Eastman Roughwear 1401 A-2 jacket - Holy Grail!

Marv · Dec 13, 2015

very nice indeed, the RW pattern does seem to have been improved some what since I got my RW 27752 back in 2011.

Here's a quick photo of mine in it's current state......

Also here are a couple of my GW RW 27752 from 2013, unfortunately I don't wear it much anymore as it is now too big for......

CBI · Dec 13, 2015

looks great and congrats. I can see the point with going with a "long" size. A-2 shortness can be a negative factor sometimes.

eptggkod · Dec 15, 2015

The Rough Wear collar is the hardest thing to capture correctly in repro jacket making. You have a stylish and well fitting jacket here but I'd give it only a B+ for accuracy. The collar is the correct shape more or less but it is 1/3 again too large and stands too high off the shoulder. If you could imagine the back side of Stewart's jacket you would see in your mind's eye that the collar sits more or less flat- it wouldn't be sticking up like a separate entity. Because of the leather available today jackets seem to take much longer to break in- but getting that correct RW collar look can be achieved with an accurate copy of a Rough Wear and patience. Your jacket looks great I will say.

Brettafett · Dec 15, 2015

Thanks for the comments guys.
Yeah, Im in no rush to break it in. This vintage hide will do that naturally and quickly enough.
Bare in mind that this is a two week old jacket, only worn a few times to date. Jimmy's was worn day in and out, in all weather - and we all know about 'water' treatments

Personally, I love the collar, its one of my favourite parts, but its all subjective anyway.
I recon if you placed three same size, same contract jackets from WW2, side by side and compared them, you would find variations.
I believe this is the challenge many repro manufacturers have had. Making an exact pattern off an original, but then finding another thats slightly different. Even having an original pattern and then comparing it to an original jacket will show variations - just ask any of the high end makers.
I don't know if theres one standard perfect pattern to compare anything with. There seems to have been so much variation with actual WW2 jackets.
I've got a few pics of WW2 Monarchs for eg, one can clearly see at least two slightly different pocket profiles...
And trying to emulate a jacket from a photo - you will drive yourself insane

But, as you rightly say, you can get close.

I've arrived at the opinion, that the guys who actually own a number of WW2 jackets, are able to compare them, copy or source the patterns and then painstakingly build these high end repros - know more than I do.

I hope to post pics down the line again, to show how its worn in.

Deacon211 · Dec 15, 2015

That's a beautiful jacket! I love the color of the leather and it looks quite soft right out of the box.

I think Jimmy was a tall drink of water so it's probably not surprising that A-2s were a bit short on him.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Sloan1874 · Dec 15, 2015

Stonking stuff. Fit is spot-on, leather's fantastic.

chamboid · Dec 15, 2015

Very nice indeed. The drape looks superb, and that really makes the fit in my opinion.

Colour looks superb as well, and Eastmans new horsehide is great. Hope they return to doing some goatskin in the original makers as well. I've always been after one of their short lived Cable goatskins.

HPA Rep · Dec 17, 2015

Superb A-2, Brett! Thank you for taking the time to post so much detail!

HPA Rep · Dec 17, 2015

Brettafett said:
Another WW2 RW1401, worn by Hub Zemke.

Notice the wide-rib replaced cuffs.

Brettafett · Jul 2, 2016

6 months on... Have not worn it as much as I'd have liked... but I just love this jacket.

xmr · Jul 2, 2016

Perfect!

SJC · Jul 2, 2016

Brettafett said:
I am happy to report that I have recently taken possession of my umpteenth A-2 jacket and can finally say, “we have a keeper folks!”
View attachment 40182 Jimmy Stewart’s A-2 (as seen in You Gotta Stay Happy) has always been ‘the standard’ for me.
View attachment 40183
And even though I have been through various ‘contracts’ from various repro makers, the RW1401 was always my favourite - just could never find one that ‘worked’ for me… Until now.

This jacket is simply amazing on all accounts. The fit, the cut, the leather…
Eastman has hit a home run with their Vintage Havana Horsehide, and have produced something nothing short of fantastic.

Now I won’t get into the ‘who makes the best repro’ game, I have had from most, and they are all good, but this jacket… simply nails it.

