Great Leather/LCS repair Dena is AMAZING!!

[Cornelius]

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Whenever I consider finally ordering an elegant-yet-practical winter jacket from Aero, using Horween FQHH out of hometown pride, I figure the Long Half-belt would be the way to go (cargo pockets for hat & gloves, extra length to keep the wind from whipping up my back). And I imagine the LHB fitting like Ton's newly mended jacket, above ^

But then I check the Aero website, with their Invisible Man modeling all jackets, and am reminded that, NO, the Aero LHB pattern is cut like a potato sack. Bummer.

Great to hear about this business of Dana's though, I'll be bookmarking them for inevitable future need. Have a "Rockafella" type jacket I bought secondhand in Amsterdam 20 years ago that could use a new lining & general TLC.

 

[ton312]

Dena just sent me pictures of the two-way zip she installed on my Aero Chips. She was amazing-- called me with updates and questions, sent photo updates and got the work done in record time. A pleasure to deal with too. And the work is spot-on at extremely reasonable prices. She is my new go-to for this kind of work.

She also quickly finished the two-way zip on the LW J23 and both are heading back soon. I can't seem to upload photo of the LW. I will take some photos when it arrives. Same great work though. She did say that working on the LW leather is more challenging than the norm.

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Perfectly done. If only it came this way from the get go. Looks better too. Good call on the two way.

 

[JMax]

Perfectly done. If only II came this way from the get go. Looks better too. Good call on the two way.

Infinitely better riding jacket now. Amazing what a zip can do to the functionality of a jacket.

 

[Monitor]

I should’ve posted better shots of the Herc. Honest to God this might be my all time favorite jacket ever.
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That grain tho. And fit. If I could find a cross zip in this leather that'd fit this well, or close, you guys would never see me again. Or maybe I'd post more photos than @Downunder G Man !

 

[Guppy]

I recall hearing about Great Leather on these forums some years ago, but never had given their business much thought, as I had no repair/alteration needs at the time. If I had a jacket that didn't fit me, I'd just move it on. I forgot about them. Then a few weeks ago @ton312 mentioned them, and I have a lot more jackets now than I did then, and one in particular that I thought would make a good project.

Longtime @Guppy readers will know that I've had a long-term interest in getting a leather M-65 field jacket. Lots of makers make them, and I've tried most of them, but I haven't found one that's quite exactly what I'm going after. I found a Willabee & Ward for cheap several years ago, which was the original leather M-65 that I saw advertised in the back of Popular Mechanics when I was a high school student in the 1990s, but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for, and I moved it on.

A few years later, I found a motorcycle jacket by Equilibre Paris Les Halles that was a perfect copy of an M-65 in black leather, only a size too small for me, but I held onto it for a while before I finally found a buyer for it.

Cooper and Cockpit USA make them, and I haven't found one at a price I'd pay for one, and I don't think either would ultimately satisfy me.

Some months ago, I found an interesting jacket made by "Colonial Reliable Casual Goods", which I bought for $50. It's very clearly not an M-65, but it has the vibe and certainly seems M-65 inspired, and looked good. Leather looked thick, probably top grain, and very attractive grain at that, with some nice patina and undertones where the color had worn through.

For $50 how can you go wrong?






The sound this zipper makes is heavenly.



I haven't been able to find any info on this maker, so if anyone happens to know anything about them, please share.


I bought it and waited months for it to arrive. Seller's location according to eBay was in my state, but the package shipped from Europe (???), and took almost 3 months to arrive. By that time I had opened a dispute case and gotten refunded, but when it showed up I re-sent my payment; the seller had done his part.

Unfortunately, as I feared, it was a little too long on me, but only in the sleeves. Everything else fit pretty well. But the zipper was a euro-style left hand job, and I just can't get used to them. Bummer. I sat on it for a few months, then pulled it out last week to list it for sale, when I saw @ton312's post about getting his alterations.

Enter @iknowleather. I emailed Dena on Fri 7/17 and she responded quickly and we exchanged several emails in the space of an hour or two. She answered all my questions and gave me a good impression. We're reversing the zipper by uninistalling it and then re-installing it backward, so that the pin and box are on the correct side for right-handed operation, but with the pull installed backward, so that it faces the outside of the jacket. I'm hoping that this will work for this zipper, I don't know if the teeth are symmetrical to allow the slide to run in an inside-out configuration.



The stitching at top of the zipper and windflap had started to come loose and needed a minor repair; since we're removing and reversing the zipper, it's no big deal; this seam would have needed to be opened up anyway. I also asked her to move the zipper up so that it starts 5 3/8" from the hem, instead of starting at the bottom of the hem. This will put the starting point of the zipper just below the belt line, and make it easier to start the zip, as well as more comfortable when sitting and zipped.

And she said no problem to shorten the sleeves by 2.5". This will be accomplished by opening the seam on the cuffs, trimming back the necessary length from the sleeve, opening up the cuff gusset seam a bit, and then re-attaching the cuff.

Jacket went in the mail today, 7/22. I'm in no rush to have it back, but of course am eager to see the results and how it turns out.

 

[regius]

Little better shot of how the belt relocation helped the fit. I sincerely wish I would’ve sent my PHWM to Dena and had this done. Please pardon my strained grimace. I realize I’m morphing into hide the pain Harold.
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A very nice jacket ton!

