Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Looking for anyone who owns one of the nine other jackets like this

Jeremiah

A-List Customer
Messages
368
Location
Montana
So, here again is my BK Dubow contract A2 replica I won on Ebay. I was sent this email from Andy when I inquired about it.

"Thanks for your email.

This jacket was made with a test leather we imported from Japan. Unfortunately, the tannery misinterpreted our requests how to tan it and they overdid it with the pigment coating. The coating is thicker than it should be (yet soft) and that gives the impresion of plastic. The tannery is a famous one from Japan and their leathers have a somewhat plastic feel (lesser than of this jacket) yet they are loved by many fans worldwide.

This is a good leather but the finish is wrong (not what we asked for) and indeed feels like plastic.
It is also shiny and that makes things even worse. That is the reason why we decided not to use it.

The leather grain is natural it came like that from the (perhaps older) animals. If the tannery had not failed with the finishing, this could have been one of the greatest leathers for A-2 jackets.

If this jacket is sanded down so that the sheen is removed and part of the overly finish is also removed, then it may look very close to original WWII jackets. That is something for someone who has the courage and energy to do it to find out.

The jacket quality is still above average and a better representation of WWII jacket than those of many other mediocre brands.

This leather predates the Victory and the Liberty. It was the time when we stopped looking for leathers in Japan and turned to Italy. Both Victory and Liberty leathers come from Italy. At that time we did not name our leathers anything, so it was just called "Horsehide". Had it been better we would had named it after the tannery. We were quite unhappy with this leather so when afterwards we found the Italian leather, that was a victorious moment for us (considering how hard is to find good horsehide) and so we called it Victory. And also because we knew how good it was compared to our competitors offerings so by using it we could easily beat them and declare Victory over the competition.

Liberty horsehide was developed at another tannery because the tannery that made the Victory refused to tan per our specs and offered only their tanning. The Victory was a marvellous leather but it was not WWII accurate in appearance and we wanted a clone of the original WWII leather. Plus the Victory tannery took ages to produce and we needed leather fast. Those were the reasons that lead to the birth of Liberty. The tannery that made the Victory have long discontinued. Nowadays they take custom orders so a new Victory horsehide made according to our specs can be developed. It is a project we have for the future but it will depend on demand for jackets as Victory leather is very expensive.

The ebay jacket must have been made around 2008-2009 if memory serves me well.

My recommendation is to forget this jacket. Our leathers, materials and techniques etc have evolved greatly since that jacket is made.
We have now reached a point that there is very little or zero things to do to improve our jackets' accuracy any further. We have reached the ceiling so to speak. Our new A-2 jackets are as close to original as can ever be and better than any other's, anywhere and at any price. You will note also that we are the cheapest high end repro maker, even cheaper than the Scottish brand whose A-2 jackets are far from being accurate WWII jacket repros.

If you buy our Dubow 27798 and have ever seen/handled an original you will understand and admit that we have no rival.

I hope the above gave you all the insight you need.


best regards,
Andy"

And here are some pics. I have to say I like it very much and its not as plastic feeling to my hands. I obviously went with my gut feeling and purchased the jacket anyway. Its sturdy and I feel that It will last a long time. It probably won't patina as much as the next jacket but its ok. I won't have to baby this one. I would like to see if there is anyone else here on the forum who owns one of these or a jacket made from this hide that only 10 jackets were said to be made from it. Maybe there are some pics out there from owners that show the jacket after heavy wear.

IMG_1544.jpg IMG_1542.jpg IMG_1540.jpg
 

Brettafett

One Too Many
Messages
1,339
Location
UK
It looks fantastic! I love it! And it fits you well...
What size is that and how tall are you?
 

Jeremiah

A-List Customer
Messages
368
Location
Montana
It looks fantastic! I love it! And it fits you well...
What size is that and how tall are you?

Thank you. This is a size 38 which the previous owner said fit more like a 36. They included measurements and I just had a custom jacket made by Steele and Jones. So I knew the measurements should in theory fit me. Still, like anything, its a toss up. Fortunately in this case, it fits me. I also read that the Dubow contract was a slimmer fitting A2. I am 5'3" and some change.
 

Jeremiah

A-List Customer
Messages
368
Location
Montana
LW? light weight? I am new to this territory so please pardon my ignorance.

never mind, looked it up. Lost Worlds.

you are right. Looks eerily similar to the one in this post.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/thre...-a-2-hh-leather-jacket-size-38-uk-only.78514/

Here is a similar cropped pic of mine for comparison. I can never seem to upload close up pics like this here as it says its too big, so here is a link to an upload I made.
https://imgur.com/a/4kc48

reading the description in the above quoted LW jacket thread makes me wonder if the hides were not from the same tannery in Japan. This jacket is about 3 oz in weight or perhaps 3.5oz. very sturdy feeling compared to my thinner HH jacket made by Steele and Jones.
 
Last edited:

Dr H

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,006
Location
Somerset, UK
Looks good. I’ve owned a couple of GW 27798 - it’s quite forgiving in the torso and not really a slender pattern like e.g. the Bronco.
 

LaymanX

One of the Regulars
Messages
176
Location
Toronto
"even cheaper than the Scottish brand whose A-2 jackets are far from being accurate WWII jacket repros."

No one else wants to chime in on this?
 

Jeremiah

A-List Customer
Messages
368
Location
Montana
"even cheaper than the Scottish brand whose A-2 jackets are far from being accurate WWII jacket repros."

No one else wants to chime in on this?
I nearly cropped that part of the quoted email reply out as I didn't want this to turn into another BK thread, but I just left it in. This thread may get derailed, but if at the end of the ride there is someone with a similar jacket who posts a pic then I will be a happy camper.
 

Jeremiah

A-List Customer
Messages
368
Location
Montana
Thanks Carlos,
yeah, I am only interested in finding out if there are any other jackets made from this hide out there. Like I said above, the LW Dubow contract jacket looks identical. At first, I thought maybe the seller sewed a label from BK in the pocket and it was really that LW one in the same size. Ha, but its not.
I don't know what to think of BK as a vendor site, but I know I really like this jacket and Andy said they did not like the hide, so there is that. I am glad and sure of one thing. I am glad I did not listen to Andy in the email and skip out on this jacket. At first I was going to but something made me keep my sights locked on this one.

I can say my interaction with Andy was pleasant. He was quick to respond and answered some other questions too. One was if this was veg tanned HH or not. He told me it was Veg tanned.

Also, a big shout out to Terry. Man, he has given me some good advice on jackets and he too encouraged me to stick with this one. Thanks Terry.
 
Last edited:

Jeremiah

A-List Customer
Messages
368
Location
Montana
no problem, and yeah, I don't think anyone should ever claim their product is better than others even if it is true. Just poor class.
 

Big J

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,961
Location
Japan
"Three for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
NINE FOR MORTAL MEN DOOMED TO DIE,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One to rule them all, One to find them,
One to bring them all and in the darkness bind them."

Never mind the rest of the nine, that 'One to rule them all' is the way to go IMHO.
 

Jeremiah

A-List Customer
Messages
368
Location
Montana
Thank you everybody. I thought it looked good and felt like a good fit. I am thankful for the compliments and confirmation by others. I guess I will just be content with this one and cease my search for the other 9.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
107,023
Messages
3,026,615
Members
52,528
Latest member
Zonko
Top