17 Years of hard wear

[Ken at Aero Leather]

Hi Grant

The jacket in real life looks pretty much like it does in the current pic, knits are exactly the same shade as in the picture as they are in reality............ but they are pretty grubby......the whole jacket is rather grubby if the truth was told............as Lydia constantly reminds me :>)
The floor and the leather are possibly fractionally paler than they are in real life but only slightly
I can't really remember what the jacket looked like new but the stitching and lining look much the same in both pictures so I'm assuming the colour reproduction is fairly true in both pics (Different floor)

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

nice "before and after" comparison - really surprising how thight the knitting still looks

I'd used the same British supplier of knit since 1968 until he sadly passed away in 2012 and the business closed. His knits were always vastly superior to any other supplier we've sampled before or since. (And I don't use the term "vastly" without reason)
We currently use the same supplier as Good Wear, they are very good but second best historically.

There are still odd bits of the old stuff knocking around the factory but I think all the rust is long gone

Looking at the pics again, they have shrunk slightly but that's what happens if wool gets soaked enough times!

 

[B-Man2]

I'd used the same British supplier of knit since 1968 until he sadly passed away in 2012 and the business closed

Ken;
I'm a little confused on the color difference between original WWII Aero rust knits and original WWII Aero berry colored knits or are they one in the same?
Also what is the closest knit to the WWII knits that Aero Scotland offers today?

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

Hi B-Man2

Aren't the terms "Rust" and "Berry" modern terms to describe the same colour Aero Beacon knit?
We've called that knit rust since we first had some woven in the early 80s. Ours was matched to the inside of the fold on an old Beacon A-2 waistband from a jacket that we'd restored. I do believe there were some slight variations in the knits used by Aero during WW2 or this could just be wear and grubbyness (Just check what wear did to the colour of my knits)
The rust we currently use is matched from our old knit, I believe our current US supplier confirmed it's also the same shade they make for GW, but then I'd expect it would be!
Bottom Line, and answer to your question, it doesn't get any closer than our current "Rust" knit!

 

[Grant]

I too have noticed among Aero contracts (even some within the same contract) the varying shades of "rust" or "berry" or whatever you wanna call it that exists. Just goes to show there's no one true shade that's correct.

 

[B-Man2]

Ken
Thanks for your reply. I learn more everyday from this forum.

 

[Skip]

I am a great fan of wearing the brown stuff out of repros and my jackets. Mine have been slept in, shimmied up trees and through hedges in, been tobogganing in (and the accompanying crashes), worn in rain, sleet, hail and snow, worked on the car and boats in (in the B-10 I dismantled a verandah and built a new one whilst wearing it earlier this year), they've been stood on, puked on (my daughter parked her custard on the Irvin), stuffed unceremoniously in relocation boxes (the poor Irvin again was stuffed in a box in a ball when we moved from Norway to Oz and left in the box in storage for 16 months before being pulled out, actually looked better afterwards once it had relaxed a bit), played rugby in (that's a wee while ago and was late at night after quite a few beverages and involved a watermelon as the ball, amazingly survived), been to concerts and gigs in, etc, etc.

I wouldn't do this with an original wartime jacket but with the high end repros, they look so much better worn hard and when they develop a strong patina like Ken's one above. Although with the prices that repros are now you can see why a lot of people are so scared of using them and fret about every little thing. Truth is they look the best when you don't baby them. Those boys in WWII didn't carefully lay their jackets flat on the floor and didn't wear them if the weather was inclement. They didn't give a flying fig about them and that's why they look so good in the photos.

Hard use = Patina = Great looking jacket

Hey Smithy, With that storyline reckon you got a best seller... "Its a jackets life"

Totally agree mate

 

[CBI]

yes, lots of real wear is the key. Kind of tough when you have a sedentary job though.

 

[Smithy]

Hey Smithy, With that storyline reckon you got a best seller... "Its a jackets life"

Totally agree mate

Might need a jazzier title to hook a publisher and the punters, how about "Full Leather Jacket"

Great to see you Skip!

 

[Skip]

Might need a jazzier title to hook a publisher and the punters, how about "Full Leather Jacket"

Great to see you Skip!

Like it mate, like it a lot.

