GREAT AERO half belt thread.

[James Miller]

Dye transfer

Heya Chaps,

My cordovan jacket is untreated (it's heavy horsehide)...and it really has rubbed onto everything jeans, bags, shirts...grr..

I'm gonna go with goatskin next time..as I've never had problems with old Goatskin jackets!

The cordovan colour is quite 'ruby'-ish, so rubbing it with a cloth would achieve very little except a very dirty cloth...oh well..

Still.. great jacket, and Aero are a wonderful company to feal with!

rufus

Try on a old piece of leather some of the sheen I was talking about. I re-dyed a jacket that was almost 60years old with a leather sheen and the only way the dye will rub off is if the leather sheen wears off. This is the stuff thats put on leather to keep them from fading. I have tryed it on a few jackets with good results. I even put this stuff over a Army airforce ironon on the shoulder of the transfer so that it would not peel. No one can tell i put it on the leather.

The sheen last as long as the original finish thats put on jackets. Every so often you may need to re-apply because all leather fades and dye does wear off in time that's why we have vintage look jackets

 

[Boris K]

Try on a old piece of leather some of the sheen I was talking about. I re-dyed a jacket that was almost 60years old with a leather sheen and the only way the dye will rub off is if the leather sheen wears off. This is the stuff thats put on leather to keep them from fading. I have tryed it on a few jackets with good results. I even put this stuff over a Army airforce ironon on the shoulder of the transfer so that it would not peel. No one can tell i put it on the leather.

The sheen last as long as the original finish thats put on jackets. Every so often you may need to re-apply because all leather fades and dye does wear off in time that's why we have vintage look jackets

James,

Was this Tandy's leather sheen or another product?

 

[James Miller]

Dye Problems.

James,

Was this Tandy's leather sheen or another product?

Boris,

Yes the sheen that I am refering to is purchased at tandy leather. I have tryed both and they work well.

 

[Boris K]

.

Thanks, James.

 

[kbuzz]

Aero Half Belt-Proper Length?

I just took receipt of an ebay 2 year old half belt in cordovan horse. Dont know what kind of horse but the labels are there. Anyway, the jacket just reaches to my belt line. Looks kinda cropped in a nice way.

I know the half belt is supposed to be short, so just wondering how short. Opinions or photos welcome. My digicam is broken otherwise id post. thanks

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I have several regular sized Aero HalfBelts in HH and steer. Each one covers my belt and buckle...as does my Aero HighWayMan...and LongShoreMan.
Size 42

Size 40

 

[Oktagon]

Well, 40 off course.

 

[aswatland]

Dating a half belt

Last week a very nice seal brown horse hide half belt arrived here from the USA. It is in amazing condition and has clearly had very little use. The zip is by Conmar(it has a rectangular pull, as opposed to the bell shaped ones on many of my original A2s) and the inner pea-green wristlets are perfect, as is the lining. It does not have the maker's name on the label which states it is made of front quarter horse hide. This is the first original half belt I have owned, but I know very little about them. I will post some pics shortly. But can any one tell me approximately when they were made? This one was sold to me as a BIN for £60 and I was told dates from the 1940s. As it is chrome tanned I would guess mid to late 40s. Can any one help with the date range of this great jackets?

 

[bobjones]

It ended up taking about 2 months total, including shipping time, to get my new LHB. Once again, it's a stunning example of what a true leather artisan can do.

Here's a quick rundown of the specs....

• 
  Brown FQHH
  Size 46 with 2" added to body and arms
  Reiver Grant tartan lining (What a great choice.)

I actually received it a couple of weeks ago, so you can see that there has been some break-in. Grain is starting to show up nicely in some areas, the arms have loosened-up considerably, and it won't quite stand up under it's own power. Now one of my biggest problems is going to be trying to decide whether to wear this or my almost year-old Highwayman.

This Long Half Belt gets a lot of questions and compliments, even after just a short time owning it.

