Diamond Dave - Buco J-21

pawineguy · Nov 28, 2015

I have to give Dave credit for working with some very interesting leathers and if I would get the tea core to fade to that and then stop it right there I would sign up right now. Still, it will be interesting to see how it progresses and as has been noted, you can always add some black dye if it fades too much.

Dave does work with leathers that are more conventional, I have a J-100 on order with Horween Essex steer hide, which has the same finishing as Horween's shell cordovan and is designed to patina, as opposed to fading.

Bunyip · Nov 28, 2015

That Essex is lovely stuff Chris. I really like it.what weight is it?

HoosierDaddy · Nov 28, 2015

IMO this old Highwayman is near color perfection....

pawineguy · Nov 28, 2015

Bunyip said:
That Essex is lovely stuff Chris. I really like it.what weight is it?

Spec'd at 3 oz. he said some is a little over, but never under, nice weight for this type of jacket, imo.

pawineguy · Nov 28, 2015

HoosierDaddy said:
IMO this old Highwayman is near color perfection....

Completely agree, that's as good as it gets.

Superfluous · Nov 28, 2015

There is a point in the aging process where a leather jacket achieves that perfect balance of character (that point varies from person to person). The problem is that, after a jacket hits that point of perfect balance, it continues to age and, as it continues to age, it becomes less perfect and, dare I say, too faded. This is the life cycle of a leather jacket. Jeans go through a similar life cycle and, after achieving a "perfect" fade, continued wear results in too much fading. Wine experiences a similar cycle (albeit without the wear and tear).

My concern with the jacket displayed earlier in this thread is that, if it faded that much in a mere 2-3 weeks of normal wear and tear (I am assuming the owner did not intentionally vintagize the jacket), what will it look like in six months? Most leather jackets require considerably more time to achieve that level of character. I question the merit of a jacket that peaks after 2-3 weeks . . . at that rate of fade, its life cycle could be remarkably brief (even if it retains peak character for several months).

nick123 · Nov 28, 2015

HoosierDaddy said:
IMO this old Highwayman is near color perfection....

That jacket has become famous here. Just perfect.

tropicalbob · Nov 28, 2015

nick123 said:
That jacket has become famous here. Just perfect.

Yeah, and there's one on the Aero Sales (Used section) page in a 36 that looks quite a bit like it. Wish I had the extra $ right now.

Guppy · Nov 28, 2015

A-1 said:
Hi everyone,
I’ve put in an order for the DD Buco J-21 about 3 weeks ago. I have opened this thread to keep you updated on the making of the jacket.
Dave told me he would start making the jacket in about 1 and a half weeks from now. I am excited. Dave has been really great cooperating with via mail. He is answering very quickly and his answers are very insightful and helpful. I completely trust him with his advice for my fit and sizing for the jacket. Dave has got my body measurements which I’ve done according to his website.
I’ve already decided to have the jacket made in Dave’s steer hide with tea core in brown, not black. Now I gotta decide if I wanna go for the combat finish or not. It’s not an easy decision as both finishes look amazing judging from the photos I’ve seen. Usually I am not into pre-distressed clothing and yet his combat finish is tempting as it’s such a beauty.
For those interested in the making of the finish of the leather by the way, this is how DD explained it to me, I hope I got it right.
Both, the plain brown and the combat finish, (and even the black tea core) start off as a tan colored chrome tanned steer hide. The brown ones then get a light coat of Bordeaux dye. And then a light "broken" coat of dark brown over the combat finish. It looks a little bit aged then.
What do you think?
Here is the „plain“ brown:
View attachment 39085

Here is the combat crew finish:
View attachment 39086

I am tending towards the standard brown as I think it’ll be distressed in no time anyway...

What do you think?

Plain brown gets my vote.

Where's Diamond Dave's website? I'm not finding them via Google. They look beautiful.

Bunyip · Nov 28, 2015

Guppy said:
Plain brown gets my vote.

Where's Diamond Dave's website? I'm not finding them via Google. They look beautiful.

Here it is mate.
http://www.diamondclothingco.com/#!the-jackets/c1t4w

dan_t · Nov 28, 2015

This is one that Aero posted recently on their Facebook page.
Apparently 25 years old & started out black......

Mysteryo · Nov 28, 2015

I have a shinki black tea core jacket. I'll post picture of it for comparison. It's 3 years old, and the black coat doesn't fade as quickly!

41eiffel · Nov 28, 2015

Good to know for the Shinki tea core !! Are you happy with the steer so far compared to the HH shinki ?

Cyber Lip · Nov 28, 2015

How does that fade happen? Is it exposure to sunlight?

handymike · Nov 28, 2015

Once it gets to the perfect level of fading, you just need a healthy spraying of clear coat.

ButteMT61 · Nov 28, 2015

handymike said:
Once it gets to the perfect level of fading, you just need a healthy spraying of clear coat.

Nah, just hang it up and never wear it again...

Justhandguns · Nov 28, 2015

Cyber Lip said:
How does that fade happen? Is it exposure to sunlight?

The Aero looks suspiciously artificial to me. You just cannot have this kind of fading with the wear and tear.

Damo · Nov 28, 2015

pawineguy said:
I have to give Dave credit for working with some very interesting leathers and if I would get the tea core to fade to that and then stop it right there I would sign up right now. Still, it will be interesting to see how it progresses and as has been noted, you can always add some black dye if it fades too much.

Dave does work with leathers that are more conventional, I have a J-100 on order with Horween Essex steer hide, which has the same finishing as Horween's shell cordovan and is designed to patina, as opposed to fading.

Nice order, did you get hand warmer pockets?

Superfluous · Nov 28, 2015

I know many here like the look of brown showing through black . . . I agree that it is a cool look. Nevertheless, I prefer the pure black look. I wore my RMC Steinbeck today and relished in the unadulterated black color.

pawineguy · Nov 29, 2015

Damo said:
Nice order, did you get hand warmer pockets?

No, kept the traditional look. I was tempted but decided that I wanted a true J-100 repro.

Diamond Dave - Buco J-21

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