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PunxsutawneyPhil

New in Town
Messages
6
Hi All!

Thought I’d showcase my first G1 acquisition. Bought this a little over a month ago and am finally showing it off.

1968 Martin Lane Co. 7823D G1 in size 46 with goatskin and mouton collar. Managed to grab this on Grailed for about $180 pre tax and shipping (about $230 overall).

Story from the seller is that it was his uncle’s who got it while in the service, wore it a few years, then tossed it in a closet and basically forgot until recently when he gave his nephew the green light to sell. Funny enough, I found Blue Chip Stamps from 1971 in one of the pockets.

I’ve always sat somewhere between size 44 and 46 depending on many different factors. I had seen a post on here about how The Martin Lane G1s tended to fit pretty trim so I decided to search for 46.

Overall, I’d say it’s in great condition! The mouton is soft and full, the body is in great shape, and the knits are pretty good. There were, however, some cons as you can see in the images. A friendly moth found the jacket before me and left a few holes in the knits and there’s a bald spot in the mouton. There are also some scuffs and knicks on the sleeves and the size tag has seen better days. The elastic bands inside were also completely shot and I sent it to Steve Sellers over on VintageLeatherJackets to replace those. He did a phenomenal job! Later this week I’m meeting with a furrier who has said she may be able to spot repair the bald area on my collar and put in a similar patch of mouton.

Funny enough, the elastic replacement actually altered the measurements a bit. Previously the chest measured at 23.5 inches to 24. Now? 22 inches! Wild. Shoulder measures at 20 inches from seam to seam straight across or 20.5 if you go over, front length is 26.5 inches from top of shoulder to hem and back is 24.5 inches, sleeves are 26 inches even.

This jacket has certainly gotten me addicted to vintage military leather. I’ve basically done nothing but scour old forums and read as much information as possible and I can’t wait to build my collection!

Until then I was hoping to get some advice. See, I initially used Cobbler’s choice condition on it which worked great for about 48 hours. Visibly darker, scuffs hidden, squeakiness was non existent. However, it wore off pretty quick and went back to how it was. Apparently Cobbler’s choice doesn’t penetrate this treated goatskin particularly well. What conditioner might you recommend and what might you recommend to hide/fill in the scuffs? I’ve seen some reviews of Fiebings and Saphir that had success but figured I’d pick your brains.

Thanks for having me!
 

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Peacoat

Bartender
Messages
7,074
Location
South of Nashville
Congratulations. Martin Lane is one of the top military contractors., probably the best.

I have used a bunch of conditioners for the past 40 years on English saddles, horse tack and the occasional leather jacket. Pecard has worked as well or better for me than any of the others.
 

PunxsutawneyPhil

New in Town
Messages
6
Congratulations. Martin Lane is one of the top military contractors., probably the best.

I have used a bunch of conditioners for the past 40 years on English saddles, horse tack and the occasional leather jacket. Pecard has worked as well or better for me than any of the others.
Thanks! So far I love it! I had read martin lane was a good contractor but I do wonder how it compares to older ones
 

Peacoat

Bartender
Messages
7,074
Location
South of Nashville
I’ve seen a lot of Pecards but I’ve also seen that it can ruin the stitching and some other things. Any knowledge of that?
I have used it for 10 or 15 years and never had a stitching problem. But then I have only used it sparingly on jackets. My theory is, if it isn't dry, don't use it. Although, I have read recently that it is helpful in breaking in a jacket. I probably knew that intuitively, but never used conditioner for that purpose.

I have used it more extensively on saddles and tack without a problem.
 

El Marro

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,980
Location
California
I’ve seen a lot of Pecards but I’ve also seen that it can ruin the stitching and some other things. Any knowledge of that?
So my understanding is that Pecards is actually one of the safest products you can use when it comes to stitching because it is ph neutral. Don’t take my word for it though, this is one of those questions where you could ask five people and get five different answers.
 

RDS

A-List Customer
Messages
334
I’ve seen a lot of Pecards but I’ve also seen that it can ruin the stitching and some other things. Any knowledge of that?
I’ve seen it often said that the use of certain brand or type of product will be detrimental to a leather jacket such as rotting the stitching, going rancid and causing mould, damaging the leather fibres, etc. however no-one seems to be able to show first hand evidence.
More often than not it appears to be people just repeating what they’ve read somewhere without actually experiencing the issue for themselves and these reports are just FOF’s (friend of a friend story)
 

raf

One of the Regulars
Messages
238
In decades of using Pecards, never any problems with stitching, or any other problems, for that matter. Apply sparingly, let set for a little while, and buff off.

If applying dye to scuff marks, always do so before applying any conditioner. You may need to apply dye more than once to same spot for it to sink in and remain desired shade. Soaking the spots where dye is to be applied with 91% alcohol and allowing to completely dry will enhance the dye installation.

Holes in cuffs can be darned or perhaps one can use this technique: https://www.vintageleatherjackets.o...your-knits-without-sewing-them-part-ii.32143/

Either way, repair them sooner rather than later lest they become larger.
 
Last edited:

jchance

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,203
Location
LA
Does the leather feel dry to the touch? If not, don't condition it. People usually overcondition erroneously.

The leather looks very supple to me. It doesn’t look like it needs any conditioner.
 

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