The Few

[1087]

Hello;
I'm a newbie here, been browsing for a while but this is my first post.
I would like to know if anybody here has purchased a horsehide jacket from them, and how was/is your experience.
Any recommendations will be greatly appreciate it!
I consider the Wild One 50's, it looks quite outstanding in their website.

http://www.thefewmfg.com/details.cgi?no=PM9-002&name=PRECISION_JACKET_2009_10

 

[Navin323i]

Welcome! I've never heard of this company but the jacket in the link you provided looks great. I laughed though at the typo on their site... "Japanese Hose Hide"... my area of specialization in IT is in quality assurance so I tend to pick up on typos rather easily.

 

[gyrobroyeur]

J 24 spirit.

I can't help you... Never hand a jacket from the few[huh]
But this jacket sounds good for me. What a beautifull D pocket in Buco style jacket! The lines are pure, no "bling bling" like on several Buco's, I like the colour, hide seems beautifull, etc...
how much dollar are 168,000 Y ?
Japanese have good reputation in this kind of products.
If you buy it, tell us a feed back...

 

[Navin323i]

I can't help you... Never hand a jacket from the few[huh]
But this jacket sounds good for me. What a beautifull D pocket in Buco style jacket! The lines are pure, no "bling bling" like on several Buco's, I like the colour, hide seems beautifull, etc...
how much dollar are 168,000 Y ?
Japanese have good reputation in this kind of products.
If you buy it, tell us a feed back...

168,000 Yen = $1790.85 in U.S. dollars as per today's Yen to Dollar conversion ratio.

 

[gyrobroyeur]

168,000 Yen = $1790.85 in U.S. dollars as per today's Yen to Dollar conversion ratio.

... Thanks Navin...
... So it HAVE to be a great jacket !

 

[andy richards]

Hi 1087 and welcome on the Fedora Lounge.
That is an extremely nice and also extremely expensive Buco jacket!
I don't know were you live, but keep in mind you also have to pay duty tax over the $1790,85... Of course it is your own choice and I would love to see this great jacket on the FL, but for that sort of money you could also buy some nice Aero's... If you really do decide to go for this lovely jacket, please do your homework and ask as many questions as you like regarding measurements, leather care, type of lining, zippers, inner pockets etc. There are some sad stories about custom made jackets...
Anyway, an excellent looking jacket. Hope this all works out ok.
Welcome on board!
Andy

 

[1087]

Welcome! I've never heard of this company but the jacket in the link you provided looks great. I laughed though at the typo on their site... "Japanese Hose Hide"... my area of specialization in IT is in quality assurance so I tend to pick up on typos rather easily.

Thanks for the welcome!
Yeah, I noticed that too...

 

[1087]

I can't help you... Never hand a jacket from the few[huh]
But this jacket sounds good for me. What a beautifull D pocket in Buco style jacket! The lines are pure, no "bling bling" like on several Buco's, I like the colour, hide seems beautifull, etc...
how much dollar are 168,000 Y ?
Japanese have good reputation in this kind of products.
If you buy it, tell us a feed back...

I will.

 

[1087]

Hi 1087 and welcome on the Fedora Lounge.
That is an extremely nice and also extremely expensive Buco jacket!
I don't know were you live, but keep in mind you also have to pay duty tax over the $1790,85... Of course it is your own choice and I would love to see this great jacket on the FL, but for that sort of money you could also buy some nice Aero's... If you really do decide to go for this lovely jacket, please do your homework and ask as many questions as you like regarding measurements, leather care, type of lining, zippers, inner pockets etc. There are some sad stories about custom made jackets...
Anyway, an excellent looking jacket. Hope this all works out ok.
Welcome on board!
Andy

Hello Andy;
Thanks for the welcome!
I'm located in Southern California (USA).
Their price is tax included ( I imagine for their own country). I don't think that I will have to pay customs here, we"ll see.
I really love the HH color, I never see anything similar here in US, that red pigment looks fantastic.
I have a similar Perfecto jacket in steerhide and a Trojan replica in black horsehide.
Now I'm looking for a Russet one but like I said this one really impressed me.
I mailed them with quite a few questions, I'll post the results.
thanks again.

 

[andy richards]

Hi 1087,
Just noticed they are based in New Zealand...
I am almost sure you have to pay custom tax or import duty... Please, do ask the company as much questions as you can think of. Have you already thought about inner lining, pocket lining etc. For you it may be interesting to see some detailed pics of the jacket interior and close up details of zippers, pockets, types of lining (if they offer any..) before ordering.
Good luck!
Andy

 

[1087]

Hi 1087,
Just noticed they are based in New Zealand...
I am almost sure you have to pay custom tax or import duty... Please, do ask the company as much questions as you can think of. Have you already thought about inner lining, pocket lining etc. For you it may be interesting to see some detailed pics of the jacket interior and close up details of zippers, pockets, types of lining (if they offer any..) before ordering.
Good luck!
Andy

I absolutely agree with you Andy!
I imagine that it will take a while and quite a few E-Mails until I pull the trigger.
If the interior, zippers,pockets , lining, etc,etc are at the same level of the outside look of the jacket, it will hard not to get it.
I never seen a russet HH jacket with that particular tone that this jacket has.
I will also request a sample of the HH to them as well.