The jacket fits me like a glove. Trim, but not too trim and (with slight lengthening) I have perfect lengths. The jacket is not restrictive in any way and I can move around quite comfortably without the sleeves riding up to my elbows.
View attachment 40184
View attachment 40185
View attachment 40186
Stitching is done to perfection and everything lines up and is symmetrical.
View attachment 40191
View attachment 40187
Now, this Havana hide… For those of you toying with the idea of a high end repro, get a sample of this stuff!
Its something special…
View attachment 40188
Comparing this jacket with the sample I received - they look and feel identical, so the sample should give you a good representation.
View attachment 40189
This aniline leather has stunning grain, character and oodles of natural creasing. The colour has a rich depth, not at all ‘reddy’, and in sunlight seems to show layers of hues… Nice!
Its of a medium thickness and weight, definitely feels robust, not heavy and not thin.
View attachment 40190
This jacket is going to age beautifully and will only get better with time.

A big thanks to Rose, who put this jacket together. Her expertise and attention to detail clearly shows she is a master of her trade.
Also to Rob in the UK and Charles in the US, for their patience and tireless correspondence over the last few months. Impeccable customer service. I am very pleased.

Apologies for the photos, they are not great, but this is the best I can do at this point. I will try get better pics once the Sun comes out and I get some time off work.

Gorgeous leather !

HPA Rep · Jul 3, 2016

It remains my personal fave, and it once was the #1 ELC A-2 we sold, but the Rough Wear 27752 has held the top spot now for several years, which I can't explain. But your example looks really good, and it appears as if you have one of the hide lots that are a bit more opaque vs. those more translucent and mottled. We get requests for both hide finishes, but it's fully random and nothing ELC has much control of. Recently, we're seeing more of the opaque variety, though we have some of the more mottled versions in few numbers n hand.

augustwest · Jul 4, 2016

Outstanding jacket! The longer length works well on you. It's a jacket that cries out to be worn often.

willyto · Jul 4, 2016

HPA Rep said:
It remains my personal fave, and it once was the #1 ELC A-2 we sold, but the Rough Wear 27752 has held the top spot now for several years, which I can't explain. But your example looks really good, and it appears as if you have one of the hide lots that are a bit more opaque vs. those more translucent and mottled. We get requests for both hide finishes, but it's fully random and nothing ELC has much control of. Recently, we're seeing more of the opaque variety, though we have some of the more mottled versions in few numbers n hand.

Looking at ELC website and comparing the two models the main differences apart from leather ype and colour I can spot are the zipper (Crown vs Talon) and the year of manufacture at the time. Which are the main differences and why do you prefer one contract over the other?

If the Crown zipper is the spring loaded then it is worth over the other for me.

Marv · Jul 4, 2016

Looks great and sleeves seem to have creased up to the perfect length for you, very nice indeed.

Marv · Jul 4, 2016

The ELC Crown zipper is spring loaded and is a repro which is installed on all new Eastman A2's unless it is an original maker contract which will either have a Talon or Crown depending what was on the Contract jacket.
The RW 1401-P had a Crown zipper as standard when originally produced where as the RW 27752 had a Talon zipper installed.

nick123 · Jul 4, 2016

Stunning jacket Bret. You are the poster child of the ideal perfect A-2 fit. A++++

HPA Rep · Jul 17, 2016

willyto said:
Looking at ELC website and comparing the two models the main differences apart from leather ype and colour I can spot are the zipper (Crown vs Talon) and the year of manufacture at the time. Which are the main differences and why do you prefer one contract over the other?

If the Crown zipper is the spring loaded then it is worth over the other for me.

The main differences for the moderately observant would be the shape of pocket flaps and the differences in zipper types (1st-model spring-loaded Crown on the 1401 vs. bell-shaped Talon on 27752). It should be noted that I've seen vintage 1401's (extremely few) with factory-installed Talon zips, but I've never seen a 27752 with any form of Crown zip.

The Crown zip is just cooler/more interesting to me, and the early contracts with the lighter hide coloring, plus the fact the 1401 was produced early enough to show up just about anywhere in WWII, and the Jimmy Stewart connection (which I didn't know about as a kid), pushes me over. My first vintage A-2, which I've mentioned in other posts here, was a really well-worn 1401 that I wore from age 13 onwards and which came directly from the vet for $5.00 in response to my ad in the great "Shotgun News" back in the good old days, so it's for all these reasons that it is my fave, plus it fits my body quite well. My sense of nostalgia, admittedly, always buoys the 1401 to the surface if it's done well, and ELC is the only maker utilizing a repro Crown zip on a 1401, so this A-2 is my primary one.

Dugafola · Jul 17, 2016

just scored one of these off the bay. it was MTM back when they still did that and looks to be in excellent condition. the numbers should be spot on too.

Eastman Roughwear 1401 A-2 jacket - Holy Grail!

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