a bit more rustic than the repro makers for sure. Just be aware of that before you commit. They make excellent motorcycle jackets, but it will be different than what your Himel will feel like in the hand.

I've seen a few Addict jacket posted here. I couldn't tell if they were Lewis or not. Haha...

There are a lot of mysteries with BK brand. I placed my order end of Jan and finalized specs in late March. So maybe sometime in the fall I will get the jacket? Not sure. There was no promise on shipdate so I just assumed 4 to 8 months. That seems like what most are working with these days for lead time. I will report back when I get the jacket. So far there are no red flags.

I hope your Lewis story will have a good ending...

 

[Salmosalar]

April 12th, do you have an order or was it an inquiry?

It shouldn’t be that hard to respond, as a business owner myself I would sit up all night if I had to just to reply to emails, that’s what you do but then again work ethic is terrible these days.
Just look at John Chapman, he could care less about emailing people as long as those $200 deposits keep coming. I bet he would be quick to answer if they stopped.
It’s not hard to imagine he’s probably terrible to work for and that’s why he can’t expand and have a normal operation like the Japanese brands. Any intelligent person with his talents would hire a few machinists and an office person to handle day to day and you would then see California Sportswear on standardandstrainge.com, rivetandhide.com etc.

It was a simple query about whether the Cyclone and Lightning had a front drop or not - should not be rocket science for a response - in the end I posted the query on TFL and got the answer I needed in a few hours. LL never answered….needless to say I am wary about their competence at present so won't be placing more custom orders for the forseeable future, which is a shame as they make great jackets but its just not worth the risk for the outlay….if their communication is so poor these days I don't trust them not to stuff up an order and get all the measurements wrong, as seems to be happening to others when making enquiries at present….

 

[Damon141]

I understand what your saying about the motorcycle brands vs reproduction, that’s why I was trying to have a little bit of both, you know with the Field’s Leather, fine finishing then have some more durable or maybe that’s not the word but one you don’t feel you have to baby. Then maybe a Freewheelers type grail piece that I would end up babying lol.

Lewis will end well, capital one assured me.

Getting your BK before fall would be a great present, they have so many vintage jackets that they have not even been reproduced yet, it is very tempting. He told me he could make anything he has a vintage for, including Beck jackets and J100, he just hasn’t had the demand. That HD Sportster is calling, it’s hard to find the real thing on my size.

@Salmosalar. Your question could have just been lost but my 5 emails, not so much. I just hope everyone with orders in already are made up to standard, I’m assuming they are okay in that department.

 

[Salmosalar]

I understand what your saying about the motorcycle brands vs reproduction, that’s why I was trying to have a little bit of both, you know with the Field’s Leather, fine finishing then have some more durable or maybe that’s not the word but one you don’t feel you have to baby. Then maybe a Freewheelers type grail piece that I would end up babying lol.

Lewis will end well, capital one assured me.

Getting your BK before fall would be a great present, they have so many vintage jackets that they have not even been reproduced yet, it is very tempting. He told me he could make anything he has a vintage for, including Beck jackets and J100, he just hasn’t had the demand. That HD Sportster is calling, it’s hard to find the real thing on my size.

@Salmosalar. Your question could have just been lost but my 5 emails, not so much. I just hope everyone with orders in already are made up to standard, I’m assuming they are okay in that department.

My worry is it seems to be a bit of a pattern emerging, not just a one off - I have had numerous exchanges with Rip and his predecessor over the years, with no emails going ignored…until last month, which seems to align with the recent ghosting you have had. So sonething seems to have changed more fundamentally, and not for the better - hope they can get things fixed, but I won't be risking new orders till there is evidence of an improvement. Given the communication seems to be either non existent or erroneous it does not instil confidence for placing another custom order, which could end up being a very costly and time consuming mistake….

 

[Marc mndt]

"they have so many vintage jackets that they have not even been reproduced yet, it is very tempting."



I don't think they own those jackets. The pics on their website are the same pics as the ones in the Lightning archives books.

 

[Carlos840]

"they have so many vintage jackets that they have not even been reproduced yet, it is very tempting."



I don't think they own those jackets. The pics on their website are the same pics as the ones in the Lightning archives books.

View attachment 426774 View attachment 426775

That's definitely the same jacket, i wonder if they have Lightning autorization to use these pictures?
Ironic considering how fast Andy is to threaten people with lawsuits...

 

[Marc mndt]

That's definitely the same jacket,

It's not just that one. Each and every one of those pics comes from the lightning books.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Lewis was posting for a shop assistant job on Instagram for a while a while ago if I remember correctly. TBH, now after a few jackets I can see that order taking/sales is just as hard as making the jacket itself.

There is the possibility that the new guy (Rip's replacement) simply got overwhelmed and just left, hence the communication limbo, or many other possibilities like system down or email problems.

I would keep on top of things. If there is no communication back by certain date, start the cancel with your credit card company. Not saying Lewis is no good, but there is only a short window to file the claim with your card issuer. Once things settled down, you can always place the order again. No harm no foul. This is not against Lewis, just simple credit card care.

I had a problem buying from Europelle (a leather supplier on Instagram). I used Paypal and got stuck in communication blackhole. Luckily I filed for claim just in time. It was a hefty order amount with all the shells. Not saying Lewis is bad like Europelle, but it doesn't to exercise caution.

 

[Damon141]

"they have so many vintage jackets that they have not even been reproduced yet, it is very tempting."



I don't think they own those jackets. The pics on their website are the same pics as the ones in the Lightning archives books.

View attachment 426774 View attachment 426775

As always a keen eye. I assumed they were in their collection, if I were a in that business I would pick up a couple originals to base a pattern on, there are so many details I don’t know how you can achieve the fit or placement of pockets, epaulets, zippers etc without a vintage original.
Just out of curiosity, what do you think of the Durable One Star, Leathertogs, abs J-23 that they seem to have produced for atleast one customer.

 

[Canuck Panda]

I assumed they were in their collection

I asked the same thing in the other thread.
Not a lot of BK jackets posted here. There was an Indie jacket and a few repro half belts. No in depth reviews. TMitchell has some and made videos of them in the past, you can check them out on his Youtube channel. The Durable has an in depth review on here. But the gent returned it, forgot why. I should go back and check it again...

 

[Marc mndt]

Just out of curiosity, what do you think of the Durable One Star, Leathertogs, abs J-23 that they seem to have produced for atleast one customer.

I don't know, hard to judge without having handled any of their jackets in the flesh.

All I know is that they have shady business practices, more than one. Therefore I won't buy from them.

 

[7amza]

As a follow up to the LL Saga, seems like my second order (green sheep cyclone) has just arrived ahead of my first jacket ordered (Rutland sheep star lightning)

The interval between both orders was about 11 days.

Here are some pics out the box of the jacket.

I think the review of the sheep leather and color have been extensively documented on here but I am extremely happy with both and it is indeed hard to capture the actual color of the BRG on camera.

An interesting note about the fit is I submitted the same measurements for this jacket as my cowhide lightning jacket with the only exception being shorter sleeves and a longer jacket as I was told the cyclone pattern is inherently shorter than the lightning by Rip before he left. Yet this jacket seems to be much more snug around the shoulder and arms and fits like a tight fit model designed for the Japanese market. Though I understand sheep leather will stretch and conform to my body much easier than the heavier cowhide.

I'll try to share some fit pics when I get the chance this week.