Fine Creek Leather

Coke20x said:

All of you have been very helpful. Really appreciate it.

Thinking that I will be sending the jacket back this coming week. 2 years of hyped up anticipation (from previous to current jacket) and now just sort of deflated. Oh well.

I do somewhat like the idea of getting a custom jacket. Some time back, I had solicited the Himel team to consider that asymmetrical jacket they often produce in deer hide. Although Himel would have been able to modify the jacket somewhat, removing the pocket they place near the upper right chest, they said they'd be unable to produce a jacket with a clean back panel, which was not my preference. Around that time, I had shifted my attention towards FCL's very simplistic asymmetrical style with the minimalistic hardware and lack of belt... a preference I hold fairly strongly.

The Manhattan from Field Leathers looks fairly nice however, D-pockets are just a bit too much for me as it would appear I ride motorcycles when I, in fact, do no such thing.

Thanks again to everyone for their feedback. Was very surprised to see so many people willing to help me out with this. Much appreciated!!!

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Coke20x said:

The Manhattan from Field Leathers looks fairly nice however, D-pockets are just a bit too much for me as it would appear I ride motorcycles when I, in fact, do no such thing.

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Coke20x said:

All of you have been very helpful. Really appreciate it.

Thinking that I will be sending the jacket back this coming week. 2 years of hyped up anticipation (from previous to current jacket) and now just sort of deflated. Oh well.

I do somewhat like the idea of getting a custom jacket. Some time back, I had solicited the Himel team to consider that asymmetrical jacket they often produce in deer hide. Although Himel would have been able to modify the jacket somewhat, removing the pocket they place near the upper right chest, they said they'd be unable to produce a jacket with a clean back panel, which was not my preference. Around that time, I had shifted my attention towards FCL's very simplistic asymmetrical style with the minimalistic hardware and lack of belt... a preference I hold fairly strongly.

The Manhattan from Field Leathers looks fairly nice however, D-pockets are just a bit too much for me as it would appear I ride motorcycles when I, in fact, do no such thing.

Thanks again to everyone for their feedback. Was very surprised to see so many people willing to help me out with this. Much appreciated!!!

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indigoeagle said:

Has anyone got experience with Y'2 Leathers and Double Helix?
Both make similar jackets like FCL like the denim leather ones, the car coat as well as single and double rider jackets and many more.

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tmitchell59 said:

Fine Creek Virginia Beach-Two weeks and no Rips or Seam Seperation! Got my Fingers Crossed.

View attachment 295432 View attachment 295434 View attachment 295436 View attachment 295437

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bobbymilwaukee said:

Sell both Y'2 and Double Helix at the shop I manage. Both are great - at a relatively good price for what they are. Y'2 does production for many other Japanese brands and shops as a private label. They offer a few different leathers, including one that's similar to the leather FCL uses on most of their patterns, though I know FCL has expanded the last year or so to include Shinki. Y'2's "vintage" horse is my favorite of theirs, a lot of sheen at first and very smooth, easy-to-wear.

Double Helix is newer to us, and as is typical, the sample they sent was juuuuust a bit too large for me and so it went to my boss for R&D. Haven't had much of a chance to give it a once over since I've been out of town the last month for work and we got our first production order right after I left. The Horse they use is very grainy and reminded me immediately of The Flat Head's Shinki offering. I asked them for more information but they played it close to the chest - I'm assuming it isn't Shinki though as that would be an obvious selling point.

Both brands make a great product and while I certainly have nothing negative to say about FCL these come in at a price point slightly under Fine Creek. This definitely isn't due to a drop-off in terms of construction or leather quality - these brands are just lesser known and less widely available.

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NYDRH said:

How do you feel the overall quality is compared to the flat head?

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Marc mndt said:

This is a closeup of a TFH jacket one of the loungers posted in the classifieds section. I hope he doesn't mind me re-using it.
View attachment 297192
The two stitch lines on the left are not straight / parallel. Stitch line on the right is wobbly. The double stitch right beneath the pocket looks very sloppy and those double stitch lines above the pocket stop early.
This is not something I'd accept on a 2-3k jacket.

By the way, I thought double stitch lines are made with a double needle lockstitch machine. Apparently TFH didn't have or didn't use one when they made this particular jacket.

Disclaimer: I've never had a TFH jacket in my hands, I'm only judging from photo's. View attachment 297194
Also, the front panels are misalligned. Edit: typo

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MrProper said:

that is surely an intentional imperfection to do justice to the style of the fifties. Lol

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bobbymilwaukee said:

Sell both Y'2 and Double Helix at the shop I manage. Both are great - at a relatively good price for what they are. Y'2 does production for many other Japanese brands and shops as a private label. They offer a few different leathers, including one that's similar to the leather FCL uses on most of their patterns, though I know FCL has expanded the last year or so to include Shinki. Y'2's "vintage" horse is my favorite of theirs, a lot of sheen at first and very smooth, easy-to-wear.

Double Helix is newer to us, and as is typical, the sample they sent was juuuuust a bit too large for me and so it went to my boss for R&D. Haven't had much of a chance to give it a once over since I've been out of town the last month for work and we got our first production order right after I left. The Horse they use is very grainy and reminded me immediately of The Flat Head's Shinki offering. I asked them for more information but they played it close to the chest - I'm assuming it isn't Shinki though as that would be an obvious selling point.

Both brands make a great product and while I certainly have nothing negative to say about FCL these come in at a price point slightly under Fine Creek. This definitely isn't due to a drop-off in terms of construction or leather quality - these brands are just lesser known and less widely available.

