Just Received My New Jacket from Johnsons Leather! (sort of)

[HoosierDaddy]

I'm already over it.
NEXT..

 

[JLStorm]

Ok I finally got photos. Sorry it took so long. My wife worked really hard to take photos of me with my digital SLR, but I didnt have the heart to tell her they almost all of them were really blurry and the exposure was too short. I had to wait until she fell asleep, set up the tripod and take a few times shots lol. She was really impressed with the jacket though which is a good sign. The jacket weights somewhere between 6.8 and 7.2 pounds (sleeves kept falling off the scale) and is very supple. It will definitely be easy to where this one all day long, drive in it, etc. Its light and supple enough enough that I can forget I have it on, but very thick so it still feels quite substantial. Compared to my 12 pound shearling lined Aero highwayman / cheyenne cross, its like wearing a down jacket. I still love the heft and weight of my heaviest Aero, but I was going after a different look and feel with this one and I do believe that Alan nailed it.

I will primarily wear this with a button down shirt or tshirt, but I wanted to be able to gain a few inches in the chest and/or waist, or wear a thick wool fisherman's sweather and have it still fit comfortable (which it does). One challenge that Johnsons had was that due to a bad injury, I lost half of one of my chest muscles, so when I hit the gym harder, I only really gain mass in my back, but my chest stays about the same. From what I can tell of how it feels on, they did a great job of making the chest fit well, while giving the back and shoulders some extra room.



Unwrapping

First look

Front

Back (love that grain! It doesnt come through too well in the photos because I had the flash on, but it is phenomenal)

This is the most color correct photo

I took the flash off for this one, so the grain shows more, but the color is off.

Another shot of the color and grain on the sleeves / back

Wife holding the front (had to take this one quick, her arms were getting tired lol)

 

[JLStorm]

Front chest and collar closeup

Beautiful navy blue lining...love this!

Ok these first two were the best of what my wife took. She took the only back shot and I feel bad not posting one front shot...but the rest are self timed and show the color and detail much more accurately.

Forgot to pull down the back...oops. You get the idea though.

Ok below are the timed photos that have the exposure and focus corrected.

Ok trying to stand up straight with good posture...my mother would be proud...

 

[nick123]

I'm honored to have timed this right to pitch the first reply...
Awesome man, congratulations. What a hide that is!

 

[Vespizzare]

Unreal jacket. Good luck and wear it in the best..... Let us know when the bug hits you again. If you're a working stiff, it's late.

P.S. I've never seen cuffs like that. What's the story?

 

[JLStorm]

I'm honored to have timed this right to pitch the first reply...
Awesome man, congratulations. What a hide that is!

Thank you sir.

Unreal jacket. Good luck and wear it in the best..... Let us know when the bug hits you again. If you're a working stiff, it's late.

P.S. I've never seen cuffs like that. What's the story?

Thanks. I'm glad you like it. One jacket per year is my max and only if my company is giving out bonuses that year. This jacket fills the one big hole I had in my closet, but I'm sure by the time I can afford something else, I will find a way to create a need for another jacket lol.

The cuffs were Alan's idea. He said that the leather bottom of the cuff really helps to extend the life of the knit, but he was concerned that without them on the weight of the hide would make the cuffs bunch up too much. I'm pretty hard on everything I have and I figured it wouldnt hurt to try them and I really like them. They do also help the cuffs retain their shape as Alan had said.

 

[Deleted member 16736]

What changes did you make to the pattern? Did you make it roomier in the torso? I had this jacket once and it was a lot tighter on me. Wear it in good health.

 

[Sloan1874]

Stunning stuff. Love the contrast between the hide and the lining, and the fit's spot-on.

 

[Peacoat]

Now that is the business. Thanks for finally posting the pics.

 

[jack miranda]

That is a jacket that will turn heads, JL. It looks warm and snug, a real plus in a PA winter, I imagine. The cuffs are a great idea for sleeves carrying the weight of those. The lining is a stunner! And, the hide should outlive you; bison wears forever. Man, nicely done. Thanks for the pics, finally...

 

[Fanch]

Very sharp looking jacket and outstanding photos. Congratulations! :eusa_clap

 

[Aerojoe]

The fit is perfect and the grain impressive Waiting for the dinner to open the Christmas gifts was plain sick

 

[kojax]

me like good luck

 

[Fanch]

The fit is perfect and the grain impressive Waiting for the dinner to open the Christmas gifts was plain sick

Yep, the look and fit is great. With the impressive array of pictures, we'll forgive forgive Storm for keeping us in such suspense.:thumb:

 

[wild_balls]

That is one spectacular jacket! Congratulations! I admire your patience for not opening the box at once!


