Club Obi Wan

Well, I've finally done it. After deliberating over the multitude of whether-too's and why-for's, I decided on my first Indy jacket and put in an order. Living in the UK I went for Wested; Firstly because they made the original jackets and secondly - just in case there's any problems and I need to return it.

For quite a while I could'nt decide between the Authentic Raiders or the Raiders Hero. It's that label of 'screen accurate' that kept drawing me in, but in the end Wested's blog on the Hero V Authentic Raiders solved the issue. Wested state that due to the unusual proportions of the Hero (and there's been talk of that by COW members), if you're tall and slim the jacket will 'swamp you'. I'm short and slim so I imagine the effect would be even worse on me. Wested also state that the Authentic Raiders is the pattern they came up with after going back to the original Hero design and improving it. This, they say, is the design that would fit most people best. They also recommend it for first time buyers and if you're looking for a jacket you can still wear everyday. This basicly describes me, so Authentic Raiders it is. It should arrive either tomorrow (Monday) or Tuesday.

It should fit just fine as I checked the measurement chart on their website, but you never really know till you try it on. Wish me luck. I'll post some pictures as soon as.

Bye for now,

Dangerfreak.

Good choice! I've a had quite a few Westeds over the years and they are great jackets. I'm a bt puzzled at Wested's claim that the Hero pattern would swamp a slim build. I'Mm 6ft with a 39/40" chest and I had no problems at all - the size 40 Hero fit me really well.

And there could be variations in sizes. I ordered two Westeds in 44 and my goat came with a sleeve of 24.5 and my lamb came with a 25! That can make a difference.

I am 6ft, 42 inches chest(standard 44 LC fits me perfectl), 19 inchea wild in shoulder, is hero gonna fit me??

I am sure it will fit you fine. I have a 44 LC custom and had a hero 44. Both fit me fine. But bear in mind the hero is a very weird pattern. The chest is slightly snugger with the back falling of the shoulders.

for instance, if you order a 25'' backlength it's gonna hang at 27.5''

thank you !

whiskyman wrote:Good choice! I've a had quite a few Westeds over the years and they are great jackets. I'm a bt puzzled at Wested's claim that the Hero pattern would swamp a slim build. I'Mm 6ft with a 39/40" chest and I had no problems at all - the size 40 Hero fit me really well.

You're right, that's a fine jacket and it certainly doesn't swamp you. Did you have any trouble with the back length as some people have?

I think it may be because of the wide across shoulder measure. If you are small framed getting a looser fit will be much too big.

As an example, I can take a 38 or 40, in a Hero I need to get a 38, in an LC a 40 fits me better.

I found that for my build a size 40 Hero with 25" sleeves and 24" back worked fine every time.

My jacket is being 'processed'...

Well, my jacket didn't arrive today, but I realised I completely disregarded an important note on my 'being processed' e-mail. Wested point out that some items are not kept in stock and may have to be made especially, which is quite obvious really. If it's an item that's usually in stock, but they happened to have run out, it could take up to 7 days to get more in. If it needs to be made especially, it could be up to 14 days before it's ready and if it's a custom job it could be between 14 to 21 days.

I'd just sort of assumed that as I was paying £6 for the express next day delivery, once my order had been acknowledged, my jacket would arrive the next day. It didn't occur to me that they may not have a load of Indy jackets hanging about waiting to be sold . Still, can't complain. It's nice to know they have to make my jacket especially. It just means I'll have to wait for two weeks . At least once it's ready I'll get it the next day .

My jacket has arrived !!! (pictures below)

I was pleased to get an e-mail from Wested on the Monday 2nd/5th telling me my Jacket would arrive Tuesday. Last Monday was the May bank holiday which means the banks, and practically everybody else, get a day off work on the Monday, so it was good of them to e-mail me as they were probably shut. I was told I would be contacted on Tuesday with a one hour time slot for delivery. This was very good as usually company's don't tell you when you might expect your package other than which day. Wested even told me the name of the driver.

On Tuesday I received an e-mail and text message with my time slot, between 11:20 and 12:20. The jacket was delivered at 11:30. Opening it was a mixture of anticipation and nerves. Ever since I saw Raiders in the cinema as a six year old boy I've wondered about owning one of these jackets, but as I opened the package part of me considered, 'What if there's some fault'?, or 'What if it's too long in the arms'?, or something. Thankfully it fits perfectly and was immediately comfortable to wear. It felt like MY jacket. My wife, also an Indy fan, was equally impressed.

In terms of the measurements, I needn't of worried although I did check the details. Being a 38" chest I checked out the measurement details option on the website where a breakdown of the jackets measurements can be found in relation to chest size. I checked these measurements against myself and an old jacket of mine that I knew fit me the same way I hoped the Raiders jacket would. There were discrepancies in my measuring, but measuring against an old jacket reassured me as those measurements were fine, matching those at Wested.

The jacket is very well made and sturdy. I went for the goat skin for a bit of extra toughness. The grain of the leather looks great and it's still surprisingly soft. I have read some members mention a 'chemical' smell and yes, the jacket did arrive with a sort of plastic like odour mixed with that of the leather. I assume the smell must be from some part of the process of treating the leather, however the smell was not overpowering and I didn't find it strong enough to be unpleasant. It is already fading.

