A newbie's A2

[Dover]

I am new to the forum (thanks for the welcome!) and wanted to share some pic's of an A2 I recently purchased.
This is a Dubow size 40. It's got that salty been there and done that look.
The squadron patch I believe is the 49th bombardment squadron flying B-17's. Originally based in North Africa and later Italy. The leather is strong and supple with only a few moth nips here and there.
A lovely piece of history. Thanks for looking!

 

[Jonesy86]

Yo
From one newbie to another. Holy sh#t. That looks great. I am weird in that I don't usually like a jacket with the squadron patches. I didn't earn them. My father served on, an attack amphibious ship on "D-day" Iwo Jima. Just found a few pics in a box. I got a flag, and a letter from the President GHWBush and I can kinda get into the vibe. Got any fit pics?

 

[CBI]

looks great - congratulations! If it were mine, I would treat it with Pecards leather dressing which would really bring out the color(s) and add a bit of moisture back to the hide. Others might/will disagree.

 

[Jonesy86]

Pecards it what absolutely everyone on several forums recommends. Again I am a newbie too. Well, semi-newbie, but you got a very cool jacket there. What size is it? You know everything is for sale at a price!

Who was R. H. Rohnson? Just curious. I am not a true collector, again, just curious.

Love the wolf. It is a wolf, no?

Please all of you purists, forgive me my innocence. I know that you all take this very seriously. I respect that.

Peace,

 

[Jonesy86]

PS
Dubow size 40 is too small for me, I didn't read the OP well. I'm always on the hunt. But, I agree, hit it wit Pecards.

Very cool jacket!

 

[Steve27752]

A nice looking A2, a very good starting point.

 

[Jonesy86]

Dubow 40 would be way to small for me. I need at least a 42. But usually a 44 works better because of the need for 27" sleeves, which don't exist as far as I can tell. I have had to settle for 26", which are also rare. For a newbie, your A-2, should definitely get some forum cred. Damn good start. However, how you gonna top that. What is next?
From one Newbie to another. Good Luck.
Peace.

 

[Roughwear]

Welcome to the forum. The Dubow design is one of my favourites. The 23379 contract, which dates to 26th December 1941, was one of the smaller ones, with 10,000 made. It is no surprise that most Dubows seen today are from the 27798 contract which was five times larger! Lovely jacket. Do enjoy it.

 

[Ole]

Great! where did you get it? Ebay?
Please don't ruin it with Pecards.
There is another way to restore it without ruining it.

 

[Tom Bowers]

beautiful, you should be proud to own that jacket
Tom Bowers

 

[Roughwear]

Great! where did you get it? Ebay?
Please don't ruin it with Pecards.
There is another way to restore it without ruining it.

How exactly will Pecards ruin it?

 

[Ole]

in many ways..
it might change its color, it might change the color of the spots that have patina, it might corrode the cotton thread, it might moisten it more than desired, it might become sticky afterwards etc, plus once you do it (apply it) it cannot be undone.

with so many products offered by Pecards, you can very easily pick the wrong one and ruin the jacket

just too many uncertainties, choose your poison

 

[Silver Surfer]

congrats on your very nice second contract dubow. from the pix it looks to be solid and in wearable condition [occasionally]. if you chose to "feed" the hides, you may consider plain old household vaseline. it absorbs easily into old hides, will not leave a sticky surface, and change in hide color is minimal, if any when the vaseline is completely absorbed. try not to get any dressing of any sort on the patch.

 

[Roughwear]

in many ways..
it might change its color, it might change the color of the spots that have patina, it might corrode the cotton thread, it might moisten it more than desired, it might become sticky afterwards etc, plus once you do it (apply it) it cannot be undone.

with so many products offered by Pecards, you can very easily pick the wrong one and ruin the jacket

just too many uncertainties, choose your poison

I have been using this Antique Pecards Dressing for 20 years on original jackets and yes it does initially darken the hide. There is nothing wrong in this IMO. If used sparingly is does not leave a sticky finish. It leaves the leather supple. I have used it on hundreds of Irvins and A-2 and none have been ruined! Poison indeed! Hahaha!

