Club Obi Wan

Illinois_Jones

Yeah, I too miss the days when the Signature was their standard offering. I always tell people that if durability is the thing they're after more than screen accuracy and they'd like an heirloom Indy jacket then the USW is the way to go, especially since they're available in far higher numbers than ...

Illinois_Jones

Well it looks like run of the mill predistressed cowhide. The closest you'd get is either their Signature version they offer now or the one under the Cooper imprint. You're unlikely to find one of the same leather run, but again, it looks to be fairly generic cowhide. Keep an eye on ebay and the oth...

Illinois_Jones

Looks like cow to me.

Illinois_Jones

It only looks out of place to your eye today. I mean, I have several pictures of my grandfather in the 30s, who was a carpenter on Pullman cars, wearing a tie with like a Sears Hercules and a fedora. It wasn't unusual at all for people to wear a tie with "workwear." And you have to remembe...

Illinois_Jones

Eh, something tells me Twiggy Forrest and Company has something up their sleeve. I believe at its peak in the pre-covid days Akubra sold on average something like 150k hats per year, which might seem like a lot for a small firm it's not really a lot since its such a narrow and aligned manufacturing ...

Illinois_Jones

Well and I wonder how long that lasts before the new overlords at Akubra start shaking down the ladies in Katoomba and we see dramatic price increases or the Fed line disappears altogether. It's just a terrible reality of math and business where if you double your prices and consequently reduce sale...

Illinois_Jones

Well I can imagine that the covid supply chain issues et al severely impacted the company's ability to operate and basically forced the Keirs to sell because like most family-owned business they just didn't have the capital at hand to weather the pandemic and then ramp production back up etc. But I ...

Illinois_Jones

Lord knows what's going on. Covid messed up their operations pretty bad, and now that private equity owns the brand I can only imagine.

Illinois_Jones

Well if you're talking about the plain cuff ones, no zipper or anything, just roll it up. That's all the cuff is anyway is a simple roll over, so just roll it over again. That's what I've always done.

Illinois_Jones

Well it could be all sorts of factors, not least of which being you're just not used to seeing yourself in the hat and/or you're still just kind of self conscious about it. But the most important thing in all of this is to remember you're NOT Harrison Ford and the gear will wear differently on you. ...

Illinois_Jones

Like Jeff said, don't do it. As a former US Marine and Navy Special Operator with countless treks under his belt I can tell you the modern stuff is vastly superior to the heritage stuff in terms of comfort. Besides, you won't have time to break them in. But either way, your feet and knees and back d...

Illinois_Jones

Well I'm glad they didn't change the design. I think after the first few iterations they finally honed in a good set of dimensions etc with the IV for the average person to get a reasonable approximation of any of the film hats as well as just a regular wider brim fedora. It makes sense to me that t...

Illinois_Jones

Well you should have seen it years ago in the wake of the recession when the AUD was trading SIGNIFICANTLY higher than the USD. Even though the Fed at the time was like 150 AUD it was like 200+ USD. The last one I got was in the lead up to covid and I got it during the bottom out at like 90 USD. But...

Illinois_Jones

They're not veg tanned and I'd be shocked if they ever were. They'd have to charge considerably more if they were veg tanned. It's a chrome tanned leather that's had a base coat put down, but it's not tip-top shelf leather so the base coat hasn't had the time to totally permeate the skin. You distre...

Illinois_Jones

Like the others have said, try a new cobbler. If the leather isn't cracked or torn then they can be salvaged. There are a few who have become well known via YT for deconstructing Aldens and rebuilding them better than factory.

Illinois_Jones

The thing to remember, tho, is that fuller's earth is extremely absorbent and it WILL dry the leather with time -- it was originally used for pulling the lanolin out of wool, which is what "fulling" is. So my advice would be to make sure that leather is in good shape and give it a good con...

Illinois_Jones

Well the other question is... did you pull the reed?

As far as I can remember, Brian uses reeded sweatbands. I know mine from way back when has a reed. That little piece of wire can definitely keep the dimensions of the sweat while it dries or at least keep the shrinkage to a minimum.

