Full custom Field Leathers Idaho review

[JMax]

More than 8 on such a heavy hide like horsehide is excellent. E.g. Brunello cucinelli has about 9 but they use very thin leather. Aero about 7 and goodwear 8.

All my LW are 8-9. Trojan is 9 throughout. Like you said, excellent for such a thick hide. Dena told me that working on my J23 & Trojan was not an easy task.

 

[Jin431]

That's about equal to my FW jackets in terms of stitch count. All of mine are 9-10 with the San Mateo (horsehide) and Sunset (deerskin) being pretty much straight 10. My Mushmans is at 7.

That's good to know. I checked my aero badalassi its around 7-8 and my JL goatskin is a good 7. Oh boy it's going to be hard to unlearn this now lol

Greg certainly does very impressive work. Beauty!

He certainly does, hope his company keeps on growing.

 

[navetsea]

Finally a cool day to wear a jacket. Love the leather and the jacket has molded To my frame really well. I made the mistake of giving shoulder measurement that's 0.5" too small, so it's a little taut on the neck/clavicle area but hoping to gently massage/pull/stretch some more.

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looks great, like the fit of the torso too

 

[regius]

Looking at Greg’s stitching is very inspiring, can’t wait to get back to my designing and sewing, but my workshop is being completely renovated, concrete floor can take furniture until at least Dec.

 

[Jin431]

^^ @navetsea tHAnk you, appreciate it very much. chest/stomach/hip is perfect but the shoulders just a little tight and sleeves just a little short but that was my fault with giving measurement

@regius your work looks super cool. Hope to see more of it here in the near future

 

[diabel]

Maybe next time you can request a fabric trial jacket to get precisely what you want?

 

[regius]

That's about equal to my FW jackets in terms of stitch count. All of mine are 9-10 with the San Mateo (horsehide) and Sunset (deerskin) being pretty much straight 10. My Mushmans is at 7.

Lots of original jackets from the 50s have very short stitch length, and buried VERY deep into the skin. One reason is the leather gets puffier over time and it “swells” around the stitching, but another reason could be the thread tension, and the pressor foot force, was adjusted to the extreme (good thing). However, certainly not all maker practice such, old or current. Schott and Vanson are very much in the middle in terms of both stitch length and buriedness, while LW has amazing tension but similar length (sometimes a bit longer than Schott), while Langlitz has crazy long stitch length.... the short sides of the pockets has six, pretty normal, but Greg and some original jackets have seven or eight! GW always tends to practice shorter length, and try to emulate the deep buriedness of the thread. For me this depends on the strength of the leather (well this is sewing 101, the fabric type is a key determinant of stitch length), and always remember, too dense the stitching compromises the leather integrity. Durability is a balance between length and tension ( thread tension, for leather seams, is preferably stronger, except it can leads to challenges when going over thick speed bumps which requires loosening tension).

 

[regius]

For me, LW is the master of thread tension, such a delicate thing. Many brands have strong seams, but LW seams are almost like permanently fused together...

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Lots of original jackets from the 50s have very short stitch length, and buried VERY deep into the skin. One reason is the leather gets puffier over time and it “swells” around the stitching, but another reason could be the thread tension, and the pressor foot force, was adjusted to the extreme (good thing). However, certainly not all maker practice such, old or current. Schott and Vanson are very much in the middle in terms of both stitch length and buriedness, while LW has amazing tension but similar length (sometimes a bit longer than Schott), while Langlitz has crazy long stitch length.... the short sides of the pockets has six, pretty normal, but Greg and some original jackets have seven or eight! GW always tends to practice shorter length, and try to emulate the deep buriedness of the thread. For me this depends on the strength of the leather (well this is sewing 101, the fabric type is a key determinant of stitch length), and always remember, too dense the stitching compromises the leather integrity. Durability is a balance between length and tension ( thread tension, for leather seams, is preferably stronger, except it can leads to challenges when going over thick speed bumps which requires loosening tension).

That's a good point, but I would say FW gets the tension spot on as well. Never digging into the leather at all and no "swelling" as you describe. It makes for such a beautifully clean look.