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NYDRH said:

How do you feel the overall quality is compared to the flat head?

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indigoeagle said:

Very interesting.

How do you find the sizing of Y'2 compared with FCL in the denim type jackets?
The FCL fits quite small from my experience. While I normally wear a 42, in the type 1 by FCL (Lynchburg) I need a 44 for a snug fit.

Y'2 seems to offer two kinds of leather strengths, too, like FCL: a lighter one and then what they call Eco Horse. Besides some less harmful tanning process, apparently it condenses the leather, making it quite stiff, but also easy then to set creases.
I think, the thicker type of FCL is also praised in Japan by aficionados for that fast creasing characteristic.

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handymike said:

I tried on a Flat Head Del Raiser, and it was a beautiful work of jacketmaking. The Fine Creek didn’t fit me right...
@bobbymilwaukee where is your shop? I would love to see Y2 in person. They make a killer green one. The Double Helix jackets always look off on their model, I would be Interested to see them on someone else to get a better reference.

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bobbymilwaukee said:

The Y'2 jackets run pretty true to size. I'm a 38 in my Y'2 (Y2-02), Mister Freedom (Campus Stallion, Baloo Two Tone), and my Freewheelers (La Brea). We currently only stock the HR-55 D-Pocket and HR-01 Modified Cross Zip. The cross zip is a fuller fit but I'd take the same size. At the moment, we're only special ordering other styles and I haven't had a chance to see their Types 1 or 2 in person yet, but based on the three styles I've tried on, I'd wager the 38 would be my size. In FCL I'm a 40 but the body length is long on me and not flattering to my own eyes.

The Y2-02 is made of their Eco Horse. It's certainly much thicker and matte than the Vintage Horse - that's exactly what I was referring to when saying they had a comparable leather to FCL. I haven't found it to be a quick break-in. It's still wearing me, and I haven't had much of a give it a fight yet. Maybe when I get back from this work trip.



Snake Oil Provisions in Long Beach, CA. Hopefully the response to Y'2 continues to be strong and we're able to bring in more styles - we're big fans and would love to expand our business with them. They're very nice guys, on top of making a quality product. They're open to us doing custom make ups with them, which is very exciting.

The model pics for Double Helix are... pretty bad. Seems like he's very hip-y, and they all flare out at the hem. Again, I haven't had a chance to try on my size in one of their jackets, but the Type 3 in a size 40 did not flare out on me and doesn't on Ben, who owns SOP.

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marker2037 said:

Welcome, @bobbymilwaukee! I'm a big SOP fan here. The Y'2s and new Double Helix jackets are looking pretty great. Hope to see more of them in the wild on here.

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bobbymilwaukee said:

The Y'2 jackets run pretty true to size. I'm a 38 in my Y'2 (Y2-02), Mister Freedom (Campus Stallion, Baloo Two Tone), and my Freewheelers (La Brea). We currently only stock the HR-55 D-Pocket and HR-01 Modified Cross Zip. The cross zip is a fuller fit but I'd take the same size. At the moment, we're only special ordering other styles and I haven't had a chance to see their Types 1 or 2 in person yet, but based on the three styles I've tried on, I'd wager the 38 would be my size. In FCL I'm a 40 but the body length is long on me and not flattering to my own eyes.

The Y2-02 is made of their Eco Horse. It's certainly much thicker and matte than the Vintage Horse - that's exactly what I was referring to when saying they had a comparable leather to FCL. I haven't found it to be a quick break-in. It's still wearing me, and I haven't had much of a give it a fight yet. Maybe when I get back from this work trip.



Snake Oil Provisions in Long Beach, CA. Hopefully the response to Y'2 continues to be strong and we're able to bring in more styles - we're big fans and would love to expand our business with them. They're very nice guys, on top of making a quality product. They're open to us doing custom make ups with them, which is very exciting.

The model pics for Double Helix are... pretty bad. Seems like he's very hip-y, and they all flare out at the hem. Again, I haven't had a chance to try on my size in one of their jackets, but the Type 3 in a size 40 did not flare out on me and doesn't on Ben, who owns SOP.

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NYDRH said:

Thanks for the insights. I haven't seen any y'2 in person but I like what I see posted on line. I have liked just if the FCL stuff I've seen, the leather is very unique, I do love the flat head jackets though. For reference what size do you take in flat head?

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bobbymilwaukee said:

My first jacket was a tagged 38, then beer and marriage resulted in me needing to size up. Tagged size on my last FH was a Medium which equated roughly to a 40.

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bobbymilwaukee said:

Sell both Y'2 and Double Helix at the shop I manage. Both are great - at a relatively good price for what they are. Y'2 does production for many other Japanese brands and shops as a private label. They offer a few different leathers, including one that's similar to the leather FCL uses on most of their patterns, though I know FCL has expanded the last year or so to include Shinki. Y'2's "vintage" horse is my favorite of theirs, a lot of sheen at first and very smooth, easy-to-wear.

Double Helix is newer to us, and as is typical, the sample they sent was juuuuust a bit too large for me and so it went to my boss for R&D. Haven't had much of a chance to give it a once over since I've been out of town the last month for work and we got our first production order right after I left. The Horse they use is very grainy and reminded me immediately of The Flat Head's Shinki offering. I asked them for more information but they played it close to the chest - I'm assuming it isn't Shinki though as that would be an obvious selling point.

Both brands make a great product and while I certainly have nothing negative to say about FCL these come in at a price point slightly under Fine Creek. This definitely isn't due to a drop-off in terms of construction or leather quality - these brands are just lesser known and less widely available.

Click to expand...