Anything and Everything A-1

[bseal]

I've no idea what the weight of the leather is but the whole jacket is 2lb 5oz according to my kitchen scales, and seems pretty light compared to the Lost Worlds' A-1 I previously owned.

I put the Aero A-1 on the scale and came up with 3lb 4oz. Interesting.

You're a 44" too? The Aero cotton twill is on the heavier side and their knits are quite robust. Perhaps a heavier leather, ultimately all pure conjecture though unless you have identical size jackets side by side.

 

[bseal]

My A-1 is a Willis & Geiger reproduction that I bought new in 1998. It was my first flight jacket and the one that got me hooked. I'm still trying to find the documentation that came with it but I'm pretty sure it is chrome tanned. It has some great grain but the sleeves just don't look like that Eastman.

Noel

Willis & Geiger russet capeskin (according to Shaul Dover, constructed by U.S. Authentic):

 

[percy]

lets see it on then mr bseal..!!

 

[bseal]

Percy, where you been hidin' niga? Great to see you return.

 

[Doug C]

Awesome to see all these A-1s in one place again !!! I love 'em all, and am without one for the first time in along time. I must have another! There are some interesting A-1s available now but I'm loving the Good Wear ones, the Buzz Ricksons and that awesome Evisu are among the best to my eye.

Doug C

 

[Doug C]

BTW, I'd post some pictures too but a recent computer crash erased all that I had saved, and I had alot too .

Doug C

 

[zoomer]

Hey Doug: I'm curious what you used to dye your W&G & A-1 as you showed us a couple boards ago. I have one of my own now and I'm kinda getting tired of the orangy shade.

 

[Doug C]

Oh yeah, well I didn't "dye" it so much as I "glazed" it. Now, I have recently dyed a leather jacket with great success, but more on that later. As for the russet of the W&G I had..I got to feeling that the surface color was just too even and a little brighter than I wanted. I used Fiebing's (brand) "Antique Finish" in both British Tan and Mahogany. I think mahogany was the top coat. I liked the results, what it really did was darken the crease areas of the grain a little as well as give a bit of dimension. You can get it here: (about 3/4 down this page)
http://www.peasandcornco.com/shoeandlea ... esprep.asp

Oh, and I did manage to recover these pictures that I had on another drive..
Here's before -


and after -






Doug C

 

[Doug C]

Oh, I forgot to mention though that this product left the jacket a little sticky at first, but after I buffed it a few times with a horse hair shoe polish brush that was pretty much eliviated. The process is pretty tedious too, half way through I wanted to stop. You apply it rubbing in small circles, let dry for a day or so then buff off. Since this is not a dye per say, I believe it can be removed relitively easily... I think they even sell a de-glazer for this. Check out all the products that Fiebing's offers, their good items and have been around for ages, well known in the equestrian world.
Also, I mentioned earlier about actually "dyeing" a leather jacket recently with good sucess. Well, I bought a US Wings indy jacket off of ebay some time back in their awesome New Zealand lambskin (not the usually thin lambskin that everyone else sells - this is much thicker and vegetable tanned/dyed). I had the whole jacket reconstructed locally (but that's another story). It was perfect now except for the russet color that it comes in, an Indy should be much darker IMHO. So, I bought the Meltonian Nu-Life Color Spray in Dark Brown and applied it from about 10 inches away or so in a relatively light coat. It came out perfect IMO and way better than I imagined it would, like a nice dark seal brown. And it's a thin layer that wears away, my pocket flaps edges and some other seams are showing a little russet undercoating. Use these products at your own risk but I wouldn't be afraid of this Meltonian stuff it's great. YMMV.

http://www.peasandcornco.com/shoeandlea ... asp#nulife

Doug C

 

[Doug C]

Here's a few detail shot of the custom US.Auth horsehide I had made..... just because







Doug C

 

[Miles_Archer]

Warehouse A-1 jacket (my favorite Jap repro company, love their stuff):

http://www.ware-house.co.jp/index.php?p ... m&ic=16384

 

[bseal]

Underarm gussets. Definitely useful. From the pictures, don't see leather loops for collar buttons. Ah, change is good.

 

[rick.canavar]

I like that wool jacket beside the A-1 on the warehouse site.

 

[bseal]

Shameless plug . . .

 

[Doug C]

Wow, that warehouse jacket sure has alot of buttons, 6 down the main body as opposed to the normal 5, then the two at the waist band area - they should have used snaps there. Actually I now prefer the snaps at the bottom on any of them.. it's too tight of an area for buttons. I like it's leather though. Too bad about the missing collar buttons and loops, they're part of the mistique .
bseal, that's a sweet jacket.. how 'bout some more pics of it? Show off those flaps a little better.

Doug C

 

[Miles_Archer]

I like that wool jacket beside the A-1 on the warehouse site.

You mean the riveted-zip jacket? Pretty sure that's cotton flannel/moleskin. I like it too, might have Blue In Green order one.

 

[airfrogusmc]

Wow, that warehouse jacket sure has alot of buttons, 6 down the main body as opposed to the normal 5, then the two at the waist band area - they should have used snaps there. Actually I now prefer the snaps at the bottom on any of them.. it's too tight of an area for buttons. I like it's leather though. Too bad about the missing collar buttons and loops, they're part of the mistique .
bseal, that's a sweet jacket.. how 'bout some more pics of it? Show off those flaps a little better.

Doug C

Doug both buttons on the bottom and snaps are right. I prefer buttons myself.

 

[Doug C]

airfrog wrote:

Doug both buttons on the bottom and snaps are right. I prefer buttons myself.

yeah, I'm hip..I've always liked the look of the buttons better (they seem more accurate and vintage to me), but after owning a few I find the snaps to be way less hassle.

Doug C

 

[zoomer]

Doug, thanks for the details!

I too have experimented with Nu-Life on a cheapie distressed helmet. The color I used was Coffee, which is equivalent to a chocolate brown and closely matches Lost Worlds "russet".

.
The Nu-Life feels slightly gritty over distressed, but 2 coats of it seem to be holding on well. I topped them off with one coat of Meltonian Water & Stain as a sealant. The Nu-Life applies and colors very evenly as it is opaque.

Had I my W&G A-2 re-dye project to do over again, I would certainly have gone with the Nu-Life and not messed with pro dyes on top of acrylic. I still might do it, but will try to strip or thin the dyes first.

 

[rick.canavar]

I like that wool jacket beside the A-1 on the warehouse site.

You mean the riveted-zip jacket? Pretty sure that's cotton flannel/moleskin. I like it too, might have Blue In Green order one.

Moleskin huh? Nice. I'd like to have one of those, really interesting look. Too bad about the upper limit on available sizes or I'd think about it.