Cheers Joakim

 

[JLStorm]

What changes did you make to the pattern? Did you make it roomier in the torso? I had this jacket once and it was a lot tighter on me. Wear it in good health.

Shockingly, the pattern didn't require many changes. They took the area just under the chest in by 1" and the belly area in by 1.5". Their pattern fit me much better stock than most. Usually I need a 46 in the chest and shoulders, but I have way to much jacket in the stomach area and the shoulders are too big, but the waist knit generally fits fine. Johnsons stock 44 they had my try on fit my chest and shoulders with just a bit of extra room and the bottom knit fit perfect. The stomach area was definitely too roomy, but not nearly as bad as most size 44 jackets I've tried, let alone 46. Typically, I have trouble squeezing into a 44 up top, but I guess their pattern offers a lot of room in the chest, shoulders, arms and back, but has more of a straight or tapered cut.

That is a jacket that will turn heads, JL. It looks warm and snug, a real plus in a PA winter, I imagine. The cuffs are a great idea for sleeves carrying the weight of those. The lining is a stunner! And, the hide should outlive you; bison wears forever. Man, nicely done. Thanks for the pics, finally...

The timing should be pretty good. Its floating between the mid teens and mid twenties this week. Typically this is the temp range when I start to break out my B3 / ANJ4 cross from Aero....but, I don't think I'm going to be able to resist wearing the Johnsons right now. I had more of a 25 to 40 degree temp range in mind when I ordered it though.

The fit is perfect and the grain impressive Waiting for the dinner to open the Christmas gifts was plain sick

Ya ya I know. Our tradition is a bit weird, but we spend xmas eve through xmas day with family and wait until we are back home in the evening to celebrate it with each other. The gifts are fun, but xmas is about family and food much moreso than gifts, so we don't let presents overshadow the other stuff. Besides, by the time we get home, we are starving and need to relax from the past 24 hours before we can enjoy unwrapping stuff.

 

[JLStorm]

Yep, the look and fit is great. With the impressive array of pictures, we'll forgive forgive Storm for keeping us in such suspense.:thumb:

I appreciate your forgiveness lol. I couldn't well tell my wife that her pictures weren't good enough without making her feel bad. It took her a long time to figure out how to get the camera to work on manual focus, but regardless of whether it was on auto or manual it just didn't work out. I had to wait a few hours before I could sneak some self shot photos after she fell asleep, that was the biggest hold up.

 

[Worf]

The grain in that coat is FANTASTIC! I also like your choice in the color of the lining, and woolies. That is one cool jacket. Very well done and thanks for posting.

Worf

 

[schitzo]

wow that is what I call a comprehensive set of photos. Efficiency wise I'd say this effort ranks right up there alongside those of our German friends

Great job Storm. Everybody else take note!

All the best
Schitz

Ps the jacket and hide look great. Makes me wonder if this bison comes in other colours..

 

[JLStorm]

wow that is what I call a comprehensive set of photos. Efficiency wise I'd say this effort ranks right up there alongside those of our German friends

Great job Storm. Everybody else take note!

All the best
Schitz

Ps the jacket and hide look great. Makes me wonder if this bison comes in other colours..

Thanks for the compliment. Jan has the most amusing and detailed reviews I recall seeing. If you haven't yet, take a look at some of his reviews!

Bison comes in as many colors as any other hide I would think. My color options were probably limited by my weight requirements. I chose between a chocolate brown and tobacco samples. The cell phone photo below isn't great, but it gives you an idea of the colors

I told Alan I wanted brown, but that weight and grain was far more important to me than the specific shade. I typically like the darker browns, but I'm not that picky. As long as the collar and hide had a nice contrast, I would have been happy. It just so happens that I had seen a tobacco color jacket about a year ago and to my surprise, I really liked it. I hadn't really thought about a light color jacket, but the few pair of non-black respectable shoes I have were also walnut / tobacco shades, so when I saw the samples I was really torn. I could have gone either way and been happy. As much as I like the tobacco, the richness of the chocolate brown was beautiful as well.

I asked Alan what he thought of the two colors and the grain, etc. After talking with him, I decided to go with the tobacco and the lighter of the shearling samples. What sealed the deal was that the grain was quite a bit more pronounced on the tobacco and the navy lining I really liked would look great with it. Plus, my other two jackets I wear regularly are a much darker brown, so I figured why not go with something a little different and I'm glad I did. I think if I didn't have any other brown jackets, it would have been a slightly harder choice.