Club Obi Wan

Ok so im thinking about getting a Nowark or Wested Jackt for next winter .

1. I will be getting one, in lamb or goat. Is there a difference in the qualities between these two. and is there a difference between the lamb and goat of Wested and the lamb and goat of Nowark? I know that the wested Cost like $225.00 or so and the Nowark Is $975.00 How is one better than the other ?

2.Which leather is the best to get a jacket in ? stretched Lamb, stretched Goat, Holly Goat, Cow hide etc. Im wanting it to stay shiny . Im not going to distress it

Caber

....pssst! ....run for the hills!

Before this turns into an all out war, I'd suggest doing a few searches/scans through the jacket section. Its all there.

Your best bet.

1. Call Tony, talk to him about his leather, and ask for samples.

2. Call Peter at Wested, talk to him about his leather, and ask for samples.

3. Use the search function/jacket section to look at other people's TN jackets and Wested jackets to see what you are interested in and what appeals to your more.

3. Make your decision based on the above 3 steps.

They will know there own offerings better then anyone.

TheExit148 wrote:Your best bet.

1. Call Tony, talk to him about his leather, and ask for samples.

2. Call Peter at Wested, talk to him about his leather, and ask for samples.

3. Use the search function/jacket section to look at other people's TN jackets and Wested jackets to see what you are interested in and what appeals to your more.

3. Make your decision based on the above 3 steps.

They will know there own offerings better then anyone.

To the Exit 148 You took the words right out of my mouth! Amen! Lol. But seriously only you caber can decided which is the best jacket for you. Do lots of research and that will help in your decision.

Don't forget Magnoli 's jackets...

I clicked on the post to see if there had been an all-out war yet...to my surprise this is nice and civil! I am happy to see that. I think we have made good progress at COW. For the record I am both a Wested and Nowak owner.

Yep. We're kind of sitting back watching this too, as these kinds of posts do tend to get wild and woolly in very short order, don't they.

Regards! Michaelson

Yeah, we really do need to get that popcorn smilie back for threads like this

I just want to know the difference between a Nowak jacket and a Nowark jacket.

binkmeisterRick wrote:I just want to know the difference between a Nowak jacket and a Nowark jacket.

binkmeisterRick wrote:I just want to know the difference between a Nowak jacket and a Nowark jacket.

Isn't a Nowark jacket a type of whale hide?......Oh wait, that's Narwhal...

Indyzane wrote:

binkmeisterRick wrote:I just want to know the difference between a Nowak jacket and a Nowark jacket.

They come from Nowark New Jarsey?

binkmeisterRick wrote:I just want to know the difference between a Nowak jacket and a Nowark jacket.

Easy.

The Nowak Jacket will be a thing of such immaculate, unspeakable beauty that your eyes will go wide and you'll find yourself saying "It's beautiful!"
You'll be convinced your Nowak Jacket was Screen Used and had spent many days being filmed alongside the "Ark" prop itself...
You'll also be tempted to slide a couple of wooden poles through the sleeves of your Nowak Jacket and carry it around with awe and reverence (and occasionally at the front of a conquering army)...

The "Nowark" Jacket - on the other hand - will look like it "ain't never been nowhere near nowark"...

TheExit148 wrote:Your best bet.

1. Call Tony, talk to him about his leather, and ask for samples.

2. Call Peter at Wested, talk to him about his leather, and ask for samples.

3. Use the search function/jacket section to look at other people's TN jackets and Wested jackets to see what you are interested in and what appeals to your more.

3. Make your decision based on the above 3 steps.

They will know there own offerings better then anyone.

Not bad advice.

Even better, to fully satisfy his curiosity, he should order one from each

whipcracker wrote:Don't forget Magnoli 's jackets...

and Todd's and US Wings ..... Lets watch his confusion now.....

Wow im guessing TN and Wested fans go at it a lot from the way you guys are talking. Most of my time is spent in whips and Fedoras. Im a noob when it comes to jackets so I didn't know better. My bad .

One more question. Why is TN so much more expensive than Wested . Did TN have to raise his prices for the same reason Adventure Built raised there hat prices?( Getting over loaded and had to raise the prices to thin out orders ). Or is the quality that much different.