I intend to wear my new Authentic Raiders as often as possible and although there are some fantastic tips for distressing with some great photo's of members work in that field, I'm in the camp that prefers natural distressing through regular wear. I know that to the eagle eyed there are some discrepancies between Wested's Authentic Raiders and the jacket Ford wears in the film, but I'm satisfied enough with the look of this jacket to be very happy to own one. The patch of authentication on the inside pocket is a nice touch as well as the A4 certificate of authenticity, which I wasn't expecting.

Finally, my quest for an Indy gear set is almost complete and I'd like to thank the members of Club Obi Wan for your help. I've read through a lot of your posts on various subjects and topics and have gained invaluable information from all your experience. Thanks guys!

Dangerfreak.

Looks great. Enjoy! The goat will become even softer and nicer with the years to come.

looking great on you !! could you tell me what size of back length and sleeve length you got? thanks!

You should be pleased. Fits like a custom jacket.

Enjoy!


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Dangerfreak wrote:
..... I'm in the camp that prefers natural distressing through regular wear.

Another trick to 'softening' up your goatskin jacket is to roll it up when you're not wearing it and sitting on it while you're watching TV. The 'old timers' used to recommend also rolling it up at the end of day and just tossing it in the bottom of your closet instead of hanging it up. The more you 'work' the leather in different directions, the softer it becomes, and faster too.

Congratulations! You have chosen....WISELY!!

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote: Congratulations! You have chosen....WISELY!!

And he should know. After all, the Grail knight IS over 700 years old!

Looks really long...but if that's the length you like...looks great.

Hammerklavier wrote:looking great on you !! could you tell me what size of back length and sleeve length you got? thanks!

The measurements were standard for the 38" chest size. The sleeves are 24" and the back is 26" according to the size guide. I've measured one of the sleeves at 24" and I make the back length to be 25.5 measuring from where the base of the collar meets the body of the jacket.

giantthugee86 wrote:Looks really long...but if that's the length you like...looks great.

It's strange, but it does look quite long in the photo's now that you mention it, however, in the mirror it doesn't appear quite as long to me . The length came as a standard measurement for the chest size. I did compare the length on Westeds sizing chart with another jacket of mine and that indicated that my Indy jacket should end about level with the top of my back trouser pockets. As I understand it, this should be about the right length. My Indy jacket has turned out seemingly longer than that, I guess because my old jacket that I compared lengths with sits differently on me when worn. In the mirror the old jacket was the right length, but I measured it when it was flat on the ground.

At the end of the day I accepted that discrepancies such as that could occur because I wasn't able to try the Indy jacket on before buying. As long as it wasn't wildly out, I decided I could accept it if it turned out a bit off. I have read that a cold wash can cause a bit of shrinkage and I'm bound to get caught out in the rain before too long, so we'll see what happens. I'm also quite short anyway at 5' 8", so I figured my jacket wouldn't look the same on me as it does on Mr Ford, but I'm quite happy with it anyway.

Thanks for all the feedback guys, although giantthugee86 has got me thinking about that length, so I checked out some Raiders screen caps and guess what....Yep, Indy's jacket is much shorter on him than mine is on me. Yes I know I said I was fine with that, but now I'm noticing the difference more. I've only just got this jacket and already I'm thinking, 'You know, perhaps I will get another one at some not too distant point, maybe that Raiders Hero so I can put in the measurements myself and get it spot on'.

I've only recently got into this hobby and I'm just glad to have some of the gear, but I'm already debating going the whole hog and trying for serious screen accuracy. That, however, will have to wait for another day. Thanks again all

The original raiders ajcket had a 23'' back only hence why it looks so short.

it was suppose to be a short flappy jacket so it wouldn't get tangled up in his whip rig.

Thanks for that info Holt. Estimating from my current jacket 23" sounds about right for me! The quest continues...

Dangerfreak wrote: The quest continues...

Aaaaand... Welcome to COW

Your jacket does look great on you, just a bit long. I have found that longer is sometimes more comfortable, depending on how I feel that day, so it's always good to have both options!

Very Nice!

Holt wrote:

Dangerfreak wrote: The quest continues...

Aaaaand... Welcome to COW

I know! My wife is convinced I'm having a mid-life crisis... Who knows, maybe I am, but I'm enjoying it.

Photoss wrote:Your jacket does look great on you, just a bit long. I have found that longer is sometimes more comfortable, depending on how I feel that day, so it's always good to have both options!

Thanks mate, good advice.

Your jacket fits PERFECTLY in my opinion. The film jackets are just to short to be truly useful. What you have there is a very functional, durable leather jacket. Wear the heck out of it.

Well, I wouldn't go THAT far, Chris, I've found the short jacket is a VERY useful jacket if you do a lot of driving and getting in and out of cars..... but I agree, the jacket in question here is just fine!

Regard! Michaelson

Thanks there Chris and Michaelson. I have worn my jacket every day since it arrived. It has very quickly begun to develop it's character through various creases, but it has undergone a bit of distressing both natural and with a little technological assistance...