Illinois_Jones

Well that Liberty HH is very hardcore. Congrats on having one of the most expensive Raiders jacket options

But it seems to drape well and definitely takes the wrinkling.

Illinois_Jones

The best way I've found to blacken buckles is to gun blue them. Steel bluing is the best known but you can do it to brass as well. Several simple at-home concoctions exist to produce a nice black oxide finish.

Illinois_Jones

I imagine the J Crews will come back at some point the next few months. They have improved them lately the past few iterations with Vibram soles and the release before last was CXL. We'll see what's in store. I bet they're trying to play catch up with all of the heritage boots going on right now.

Illinois_Jones

Well the other option is to find some buckles you like and get the rotary tool out put a cutting wheel on it and just cut a gap in the bar. When in doubt make your own.

Illinois_Jones

Well the strap has to attach to the middle bar. I can't remember with the Westeds if that bar is held onto the rest of the buckle by a loop that's soldered or braised closed or it's just pressed as a type of butt connection. But either way that's your target. If the ends of that middle bar are just ...

Illinois_Jones

Looks like a cheap ebay knock off. Those like to use the belt buckle and notches on the strap. Not to mention the lines and angles cut with zero subtlety or artistry at all.

Illinois_Jones

Yeah that's closer to what it was pre-covid. And it is the middle of summer; lead times would increase in September-October in the Halloween lead up. But I've long suspected their move away from pre-made OTR jackets had more to do with reining in overhead costs etc in the wake of the covid shakeup t...

Illinois_Jones

My only question is, how are the threads holding up? Wested notoriously uses a finer thread than the should and a common problem over the years with their HH jackets is the threads snapping, especially in the shoulders.
Looks good, tho. Especially after spending so long on a hanger.

Illinois_Jones

Well I wonder if the overall revamp Akubra is going through now is involved as well? I mean, the manufacture never seems to have recovered from covid (importing rabbit fur all the way from Europe always struck me as odd, especially considering the major bunny problem in Oz in general) and now that i...

Illinois_Jones

They'll be a very wide toe box and a stitch-down construction. And not be the most comfortable thing out of the box.

Don't get me wrong, I love my JGs, but they wouldn't be my first choice for an Indy boot.

Illinois_Jones

Well it's funny because I think the revelation from the original Raiders jackets that surprised most of *US* wasn't the leather but was that they used the same trouser buckles like the ToD jacket. I mean that was a good 30+ years of a lot of us magnifying screenshots and looking through catalogs and...

Illinois_Jones

The collar looks pointier than the standard Wested... unless they've changed it recently. Everything else about it does scream Wested, and to my eyes it looks like cowhide. It's a good question, especially because I do like the jacket. It has my preferred features.

Illinois_Jones

It looks brand new there, like they just pulled it out of the package. At first glance it looks like a DoD but that back shot has the "orthodox" strap configuration like LC and CS. I want to say a Wested standard Raiders or LC/CS but the collar there doesn't seem to fit either. My guess is...

Illinois_Jones

Yeah the heel looks like a solid piece of rubber but it appears to be nailed on, ie simple to replace. And it does -look- like a true goodyear welt, so when the sole goes it should be easy to replace with a Vibram or whatever you choose. It's not as if Alden's cork-infused rubber compound is all tha...

Illinois_Jones

Put the sweater on and wear it. Wear the **** out of it around the house, flexing where you need it bigger. I wouldn't necessarily recommend water; it could actually shrink it once it dries and not to mention it tends to bring the wrinkles out. That's not really the look of the LC jacket like on the...

Illinois_Jones

Well it's not so much that goatskin is "hard" to weather, it's that it takes to it differently from most other finished leathers. The surface wear doesn't really "patina" the way bovine or horse or sheep (or kangaroo or kudu etc) leathers do. It tends to maintain a sheen and the ...

Illinois_Jones

Well Indy was an officer and he would not have been regularly equipped with a Garand, let alone a BAR. Depending on how hard-hitting the unit he was attached to was, if it was a regular US Army unit, he'd have had either a Thompson or M1 carbine but later in the war -maybe- a grease gun... but even ...

