Pre-war Irvin or AN-J-4, which one to choose??

[Peter Mackin]

It really depends on how you're going to wear it, out walking the dog, if your going to layer etc. I have far too many jackets but I have some that get far more wear due to the amount of rain we get here. Anj4 just didn't get any wear. A B6 would be by choice if I had to have a sheepskin. Much more versatile. I loved my anj4 but ended up wearing it in the house watching TV . A long halfbelt in goatskin or lighter horsehide with a 1/4in sheepskin lining would be good.

 

[bn1966]

D-1 here for me in the UK, had an early Irvin type from ELC but moved it on due to lack of wear. Just too warm much of the time if you are moving a lot whilst wearing one. Shorter fleece on the D-1 has proven more practical for me. I’d love a B-3 but it wouldn’t earn its keep. When the temps do drop here I use an early N-2B Parka.

 

[f2002q]

Well, after 7 months of waiting, I finally got the ANJ-4 from Aero. This is a serious jacket, heavy and very comfy. Very soft inside. Definitely seem warm, but since we're out of the Winter, I can't really tell you how warm. It's fairly chilly today, 52F and I wore it outside. Didn't overheat while walking the dog, but I definitely got some looks!!!

Zipper is a Talon, and definitely too small. This thing could use a #10 for sure.

 

[f2002q]

And you guys thought the story ended with the jacket in my hands. Well, no.

Turned out that the collar latch was way too small, unable to close the collar. No way to close it without chocking yourself out!!! I reported this to Carrie at Thurston Bros. and she immediately took care of the situation. Aero remade the jacket and now it works perfectly. I'm so glad that I ordered this thing from Thurston (Carrie) because just having somebody close to your timezone to deal with issues is worth its weight in gold.

Here are some more pics.

This is the original collar latch, as you can see, not even close to being able to attach.


This is the new, improved collar latch:


Another view of the collar latch:



This jacket is hefty (size 48) clocking in at 7.7 lb.


Extremely well made!

In the end, it took one year from the time of order until I had the final jacket in my hands.

 

[raf]

I got my test jacket from Carrie. Beautiful B6 in red sheepskin. Wow, so plushy and the red color is amazing!! It's more like a brick red color than actual red. A few things I noticed on the B6 that I didn't like, for example the collar strap seems too short and the buckle too fiddly to quickly fasten it. I imagine this would be done while fighting wind and snow, so the buckle better be easy to manipulate, which is not the case with the B6 buckle.

I liked the side zippers, makes it convenient to adjust the size, you can even do them up 1/2 way! The front zipper seemed a little anemic though.

The P2P for a B6 size 48 is a little small at 24 inches. This is more like a normal size 46. I would have to size up to get the "oversize" look.

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Here are the sample skins Carrie included. I measured the thickness with my loupe, which has a measuring screen, and the 25mm Seal came in at about 2mm thickness. The RAF and 15mm skin all came in at about 1.4mm thickness. This is the thickness of the actual skin, not the wool.

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WRT to the B-6 (or similar) collar tab being hard to buckle and unbuckle, one can do a couple of things.

Easiest is to use a very sharp hole punch to enlarge the holes in the leather. Less is more here, since with use the holes will elongate. Re-dying the newly punched holes may be necessary. It's very common need to re-sharpen hole punches.

It is usually possible to add some [/i]all-brass[/i]--not plated steel which will rust) Eyelets whose Inner Diameter (I.D.) is a reasonably loose fit on the "post" of the buckle. Wider I.D. than necessary is undesirable, as the Head diameter of the Eyelet increases.

Always a setting punch and anvil properly sized to the eyelets, is essential.

One needs to measure the thickness of the leather tab and order Eyelets of about 1/8" longer body length. I would strongly suggest appropriate Dia/Length Eyelets that come with circular backers which reinforce the other side of the Eyelet. In the event that the existing holes in the leather strap must be enlarged, a Punch may come with some setting tool kits, or a full punch kit can be had from Harbor Freight. Unless the cutting edge of the punch is very sharp, do yourself a big favor and sharpen the hole punch first.

When setting eyelets, it's very wise to practice first; there is a learning curve. The eyelets and backers can be painted, if desired.

@f2002q

 

[raf]

Glad to see that the Mfr worked with you, and that's part of the purchase price. It's my belief that Mfrs of jackets which have throat latches ought to request user neck sizes, as a matter-of-course, and adjust collar button placement accordingly.

WRT to the collar latch not meeting up with the buttons on the other side of the collar, there may be a DIY work-around.

I found some fairly thick (2mm-3mm) 1" wide leather strip, carefully cut 2 buttonholes into it to match the two pre-existing buttons, and after carefully measuring desired length cut it to correct length and sewed on a matching button. Dyed the add-on "Button Extender" to match the jacket's color (both sides and edge), and hardly visible. Button the "Extender" to the existing collar buttons and go forth. Not nearly as elegant a getting it right in the first place, but a dirt-cheap alternative. Reversible for the next owner, if need be.