Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Discuss all of the intricacies of the jacket in full detail

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Mulceber
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Ooh, great - how does it compare to other leathers you’ve experienced?
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Canasta »

It's really nice. I have a RH in Liberty HH and love it. The Baddalasi is jut a little stiffer if I remember correctly, but not too.
The texture was nice, similar to the grain of the HH. Perhaps a little more sheen or gloss.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Awesome, how’s the toughness?
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by afalzon »

Badalassi is super tough.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Thanks, Andy! Sounds like Badalassi is exactly what I’m looking for. :D
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Illinois James »

It is a fantastic cowhide.
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Mulceber
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Is anyone else having trouble viewing BK’s website? All I’m getting is an error message.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by HDRnR »

Mulceber wrote:Is anyone else having trouble viewing BK’s website? All I’m getting is an error message.
Works for me.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

I just checked this morning and it works for me too. So, problem solved. Thanks!
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Jeremiah »

ha. knew it was not just me. I was in the middle of ordering a jacket yesterday so had major problems. looks to have been resolved as I can get on no problem today. Cool that I am not just crazy.
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Mulceber
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Hah, nice - what did you end up getting?
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Jeremiah »

Dubow 1755 contract A2 in Dark Seal Liberty HH.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Nice! I've been eyeing their A2s, and the Dubow 1755 is one of the ones I've been looking at, along with the Rough Wear 23380. What made you choose that one over the others?

I'll look forward to seeing pics when you get it.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Jeremiah »

I like a trim athletic fit. The dubow contracts have a more comfortable fit. With RW, at least the one I recently had and sold, had very tight arm holes at top.
I like the collars of the dubow as well. Went with dark seal and dull purple (berry) knits.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Those are very good points (and I hadn’t heard about the arm holes). :-k I think I’m definitely leaning toward one of the different types of Dubow’s now, as I have a slender frame too. The question is whether to go for Seal or Russet - at first I was thinking Russet, as I really liked the color of the RW 23380 on their website, but other pictures I’ve seen make it look really tan, or even pumpkin-colored. What are your thoughts?
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Jeremiah »

Well, I don’t want to derail this too much but I like the seal and dark seal. I went for dark seal.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Good point - thanks though for the food for thought.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Hey guys - I just recently discovered streak of discoloration on my striated lamb Relic Hunter. I must have spilled something on it, but I’ve no idea what it was. I imagine there’s not much to do that would get rid of the discoloration, save replacing the sleeve. Can anyone recommend any products that might darken the discoloration and at least make it less noticeable?

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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Frederick »

Dang that s.u.c.k's! How did that happen? Below was recommended to me - took it a shade darker which is what I wanted, slowly over time you might need to apply more.
Ride Guy wrote:Nice Review. I have a BK Relic Hunter Cairo and concur with the more chocolate-esque color. I've found that an application of Pecard's brown tinted dressing really helps bring it closer to perceived screen color as well as help for weather proofing.

Image

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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Yeah, I couldn't believe it - it almost looks like ice cream spilled on it or something. I'll buy the Pecard's brown tinted, unless anyone else thinks something else would be better. Thanks for the help, Frederick!
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by afalzon »

Hello,
We are asking the tannery to let us know what is the best way to fix this.
Unfortunately they are closed for holidays and will return in September (when they will deliver our next batch of striated lambskin).

By the way, I wanted to say, that we are always here to answer any questions you guys might have.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Bartram »

Customer service!

Sorry about your sleeve. Let us know how it turns out.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by senorjacob »

Can you post a pic of the discoloration? There are a few areas of my jacket where the leather has gone darker because of a little water or other spill. Not sure if that’s normal but I’m making sure to keep it dry.


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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by pdraycott »

afalzon wrote:Hello,
We are asking the tannery to let us know what is the best way to fix this.
Unfortunately they are closed for holidays and will return in September (when they will deliver our next batch of striated lambskin).

By the way, I wanted to say, that we are always here to answer any questions you guys might have.
I have a jacket on order with you ..will this be made with the new batch?

Thanks
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by afalzon »

Yes, all pending orders will be made with the new batch.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

senorjacob wrote:Can you post a pic of the discoloration? There are a few areas of my jacket where the leather has gone darker because of a little water or other spill. Not sure if that’s normal but I’m making sure to keep it dry.


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See the above picture. ;) I seem to have the opposite problem that you do: there's a roughly 3" by 1/4" line where it almost looks like I spilled coffee ice cream on the jacket, and the melted ice cream's still there. Except, there's no ice cream - that's just the new color of that section

Here's another picture that shows it more clearly:

Image

Andy very helpfully contacted the tanner, who was just as puzzled by it as we were. So, since we have nothing to lose, he advised 2-3 applications of regular pecards, just to see if that makes it go away, then try to brown-tinted pecards. So far, after 2 applications of the regular stuff, the stain looks a bit less distinct, but still pretty clearly visible. I'll give it another try and then switch to the brown stuff.
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Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by senorjacob »

Ah I see it now. Man that’s really weird. I hope the brown pecards does the trick.