I know Ive already asked this question and im looking up stuff right now . If you know a link that will help answer these questions i would be great full if you would post it here or tell me which key words to type in the search that would produce the best results for what im looking for

Thanks guys

Caber

Or you can take the _ approach, buy one of each over the years and see which one you like best. Personally, I'm on jacket number 3. A Wested Raiders, a Wings CE, and a Gibson & Barnes. Without beating the dead horse, the search function really will pull up a ton of previous posts that answers questions that have been asked over and over.

Caber, how much have you read of posts already? Not to be mean or facetious but many answers to your questions are here already.

Exactly what are you looking for in a jacket? Style, leather, customisaton etc etc.

If price is a deciding factor for you, you will not get a jacket from Tony Nowak for the price of a Wested jacket.
Conversely you will not get a Nowak jacket from Wested.

You have many other jacket maker options

Magnoli, Todd's costumes, US Wings, Gibson and Barnes.
Visit the web sites of each and read about each here.

Plus, the Nowak may be up in the $900 range for the Shrunken Lamb, but his regular CS cowhide jacket and most of his other leathers are not.

When I bought my Nowak CS jacket last year it was $650 plus shipping. When I bought my Raiders Nowak this past October it was $700 plus shipping. No question its a lot more than Wested, but I've owned two Westeds. One I sold and I one I HARDLY wear now that I have my two Nowaks.

I've never had a Wested Novapelle. You should check that out, but Tony's work is WORTH EVERY PENNY. If you get one, you'll know that you spent your money wisely. I guarantee it.

DHW

Caber, it won't matter...given enough time, you'll own both.

Seriously, You will be the only one who will know if it's right for you.

I have two westeds and one of Tony's, I love them all, but because I live in Los Angeles and tend to be warm all the time I wear my Todd's thinner jacket more than the others.

It can be overwhelming with all the choices. There are numerous threads that compare the two. Look around, the one you keep going back to may be the one you want.

DarenHenryW wrote:When I bought my Nowak CS jacket last year it was $650 plus shipping. When I bought my Raiders Nowak this past October it was $700 plus shipping.

Wait... a Nowak CS is $650 plus shipping? For some reason I thought it was more (I don't spend as much time in the jacket section as I used to). I just got a job (YEAH!!!) and start on Tuesday... maybe it is time I start saving up for a Nowak!

Mitch LaRue wrote: You'll also be tempted to slide a couple of wooden poles through the sleeves of your Nowak Jacket and carry it around with awe and reverence (and occasionally at the front of a conquering army)...

Anyways, if you have the money, you really can't get much better than with Tony's jackets, seems like their really the holy grail for many people.

Photoss wrote:...you really can't get much better than with Tony's jackets, seems like their really the holy grail for many people.

Hence so many people saying that if you choose to buy a Tony Nowak Jacket:
"You have chosen wisely."

I'll put it into terms I understand. The Wested is like a Fed4 and the Nowak is like a AB or ABD.

Caber wrote:Ok so im thinking about getting a Nowark or Wested Jackt for next winter .

1. I will be getting one, in lamb or goat. Is there a difference in the qualities between these two. and is there a difference between the lamb and goat of Wested and the lamb and goat of Nowark? I know that the wested Cost like $225.00 or so and the Nowark Is $975.00 How is one better than the other ?

2.Which leather is the best to get a jacket in ? stretched Lamb, stretched Goat, Holly Goat, Cow hide etc. Im wanting it to stay shiny . Im not going to distress it

Caber

For question one, it's hard to answer this question without it coming off as an attack, so I won't even try. However, there is one point I would like to make here- I think part of the reason that fans are willing to pay a little extra is due to the fact that since KotCS came out only a couple years ago, it still is relatively fresh. And by that, I mean that the belief here is that the ability to better replicate Ford's jackets would be there. Just by common sense alone, a composer with his own notes would be better equipped to play the same song to the same pitch two years later than twenty years later...

But is the price markup worth it? It really depends on the individual, plus alot of other factors that like I said earlier, cannot be gone into without it coming off as an attack... In fact, I think what I've just said can *already* be construed as bias!