 

[blackrat2]

This similar subject came up in a recent thread
Personally haven’t had issues with Pecards, alternative is to use Vaseline

 

[Silver Surfer]

as andrew has pointed out, your transitional [ from collar stand to simple collar construction] dubow is one of 10,000 originally made. even so, it is one of the more uncommon contracts, and they do not show up very often in wearable condition. ya dun gud.

 

[Steve27752]

in many ways..
it might change its color, it might change the color of the spots that have patina, it might corrode the cotton thread, it might moisten it more than desired, it might become sticky afterwards etc, plus once you do it (apply it) it cannot be undone.

with so many products offered by Pecards, you can very easily pick the wrong one and ruin the jacket

just too many uncertainties, choose your poison

A large number of mights in your statement........I have used Pecards Vintage Leather Dressing, on several leather items including jackets over the years. There have been no adverse effects.

 

[unclegrumpy]

The what to put on a 75+ year old jacket like this one always sparks a spirited debate. One option that has not been discussed is the "do nothing" option. Condition and damage comes into play, but if the jacket is sound and doing well after that long, why bother it? One thing to consider, is most museums use very little or nothing if the goal is simply conservation.

Wearing versus collecting is another consideration...with wearing likely being a stronger reason to do something, because the leather will need more to face the elements and stand up to use again. But with that "more" there are always risks.

I have used both Pecards and vaseline with good results...but occasionally some bad...mostly from exposing unseen issues and weaknesses in the leather like dry rot. I also know from looking at a lot of Civil War and other vintage leather goods over the years that were "treated", that over time the treatments can create their own problems too...sometimes catastrophic ones...and that can be from the use of Pecards or vaseline...plus all the other remedies favored at one time or the other in the past. I say this from both observation and experience...meaning I have had my own things...some really good and expensive things...that I wanted to "help" turn to goo or get substantially worse right in front of my eyes.

Pecards is a product I use, and like a lot, but I really only use it on reproductions or more modern "vintage" pieces. I tend to take the "do nothing" option on the older vintage items, especially the ones that are more collectibles rather than something to wear. Part of the issue is we don't really know what father time will do, and I think it is a bit of a roll of the dice if 10, 20, 50, or 100 years from now we will have been brilliant or idiots...and that cuts with either choice...slathering something on or doing nothing.

 

[Roughwear]

This is interesting. I never use Pecards on repro jackets as the leather does not need it! I have jackets in my collection which I have given annual light coats of Pecards over the last 15 to 20 years with no discernible adverse affects, so I guess I must keep rolling a six on the dice!

 

[unclegrumpy]

This is interesting. I never use Pecards on repro jackets as the leather does not need it! I have jackets in my collection which I have given annual light coats of Pecards over the last 15 to 20 years with no discernible adverse affects, so I guess I must keep rolling a six on the dice!

Brand new reproduction A2s no, but I have had several that were not taken care of or stored well that needed a lot of help...and am including a number of relatively modern motorcycle jackets in that mix of several Goodwears and Eastmans .

Andrew, you wear all your jackets, so what you are doing makes perfect sense. However, my point is there is a always a risk to doing something....including nothing....and there is an element of uncertainly involved in any choice.

One aspect that comes into play is the historic aspect of some of these items, and if the person currently owning the items feels any responsibility to be a caretaker rather than simply the owner. Most original A2s probably don't require the highest degree of care taking, but some do.

I also not implying here that I don't think you are trying to be the best caretaker of your jackets possible. However, that is under your parameters, one being wearability. I think if your parameters were different...for example taking wearability off the table...you might have a different approach...maybe not entirely different, but I suspect in some cases it might be.

One other factor that is important to this conversation that you are discounting, is your years of experience in making these choices. One key one being is that you don't even consider buying many of the jackets the less experienced end up purchasing....and then ask us how to "restore". You also know that with whatever you do, globbing more on is usually not better, and the approach to each jacket needs to be well thought out and considered. Your level of expertise matters.

This topic is a bit like talking about religion. My point is there is not one universal answer for everything, and every approach has some level of risk involved with it....even the choice we all agree today might be the best one currently available.