(Kind of looks like bird poop on second look.)


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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Me too. Andy said they could replace the sleeve if the brown pecard’s doesn’t work, but I’d really rather not pay for shipping both ways, plus a yard of leather if i can avoid it.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Indiana Jeff »

That looks like it got some kind of solvent on it.


Regards,

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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Yeah, that would make sense...except I definitely don't go playing around with rough chemicals like that when I'm wearing a BK jacket. :?
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by afalzon »

Seems you passed under something that was leaking nasty liquid.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Seems like that must be the case - this is construction season here in Michigan, and it would explain both how the discoloration happened and why I don’t remember what I could have spilled on it.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Jeremiah »

Either that or it was a bird that consumed something awful and then passed it along to you via gravity.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Wouldn't anything that awful kill the bird? :-k
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Bartram »

:lol:

That made me laugh out loud!
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Jeremiah »

Mulceber wrote:Wouldn't anything that awful kill the bird? :-k
You’d be surprised at the steel stomachs of some of them birds.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by indymassilia »

Yes,it could be a bird fecal dropping,last winter on a no-indy leather jacket(anniline chocolate leather skins)a bird dropped his fecal on my collar ,fortunately i realized quicklly,remove it with a kleneex and water,and at home give some leather care ..maybe in your case the problem was not removed at time... :-k
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by afalzon »

heard that bird droppings can ruin/remove car paint
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

indymassilia wrote:Yes,it could be a bird fecal dropping,last winter on a no-indy leather jacket(anniline chocolate leather skins)a bird dropped his fecal on my collar ,fortunately i realized quicklly,remove it with a kleneex and water,and at home give some leather care ..maybe in your case the problem was not removed at time... :-k
That could be, but why didn't I find any bird droppings on the jacket? :? Maybe I need to start inspecting my jackets after every time I wear them...

After three coats of regular pecards and three coats of brown tinted pecards (on that part of the sleeve only), the jacket looks...ok. You really only can see the mark under strong light. I'll probably get the sleeve replaced sooner or later though. The good news is the mark is only on one panel, so they won't have to replace the whole sleeve. Shipping's going to be a nightmare though...
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by PilgrimTrail »

Is there a link to get in contact with the seller of one of these?
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

http://billkelsomfg.com

Enter Website > Civilian > Relic Hunter (at the very bottom).
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by xmasters »

I'm tempted to order a Relic Hunter in Goatskin. Even though it wouldn't be a screen accurate leather choice. The description of the Goatskin used on the BK website makes it sound like a very appealing and durable leather.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by IndianaJustin »

xmasters wrote:I'm tempted to order a Relic Hunter in Goatskin. Even though it wouldn't be a screen accurate leather choice. The description of the Goatskin used on the BK website makes it sound like a very appealing and durable leather.
Been curious about this as well. Wondering how durable the BK in goat is compared to say Wested.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by xmasters »

I imagine it would be of a much better quality than that. I haven't had great experiences with Wested Goatskin.
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by senorjacob »

@Mulceber How do you like the look and feel of your jacket after applying the brown pecards? Did it change anything? (Aside from fixing the bird poop-like blemish.)


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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Mulceber »

Well, I only applied it to the spot itself, and it made that area a little bit sticky and only partly obscured the stain, so I think when Andy and co. get back from break, I'm going to have the sleeve replaced. :(
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Nosirrah »

Mulceber wrote:Well, I only applied it to the spot itself, and it made that area a little bit sticky and only partly obscured the stain, so I think when Andy and co. get back from break, I'm going to have the sleeve replaced. :(
Might as well have some fun with the old sleeve in the mean time. Put a bullet through it. 9mm Parabellum, of course. ;)
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by CRB »

After much debate, I have decided to sell my Horsehide Liberty Relic Hunter. It's size 40 and I'll put up some picture, measurements etc. in the classifieds soon enough. It's a tough jacket and I'm never going to get the time to wear it to make it break in more than I have done (which isn't much!)
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by Indiana Croft »

CRB, could you measure in inches shoulder seam to cuff and the seam that the collar is attached to the bottom.

Trying to get these measurements is always tough and spending the big bucks on a garment and not having it fit would be a bummer to say it mildly.

Thanks in advance.

Croft :mrgreen:
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Re: Bill Kelso's Relic Hunter

Post by CRB »

Hi,

Have posted the sales ad and measurements here:
viewtopic.php?f=40&t=69071" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

... bit confused which measurements you're after ?
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