Experience with Blattwerk horsehide (Simmons Bilt)?

Thuggee · Sep 19, 2017

On a side note I've recently taken possession of a SB Roadster made from their Italian Modena veg tan black Horse it's a great jacket fits me well what really impressed me was the leather I've been on the look out for something similar leather wise to what's used in my ELMC horsehide G1 and this is definitely it, comparable to the Aero Vicenza as well I would say ( I have handled all 3 now in person)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Graemsay · Sep 20, 2017

I met Debs and Steve from Simmons Bilt at the weekend.

Debs told me that Will is no longer with the business, and alleged that he'd caused some serious problems with it.

Basically, a number of people had joined what was then Alexander Leathers based on promises made. Things went south, the company went bust, and Steve bought it out. He felt necessary to rebrand as Simmons Bilt in order to make a clean break with the past.

Criticising Simmons Bilt because of their previous management strikes me as misguided. I think that there's a huge amount of misplaced hostility to the company around here.

Asaha · Sep 20, 2017

Robbie79 said:
Hello,

I've recently received several leather swatches from Simmons Bilt including their new Blattwerk horsehide, Shinki horsehide, etc. To be honest with you the Blattwerk "Mahagonay" looks beautiful and the leather is so soft and supply and has a kind of vintage look. It is not comparable with any other leather jackets I own (Horween FQHH, Aero jerky HH, Shinki from RMC, Lost Worlds HH, Eastman HH, Aero battered tan HH, etc.). According to their website the thickness is ranging from 1.2-1.4mm, however it feels like a mid-weight leather. As I cannot find any threads or experience on Blattwerk HH from SB in the internet, I wonder if any of you own a jacket made of SB Blattwerk HH and how is your experience with it in terms of durability, patina development, etc. I'm really tempted to purchase one but I'm undecisive without knowing how the quality is.

I'm looking forward to your feedback - thanks!!
Kind regards,
Robbie

Ahh, I too was taken away by that leather, but no-one had any jacket of that hide to guide how that going to develop over time. If you go to their Instagram page, there's one pic of Steve (MD) wearing a jacket made of that hide and same color if that helps. Good luck.

Sloan1874 · Sep 20, 2017

Graemsay said:
I met Debs and Steve from Simmons Bilt at the weekend.

Debs told me that Will is no longer with the business, and alleged that he'd caused some serious problems with it.

Basically, a number of people had joined what was then Alexander Leathers based on promises made. Things went south, the company went bust, and Steve bought it out. He felt necessary to rebrand as Simmons Bilt in order to make a clean break with the past.

Criticising Simmons Bilt because of their previous management strikes me as misguided. I think that there's a huge amount of misplaced hostility to the company around here.

You've got to be kidding, Graemsey. If SB was in any way serious about severing it's connections with it's past, it would abandon use of all the patterns that originate from Aero's stock - that is to say, they would need to drop close to 40 designs. That tells you everything you need to know about the company and how it's built itself on the talent and hard work of others.
Oh and as far as I'm aware, Will's the only 'senior' staffer not involved in the company nowadays:
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/SC432268/officers

Big J · Sep 21, 2017

@Sloan, on the link you give, Toohey is still listed. Is this the same guy that Will Lauder was letting into the Aero factory out of hours, so that he could use Aero materials, patterns, and machines to make jackets which he sold at a profit, leaving Aero out of pocket in costs, because Will Lauder wanted to let him 'keep his hand in' (because Will knew he needed to if they were going to start Alexander Leathers together)?
It's THAT guy, right?

They all sound like a crooked bunch of scumbags you couldn't trust with your money (or your credit card details) to me.

dudewuttheheck · Sep 21, 2017

I have to agree with @Sloan1874 and @Big J here.

They want it to look like they have completely broken with the past when in reality, they are still using stolen designs and are still profiting off of everything that Will did and still have other guilty parties in the company. Changing the name to seem like a different company while still employing people and using stolen items is even more disingenuous.

People giving them money when they know this are the misguided ones.

ButteMT61 · Sep 21, 2017

My misplaced hostility is still intact. I don't carry a lot of it, but I do in this regard.

Fanch · Sep 21, 2017

3ed89a54589eb53ea2e6f6f534ffaaceeebeb854ec2de9abc7d1d48e52fc63ed.jpg

These guys seem to be the the Rodney Dangerfield of the Lounge.

