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new half belt

STEVE S.

Well-Known Member
Just finished this half belt today. Build was totally based on customer drawings & he provided all the hardware (vintage talon hookless zip, matching chest zip, Colt buttons, brass side buckles etc. Since he provided Block label, as a tie in detail, added the M-422a collar stitching & dual inside map pockets. Liner is flannel body with cotton twill sleeves, cuffs & pocket linings.


















 
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what leather was that Steve?

Regarding the customer's design, let me say that I think it'd look better with a more pointed collar and a slanted breast pocket. I'm also not sure it needs an action back AND those pleats, for me surely one or the other, and I'd favour the former
 

bseal

Well-Known Member
The label says horsehide. :rolleyes:

Openly critiquing the design...would that be considered good taste?
 
The label says horsehide. :rolleyes:

Openly critiquing the design...would that be considered good taste?


Horsehide you say bseal, then that shuts down this line of questioning :rolleyes:

Shall I infer from your words that on vintageleatherjacket.org critiquing the jackets is in poor taste and that critiquing member's comments is the safe ground?

FWIW I have assumed that Steve is a big boy (I feel confident about this) but that even if was not and was actually a total diva, that opinions on a design stated to not be his, ought not to ruffle any feathers. That said, the jacket is posted for us to look at because we like jackets. If members are impressed they may opt to commission one themselves and so surely the other side of this coin must be be that if somebody spots a flaw (which is not to say that I have this time) then they ought to point that out. Otherwise this place would be what.. a platform for makers to advertise and members to back slap on only? Would that be considered good taste? As per my understanding thus far this is a forum. And so If members draw attention to flaws then that presumably helps the maker to move forwards and helps educate the membership too. Thus I think that deliberately not critiquing the offerings on a leather jacket forum for fear of being seen to have acted in poor taste is rather short sighted and frankly unhelpful. We are all fully grown men in here after all are we not, and assuming anything else would in my mind be distasteful
 

Silver Surfer

Well-Known Member
no worries, gents. the jacket was made by steve to my design. naturally, some of my design elements had to be modified for actual construction. my intent was to have a true 1930s design jacket that was simple, practical, and yet unique. the jacket was designed with several 1930s design elements coming into play. bi-swing back for maneuverability, like when driving. a simple cowl collar in keeping with the simplicity of design, as against a later 1940s pointed longer collar. ditto simplicity in the zippered chest pocket, as against a angled left or right chest pocket, which, again is more of a 1940s look, as against a near horizontal chest zippered pocket, indicative of the 1930s. simple button type cuffs instead of strap cuffs because even though the strap cuffs look nice, they can be a pita due to catching on stuff. flap pockets on the bottom front? yup. the flap pocket inset design is unique to the 1930s, and the way it was constructed, the flap will go inside of of the pocket when needed, instead of bunching up. all of the hardware and buttons are from 1930s donor jackets. no doubt, this design set up is not for everybody, in fact, probably for only a very few, but as already written, when one commissions a custom jacket jacket to be made by an artist, the jacket can then be made to their own personal liking. that, or purchase a pre designed jacket from one from one of the outstanding jacket making artists that do excellent work.
 

STEVE S.

Well-Known Member
It's all good! I took no offense to any comments. I read into it that if CA was having one made the changes are what he would want. One thing I have learned all to well in the past couple of years is life is way to short to get stressed out over every little thing that comes along.
 
In that case Silver Surfer I am pleased to see that what has been delivered is precisely what you wanted. I wonder if block Bilt ever knocked out any like this?
 

Silver Surfer

Well-Known Member
a good question, capt. in the 1930s there were several , perhaps more companies making sport, mc, military contracts. this was during the great depression of course. in the cases of small companies such as ,say, roos bros, simmons bilt, aerocote, etc, they ceased to exist after wwll was in full swing, probably due to not being able to be supplied with enough hides to stay in business, and exisiting examples of their jackets are quite hard to come by, and most examples do not have labels. other larger companies such as block bilt, monarch, knopf, etc did continue making jackets during wwll, mostly for the war effort. some existing examples of these makers jackets can be found today, but often as not have no collar labels either, thus it is hard to say conclusively which maker made what, though some makers had quirks in their jacket construction that were unique to their jackets. my guess is that small companies as well as larger companies used tweeked elements from each others designs as well as their own. after all, there are just so many ways you can skin a horse, so too speak. in summery, with out full on documentation, i would be hard pressed to say whether or not block bilt made a jacket such as the one i designed, and steve made. also, you might remember that in my previous posting, i had said that the jacket was designed using design elements from '30s jacket makers, some of which where gleaned from photos that had no specific makers identification. furthermore, if you look at half belt, menlo, and cossack jackets made today by gw, aero, bk, elc, etc, you will see that the are all modified designs. this is at the discretion of the maker-designer, for over all look, and to address todays mens shape and sizing. hmmmm. time to go for a surf.
 

bretron

Member
Absolutely love this jacket, especially the handwarmer pockets. The chest pocket aside (which I think could use a chain puller, or no zipper at all), I'd say this is the nicest "recent release" HB in some time. Great job Steve, congrats Vic!
 

Silver Surfer

Well-Known Member
hahahahaha, i finally came across an original brass ball and chain for the zipper chest pocket. having given the jacket some try on time, i contacted steve about making some minor, and one not so minor changes to the jacket. he was ever so gracious in saying he would implement the changes. the most important and difficult was to shorten the sleeves while making the bottom of the sleeves slightly narrower. he did the work in near record time, and there is no evidence of the jacket ever having been worked on. fit? in a word, perfect, as in "bespoke". bty: it is impossible to tell from the pix, but a requested design element that steve did so masterfully, was to make the flap pockets so that when the flaps are tucked into the pocket they lie in there flat, and the pocket appears to be made with out a flap. the positioning of the pocket is such that when i walk the mut, i can do so with one hand in the pocket on cooler days. this design element came from examining a "roughin"[civy rough wear] 30s hb.
 

PADDY_M

Well-Known Member
Great jacket. Be fun to see some pics of you sporting the jacket if you're up for it :) Thanks for sharing ! !
 
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