1939 GW Werber

[EmergencyIan]

Man, that's a beaut!!!


I can't wait to receive my Good Wear Bronco A-2.



- Ian

 

[kobol]

Very nice. John does great work.

 

[aswatland]

Very nice. John does great work.

Thanks. John's A2s just keep getting better and better, especially with the latest batch of Japanese hh.

 

[Orlan]

John really knows what does. Great jacket and great look!:eusa_clap
Now I wait for my Californian, In one week it will be with me

 

[aswatland]

The jacket is now up for sale if anyone is interested.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?p=1071296#post1071296

 

[Dudleydoright]

Andrew, I am genuinely confused. All the planning and communications between you and John to get every one of those tiny details right. All the hard work by John to make it EXACTLY the way you wanted it. All the waiting and anticipation. The fanfare when it arrived. All the cooing and appreciative remarks folk made.

Now, 4 months later, you want to sell it. I swear to god I do not understand. You're not the first to do this (Jeff Makumbe and others) and I doubt you'll be the last. JC makes 'the most authentic' repros but they aren't good enough ?

I imagine that John must get very depressed to see all his hard work to satisfy demanding customers wants only for said customers to part with his wares so soon. And as most go the custom size route for that truly authentic look, the number of people of identical size to you must limit it re-sellability ?

I am really confused.
Dave

 

[Peacoat]

Andrew, I was wondering the same thing.

 

[aswatland]

There should be no confusion at all. The GW is great, but in this hobby you sell jackets to fund other purchases. Part of the reason is in the tread on the RW AC16159 and the Pre-War Irvin. My heart lies in original jackets rather than repros and I'm thinning the A2 repro collection to just two at the moment.

BTW Dave I hope you are not expecting me to be critical of John's jackets? I have another on order.

 

[Peacoat]

I knew you were more into the originals, but thought when you were lucky enough to get one of John's jackets, you would hold onto it for awhile . Certainly understand about making way for new inventory. I have one of his jackets (Poughkeepsie) on order, and he said it would be ready soon. Doubt that I will ever sell it, though. I've waited too long to get it!

BTW, for you Poughkeepsie pattern fans out there, John told me he has been in contact with a woman who says her father owned the Poughkeepsie Leather Coat Company. Needless to say, he will check into that further and see what information he can find out. I thought that was a rather interesting development.

 

[sbhva]

As a "collector" myself (firearms) I can say that many times the thrill is in the hunt for a rare or desirable item, not necessarily in the owning of it.

 

[too much coffee]

I am a collector of M-1 Garands and yes, the thrill of the hunt is just that, a thrill. But once I acquire that M-1, I wrap myself in the throng of history that ***** provides and I give thanks to the Lord for uniting me with "The greatest battle implement ever devised" Quote by General George S. Patton.
No, I will never sell, trade or barter away something that is so near and dear to my heart.
The possession of ones interest and passion is the true pride and enjoyment of that interest.
Just my 2 cents.
Best regards..........coffee

 

[Dudleydoright]

No Andrew, I would never expect you to be critical of John's jackets, any more than I would be now. A couple of years back, for sure but I haven't disputed for quite a while that John makes the best jackets and provides a service that larger scale makers like ELC , RMNZ, Aero et al cannot provide.

My remark is that there is a correlation between the amount of cooing and fanfare a GW owner gives his jacket and the speed at which it comes up for re-sale !

You, for example, have dumped this jacket for an original but still have another GW repro on order ! I wonder how long it will be after you post photos of it on her that it will come up for sale ?

Perhaps you have a very low threshold of boredom ?

I'm very lucky, my ELC Cable is sufficiently good enough quality for me (even though it's not a GW) that I don't feel the need to upgrade.

Dave

 

[aswatland]

No Andrew, I would never expect you to be critical of John's jackets, any more than I would be now. A couple of years back, for sure but I haven't disputed for quite a while that John makes the best jackets and provides a service that larger scale makers like ELC , RMNZ, Aero et al cannot provide.

My remark is that there is a correlation between the amount of cooing and fanfare a GW owner gives his jacket and the speed at which it comes up for re-sale !

You, for example, have dumped this jacket for an original but still have another GW repro on order ! I wonder how long it will be after you post photos of it on her that it will come up for sale ?

Perhaps you have a very low threshold of boredom ?

I'm very lucky, my ELC Cable is sufficiently good enough quality for me (even though it's not a GW) that I don't feel the need to upgrade.

Dave

This all sounds a like the jacket thought police questioning one's motives for selling a repro jacket.

 

[Dudleydoright]

Hell no, Andrew. To each their own. There's room enough for all opinions in this world. Although others might think that their view alone is doctrine.....

I speak as I find and if I don't understand something then I say so and hope to receive enlightenment

My points were simply the frequency with which these undisputedly great jackets come up for sale bearing in mind the effort both buyer and maker put into them. ELC etc don't seem to be sold on as quickly. Mayybe us third division jacket afficianados are less fussy ! And I feel for John that so many who claim his friendship sell his wares on so often. I know he gets paid but it still seems a little , well, almost ungrateful. Even more so when some of those friends have leapt to his defence on those occasion in the past I dared ask questions about his jackets are the ones selling on.

Unfortunately I'm no more enlightened than my first enquiring post. Perhaps that's a good thing..... But I'm certainly not the only one bemused. I appreciate the thrill of the quest is there but for myself, having made that effort, I like to enjoy the spoils a while

Anyways, I enjoy you posts and am in awe at how much knowledge you have undoubtedly gained in such a relatively short space of time. Especially the Irvins. :eusa_clap

Dave

 

[aswatland]

I thought I had already answered the question Dave. Collectors buy and sell jackets. Some they keep and others are sold on. Unless they have endless funds or space at home they have sell something to pay/make room for future purchases. I would rather sell a repro than an original which is much harder to replace in the future. This of course provides more sales for jacket makers, like John Chapman. BTW I have moved on ELC jackets even more quickly in the past. What else needs to be said on the subject?

 

[Dudleydoright]

Andrew, you need to say nothing more of YOUR reasons. They are non of my business anyways and I'm sure you realise that you don't have to justify anything to anyone. Tis a free world - more or less

Whilst it has been your thread where I have posted, my remarks are concerning a lot more people than yourself and I am not singling you out. Not intentionally anyways. I am merely making a general observation at any number of Good Wear jacket buyers........

Many, many jackets of all makes get traded for reasons of sizing, hide type etc. This is to be expected of 'mass' produced garments. Like sized labels do not equal like dimensions. When one gets into the realm of custom made though one would expect to see it less rather than more often. It is ONLY my observation. I can't be bothered to go onto the VLJ to collect evidence, number and names etc. Got a life to live lol

I just thought that if I was curious, then so might others be. Perhaps I am alone on this ?

Happy collecting !
Dave

 

[kampkatz]

Just want to add my thanks to you serious flight jacket collectors/traders. Your expertise has been extremely helpful to amateurs, like myself, in searching for a decent, accurate repro. Thanks again.:eusa_clap

 

[Papa M]

Just want to add my thanks to you serious flight jacket collectors/traders. Your expertise has been extremely helpful to amateurs, like myself, in searching for a decent, accurate repro. Thanks again.:eusa_clap

I'd like to sincerely echo that sentiment.

My girlfriend, on the other hand, would probably wish you all an entirely different and less pleasant sentiment.lol