 

[andy richards]

Keep us informed. Good luck!
Andy

 

[Edward]

Interesting... I've seen pictures of this particular jacket before, and they are beautiful. Not what I was expecting from the title (I was thinking something along the lines of an early fifties Schott Perfecto 618, modified to look like the earlier 615(?), as per Brando's in the film....). The look of the hide is stunning - I don't think I've ever seen a colour quite like that anywhere else. Looks like a cross between Aero's Cordovan and their Brown FQHH....

I've never handled a jacket from the Few myself. There are folks round these parts who have owned their USAAF repros, and they are top shelf stuff by all accounts - like Real McCoys, etc... The thing you're going to be up against is the psyche of the Japanese market. As far as I understand it, never having visited the place, in Japan there is a considerable cachet to be had from paying a premium price; I paid big money for this jacket, therefore it is worth big money and an impressive purchase. (Basically the designer phenomenon writ large.) As far as I'm aware, that's the reason Japanese stuff can be so expensive compared to what we're used to. There are other alternatives - Legendary USA produces a Buco-style model, I think Schott do too. Closest I've seen to the Few model is the Aero King of the Road jacket, though you'll not be able to get quite the same colour. Close as you'll find anywhere else, though - and at current Aero prices, you could have two and change for that!

The Buco styling really is sharp, a nice alternative to the Perfecto look. And hey, it was good enough for Elvis, so.

 

[1087]

Interesting... I've seen pictures of this particular jacket before, and they are beautiful. Not what I was expecting from the title (I was thinking something along the lines of an early fifties Schott Perfecto 618, modified to look like the earlier 615(?), as per Brando's in the film....). The look of the hide is stunning - I don't think I've ever seen a colour quite like that anywhere else. Looks like a cross between Aero's Cordovan and their Brown FQHH....

I've never handled a jacket from the Few myself. There are folks round these parts who have owned their USAAF repros, and they are top shelf stuff by all accounts - like Real McCoys, etc... The thing you're going to be up against is the psyche of the Japanese market. As far as I understand it, never having visited the place, in Japan there is a considerable cachet to be had from paying a premium price; I paid big money for this jacket, therefore it is worth big money and an impressive purchase. (Basically the designer phenomenon writ large.) As far as I'm aware, that's the reason Japanese stuff can be so expensive compared to what we're used to. There are other alternatives - Legendary USA produces a Buco-style model, I think Schott do too. Closest I've seen to the Few model is the Aero King of the Road jacket, though you'll not be able to get quite the same colour. Close as you'll find anywhere else, though - and at current Aero prices, you could have two and change for that!

The Buco styling really is sharp, a nice alternative to the Perfecto look. And hey, it was good enough for Elvis, so.

Hello Edward;
I agree with you, the FW jacket has a wrong name it doesn't looks like a Schott Perfecto, it looks like a Buco J23.
I personally like the the FEW J 23 looks, but it is the colour what drives me crazy!
I also agree about the price , it's large to say the least, but I couldn't find anybody here in the US who can match the colour or find it, or show interest to make it. So if I can find something similar here since it will be a Custom will cost a lot more as well.
Legendary has the Buco J23 replica in black and brown HH ( too dark) and are made by Schott for them.
That Aero looks very cool, but it's Special Order also and the website doesn't show the price. I will try to find out.
Many thanks for your excellent post!

 

[Edward]

No problem, glad to help.....

Just snother thought that occurs to me.... John's latest batch of Goodwear Co A2s are apparently made with Japanese horsehide, perhaps he might be able to source something similar to what The Few have used here? I don't think John has done a Buco to date, but it might be worth an inquiry as he has branched out into a couple of non-USAAF designs.

 

[1087]

Goodwear

Do you have a link for it?

 

[TheSnark]

Good eye, 1087

I'm a newbie here too, but I've been gazing lustily upon the Hurricane model from The Few for several months now. (http://www.thefewmfg.com/details.cgi?no=PM9-003&name=PRECISION_JACKET_2009_10)

The Hurricane is cowhide, but the color is incredible. I've managed to resist so far, but if you pull the trigger on the The Wild Ones, I'm not sure I'll be able to hold out. (On the other hand, I don't have a Langlitz goatskin yet, either... and it's a known quantity at roughly half the price.)

Please keep us posted... I'd love to see a production version (as opposed to display model) of that jacket on a real person. The contrast stitching is a nice touch on that cordovan color.

 

[deluxestyling]

The Few Hurricane

A Rakuten link with more detail pitures...

http://item.rakuten.co.jp/porkys/1141182

and a shop called High Notch

http://highnotch.exblog.jp/11531152/

more...

http://www.soen-chitose.com/items/j...ricane/pm9-003hurricane tabacco-castagno.html

Is it worth it? Of course it is...

 

[Doctor Strange]

Do you have a link for it?

http://www.goodwearleather.com/pages/index.html

Personally, if I could afford an expensive A-2 repro now (simply not possible after a year of enforced four-day work weeks, and with one kid in college and another only a year from starting!), I'd go with one of John's rather than a foreign maker. And I see John has recently been branching out into other types of jackets besides A-2s...

 

[nicholasb]

http://www.goodwearleather.com/pages/index.html

Personally, if I could afford an expensive A-2 repro now (simply not possible after a year of enforced four-day work weeks, and with one kid in college and another only a year from starting!), I'd go with one of John's rather than a foreign maker. And I see John has recently been branching out into other types of jackets besides A-2s...

I think you're right about Good Wear but it depends on the jacket style you're after. Certainly an A-2 would be better value.

I like the Few's take on the Indy jacket.