Mark Moye from Aero USA did a great job working with me on this jacket. I highly recommend that anybody looking at an Aero get in touch with him.

Here's some links to a few photos....

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u26/djspress/djslhb1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u26/djspress/djslhb2.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u26/djspress/djslhb3.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u26/djspress/djslhb5.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u26/djspress/djslhb4.jpg

Your jacket is not good looking - its stunning, absolutely gorgeous. That dark brown color is perfect, exactly what I am looking for.

Correct me if I am wrong, but did you special order that dark brown, as it appears to be darker than the typical brown from Aero?

 

[Boris K]

.

Just saw this post again. I tried the Tandy leather sheen on the inside of my Barnstormer, and it worked perfectly - no more stain transfer on clothes.

 

[HDRnR]

I have a cordovan half belt and the dye especially bleeds onto the armrests in my car for some reason. My brown cowhide Barnstormer doesnt have this problem. The finish of the two jackets is very different, the cordovan horsehide seems more porous than the cowhide, are they tanned differently ?

 

[Boris K]

.

Not sure about the tanning process. My barnstormer is FQ Horse Hide in black. It seems the dye has not "set" properly. Some on this board state that Aero had been requested to process their jackets so that the dye will wear off easily and thus show aging more quickly.

 

[DJS Press]

Your jacket is not good looking - its stunning, absolutely gorgeous. That dark brown color is perfect, exactly what I am looking for.

Correct me if I am wrong, but did you special order that dark brown, as it appears to be darker than the typical brown from Aero?

Hi Bob: Thanks for the compliment on my jacket. I love it, and it's always the coolest jacket in the room.

On the subject of color, I just ordered Brown FQHH. It's so rare to ever even see an Aero (I never do, except mine) that I have nothing to compare it with. When I was getting ready to order I asked if they had Russet FQHH, but apparently that color is only available in the lighter-weight hides used for their flight jackets.

I trust that you're going to order through Mark Moye at Aero Leather Clothing USA. He'll make the whole process easy and painless.

 

[bobjones]

Hi Bob: Thanks for the compliment on my jacket. I love it, and it's always the coolest jacket in the room.

On the subject of color, I just ordered Brown FQHH. It's so rare to ever even see an Aero (I never do, except mine) that I have nothing to compare it with. When I was getting ready to order I asked if they had Russet FQHH, but apparently that color is only available in the lighter-weight hides used for their flight jackets.

I trust that you're going to order through Mark Moye at Aero Leather Clothing USA. He'll make the whole process easy and painless.

Hi DJS. I spoke with Mark, who's clearly a stand-up guy, and was very informative. My preference is a dark brown, but only available in the lighter hides, so I will go with it and hope they can accomodate.

I think that once people start to see the Aero quality, Mark and the Scots will have more business than they can handle...

 

[aswatland]

Here are the pics.

 

[aswatland]

And the rest.

 

[Smithy]

Sorry Andrew, can't help with the dating but just had to chime in and say what a fantastic jacket. That's going to see a lot of wear over the spring.

Very snappy!

 

[aswatland]

Thanks Smithy. It was a bargain from the USA at £60 BIN on Ebay.

 

[fraazierjo]

dating a half belt

Andrew - Solid looking jacket. Almost as good as my 1954 "Outerwear" front quarter horsehide I got on ebay for$250. Leather still rich and supple, sheepskin lining, fur collar, rich aroma. Someone's been taking real good care of this beauty for a long time. Doesn't look or feel more than 10 years old. Don't know how to post pics yet so you can see it.Maybe later.

 

[aswatland]

Andrew - Solid looking jacket. Almost as good as my 1954 "Outerwear" front quarter horsehide I got on ebay for$250. Leather still rich and supple, sheepskin lining, fur collar, rich aroma. Someone's been taking real good care of this beauty for a long time. Doesn't look or feel more than 10 years old. Don't know how to post pics yet so you can see it.Maybe later.

I look forward to seeing the pics of your 1954 jacket. To upload pictures you could use photobucket.