Field Leathers

[ton312]

Keep forgetting to post my Manhattan. Absolutely love this jacket and the leather is incredible.

Big thank you to Marc and Jib for their input during the fitting process. Your first hand experience really helped me dial everything in

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SU-Freaking-perb!!!! Fit , spec, hide… all nailed right down to the ground. Absolutely love that liner. Brilliant jacket!

 

[Marc mndt]

The plot thickens, apparently the brown Italian cowhide on that Peters sample is not badalassi. In Sam's words "it is from Tuscany", but no name or brand. I will wait to see the sample in person but with no references or info about it I might consider switching to black shinki full aniline...

I asked for a swatch of the brown steerhide as well. The leather looks good judging by the pics but I have no clue about its temper. I hope it'll feel more substantial than the brown pigment Shinki.

I was somewhat surprised to hear from Sam that there's no price difference between this steerhide and their Shinki offering. Back when Greg was still offering Badalassi it was £100 less than a Shinki jacket if I remember correctly. Which makes sense imo as Badalassi leathers are less expensive than Shinki. When I order a jacket from Thedi they charge less for Badalassi than for Shinki.

Also good to know that they're now charging extra for each and every design change. I'm going for a Manhattan with a Leathertogs design of which the design changes add up to a total of £300 on top of the base price. I'm definitely not suggesting that it's not worth it, otherwise I wouldn't have ordered yet another FL. But imo design changes are very much part of the FL game since their number of base designs is very limited.

 

[Jaime]

I asked for a swatch of the brown steerhide as well. The leather looks good judging by the pics but I have no clue about its temper. I hope it'll feel more substantial than the brown pigment Shinki.

I was somewhat surprised to hear from Sam that there's no price difference between this steerhide and their Shinki offering. Back when Greg was still offering Badalassi it was £100 less than a Shinki jacket if I remember correctly. Which makes sense imo as Badalassi leathers are less expensive than Shinki. When I order a jacket from Thedi they charge less for Badalassi than for Shinki.

Also good to know that they're now charging extra for each and every design change. I'm going for a Manhattan with a Leathertogs design of which the design changes add up to a total of £300 on top of the base price. I'm definitely not suggesting that it's not worth it, otherwise I wouldn't have ordered yet another FL. But imo design changes are very much part of the FL game since their number of base designs is very limited.

I 100% agree with everything. The leather looks very nice in photos and in fact, that was the shade I was looking for, and also I have no reason to doubt when they say it will behave and age like Badalassi, I'm sure it is a superb hide, but having no references, no name and the same price as shinki where normally it should have been a hundred less, or as you said a hundred more if I decide to go with shinki, just makes me feel insecure as a client. I shouldn't be in the dark about something like this, not for the price tag. Hopefully when we get the samples things will be more clear.

My design changes are gonna be about the same on top of the base price. Not happy about it, not mad either, I guess the idea of knowing that in a couple of years now Field prices will probably be at Himmel range makes it easier to process...

I am very curious about your design! Can you share any references or you prefer to keep it private? I'm sure I will be a killer piece that's for sure

 

[Marc mndt]

I am very curious about your design! Can you share any references or you prefer to keep it private? I'm sure I will be a killer piece that's for sure

Since the base pattern of my latest FL is already quite close to a Leathertogs mc jacket design I thought why not go for a FL Leathertogs repro.

But instead of a narrow belt like on the FW LA Brea I'm going for a later Leathertogs design that features a wider belt. I found a bunch of detailed pics of an original late 30s LT.

For the buckle I sourced this Lot of nos 30s buckles. The one on the right comes pretty close.

 

[Imuricecreamman]

I asked for a swatch of the brown steerhide as well. The leather looks good judging by the pics but I have no clue about its temper. I hope it'll feel more substantial than the brown pigment Shinki.

I was somewhat surprised to hear from Sam that there's no price difference between this steerhide and their Shinki offering. Back when Greg was still offering Badalassi it was £100 less than a Shinki jacket if I remember correctly. Which makes sense imo as Badalassi leathers are less expensive than Shinki. When I order a jacket from Thedi they charge less for Badalassi than for Shinki.