What CBI said is true, especially even harder when you live in a more Saharan climate like ours. I have 5 jackets, 6 if you count the M445, (the wooly mammoth as I call it - which hardly gets a wear unless a trip to the mountains is in order or if I drive in winter with the tops off). I alternate my other 5 during Winter/Spring (which would feel more like Summer to you Northern Hemispherical types). I have one I do the gardening in and occasionally work on the car in, sometimes I might even wear one when I'm out bush with my camera. But now I'm nearing 50, I'm finally working out I'm not as spritely as I used to be, but unlike me the jackets are getting better with age thats for sure

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

yes, lots of real wear is the key. Kind of tough when you have a sedentary job though.

Might I suggest getting a couple of Border Collies, they'll get you out of the house and into the sort of rought terrain every jacket needs!

 

[B-Man2]

Hi B-Man2

Aren't the terms "Rust" and "Berry" modern terms to describe the same colour Aero Beacon knit?
We've called that knit rust since we first had some woven in the early 80s. Ours was matched to the inside of the fold on an old Beacon A-2 waistband from a jacket that we'd restored. I do believe there were some slight variations in the knits used by Aero during WW2 or this could just be wear and grubbyness (Just check what wear did to the colour of my knits)
The rust we currently use is matched from our old knit, I believe our current US supplier confirmed it's also the same shade they make for GW, but then I'd expect it would be!
Bottom Line, and answer to your question, it doesn't get any closer than our current "Rust" knit!

Ken: I just acquired an original Aero 21996 in nice shape however someone replaced the original rust knits with dark brown ones.
Does Aero replace knits for a fee? If not can I purchase set in hopes of finding someone who would replace them for me?

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

I've been clearing my laptop of old files, just came across this shot of my A-2 from about four years ago, it's darken a tad since unless the strong Scottish sunlight had made it look paler in this shot.

 

[Grant]

Whoa, that's one badass looking A-2! Has the stitching faded or was it a lighter color from the start?
Being the zip nerd I am, I woulda swapped out that wanker repo Talon for something worthy of such lovely hides.
Keep wearing it in good health!

 

[CBI]

exceptional!!!!!!! fantastic congrats!

Gee, I guess we really should actually wear these things!

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

Whoa, that's one badass looking A-2! Has the stitching faded or was it a lighter color from the start?
Being the zip nerd I am, I woulda swapped out that wanker repo Talon for something worthy of such lovely hides.
Keep wearing it in good health!

Hi Grant

Even though I say so myself, I think it's the best looking repro out there, it's the way it's been treated as much as anything else, I've been offered lots of ££££S for it over the years. The zipper has never bothered me, to be fair, it's really only the way the tape is fitted into the box that lets it down. If I'd realised I'd be keeping it I probably would have used a deadstock zipper but it's never given me any trouble. If it ever breaks I'll upgrade the zipper
The thread was quite pale from day one, I forget the make of thread we used way back in time but the spools were very small and the machinists didn't like using it as they ran out almost daily as opposed to the huge spools that last a fortnight

 

[B-Man2]

Ken
That jacket is friggin awesome!
That's the jacket you should use in a promo for Aero Leathers.
Guaranteed to boost your sales.

 

[M3Cavalry]

That looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing.

 

[jeremiah]

Nice, but correct me if I am wrong here, this jacket is chrome tanned?
I would think a veg tanned jacket would need a little more care and attention after so many adventures and memories. One of the downsides to having a veg tanned jacket.

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

Nice, but correct me if I am wrong here, this jacket is chrome tanned?
I would think a veg tanned jacket would need a little more care and attention after so many adventures and memories. One of the downsides to having a veg tanned jacket.

I honestly don't know, it looks like veg tanned though

The whole thing was a bit of an exercise, the leather was amongst a bunch of samples that had been lying around for years, I don't ever remember where it came from. There were 2 front quarters, the cutters said they couldn't get a jacket out of them, too little footage.
I took up the challenge, if I recall correctly I had a "CBI Field Modified A-2" in mind, fur collar to save on leather, but I managed to get a whole A-2 out of the two hides and once it was cut I decided to see just how quickly it could be put together, maybe I should have spent a few more minutes finding a better zipper but I hadn't expected it to come out as well as it did