ButteMT61 · Sep 21, 2017

Fanch said:
These guys seem to be the the Rodney Dangerfield of the Lounge.

Not sure who's worse, them or AF - I even forget the name of the company now LOL!

Pio · Dec 13, 2019

The unbelievable story of Simmons Built. I hope no one ever forgets.

Downunder G Man · Feb 17, 2020

Resurrecting this old thread. I have had very recent dealings with Simmons Bilt and have only good things to say about them. I have 2 of their jackets , both in black goat. A J100 café racer and a Nebraska. Go your own way I say !

sweetfights · Feb 17, 2020

The SB cafe racer is the only cafe racer that fits me stock to date. Great looking.
Although I still have to try a proper size 42 cafe racer from Aero. My previous Aero's racers were 40- too tight.

Downunder G Man · Feb 17, 2020

These are both stock off the rack ( for Proconsul LA ) and fit me well. Roll on our "Aussie winter" I say !

44" chest, 36 waist. Stock off the rack Schott in 44" fit me well also. I may be "lucky", I don't need "bespoke" !

zebedee · Feb 17, 2020

sweetfights said:
The SB cafe racer is the only cafe racer that fits me stock to date. Great looking.
Although I still have to try a proper size 42 cafe racer from Aero. My previous Aero's racers were 40- too tight.

I had the same thing- a size 40 was too constricting. The 42 was much roomier and was also longer without being either too loose or lengthy. I did get the Aero 40 to fit briefly when I endured mild starvation.

Downunder G Man · Feb 17, 2020

zebedee said:
I had the same thing- a size 40 was too constricting. The 42 was much roomier and was also longer without being either too loose or lengthy. I did get the Aero 40 to fit briefly when I endured mild starvation.

Mild starvation ? Not in this life haha...( tho' I could do with losing the couple of extra Christmas kilos ! )

zebedee · Feb 17, 2020

Downunder G Man said:
Mild starvation ? Not in this life haha...( tho' I could do with losing the couple of extra Christmas kilos ! )

Even then it was fairly tight.

. The size 42 was absolutely right- back length is 26.5 inches, which was perfect.

Berto · Nov 21, 2020

Robbie79 said:
Hello,

I've recently received several leather swatches from Simmons Bilt including their new Blattwerk horsehide, Shinki horsehide, etc. To be honest with you the Blattwerk "Mahagonay" looks beautiful and the leather is so soft and supply and has a kind of vintage look. It is not comparable with any other leather jackets I own (Horween FQHH, Aero jerky HH, Shinki from RMC, Lost Worlds HH, Eastman HH, Aero battered tan HH, etc.). According to their website the thickness is ranging from 1.2-1.4mm, however it feels like a mid-weight leather. As I cannot find any threads or experience on Blattwerk HH from SB in the internet, I wonder if any of you own a jacket made of SB Blattwerk HH and how is your experience with it in terms of durability, patina development, etc. I'm really tempted to purchase one but I'm undecisive without knowing how the quality is.

I'm looking forward to your feedback - thanks!!
Kind regards,
Robbie

Robbie, I know a guy who has ordered a leather jacket made in Blattwerk Mahogany.

I will try lo upload some pics of it.

MoFo · Dec 3, 2020

jacketjunkie said:
I don't think anyone here owns a jacket made from that hide; actually I don't think they have made many of them at all as they charge quite a lot for it and it's an unknown leather. Most of their customers probably rather take the safe route with Horween leather at less cost.

I am a happy Blattwerk Mahogany customer.

It's GREAT!

Berto · Dec 3, 2020

MoFo said:
I am a happy Blattwerk Mahogany customer. It's GREAT!

Can you kindly upload some pics?

MoFo · Dec 3, 2020

Berto said:
Can you kindly upload some pics?

I did...

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/show-your-graining.101515/page-9#post-2730673

Experience with Blattwerk horsehide (Simmons Bilt)?

Practically Family

Practically Family

Familiar Face

I'll Lock Up

Call Me a Cab

I'll Lock Up

I'll Lock Up

New in Town

One Too Many

My Mail is Forwarded Here

One Too Many

One Too Many

One Too Many

One Too Many

One of the Regulars

Familiar Face

One of the Regulars

Familiar Face

Similar threads

Log in

Forum statistics