Field Leathers

[Boulderunner]

I’m probably going to get attacked for this but I don’t see why anybody is surprised he just pulled the old switcheroo on you in regards to your zipper. I waited around a year for a brown Shinki Idaho, only to find out that he just decided to change leathers to “Italian cowhide” despite me paying for and being told I was getting Shinki. Not even a different type of horsehide I was no longer even getting the species/animal I had ordered. Another total breach of contract. I begged Sam and Greg to at least let me use Badalassi, I offered to pay extra and they refused, only to switch to using Badalassi as a stock choice a few months later. I canceled my order, got a refund, ordered a Rainbow Country in seal horsehide and never looked back. The funny thing is, I was treated like I was the problem on this forum for getting upset that Greg did what he did.
In the end Greg and Sam can make some incredible jackets but I’m sticking to otr at this point. Bespoke is too much hassle

 

[Aloysius]

Welcome back Boulderunner. Did you get non-shitty Italian cow in the end?

 

[Boulderunner]

Welcome back Boulderunner. Did you get non-shitty Italian cow in the end?

I did not. I ended up ordering a Rainbow Country Hercules in Seal horsehide but I ordered it back in October 2023 and this year there still seems to have been a lot of leather issues, it still has not arrived at Mushmans in Japan. Hopefully soon.
In regards to OPs jacket I think it is actually super nice. If he is a size 40 and doesn’t want it hit me up. Crown zipper or no that’s a really nice jacket. And as long as the cuffs dont catch on my watch I don’t care as they aren’t exposed.

 

[bigmanbigtruck]

Again personally from the experience @mvilla described, I don’t think the cuffs are a huge deal. As several have pointed out, this is just one type of sleeve construction - it may not look the neatest, but I don’t think it affects the structural integrity of the jacket anymore than cases where the lining covers the edge. Think the bigger deal is the 16 months, ignoring your crown zips and seeing people get their jackets sooner even though you placed your order before them.

However, I did see this pic of the Idaho on FL site:
https://fieldleathers.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/a7r05816.jpg

Not sure what kind of agreement you reached, I’m not familiar with their order process. But this pic indicates he’s certainly capable of doing neater cuffs.

 

[Bennarion]

I've been thinking a lot about what was discussed here. I had a lot of leather jackets from different manufacturers and I have something to compare it with. All I can say is that Greg sews jackets very well. His skill is the best I've ever seen.

 

[Marc mndt]

But this pic indicates he’s certainly capable of doing neater cuffs.

Of course he can but this is a different cuff style. It doesn't have the half open gusset.

There were a couple of construction methods that Greg had to learn in order to make my leathertogs repro about a year ago. He really wanted to get it right so he actually borrowed a Freewheelers Leathertogs repro from a TFL member so he could have a good look at its construction. I guess that's where this cuff construction method came from and I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Can it be done neater? Yes it can as shown below on my Kit Karson.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the collar either. When the needle pushes through the leather it pushes some of the core material out. It clearly shows on teacore leather because the core is brown and the outer layer is black. You don't want to see this on the topside of your collar which is why Greg turned the jacket upside down when doing the collar topstitch.

Bobbin thread

Top thread

There's no excuse for not using those crown zippers. As least he should have discussed it with the OP before moving forward and use the repro zippers. It would have given the OP the chance to cancel the project before the jacket was made.

 

[bigmanbigtruck]

Of course he can but this is a different cuff style. It doesn't have the half open gusset.

Maybe I should’ve been clearer… I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the LT repro cuff.

I was trying to say it’s more of an issue if a neater cuff (I.e. your Kit Karson) was requested, but then wasn’t delivered like the crown zipper installation.

Then again, I don’t have any other insight into how the order was specified, so maybe this wasn’t discussed and the default idea was LT repro style.

 

[Observe]

I retract my previous statement about the inside cuff design as it seems to be an established (albeit rough-looking) finishing method.

 

[red devil]

No matter how I look at it the zipper is a deal breaker. OP made the effort to educate himself about the zippers, source them, and then wait with baited breath to get such a disappointment.

 

[MrProper]

I actually think the type of cuffs is quite cool. And as some of you have shown in pictures, you can also make them so that they look professional.
The cuffs on the new jacket somehow don't look like Greg at all. I always thought of him as a perfectionist and the cuffs look more like I made them LOL.
But ok, maybe that's how it's supposed to be, to honour the retro idea.
Anyway, the jacket looks cool.

Good examples

Doesn't look like Greg somehow

 

[El Marro]

No matter how I look at it the zipper is a deal breaker. OP made the effort to educate himself about the zippers, source them, and then wait with baited breath to get such a disappointment.

Agreed. I bought NOS Crown zips for my last GW jacket from MASH Japan. I think I bought two long zippers and four of the shorter ones for pocket zips or sleeve zips. it definitely made the jacket extra special and it is something I appreciate every time I put it on and zip it up.
On another note, I have received disappointing jackets and I am a big believer that first impressions really matter when it comes to clothing. There is not a single jacket that I disliked initially, and then came to enjoy later. Those jackets were either returned, sold, or given away. They weren’t necessarily bad jackets, but they weren’t ever going to be quite right for me. if I were the OP I would see about sending this one back for a refund.

