Diamond Clothing Buco J100 review.

[navetsea]

alcohol will kill the shine (it did on my shiny combat and hiking boots), but I don't know if that is a good idea to apply on this beautiful hide, probably watered down alcohol.

 

[Monitor]

Once gone, you can't get it back. Carlos, enjoy the shine while it lasts.

 

[Sloan1874]

I'd just wear the hell out of it, the shine will come off in no time.

 

[Carlos840]

I'd just wear the hell out of it, the shine will come off in no time.

That's what i'm doing! Been wearing it 10 hours a day since i got it, wearing it as i type, it is breaking in beautifully...

 

[ButteMT61]

Yeah, I miss the initial shine of the Shinki. Don't be so anxious to kill it off!

 

[handymike]

Haha, mine has a clear coat so the shine will be around for quite awhile.

 

[Superfluous]

From thinnest to thickest (gaps reflect meaningful difference):

ELMC
Kelso Liberty
Horween Jerky

Shinki
Vincenza

Horween FQHH

 

[Seb Lucas]

Interesting, I thought Liberty was 3oz.

 

[Superfluous]

Interesting, I thought Liberty was 3oz.

Thats what BK states. If so, its the thinnest 3oz HH I have ever handled.

 

[Seb Lucas]

So you think in truth it may be more like 2.2oz like the Jerky and A2 hides used by Aero?

 

[IXL]

From thinnest to thickest (gaps reflect meaningful difference):

ELMC
Kelso Liberty
Horween Jerky


Shinki
Vincenza

Horween FQHH

This is quite helpful. Thanks for categorizing the various hides in this manner.

 

[Edward]

Worth bearing in mind, of course, the organic nature of leather.... No two animals will ever be identical. Tanning processes will have a huge impact on the way a hide turns out, but you can't discount what the raw material is like going in. Which is to say, there's room for a fair level of variation in hide thickness, evne from the same tannery.

this thread makes me wondering one thing, what do you guys feel about Combat finish from GW?

What exactly is it? I looked on their website, buy couldn't find it mentioned... Is it like the 'timeworn' thing ELC have done for a long time? I've never been a fan of artificially aging jackets, but I suppose it depends what you want. There will be a lot of folks out there who come to repro A2s because they really wanted an original jacket but can't find one they can afford, or can't find one big enough for them.... a repro aged to look like a 70-plus year old jacket that saw combat will be the next best thing for someone like that. For me, on the other hand... I want my jacket to look like it did then rather than now, so I don't want it to look like a well preserved seventy year old jacket when I get it new.

Which is a long-winded way of saying I can see a place for that sort of treatment as there's definitely a market for it, it just isn't of interest to me.

I'd just wear the hell out of it, the shine will come off in no time.

Bazinga. JWTDT.

 

[CBI]

In re Combat Clones at Good Wear - Go to this link. Scroll down until you see Combat Clone jackets. There are 10 examples.

http://www.goodwearleather.com/photos/

Since my interest in leather jackets is directly tied to my vintage/WW2 aviation hobby, this Combat Clone look is my ideal look/style of a leather jacket/A-2 jacket.

I can understand why others might not care for this approach but generally speaking for me, if its leather and looks new, I don't care for it no matter how fine a quality it is. Its gotta be lived in. As can be seen in a million WW2 era pics, A-2's, B-3's etc were broken in pretty quickly back then seeing as many of these jackets were worn every day. As John Chapman at Good Wear has stated, the Shiki hides, as authentic as they look to WW2 leather will take much longer to break in than "period" leather hence the CC option. Again, its all up to whatever people like.

Yes, its great to break them in on one's own but for someone like me who lives in a part of the country (US) with a short winter and someone who owns a closet full of leather A-2's. etc. My "new" jackets will never break in without some extra "help" or a combat clone option OR buy well-worn/used. What's great about Good Wear (and Diamond dave) is that the break in time is short and in many cases, its a vintage look right out of the box. Again I absolutely want this - 1944 in a box!

Some of the CC jackets are looking VERY convincingly like 70 year old originals (and I have owned many originals over the years)

 

[yakima]

My "CC" - made by Aero Leather, and a close match for an original in their showroom.

 

[zhz]

Worth bearing in mind, of course, the organic nature of leather.... No two animals will ever be identical. Tanning processes will have a huge impact on the way a hide turns out, but you can't discount what the raw material is like going in. Which is to say, there's room for a fair level of variation in hide thickness, evne from the same tannery.



What exactly is it? I looked on their website, buy couldn't find it mentioned... Is it like the 'timeworn' thing ELC have done for a long time? I've never been a fan of artificially aging jackets, but I suppose it depends what you want. There will be a lot of folks out there who come to repro A2s because they really wanted an original jacket but can't find one they can afford, or can't find one big enough for them.... a repro aged to look like a 70-plus year old jacket that saw combat will be the next best thing for someone like that. For me, on the other hand... I want my jacket to look like it did then rather than now, so I don't want it to look like a well preserved seventy year old jacket when I get it new.

Which is a long-winded way of saying I can see a place for that sort of treatment as there's definitely a market for it, it just isn't of interest to me.



Bazinga. JWTDT.

The combat clone is not just about the ageing the leather, but also include the imperfect swing, uneven cut etc.

 

[Sloan1874]

Sorry, I'm not buying that. In every sense of that expression.

 

[Monitor]

Sorry, I'm not buying that. In every sense of that expression.

+1
What's the point of this? I mean, if I really wanted such extreme accuracy, I'd buy a vintage A2. Repros are great but that combat clone stuff is entering cosplay territories.

 

[navetsea]

.... can you force someone with a great pride in their skill to do that intentionally?
to me it is as hard as intentionally trying to wet my pants.[huh]

 

[CBI]

When JC talks about "imperfect stitching, its not BAD stitching, just not cold laser accuracy. If someone wants that sort of vintage feel, then just buy a real one? Lots of us DO buy real A-2's but then we are wearing a 70 year old jacket that can be fragile. The only way to make THAT work is to own 3 or 4 real ones and wear them all occasionally, not over wearing any one original. Again, this approach (GW) is for vintage A-2 nuts who want super accuracy. I don't see why there would be any criticism, its for A-2/WW2 peeps. "Not buying that" John Chapman has clearly demonstrated many times over that Good Wear can uphold the most stringent "modern craftsman" standards. He is choosing to expand his offerings/options with the CC idea. Not sure how many customers are actually buying them.

 

[ButteMT61]

^^ Exactly. And some of us could never find an original in our size - that's remotely affordable when one rarely comes by.
It's an option. Good lord, what's so hard to get about that???