Himel Brothers Heron Cossack

[Roger_af]

This is my first nice leather jacket that I picked up a year and a half ago. It was previously owned by at least 2 others. I'm unsure how much it was worn, but there was little patina when I received it. I generally wear it in Fall and Spring and have worn it 63 times this year.

Brand: Himel Brothers
Style: Heron Cossack Shawl Collar
Leather: The previous owner was unsure of the leather, but it's got a FQHH label - and I suspect it's Shinki pigment horsehide
Size 40
Dimensions: chest 21.75", shoulders 17.5", sleeves 23.5", length back 24.25", front length 21.75"

I think it fits me quite well, but the sleeves are just long enough (I wouldn't mind if they were 1" longer).

I really love the grain that you can see best on the bottom of the jacket. I think the grain has continued to come out as I've worn it over time - and I think the pictures from the seller vs now shows that (but I'm not sure if I'm making that up or if the old pictures didn't capture the grain well). I've read some places that the grain pops more over time as the pigment breaks up/wears off, but I've also seen people here say that their jackets have become less grainy over time - so I'm curious what people here generally see.

I'm also getting accordioning (is this the right term? Like honeycombs on raw denim...) on the arms and starting to get some patina - mostly at the cuffs, but a bit at the waist as well.

I'd love to hear what people think about the fit, the graining over time, and the jacket in general. Cheers!

 

[Will Zach]

A fine jacket, I love the family pics!

 

[jonbuilder]

Very Cool

 

[Jasonindenver]

Nice find!

 

[Mrfrown]

The fit looks great! The grain and character that have started showing are quite nice.

To me the sleeves look totally fine, but I understand everyone has their preference.

I feel like we don't get to see many of these that have actually seen regular use at TFL, thanks for sharing.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Love that Heron label. Great attention to detail.

 

[BlueSteel]

Nice jacket - I also have a Himel Heron! Mine is Shinki, and the leather looks quite different from yours. The leather on mine is shiny/glossy:

Himel Heron Open 2 (3)

• BlueSteel
• Oct 31, 2021

 

[Roger_af]

Thanks for sharing! Like I said, I'm not sure where the HH on mine came from. It definitely looks different than the Shinki stuff I've seen (although I had no in person knowledge of Shinki when I purchased this online). Does anyone know where else Himel has sourced HH? Any thoughts on where my HH might be from if not Shinki?

You can't see because our daughter cut off my feet, but I'm also wearing White's Packers in the photo with my wife above.

 

[AeroFan_07]

Very nice jacket with excellent detail. Even better family shots! Love it that your daughter is trying her hand out with photography already!

My experance with Himel is quite limited, just really based off other's experances here & on thier website. You may be able to send a few photos of it to Dave himself and he may be able to tell you what has been used here. The grain pattern is similar to how my Lost Worlds J23 is developing, however that is much lighter and softer leather on your Himel, which also suits the pattern better. I really love that you know -- I wore the jacket 63 times this year so far...that's awesome!

I am a big fan of White's boots, however I have to stick with the Farmer-Racher or "lower" arch as the (very high) Packer arch support is just a little too much for me.

 

[Brandrea33]

That’s a very nice jacket indeed. I’m not sure but to me that looks like it may be what is described as Victoria Italian semi aniline pigment (from his leather selection online).

 

[Bfd70]

Welcome aboard. Leather fit can lead to ocd since we are all so accustomed to wearing otr cloth which is so much more forgiving.

 

[BlueSteel]

You can't see because our daughter cut off my feet, but I'm also wearing White's Packers in the photo with my wife above.

Awesome! Great boots and seem to be a good pairing for this jacket style!

 

[Rgcards]

Jacket looks great. People look greater

 

[jonesy86]

This is my first nice leather jacket that I picked up a year and a half ago. It was previously owned by at least 2 others. I'm unsure how much it was worn, but there was little patina when I received it. I generally wear it in Fall and Spring and have worn it 63 times this year.

Brand: Himel Brothers
Style: Heron Cossack Shawl Collar
Leather: The previous owner was unsure of the leather, but it's got a FQHH label - and I suspect it's Shinki pigment horsehide
Size 40
Dimensions: chest 21.75", shoulders 17.5", sleeves 23.5", length back 24.25", front length 21.75"

I think it fits me quite well, but the sleeves are just long enough (I wouldn't mind if they were 1" longer).

I really love the grain that you can see best on the bottom of the jacket. I think the grain has continued to come out as I've worn it over time - and I think the pictures from the seller vs now shows that (but I'm not sure if I'm making that up or if the old pictures didn't capture the grain well). I've read some places that the grain pops more over time as the pigment breaks up/wears off, but I've also seen people here say that their jackets have become less grainy over time - so I'm curious what people here generally see.

I'm also getting accordioning (is this the right term? Like honeycombs on raw denim...) on the arms and starting to get some patina - mostly at the cuffs, but a bit at the waist as well.

I'd love to hear what people think about the fit, the graining over time, and the jacket in general. Cheers!

Looks great!

 

[Robbie79]

Great choice for your first leather jacket - looks very nice, congrats and welcome to the lounge! I also like you family pics.

 

[jonesy86]

I love seeing all these Himel Herons. Mine was one of the first major purchases that I got in early onset TFL Affect. I tried to sell it at one point, glad I didn't. It is Shinki, I'm not sure which variety but this description off of the web page seems like a good description to me.

Medium Brown Oil Tanned, Wax Finish.
The smell is the distinctive leathery smell of shinki mimosa tanned HH. The leather is then lightly pigment finished with a coating of oil and wax to give a glossy top coat that dulls over time with wear. The base colour will show through due to the natural mimosa colour of the leather underneath the top coat. The leather is typically 1.2 to 1.3 mm or (2.5 to 2.75 oz) and can come smooth or grainy. Like all vegetable tanned leather fully shrunken grains will pop up and create ripples over time especially after getting wet that will mould the jacket to the wearer and develop character.

 

[Roger_af]

I was re-listening to one of Dave's youtube videos about the Heron today. He mentioned that his original design for the Heron had a very boxy cut with no taper to the waist, but that he updated that design to include a roughly 2" taper from the chest to the waist for a more modern silhouette. I pulled mine out and loosened the waist gussets to find that mine measures 21.75" at both the p2p and waist measurements. I included some pictures here to demonstrate. I also reached out to Dave to see if he could help identify the leather and possibly confirm if this is an early model Heron.

 

[Roger_af]

In case people are interested in seeing some of Dave's videos you can check them out on youtube at Himel Bros. Leather - or here's a link to the Heron jacket video:

 

[Roger_af]

It's that time of year when my leather jackets re-emerge - and I try to remember to do an update here for those interested. I'm up to 186 wears on this jacket - with 4 this month. I've cinched the sides in a bit more over the years, but still like the fit of this. The liner is starting to wear through in places so I might have it looked at in the next year or two.