 

[Marc mndt]

Lots of original jackets from the 50s have very short stitch length, and buried VERY deep into the skin. One reason is the leather gets puffier over time and it “swells” around the stitching, but another reason could be the thread tension, and the pressor foot force, was adjusted to the extreme (good thing). However, certainly not all maker practice such, old or current. Schott and Vanson are very much in the middle in terms of both stitch length and buriedness, while LW has amazing tension but similar length (sometimes a bit longer than Schott), while Langlitz has crazy long stitch length.... the short sides of the pockets has six, pretty normal, but Greg and some original jackets have seven or eight! GW always tends to practice shorter length, and try to emulate the deep buriedness of the thread. For me this depends on the strength of the leather (well this is sewing 101, the fabric type is a key determinant of stitch length), and always remember, too dense the stitching compromises the leather integrity. Durability is a balance between length and tension ( thread tension, for leather seams, is preferably stronger, except it can leads to challenges when going over thick speed bumps which requires loosening tension).

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. All I saw was a neatly stitched jacket with high stitch count and no wobbling. Apparently there's much more to it. Makes me appreciate Greg's craftsmanship even more.

 

[navetsea]

That's a good point, but I would say FW gets the tension spot on as well. Never digging into the leather at all and no "swelling" as you describe. It makes for such a beautifully clean look.

I think it is better if it digging a bit into the leather especially when new, or if the thread is natural fiber like cotton, overtime it only getting looser, also better to protect the thread itself against contact wear. just my point of view though

 

[red devil]

Might be worthwhile for enthusiasts like us to learn the basics of sewing so we can appreciate and understand better what we own and look at.
This is really interesting

 

[Claybertrand]

This jacket is epic Marc....E P I C!!!!!!!!!! I love that scalloped back yoke/center pleat/half belt combo!!!!!!!!!!!! Some killer details and obviously, the construction is of the highest order. I appreciate the specifics you provided on your design inspiration and the changes you made etc. Really thorough review. Thanks for posting and outlining your process.

 

[Marc mndt]

I thought it would be nice to share an update on how the jacket has developed.

This is what it looks like after three months of daily wear. There's hardly any wear on the leather, which is no surprise since I only wear the jacket when going out for a walk in the park or when I go somewhere by car. But the jacket now has tons of character from all those beautiful creases which developed after the first time it got wet. Also, some additional grain is starting to pop. (disclaimer: I did use a higher quality camera to take the update photos and the lightning is slightly different as compared to the 'before' photo's)

What I like most about the jacket is its collar, how it perfectly stays in shape. It has a nice curve to it and I love how it's perfectly round across the neck hole.

 

[Berto]

I thought it would be nice to share an update on how the jacket has developed.

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This is what it looks like after three months of daily wear. There's hardly any wear on the leather, which is no surprise since I only wear the jacket when going out for a walk in the park or when I go somewhere by car. But the jacket now has tons of character from all those beautiful creases which developed after the first time it got wet. Also, some additional grain is starting to pop. (disclaimer: I did use a higher quality camera to take the update photos and the lightning is slightly different as compared to the 'before' photo's)
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What I like most about the jacket is its collar, how it perfectly stays in shape. It has a nice curve to it and I love how it's perfectly round across the neck hole.

Love it !!!
I'm waiting for my mock-up.

 

[MrProper]

I thought it would be nice to share an update on how the jacket has developed.

View attachment 295889 View attachment 295890

This is what it looks like after three months of daily wear. There's hardly any wear on the leather, which is no surprise since I only wear the jacket when going out for a walk in the park or when I go somewhere by car. But the jacket now has tons of character from all those beautiful creases which developed after the first time it got wet. Also, some additional grain is starting to pop. (disclaimer: I did use a higher quality camera to take the update photos and the lightning is slightly different as compared to the 'before' photo's)
View attachment 295891

What I like most about the jacket is its collar, how it perfectly stays in shape. It has a nice curve to it and I love how it's perfectly round across the neck hole.

for me this jacket in combination with the perfect fit is the best that greg has made so far. Great.

 

[Jin431]

Thanks for sharing, love that creasing/folds, very cool. Can't wait to get mine!

 

[willyto]

That's what you get when you stick with a jacket like that. It develops such character! Fantastic.

it's going to look even better in a year.

 

[handymike]

Looks great Marc! Is there any evidence of the Aero zipper waviness/pucker yet? Or has he figured out how to avoid it?

 

[Marc mndt]

Looks great Marc! Is there any evidence of the Aero zipper waviness/pucker yet? Or has he figured out how to avoid it?

Maybe there's a hint of waviness at the top towards the collar? I don't know, I don't own any Aero's so I can't compare (the ones I had were sent back to Aero the same day they were delivered because of poor panel alignment). What do you think?

Edit: closeup photo added.