My new ELC .50 CAL just arrived

[rich]

Here is the most expensive Irvin repro of all time -
http://www.chapal.fr/collection/?function=detail&id=29
Chapal Irvin 1800 Euros....

God's teeth, who'd pay that for that?!?! Must be manufactured once a decade from those extremely rare sheep off the Ross ice shelf. Or something. (Years ago, M&S began to sell freshly made leek and potato soup, but nobody would buy it. So they stuck the same stuff in a revamped carton, called it Vichyssoise and racked the price up by 30% - it sold very quickly then.........)

 

[John Lever]

Here is the most expensive Irvin repro of all time -
http://www.chapal.fr/collection/?function=detail&id=29
Chapal Irvin 1800 Euros....

God's teeth, who'd pay that for that?!?! Must be manufactured once a decade from those extremely rare sheep off the Ross ice shelf. Or something. (Years ago, M&S began to sell freshly made leek and potato soup, but nobody would buy it. So they stuck the same stuff in a revamped carton, called it Vichyssoise and racked the price up by 30% - it sold very quickly then.........)

Before the Euro these were only £300....

 

[stika]

John, yes I see the point regarding the look, that there is no shine in the shell. Well, I think that for sure it could be more shiny. It has a kind of matt look. I have no idea of what the idea was with the jacket. But if you just look at it, it looks much older than other repros. I have no clue about other .50 CAL Eastman B-3s, but mine is more soft than my broken grain B-3.
I like the idea that finally a repro maker makes a B-3 that doesn´t have the brand new look. I am pretty sure that this one in a year will look used. I will start using this one this winter and then see how it will look as time goes by

 

[havocpaul]

Having seen them at Am Classics I think they got the look pretty well, I've seen many original B-3's over the decades with a very matt look, if you take away the recent trend for Pecarding original jackets to the point of high gloss then you'd see more originals with this kind of look. I would prefer not to be seeing my face reflected in the hide!

 

[John Lever]

John, yes I see the point regarding the look, that there is no shine in the shell. Well, I think that for sure it could be more shiny. It has a kind of matt look. I have no idea of what the idea was with the jacket. But if you just look at it, it looks much older than other repros. I have no clue about other .50 CAL Eastman B-3s, but mine is more soft than my broken grain B-3.
I like the idea that finally a repro maker makes a B-3 that doesn´t have the brand new look. I am pretty sure that this one in a year will look used. I will start using this one this winter and then see how it will look as time goes by

I probably will go for one. It's quite a brave move for Eastman, I wish them luck

 

[marco77]

any pics ?

 

[John Lever]

any pics ?

See Karsten's [Stika] post.
The shop was quite dark and Gary didn't say beforehand that I could take photos, so I left my camera at home.

 

[m444uk]

Gary told me the 50 Cal. is chrome tanned with a veg. re-tan to give more feel. So I suppose the veg. tanned label is slightly misleading.

I was up in London today and popped in.

I thought the B3 may of been tumbled dried after sanding. The leather was crisp and dry. I wonder how strong long term these will be if the oils have been washed out ?
The fleece was a nice mottled light brown from the veg tanning but why can't they do the whole process without chrome ?

The aged G1 looked really good. Thick goatskin with a nice solid feel without being to thick. The best G1 repro I've seen.

No Luftwaffe and only 1 x B3 on view so it sounds like the stuff is selling OK.

 

[m444uk]

The skins come from a specific breed of Devon sheep in very limited supply.
I did as him if he was planning to open a farm :lol:

I think he is pulling your leg John !

I live on the Somerset /Devon border surrounded by sheep.The key is to get an older animal. Most of them end up as young tender lamb chops and as a consequence produce thin fashion hides.

 

[John Lever]

I asked for samples of skins from both jackets. Nothing so far.
I liked the colour of the wool on the B-3 but still think artificially aged jackets look just that. Artificial.
Other repro makers use chrome tanning with a veg. tan to give feel or hand so this is not unique to Eastman. There is only one tannery in the UK who does veg. tanning as a single process, it's in Devon but very small and only treats very few skins.


If I buy a 50 Cal. today I just know that in 6 months time they will release the jacket with no Time Worn treatment.

Aero used to do a vintage finish for Levis and Will told me that after a while workers get absolutely sick of it. It's very time consuming and boring.

 

[m444uk]

Duo tanning might be down to cost. There is a saddle maker near me that has veg tanning pits and the hides take a year going through the baths.

 

[John Lever]

Duo tanning might be down to cost. There is a saddle maker near me that has veg tanning pits and the hides take a year going through the baths.

It's a 'disgusting process ' was how a tanner that I know described it.