My New Himel Kensington Horsehide Cafe Racer

[technovox]

Per request here are some pics of my latest score- a Himel "Kensington" Horsehide Cafe racer. This one was an off-the-rack, not a custom fit- bought it second hand. A little generous in the body, but the shoulders, sleeve and length seem just about right. The horsehide has some the most stunning, lustrous richness I've ever seen in a hide...already showing signs of character. And the quality is simply amazing. I'm not sure I even came close to capturing the beauty of this jacket in the photos.

 

[jack miranda]

Very nice. And, yes, the quality of hide and workmanship come through in your pics. Sweet, sweet jacket. Thanks for the pics.

 

[Highwaymanman]

Looks very good indeed. Fit is great.

 

[bretron]

Very nice. And, yes, the quality of hide and workmanship come through in your pics. Sweet, sweet jacket. Thanks for the pics.

+1 as good as it gets in the cafe world

 

[Fanch]

Beautiful jacket. I believe that's the Shenki HH.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Very nice. Is it a copy of a Buco J 100? It's my favourite of the Himel efforts.

 

[technovox]

Beautiful jacket. I believe that's the Shenki HH.

Yes, my understanding is that Himel uses the Shinki Horsehides. The hide on this jacket has a very different feel than the Horween HH- if I had to explain in words, it has a very rich finish, more supple, but maybe slightly lighter in weight and thickness.

 

[Cooperson]

Beautiful jacket, looks top quality.

 

[schitzo]

looks like a pretty good fit from here. I don't usually dig cafe racers but something about this one - I mean besides the awesome hide - attracts me. Is this model a bit longer than normal?

 

[Boyo]

Thanks for the peek, the tiger stripe camo lining looks cool, is it cotton? I think Himel did a collaboration with Self Edge, and the jackets all had a camo lining. This could be from that collection

 

[technovox]

looks like a pretty good fit from here. I don't usually dig cafe racers but something about this one - I mean besides the awesome hide - attracts me. Is this model a bit longer than normal?

Yes, it's a tad longer than most of my other cafe racers, except for my Beck-Arnley. Approximately 25.5 inches from base of collar to bottom measured on back.

 

[Worf]

VERY nice jacket. Thanks for sharing. I'm finding the more I get into this the harder I think it is to find a Black leather jacket that looks good or interesting. Yours really caught my eye.

Worf

 

[technovox]

Thanks for the peek, the tiger stripe camo lining looks cool, is it cotton? I think Himel did a collaboration with Self Edge, and the jackets all had a camo lining. This could be from that collection

Yes, the lining is cotton, which I find perfect for the temperate San Francisco weather (except for these foggy/cold summers.) I bought it from a guy who said he purchased it from Self Edge here in the city- so it would probably be one of the limited runs that Himel did for them. It also has an very handy inner pocket in the same camo lining. I'm not sure I understand the reasoning behind using camo, but it certainly gets noticed when I take the jacket off.

 

[nick123]

As long as the jacket isn't made from deerskin I think you're alright.

 

[technovox]

Very nice. Is it a copy of a Buco J 100? It's my favourite of the Himel efforts.

It looks to be based on the legendary Buco J 100- but never having owned a Buco, I can only speculate. The positioning of the arm zips looks similar- on the top of the sleeve rather than underneath. Also the ring pulls, non- gusseted cut of the back looks similar to Buco.
But differences from the Buco that I can determine are: the Himel collar is higher, lightening zips, and the sleeves don't have that a fold of leather underneath the zipper- they open up.

 

[scrawlysteve]

It also has an very handy inner pocket in the same camo lining. I'm not sure I understand the reasoning behind using camo, but it certainly gets noticed when I take the jacket off.
View attachment 2722

Beautiful jacket for sure .....but if camouflage gets noticed I'm afraid it is defective.......

 

[nabottle]

Awesome jacket and totally cool liner!

 

[Drifterproductions]

Can you tell me what type of zipper they are using it is hard to tell in the pics. I have found over the years that the quality of the zipper that is used makes all the difference in the world.

 

[technovox]

Can you tell me what type of zipper they are using it is hard to tell in the pics. I have found over the years that the quality of the zipper that is used makes all the difference in the world.

Sure. The main is a Lightening Zip. But here's a better description from the website:

Zippers are deadstock cotton taped 1950s Lightning zippers which were made in Canada. Lightning was the company founded by zipper inventor Gideon Sundback. All the snaps are Scovill snaps and all the zippers and pockets are welted to improve resistance to the wind.

 

[AndrewC]

Very nice jacket. I have been lurking this forum for a while, but have never posted. I also picked up a Himel Kensington Racer in June. I had met Dave in Toronto, visited his shop and tried on some jackets, got to see his leather samples, liner samples, zippers, etc. I ended up with the black shinki horsehide, camo lining, one collar snap, size 40 with 1 inch shorter on the arms. It was a very cool experience and Dave is a great guy. I can't say anything about this jacket that hasn't already been said elswhere in the forum. It is my favorite jacket that I have ever worn for sure. My other present jackets include a Schott 141 and a vintage gold tagged Brooks Cafe Racer (which is in very nice shape). Here are a few fit pictures of the Himel. For some reason the leather looks dull in these crappy ipod pictures, but it is very shiny in reality:

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