 

[TartuWolf]

Hope this gets settled with Greg somehow, otherwise this order ends up hurting FL reputation (from my perspective) on the main platform where they get their clientele.

 

[Aloysius]

No matter how I look at it the zipper is a deal breaker. OP made the effort to educate himself about the zippers, source them, and then wait with baited breath to get such a disappointment.

I agree; I’m just saying that when presented with the WIP jacket, he should have pushed back with the changes. (I did this after something wasn’t as specced and they agreed to fix it.) Since OP is UK based at least this can be rather immediately sorted without customs hassle and the like.

There is not a single jacket that I disliked initially, and then came to enjoy later.

This hasn’t been my experience but then we might be talking past each other because I expect what I’m thinking of goes for you too. Specifically, there were jackets that didn’t feel ‘right’ when I first tried them on, but came to life when I wore them a couple of times. Just that little bit of break in can make all the difference for fit.

 

[Marc mndt]

on the main platform where they get their clientele.

Instagram? Carl Murawski?

This is by the way not the first time this has happened. I know of another customer who sourced Crown zippers that Greg decided not to use.

 

[Squirrel_hero]

Hope this gets settled with Greg somehow, otherwise this order ends up hurting FL reputation (from my perspective) on the main platform where they get their clientele.

i think it’s important for people to be honest about their experience so other people aren’t surprised when things like it happen again. This would have been solved by Greg if he just offered a discount since he literally didn’t create the custom jacket like you had ordered. I think asking for it to be refunded at this point is too late. If you really didn’t want the jacket you should have stopped him from shipping it to you and said no thanks that’s not what I ordered.. but that’s just me.. it’s not like it doesn’t fit.

 

[red devil]

I agree; I’m just saying that when presented with the WIP jacket, he should have pushed back with the changes. (I did this after something wasn’t as specced and they agreed to fix it.) Since OP is UK based at least this can be rather immediately sorted without customs hassle and the like.

I get this point and I would have instantly rejected this at the point where Greg said he had not installed the crown zippers. It showed he really couldn't be bothered with making the jacket. But keep in mind that we are experienced in the hobby. Not sure the OP is, and that makes a big difference.

 

[mvilla]

I don't know if I could refuse a jacket that is 80% made... And at that point I presented all my thoughts on the subject, to what I received the reply "sorry, mate", and that was it... Anyway, sorry if I didn't behave properly as a customer... I think we come to believe the role of the customer is being a customer, but the more I look into this hobby, I realise that most of the times we need to be both the customer and business decision maker. And we, as customers, need to be considerate with the decisions the maker takes, because they are always under pressure.

 

[mvilla]

I emailed Sam all my thoughts now, just to come clean. That is the fair approach.
Once again, just to make it clear, I don't think either Sam nor Greg are bad people, and I wish their business success. However I wasn't satisfied and I wanted to share my opinion (isn't this the whole point of a forum: sharing experiences?) I have the feeling they weren't fully satisfied with the result either, as I asked for process pictures, and whilst they told me they'd send them, they sent me none, even before the zip thing - the first media they sent me was the video with the jacket 80% finished.
Just another detail, I sent the zips over more than a month before they started even considering working on my jacket, and I had to pay the full balance more than a month before they started working on it.

 

[Aloysius]

I don't know if I could refuse a jacket that is 80% made... And at that point I presented all my thoughts on the subject, to what I received the reply "sorry, mate", and that was it... Anyway, sorry if I didn't behave properly as a customer... I think we come to believe the role of the customer is being a customer, but the more I look into this hobby, I realise that most of the times we need to be both the customer and business decision maker. And we, as customers, need to be considerate with the decisions the maker takes, because they are always under pressure.

I'm not at all suggesting you didn't behave properly, so I apologise if I gave that impression at all. I was just saying it might have been easier for you to email Sam at that stage asking for the zipper mistake to be corrected. It's still not a big deal considering you're UK based so you don't need to sort out some way to get it back to them and such.

 

[mvilla]

I'm not at all suggesting you didn't behave properly, so I apologise if I gave that impression at all. I was just saying it might have been easier for you to email Sam at that stage asking for the zipper mistake to be corrected. It's still not a big deal considering you're UK based so you don't need to sort out some way to get it back to them and such.

At that stage I talked directly to Greg (via Instagram), as he sent me the video I mentioned to discuss something else... No need to apologise, I was just being honest, I don't know how you should carry these types of transactions in this medium... If I bought a brand new Rolex Sub from an AD, and after waiting for more than an year it came with an Aluminium bezel because it was too hand to make the ceramic one and would take longer, I think the confusion would be the same. But anyway, I emailed Sam, let's see if she replies