Illinois_Jones

Yeah the extractor would not grab on to it properly; I could see it not even properly clearing the round under it during feeding and possibly not letting the barrel tip correctly in addition to jamming during extraction. The only way I could see it even chambering is a single load directly thru the ...

Illinois_Jones

A Wested Legacy LC? That's the one I think they got the most accurate to the original, especially the undercoat.

Illinois_Jones

Well a cafe racer like the Wolverine jacket is meant to fit tighter than an Indy jacket. The general advice with most leather jackets, especially motorcycle type jackets, is to size down. It'll stretch and fit better with time. But it's also important to remember that Hugh Jackman is also like 6'2&q...

Illinois_Jones

Yeah the Campdraft is much more durable than the Stratoliner. Haven't bought one since 2016 I believe and after the covid supply issues and major restocking problems Akubra and its dealers have had the past 2-3 years I've wondered if the felt has suffered in any way, but regardless an Akubra will al...

Illinois_Jones

Yeah, that's what I'm worried about is them going Dorfman, or at least Stetson and anything under $200-300 is generally wool and inferior. Now I don't necessarily think they will as they're in a unique position now in the hat world, as in vertically integrated and they make their own felt. I don't s...

Illinois_Jones

We'll see what comes of it. Not sure what they mean by reorienting to be more "fashion forward." Felt hats go in and out of popular fashion but the utility market is always there. I sure hope they don't lower the quality and durability to be a more " fashion" felt or start offeri...

Illinois_Jones

I've seen them around on Etsy and such for years. It's a better looking hat than I would have thought. Has a CS-like look. If it's a fairly thick rabbit and sort of Fed-like in weight that's a bonus -- as much as I appreciate the Harrison it is pretty thin and prone to warping. The thicker the rabbi...

Illinois_Jones

Yeah TBH those Parkhursts do look like they're superior to Aldens in pure materials and cobbler terms. It kills me to say it too as a natural-born Chicagoan and Horween aficionado, but honestly I think Alden has been using a lot of the cheapest CXL they could get, sort of like factory seconds, which...

Illinois_Jones

Well the general rule with leather jackets is to size down if you're unsure. They will stretch as needed with break in. Indy jackets -- the good and properly made ones -- are generous in specific ways without being oversized. For most other leather that's made on a more standard form it's best to si...

Illinois_Jones

Yeah, I've noticed more flipping lately on ebay. Though it's often Wested DoD and Legacy jackets they got the measurements wrong on. There used to be a major glut of USW jackets on ebay in the 2010s; I picked up some for like $80 practically new back around 2016. The hats get a little trickier becau...

Illinois_Jones

And I would also add that we're likely at peak market, probably nearing the end of that peak, and this is very likely the last time we'll see an Indy hat/gear peak. As more of a buyer than a seller -- I wear my hats out -- I'm actually anticipating a nice price drop in the next 12 months or so. Kind...

Illinois_Jones

Well you have to go lighter than the top coat, which is a dark brown. Dark brown on dark brown defeats the purpose. The LC jacket had a sort of orange, rusty undertone. So get whatever dye you'd like, just make it lighter and/or redder. And if you have to, mix two dyes; maybe a medium or light brown...

Illinois_Jones

As a USN vet and proud wearer of an authentic (and earned) G-1 and all around goatskin aficionado I remember pretty much begging Peter to make a goatskin Indy for me WAY BACK when. I was pretty much ecstatic when G&B came out with the Expedition. But yeah I never really understood the aversion t...

Illinois_Jones

Yeah, it's normal for chrome tanned leather to be grey -- in the industry it's called "wet blue" and it's just the way it is. Depending on the leather and the quality, some will have a base dye put down that may or may not have permeated all the way through and then most will have a top co...

Illinois_Jones

Same pattern, different leather and hardware. As discussed ad nauseam in the Wested threads.

Illinois_Jones

Well the simplest answer would be deconstruction. The original pieces are in a much more fragile state nowadays and besides, disassembling a piece that is worth considerable sums at auction isn't the smartest move. Costume design and manufacture are very different trades, along with tailoring, etc. ...

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