 

[jonbuilder]

More great work from Dena at Great Leather! Great doesn’t even begin to describe it tbh. I’m floored by how good she is.
My much maligned sand papered, balloon sleeved TRD came back and I think it may have found it’s place as one of my all time fav cross zips now. Dena took a whopping 3” out of the biceps. She also removed all the bits left from my FC treatment (belt and epaulettes) the jacket fits and feels soo much better now.
Before w/ massive canon sleeves:
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After with 3” biceps diameter trim:
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Sears Herc received a new main zip which is stitch hole PERFECT. Dena also fixed the saggy liner and preserved the tag.
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Such a wonderful resource to have discovered. I have two more projects for her to get me properly ready for the fall and winter. Lining for my IH 21oz type three and suede trucker. Thank you Dena!! You rock!!!

IMPRESSIVE
Do you mind sharing the cost for your cross zip repair?

 

[ton312]

IMPRESSIVE
Do you mind sharing the cost for your cross zip repair?

Since the zipper repair was bundled with other repairs I'm not sure exactly. I can say I find Dena to be very, very reasonable price wise.

 

[RiteStuffBryan]

Just sent one of my vintage barnstormers for repairs to Dena, main thing was replacing the mouton collar and trying to fix loose lining behind the button holes. After remaining me saying she’d start on it soon she promptly mailed it back with a note saying sorry, I couldn’t help. Personal issues, perhaps?

 

[Bfd70]

She started a thread a few days ago saying she needs to scale back. She gets much more work than she can handle. Won’t deal wuth heavier leathers anymore.

 

[Guppy]

Just sent one of my vintage barnstormers for repairs to Dena, main thing was replacing the mouton collar and trying to fix loose lining behind the button holes. After remaining me saying she’d start on it soon she promptly mailed it back with a note saying sorry, I couldn’t help. Personal issues, perhaps?

She's been in business at least 30 years, maybe closer to 40 by now. Will be sad when she hangs it up one day, because I don't know of anyone else out there like her.

She started a thread a few days ago saying she needs to scale back. She gets much more work than she can handle. Won’t deal with heavier leathers anymore.

I sent her a Cal CHP for a seam repair about a month ago, and she did a nice job of it, but when she sent it back she said she wasn't going to work on anything that heavy anymore, but would refer me to someone else if I needed it. I might have been the last heavy job she took.

 

[Peacoat]

She's been in business at least 30 years, maybe closer to 40 by now. Will be sad when she hangs it up one day, because I don't know of anyone else out there like her.


I sent her a Cal CHP for a seam repair about a month ago, and she did a nice job of it, but when she sent it back she said she wasn't going to work on anything that heavy anymore, but would refer me to someone else if I needed it. I might have been the last heavy job she took.

Yes, after all of those years, her hands, fingers and arms can only take so much work with heavy leather.

 

[RiteStuffBryan]

Thanks for the info guys; who’s the next best thing then, Johnson Leathers? Or are they only repairing their jackets?

 

[Peacoat]

Thanks for the info guys; who’s the next best thing then, Johnson Leathers? Or are they only repairing their jackets?

They put a new zipper in one of my Aeros several years ago, so they work on other jackets as well.

 

[Guppy]

Thanks for the info guys; who’s the next best thing then, Johnson Leathers? Or are they only repairing their jackets?

I hear they do good work. Dena recommended Jeff Moses at Shoe Biz, in Peoria, IL.

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/attachments/shoe-biz-jpg.680850/

 

[Bfd70]

She's been in business at least 30 years, maybe closer to 40 by now. Will be sad when she hangs it up one day, because I don't know of anyone else out there like her.


I sent her a Cal CHP for a seam repair about a month ago, and she did a nice job of it, but when she sent it back she said she wasn't going to work on anything that heavy anymore, but would refer me to someone else if I needed it. I might have been the last heavy job she took.

We must have worn her out. I just got my LW back

 

[TLW '90]

I am getting ready to send my jacket to Steve at Bedo's leatherwork.
Check out his YouTube channel, he does great work.
His main business is shoe repair, but he does jackets and even purses as well.

 

[LordOfLeather]

I just happened upon this post but I’m really glad I did. I decided to replace the main zipper on all three of my Aeros that still have the original #5 Talon zips. Carrie said they wouldn’t have time until summer, and recommended Dena. I trust Carrie, but it’s still a bit nerve wracking to send off my jackets to someone whose work I’ve not seen before. This work is amazing, so I’m now fully confident in her. Thanks for sharing!

 

[LordOfLeather]

She started a thread a few days ago saying she needs to scale back. She gets much more work than she can handle. Won’t deal wuth heavier leathers anymore.

She did tell me she won’t work on jackets over 5 lbs anymore (or at least won’t replace the front zipper — I’m not sure if she will do other work on heavier jackets). Thankfully, the heaviest one I sent her was exactly 5 lbs. phew.

 

[Madhouse27]

She has my ELMC Roadstar for a main zipper upgrade and indicated that it was in the acceptable range (thickness wise). Crosszips seem to be extra challenging though, particularly where lapel snaps have been installed over seams and the potential difficulty of sourcing exact replacements. I opted to lose an inch of zipper and not extend beyond the snap. Dena was both helpful (and patient) in dealing with someone who is a big fan of leather jackets but knows little about actual construction techniques.