Also good to know that they're now charging extra for each and every design change. I'm going for a Manhattan with a Leathertogs design of which the design changes add up to a total of £300 on top of the base price. I'm definitely not suggesting that it's not worth it, otherwise I wouldn't have ordered yet another FL. But imo design changes are very much part of the FL game since their number of base designs is very limited.

All your jackets from Greg have been everything from slight mods to pretty extreme and all have come out really nice. If we nail it down we usually only talk about 3 designs anyway. Half-belts, cross-zips and cafe-racer type designs. Throw in a few coats in that mix and we have most of our preferences covered. I think Greg have showed what a great pallette of jackets he can make out of a really narrow selection of designs.

 

[Jaime]

Since the base pattern of my latest FL is already quite close to a Leathertogs mc jacket design I thought why not go for a FL Leathertogs repro.

That's gonna be an awesome design, the new belt proportions are very nice and the buckes are deadly, I would love to see some of them on a dressier more elegant version of a biker jacket! Cant wait to see the final piece.

 

[newtojackets]

Do field leathers run small? From what I’ve read there sizes correspond to the pit to pit measurement e.g. size 40 has. 20 inch chest, which is more in line with a 38?

 

[Canuck Panda]

 

[Canuck Panda]

Do field leathers run small? From what I’ve read there sizes correspond to the pit to pit measurement e.g. size 40 has. 20 inch chest, which is more in line with a 38?

Depends what you’re comparing to.

there’s a few sample jackets in his Instagram story with dimensions. Check out the numbers.

 

[TheBigEraser]

I’ve said it many times but the workwear fetish practice of knowing tannery names and making quality assumptions based on them is one of the biggest delusions in the culture today.

People will assume that not knowing a tannery or not having one listed is an indication that it’s bad. In the other direction this leads workwear fetishists to overpay for the bad products from good tanneries!

Hello! Not to trying derailing the thread - but I am really curious about "bad products from good tanneries" you mentioned. Could you please give some examples?

 

[Marc mndt]

Hello! Not to trying derailing the thread - but I am really curious about "bad products from good tanneries" you mentioned. Could you please give some examples?

Shinki shell cordovan. Good tannery, bad product.

 

[Aloysius]

Shinki shell cordovan. Good tannery, bad product.

Precisely. Its main use (for which it’s quite suitable) was the hard shells of children’s waterproof backpacks. Over a decade ago, some cheap Spanish shoe brands tried to use it for shell shoes with a poor reception. (You can look up old Style Forum threads from about 15 years ago to see people discovering, trying, and rejecting Shinki shell cordovan.)

But as the cult of the Shinki tannery as a brand arose via the workwear fetish and its affiliated blogs/shops, shoe and boot companies found they could upcharge for this budget leather leading to the absurdity of expensive footwear proudly marketed by stores like Standard & Strange as SHINKI SHELL CORDOVAN. (Nice margin for the makers, at least, but an unfortunate delusion for the marks.)

Does that illustrate the point, @TheBigEraser?

 

[TheBigEraser]

Precisely. Its main use (for which it’s quite suitable) was the hard shells of children’s waterproof backpacks. Over a decade ago, some cheap Spanish shoe brands tried to use it for shell shoes with a poor reception. (You can look up old Style Forum threads from about 15 years ago to see people discovering, trying, and rejecting Shinki shell cordovan.)

But as the cult of the Shinki tannery as a brand arose via the workwear fetish and its affiliated blogs/shops, shoe and boot companies found they could upcharge for this budget leather leading to the absurdity of expensive footwear proudly marketed by stores like Standard & Strange as SHINKI SHELL CORDOVAN. (Nice margin for the makers, at least, but an unfortunate delusion for the marks.)

Does that illustrate the point, @TheBigEraser?

Yes thank you! I have heard about the discussion of shinki shell on this forum. However I thought you were referring to bad leathers from good tanneries used on jackets? Just would like to understand which particular leather(s) you were referring to. Or maybe I misunderstood it, sorry.

 

[Daniel Veit]

My FL jacket is due to be made in just a short while, so almost no time left for changes.
Reading another thread ("What is the allure of japanese leather jackets?) I came across somthing that was new to me.
Since many folks are using this thread to inform themselfs about the options Greg is offering, I hope it is ok to post this here.
Marc mndt and Canuck Panda mentioned an showed in pictures a construction method for the lining called "panelled lining" which mimics the construction of the leather part of the jacket in the lining.
It looks cool and I try to get this for my upcoming jacket for this reason alone, but I wonder if there is a functional benefit6aa well. Maybe someone with first hand experience can weigh in here.