As for the SECOND question which I don't think has really been answered so far, it *really* depends on what you want. Do you want a tough as nails jacket for dry, dusty climates, using the same kind of leather as KotCS? Cowhide. A waterproof adventuring jacket that is arguably tougher than cow? Goatskin. A fashionable, lighter-weight, more form-fitting jacket that also uses the same kind of leather as the original trilogy? Lambskin.

But if you're talking about holy cow, shrunken lamb, stretched lamb, etc, then it looks like you've already answered question one for yourself!

For question #1, like CD said, it's very difficult to answer that one without it being construed as an attack in some quarters. The Wested and Nowak both nicely fill a niche in the hobby. It's up to the individual to decide where they fall among the variables of construction, leather, price, etc.

For question #2, it's a question of screen accuracy vs. intended use of the jacket. If you're wanting something to be what was actually used for the movies, then for the first 3 movies, you'll want to go lamb. For CS, you want to go cowhide. If you're wanting to have the look of the first 3 movies, but plan on some adventuring yourself, you might want to look into goat. It has many of the draping qualities of lamb, but is much tougher. Some specialty cowhides also work very well to replicate the "look" of the movies but give you an advantage in toughness.

It's been said a lot, but that's only because it's true. The best thing to do is to clear an afternoon (or two or three) and look at all of the pertinent threads. Take a week to decompress , and then figure out which vendor, style of jacket, and leather is best for you.

So what's the difference between a Kia, Chevy, and a Mercedes? I mean they all get you from point A to point B. They all use gas. they all have tires. What's the diffrence???

Flyderf wrote:So what's the difference between a Kia, Chevy, and a Mercedes? I mean they all get you from point A to point B. They all use gas. they all have tires. What's the diffrence???

only one is US made by a US company

Which will carry varying weight for different people.

LJ

I'll try and sound as objective as possible on this because I love the way it is going.

One reason the price for a Nowak is higher is because it is completely custom. What I mean is that if you were to request it to be orange you would get it in orange (well, if he has that colour lying around, otherwise he would have to get it and the price might go up). If you would want the sleeves to reach only to your elbows, and have an extra pocket on your shoulder plus one on your back, you would get it. Tony is a man who is heavily into direct contact (i.e. phone contact) to make sure you will get what you want.

On the other hand, Peter makes a decent no-nonsense jacket where you can (if you go custom) specify things like length of the back, arm length, gussets or no gussets, two types of lining and some tweaks to his standard design (but up to a point: no mile-long spec sheets) for a relatively low price.

Beyond this I am afraid it all comes down to research. If you have the money I would advise to buy a jacket from both makers. I own jackets by both makers and am happy with both.

Regards, Geert

I too have jackets from both makers. And as Jorenz said, one day, Caber, you probably will too.

But its easy to say, "aww, just get one from each." I don't know your budget, and neither does most anyone else. So, all I can say is write to Peter, ask him what you would like, see what he says. Then call Tony Nowak. I guarantee you, if you order a jacket from him, by the time you actually get it, you'll be considering naming your first-born Tony.

As Gwyddion stated, the jacket is totally custom. And if SA is an interest of yours, Tony is the best. If you order a CS, you will have a CS. It will be as close to the same jacket as possible. What Peter makes is a solid, affordable, virtually SA jacket. But I no longer own the "Raiders Authentic Lambskin" I originally purchased from Peter. I thought it was too light and it didn't seem tough, not even remotely. My Raiders 747 Cowhide Nowak is AMAZING. When you spend that extra $500, you'll know where your money went: straight into the permanent smile you'll be wearing as a result of wearing probably one of the most beautiful jackets you'll ever own.

I still have my Washed Goat LC jacket from Peter. I spent about $200 on it. It's a great jacket, but its just not in the same league as my Nowak. They just don't compare.

You could order a jacket from Peter and consider sending it back for a refund. But, I admit, you won't get that same privilege from Tony since his jacket is totally custom. (Peter makes custom jacket too, of course) But he said to me: "I guarantee you are going love this jacket." He was right.

This is a pic of my Raiders 747 Cowhide Nowak.



And this is a pic of my Nowak CS Jacket



I feel that my Nowak Jackets create my Indy look as much if not more than anything other aspect of my outfit, and they are simply the finest jackets I've every owned.

