My Rescued Rough Wear

[RayR]

Somewhere on here, some time ago, I believe I mentioned a Rough Wear 1401P I got from eBay that had been horribly abused by replacing bits with totally wrong stuff. Like this:

I thought you would like to see it restored to it's rightful glory with correct lining, NOS Talon zipper, and proper size knits...oh, and now the zipper goes all the way to the bottom of the knits (what were they THINKING)

 

[bseal]

Stellar.

Who did the work?

Mash knits? Chappy's?

Pecards?

Lining from which source?

Time frame, turn around?

 

[RayR]

Stellar.

Who did the work?

Mash knits? Chappy's?

Pecards?

Lining from which source?

Time frame, turn around?

Oh, so you want it ALL, eh?

The knits and NOS Talon came from MASH...Very quick delivery. I would like the knits a little heftier, like on my Diamond Dave jacket, but they are a good weave and color.
John Chapman of Good Wear was kind enough to tell me exactly what material/weave/color to use for lining. He also sold me a replacement strip for the missing bit over the label. I purchased the material from fabrickshack.com...very reasonable and fast.

The work was done by flightjacket.com. It's very well priced and came back in about 1 week even over the holidays! I should note that they did the work listed on their web page and did NOT do the other things we agreed to over the phone and in my accompanying letter. Not the best customer service but fast, affordable, and acceptable quality.

Yes, I treated the leather with a hand massaging of Pecards cream which was pre heated to liquid. It really evened out the color and made the jacket look much more new (more than I hoped). After a month, that is finally fading out and returning to the cool 70+ year old fade as it should be.

 

[dmar836]

Looks much, much better.
Dave

 

[ADC]

Very nice restoration. Good to see original colour showing through and you should be proud to wear it. Can you tell us the brand and colour names and weight of the lining cloth for future reference? Cheers.

 

[RayR]

Very nice restoration. Good to see original colour showing through and you should be proud to wear it. Can you tell us the brand and colour names and weight of the lining cloth for future reference? Cheers.

Per John Chapman of Good Wear fame "...the best Rough Wear lining material is the Robert Kaufman Kona series called Chestnut". I Googled a few cloth shops until I found it. That is what you see in my photos.

 

[dmar836]

All in, would you say you have more into it than the cost of a complete original?
Dave

 

[RayR]

All in, would you say you have more into it than the cost of a complete original?
Dave

You know, Dave, an original in great shape can be quite expensive. But it's only worth what someone is willing to pay.

Actually, I think I just got in under the line, as it were. I put in about $350 with parts, shipping, and repair, the NOS Talon being the most expensive single part, with the jacket coming in at a lucky $550-ish. I think just under 1-grand for an excellent WWII Rough Wear that is as wearable today as it was 70 years ago, is pretty good. Not an amazing deal, but one I'm happy with.

And since it's had all the upgrades, I don't quite feel like I'm damaging a piece of history by wearing it. What I was looking for was a good, solid leather shell and that's what I got. No tears, stains, thin/weak spots, etc. and most of the finish is in place with just some nice aging all around. And I got lucky when a rub down with Picards even brought back a lot of the original color as it restored life to the aging leather. I didn't mention that I also gave this a light coat with Obenofs Leather Oil which I love. It really restores well and has a great leather smell. It will, however, slightly darken your leather (just like getting it wet would) but that fades with time and you have nice, supple leather. I first discovered it when trying to darken some Aldens boots.

My photos are about a month after any leather treatment, which I did prior to sending out for repairs so that the leather would be in good shape to be worked with and sewn into.

 

[WBOONE]

Great jacket! I hope to acquire a original Roughwear A2 myself soon. Seems like everything currently available is size 40/42. Us 44/46 guys just have to bide our time.

 

[dujardin]

brilliant

good project , good work, great jacket

 

[6148th T.C.Squadron]

Looks great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CBI]

I have to admit that this approach is my very favorite. A refurbished original is the best way to go for me. One gets the best of both worlds: an “original” with modern “working” parts..............without the guilt of somehow destroying an original. We get to “save” a relic yet wear it in good mostly guilt free good health. It looks the part because it essentially is. Having originals, re-furbished originals and repros, my favorite are these oldies that are sturdy enough to wear! Nothing beats a mint original but its not a good wearing option.........too much at risk!

 

[6148th T.C.Squadron]

Pecards antique leather dressing? not seeing a listing for cream.

 

[RayR]

Pecards antique leather dressing? not seeing a listing for cream.

Like this :arrow:

http://www.davidmorgan.com/index.php?cPath=7_11_197

There are other places to find this, including Amazon. I purchased a Large size here because I have many old and new leather items to work with. BTW, John Chapman of Good Wear (whom I often quote because I have great confidence in his knowledge, experience, and honesty) says that he uses plane old Vaseline because it does not darken and doesn't leave any greasy residue. I have never tried the "Antique" version. I have had great success with Vaseline treatments, but I did want to stimulate the original color just a little on this one.

 

[6148th T.C.Squadron]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Peter Graham]

Nice restoration. It looks great. You're very lucky that the previous 'restorers' decided to keep the original label.

 

[Superfluous]

Fantastic restoration!

 

[Atticus]

Here’s how I see it. You restored a nearly-lost piece of history back to its original condition. You now have an original A-2 that you're not afraid to wear. You had fun doing the project. You are rightfully proud of the results. You have a feeling of accomplishment for having saved the jacket.

It matters not if you have (or haven't) invested more money in the jacket than its market value. What you have done is the best part of vintage jacket collecting. Much more valuable to the hobby...and rewarding to you...than simply buying and flipping jackets on ebay. Well done and congratulations!

AF

 

[dmar836]

Great info on what it takes to bring one of these back. I think you were blessed with a project that retained its condition. So often having such damage with the requisite replacement parts means the hide(at the collar, etc.) is shot as well. I think it is all
very useful information to other collectors.
As all have said, nice save.
Dave