Last week I was cycling to work as usual. I was wearing my jacket as rain was forecast and I wanted to see how it would hold up. Firstly the rain was slight and, as Michaelson rightly said, rolling my jacket up to put it in my work locker has helped to increase the flexibility of the leather. However, the day after was a total down pour, the rain eventually soaking through my jacket to my shirt beneath. I rolled my jacket up, putting it in my locker and after lunch I rolled it in the opposite direction to even up any bending effects on things like collar tips or pocket openings.

By the time I got home my jacket was still pretty wet and would take hours to dry. I had read somewhere on the forum that if you dampen your jacket to remove that new jacket shine, you should wear it as it dries so that it dries to suit your form. This wasn't practical in my case, but I had also read of somebody who put their jacket in the tumble dryer. So, I took a chance, set the dryer to a synthetics cycle, put my jacket in for an hour and waited... . When time was up, I checked it. It looked fine, but was still pretty damp, so I put on for another half hour...

When I took it out, it was pretty much dry, but several changes had happened. Firstly, it had shrunk, not too much thankfully. Secondly, all the creases it had developed from wear had been exaggerated and new ones had appeared. The grain of the leather had also been accentuated. Finally, a kind of weathering effect had appeared along places such as seams and cuffs, caused by the colour fading slightly. I was really pleased with the overall effect. Suddenly my jacket had the character of one which had been worn for years, but with no real damage. I treated the leather with saddle soap to stop it from dying out and cracking. This really helped with keeping the leather supple. Here are the results.






A word of warning though. The results I got with my jacket were more luck than judgement. I had some idea what might happen, but not a clear one. One of the side effects was to increase the differing qualities of the goat skins used on different parts of the jacket. The underside of the right arm is more lined than the upper part. Also, the 'weathering' effect is more pronounced on the left chest area, but on the right chest area there is very little weathering effect. The difference isn't so pronounced as to be glaringly obvious though as the weathering is quite subtle. The zip has developed a slight wavering as well. Although I believe the shrinkage has worked to my advantage, I don't think the jacket shrunk evenly in all places due to the differing character of the leather. If I'd left it in the dryer for too long, however long that is, my jacket could have been distorted and ruined. Ultimately though, the distressing effects have turned out just right in my opinion and I'm pleased with the character that my jacket now has.

I hope my experience may be of help. Many thanks,

Dangerfreak.

Congratualtions, your jacket is well on the way to becoming *yours*.

Couldn't agree more, Kt! It's definitely where it needs to be.

If/when you get soaked in a rain storm in the future, just hang it up on a good suit hanger and allow to air dry at room temperature, then treat with leather treatment.

No more tossing into the dryer, or rolling up. You're right in the zone now, so just wear it and treat it with leather treatment about once a year now, and you've got it made!

Congratulations!

Regards! Michaelson

I think it looks so much better now! Looks terrific on you!

Thanks guys that's good to hear. I shall make a note of that advice Michaelson, much appreciated. Definitely no more dryer.

Looks fantastic. You will never need another leather jacket again!

Much appreciated Holt, especially coming from the owner of such a fine ToD jacket, pictures of which I just saw earlier.

Thanks! Over the last 8 or 9 years I think I have had about between 40 and 50 jackets pass thru my hands. This jacket is in the top 5 and will never ever leave my closet. ( I just thought I'd mention that again as Michaelson is keeping a file on me. )

You did luck out with the jacket shrinking up some, but in the right way. It can be a gamble with wetting/drying and plenty of horror stories of jackets not shrinking uniformly.

Looks like you've had it for years now. The leather will relax a bit more as time goes on so you may get a little back in length, but it'll be natural so will continue to wear well on you.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Holt wrote:Thanks! Over the last 8 or 9 years I think I have had about between 40 and 50 jackets pass thru my hands. This jacket is in the top 5 and will never ever leave my closet. ( I just thought I'd mention that again as Michaelson is keeping a file on me. )

40 to 50 Jackets? That's quite a number, what do you do with them all ?

Indiana Jeff wrote:You did luck out with the jacket shrinking up some, but in the right way. It can be a gamble with wetting/drying and plenty of horror stories of jackets not shrinking uniformly.

Looks like you've had it for years now. The leather will relax a bit more as time goes on so you may get a little back in length, but it'll be natural so will continue to wear well on you.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

For some reason I had a good feeling about putting it in the dryer, but I think you're right Indiana Jeff, my luck was in. My wonderful wife was quite shocked however, 'It doesn't look new!', she said. 'That's the idea', I replied. 'And you're happy with that'? she asks. 'Yeah, it's fine', I reassured. She gave me one of those 'I'm not angry, just disappointed' looks and walked away. On the plus side, she's also an Indy fan and we still love watching the films together.

You lucked out with an excellent break-in job on that one... fits you 100x better now than the "new" jacket pics earlier. Good job!

It is pretty weird that a lady will typically buy a new item and want it to stay looking new... and they will also buy a "distressed" vintage look item and expect it to remain in exactly as when purchased condition.

I haven't been able to leave the house in a "new" looking jacket for many years now... they all have to look like I've owned them for many years.