Daren Henry Wilkerson

Ok This helps some but I will do like what all you guys said and take a day to research it .I haven't really read a whole lot of post on Jackets but i have read a few. I typed in Nowark Jackets and it didn't come up with a whole lot

I'm wanting a jacket that I can wear out to town and with good clothes . Kind of a bad boy or Dont mess with that dude jacket. ( Not realy the image im looking to that's the best I can describe it ) Im looking for a classy jacket that is shiny, soft but can take a beating if I find my self out in the woods or something . So Im wanting it more for style than for abuse .

Some one said it depends on how you want it to fit. I'm not really sure how its suppose to fit . I don't want it to be like UnderArmor and be skin tight , but I also don't want it to be very baggy, And loos . Like is said Im not real sure how one is suppose to fit .

BendingOak Its funny but the way you described it clears it up perfectly .LOL thanks

Caber

Caber wrote:I typed in Nowark Jackets and it didn't come up with a whole lot

Try typing Nowak Jackets.

Caber wrote:I haven't really read a whole lot of post on Jackets but i have read a few. I typed in Nowark Jackets and it didn't come up with a whole lot

That's because there's no such thing as a "Nowark" jacket as people keep telling you. It's called a NOWAK.

don't know if this will work, but here you'll find what you are looking for: search.php?keywords=nowak&terms=all&author=&fid

Regards, Geert

ah ha. I was not aware that it was NOWAK Instead of Nowark. Thanks for the correction

Caber

Hmmm... apparently the price for a Crystal Skull jacket from Tony Nowak went up! I sent him an e-mail asking for the price of one of his Crystal Skull jackets and got this response:

"HELLO NICK ! THEY ARE $ 750.00 plus shipping ,KIND REGARDS TONY NOWAK ."

Dang- the price went up $100. It's pretty much out of reach for me now.

Well, they are still worth it, beyond question. And I don't blame Tony for raising his prices at all. If what happened to Steve is happening to Tony then he really has no choice!

Daren Henry W

Compare Tony's prices with other custom leather jacket makers (Good Wear, Aero, Eastman, etc.)... he's more than fair with what he charges. And from my experience with Wested, G&B, and Todd's, Tony makes the best Indy jacket out there, bar none.

jnicktem wrote:Hmmm... apparently the price for a Crystal Skull jacket from Tony Nowak went up! I sent him an e-mail asking for the price of one of his Crystal Skull jackets and got this response:

"HELLO NICK ! THEY ARE $ 750.00 plus shipping ,KIND REGARDS TONY NOWAK ."

Dang- the price went up $100. It's pretty much out of reach for me now.

Man that's crazy I just went to visit with tony on the 10 of February and my Crystal skull was only $650.00 plus shipping.

I am sure you sent the right info about the price, but I would call him and ask for sure? Night time is a better time to get a hold of him I've found out.

I just requested confirmation from Tony. I am awaiting his reply.

If his CS jackets went up to $750- I wonder if his other leather choices went up as well?

On January 6, 2010, Tony e-mailed me that the price hadn't changed.

When I receive a reply from Tony either confirming or clearifying his statement, I will post it here. There's still a chance that Tony was mistaken and he thought I meant some other kind of leather. I don't know and won't know until he responds.

Maybe you asked about a "Nowark".

Yep- the prices went up. Here is what Tony said:

"HELLO NICK ! THE JACKET WAS $675.00 AND NOW IS $750.00 . KIND REGARDS TONY NOWAK ."

jnicktem wrote:Yep- the prices went up. Here is what Tony said:

"HELLO NICK ! THE JACKET WAS $675.00 AND NOW IS $750.00 . KIND REGARDS TONY NOWAK ."

Okay I asked him also if his other leather options were going up too... and this is what he said:

"NO , THE INDY 4 IS THE VERY MOST AUTHENTIC THERE IS IN EVERY WAY , I DID HOLD THE PRICE AS LONG AS I COULD , WHAT MATTERS THAT I STILL CAN MAKE THAT JACKET IN THE ORIGINAL CONDITON .BEST T.N."

Oh well, he did say "kind regards".

Thanks for the info.