Planning a Diamond Dave Beck 333

[Pdxgeo]

So excited to say Im planning to order a Beck from Dave as soon as he contacts me for a deposit. I'm leaning towards Goat as I want the drape and lighter, slightly thinner leather. Also definitely want brown vs. black.

I received the goat samples and prefer the red cast over the yellow cast brown. Research (mostly on here) is showing that goat doesn't age much and certainly not very quickly. I tend to be very hard on my clothes (my lost worlds A2 really is breaking in) but I worry that goat wont look broken in...ever.

Also interested in working with Dave on the fit specs. I think this will be the first size 38 in the style for him. My thoughts on the one he made in black is that (like the original) it is too short and wide for my frame. At only 5'7" I think that overall scale looks wrong on me. I know his business model says the pieces will be "off the rack" sizing so I don't want to ask for anything too crazy custom but I will wait to speak to him about his process.

Looking forward to sharing the process with you all. This, like other forums Ive joined, has proven to be a fun, informative site and I appreciate all the help and advice offered here.

 

[bretron]

Very cool. The 333 doesn't get the hype I think it rightly deserves, and I've really admired Dave's resurrection of it. All the cooler that it was originally offered in brown goat (which it was), so it's period correct

To your question on goatskin; it definitely wears much more slowly (and less notably), but I think that's to its advantage. Do it man!

 

[Superfluous]

Beck is not adequately represented in the repro world. I would be all over Toys McCoys' Beck 666 repro if it were a tad longer.

Congrats on your new jacket.

 

[bn1966]

Congrats too

Goat IME wears VERY slowly but is tough & mine certainly has had water repellent properties too.

Having a new jacket currently made (based on a 70's USN G-1 model) & going for goat due to the above & the lightness factor in the hide I've chosen so that it hopefully drapes well but also has an extended wear ability based on current warmer UK weather.

Had never heard of the jacket model you are planning and had to google it

.....very cool thing

 

[3d-doctor]

So excited to say Im planning to order a Beck from Dave as soon as he contacts me for a deposit. I'm leaning towards Goat as I want the drape and lighter, slightly thinner leather. Also definitely want brown vs. black.

I received the goat samples and prefer the red cast over the yellow cast brown. Research (mostly on here) is showing that goat doesn't age much and certainly not very quickly. I tend to be very hard on my clothes (my lost worlds A2 really is breaking in) but I worry that goat wont look broken in...ever.

Also interested in working with Dave on the fit specs. I think this will be the first size 38 in the style for him. My thoughts on the one he made in black is that (like the original) it is too short and wide for my frame. At only 5'7" I think that overall scale looks wrong on me. I know his business model says the pieces will be "off the rack" sizing so I don't want to ask for anything too crazy custom but I will wait to speak to him about his process.

Looking forward to sharing the process with you all. This, like other forums Ive joined, has proven to be a fun, informative site and I appreciate all the help and advice offered here.

Ha!
Just received my original Beck goatskin breeches off ebay this week and so started thinking of a jacket and quickly arrived at Diamond as I'm a 44" and the Schotts etc are not in my size.
The answer is it does not age - I've got one of the muton collared M-69 transporter coats and although the lining is pretty schott -sorry shot the goatskin has a 70 year old patina that makes it look 10 years old if it were cowhide
I've also goat some goat Langlitz and same story - 20 years and still looking good
I've just sent an enquiry to Diamond myself for a 333

 

[Pdxgeo]

That's great! I saw those pants on ebay not too long ago I think.

If i remember correctly there was a brown Beck jacket (did Buco do brown?) for sale at an antique shop here in Portland about 1.5 years ago. I didnt have anywhere near the $1200 or so they were asking so even though it looked small I was afraid to try it on lest it fit...

 

[ButteMT61]

Are there any pics of this?

 

[handymike]

 

[Interbak]

Hey Pdx,

Sorry I didn't get you any pics of my 333, I'm still out of town. One note for fit, the sleeve openings are very trim and fitted, they close snugly around the wrists. This is great for keeping out the weather while riding, but if you wear a modern chunky watch it will be a tight fit. I just make a point of wearing a small vintage watch when I wear th jacket.

B

 

[Pdxgeo]

Dave actually sent me pics of himself wearing yours. Still like to see your fit as its different for everyone

 

[Pdxgeo]

Now officially in the cue and scouring the web for pics of the Beck jackets. Several have popped up on eBay recently so there are some good pics but no FIT pics (except for the guy in Brazil but the jacket is WAY too small for him)

I realize these were worn short. I must admit I am hoping for what may be called a more modern fit, not too long but definitely longer than the original. There is a size 36 on eBay with exact measurements that I would want except for the length. The length on that one is 21"! My LW A2 is 24" to the knit and the length is pretty perfect for my torso. I think that is way too much to add to the look of the original Beck however so maybe 22.5"?? 23? I'm sure Dave will help figure it out but in the meantime I'm obsessing over the Freewheelers jacket shown here...

 

[Pdxgeo]

So if I had a 21" jacket it would be about where the knit begins. I have a slightly long torso with shorter legs so I think that would look pretty bad for me.

 

[ProteinNerd]

Looking forward to seeing the result.

Just be very clear with your expectations regarding length, Dave loves his authentic vintage accuracy and unless you specifically tell him what length you expect or it will be returned, you may end up wth something more vintage accurate (shorter) than you are envisioning. This is historically a short jacket after all. If you leave it up to him, thats how it will come to you.

Its best for both parties to have a very clear understanding of what will be accepted and what won't.

 

[handymike]

I'm 5'10" and the shortest I'll go is 24" down the back (not including collar).
I prefer 24.5-25" though. I'd measure from the base of your neck to your coccyx (top of your butt) to get an idea of where to begin.

 

[Pdxgeo]

well I guess if the 21" of the original (not sure how they measured it) did not include the collar then it's not so bad. Maybe 22 would be better but I was thinking it included the collar...I guess I need to know what Dave's sizing is and we can figure out what will work best. I can't wait!

I'm thinking antique brass on the seal brown Goat.

 

[ton312]

Very cool jacket design. I'd be concerned about the length too. 22" is VERY short. If you are over 5'7" tall it would be too short. There's nothing worse than a jacket that feels too short, of course that translates to a myriad of different numbers for various folks. For me, I won't go shorter than 26" excl. collar and that even feels a bit short. It's all about personal preference though and I think as long as you are explicit in stating what length you are after you'll be happy. Looking at your A-2 above, which seems to be a perfect length, I'd go with that (total length including the knit).

 

[Monitor]

Pdxgeo, did you check out Yahoo auctions or Rakuten for more jackets, photos and details?

 

[Blackadder]

There is always the Schott repro of the Beck. I think Schott is making it in Horsehide, Horween steerhide etc but no goatskin yet.

 

[ProteinNerd]

Many a jacket has ben sold because its too short, check and double check your measurements before you confirm them with Dave. He's a 1 man operation and probably won't refund or remake because of a mistake you make. Trying to sell a "used" jacket that is less than 24 inches will be tough unless its VERY cheap.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

PN is exactly right. I highly recommend measuring a jacket that you already own with the body and sleeve length you like (from the seam under collar down to end of bottom hem). No matter what may have been historical, nothing worse than a new custom jacket ending above the belt (IMO). If not, it can easily result in disappointment, struggling to live with it, or the hassle of a remake.