The other thing of general interest concerns the lining cloth: Many people, me included, seem to choose from the lochcarron offerings and particular from the light weight tartans (10 oz) .
Now Marc mentioned that the lightweight stuff might be subpar which got me thinking over again. Nobody wants a rather expensive jacket with a lining that fails within a couple of years.
First hands experience welcome here as well. Neither Greg nor Sam commented on my choice so a asumed that would be no problem.
What would be an alternative? Midweight Tartan (14 oz) or moleskin (14 oz)?

 

[Daniel Veit]

I forgot one thing: Zippers. I ordered Talon No. 5 assuming Greg wouldnt offer nothing but the best. But lately I am reading horror stories about failing repro Talons.
What is your take and what would chose? Reliability is important but looks as well - I don't like the look of a No. 10 but haven’t seen a Nö. 8 on a FL.

 

[Blackadder]

My FL jacket is due to be made in just a short while, so almost no time left for changes.
Reading another thread ("What is the allure of japanese leather jackets?) I came across somthing that was new to me.
Since many folks are using this thread to inform themselfs about the options Greg is offering, I hope it is ok to post this here.
Marc mndt and Canuck Panda mentioned an showed in pictures a construction method for the lining called "panelled lining" which mimics the construction of the leather part of the jacket in the lining.
It looks cool and I try to get this for my upcoming jacket for this reason alone, but I wonder if there is a functional benefit6aa well. Maybe someone with first hand experience can weigh in here.

The other thing of general interest concerns the lining cloth: Many people, me included, seem to choose from the lochcarron offerings and particular from the light weight tartans (10 oz) .
Now Marc mentioned that the lightweight stuff might be subpar which got me thinking over again. Nobody wants a rather expensive jacket with a lining that fails within a couple of years.
First hands experience welcome here as well. Neither Greg nor Sam commented on my choice so a asumed that would be no problem.
What would be an alternative? Midweight Tartan (14 oz) or moleskin (14 oz)?

I guess it would depend on the lining materials. Some materials would extend after wear and you would have loose lining. Since the leather and lining may extend and/or shrink at different percentage. A loose lining may lead to the lining showing underneath the base of the jacket. Not to mention the fact that sometimes workmen are a bit generous when cutting the lining. "Panel lining" may help reduce potential overshoot.

 

[Marc mndt]

Now Marc mentioned that the lightweight stuff might be subpar which got me thinking over again. Nobody wants a rather expensive jacket with a lining that fails within a couple of years.

Mine began to fray after one and a half year of regular wear. Back when this jacket was made Greg didn't skive the edges of the leather like he does today so the lining on your jacket will be less likely to show wear like this within such a short period. But still, the lightweight lochcarron isn't the most durable.

Lochcarron tweed feels much more durable, this was used on my last FL.

Cudos to Greg though, when I showed him the frayed lining he insisted that I'd send it back to him in order to have a leather strip installed on the inside hem. Excellent customer service.

 

[Daniel Veit]

Cudos to Greg though, when I showed him the frayed lining he insisted that I'd send it back to him in order to have a leather strip installed on the inside hem. Excellent customer service.

I ordered the leather hem anyway, so I might be fine. But if possible will change the lining you to be shure.
Thanks for the pictures!

 

[Tom71]

I forgot one thing: Zippers. I ordered Talon No. 5 assuming Greg wouldnt offer nothing but the best. But lately I am reading horror stories about failing repro Talons.
What is your take and what would chose? Reliability is important but looks as well - I don't like the look of a No. 10 but haven’t seen a Nö. 8 on a FL.

I ordered my Route 66 with a No. 8. it was a standard option at that time, and I am sure Greg will source one for you as well. No. 5 on FL jackets is ok too, as the leather is thinner than say CXLHH

 

[FL2021]

Everyone has a different take, mine was there should be balance to the jacket... With large heavy duty zips, in my opinion it throws it off...
The last thing any Jacket Maker wants, is the zip to fail.
Also his standard linings I think it was Viscose... Does not weigh the jacket down, and importantly makes it versatile. You can always layer.
I have read wool linings sag... True or not... Not sure