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My new ELC Werber 1729

Wright Field

Active Member
View media item 386After the great advice I got here before Christmas, I finally pulled the plug and ordered a Werber 1729 from HPA. I ended up with a 40R and Charlie was a great help with sizing.
The fit is appropriate but takes some getting used to. The arm holes seem like they’re biased slightly toward the back, so you get done bunching in front and tension in back when you reach forward. I see this in other pics, too, so it’s not just me. A minor quibble, but noticeable.
Otherwise, I love the jacket. The color is just what I hoped for, sort of a dark caramel brown. The leather is very stiff out of the bag but has been loosening up with some wearing around the house.
Any advice on the care and feeding of this, such as breaking it in? I’m also curious about what happens when it gets wet. If that’s bad, are there waterproofing options, or just avoid rain all together?
Thanks for the help and advice so far!
 

Steve27752

Well-Known Member
Pics would help. A new jacket should not need 'feeding', just wear out and wear it some more.
If it gets wet, just let it dry naturally.
 

MikeyB-17

Well-Known Member
Wear it out in thunderstorms, get it soaked, beat the sh*t out of it, it will only be the better for it. Only if it gets very dry should you feed it, unlikely for some time, and then only very sparingly.
 

Wright Field

Active Member
The zipper takes some getting used to. It doesn’t engage/disengage as easily as a modern zipper. It’s really secure, though, and slides well. The look is cool if someone can see the details.
 

Wright Field

Active Member
Looks terrific. I just got an ELC monarch. Hope the color looks as good as yours.
What made you choose that one? I’m always curious to see the reasoning, since they have so many. I wanted pre-War and was down to this or the HLB. I ultimately decided the color was better on these and they were the earliest versions. Then I almost opted for an A-1 at the last minute! But since they didn’t have an original maker version, I stuck with the Werber.
 

jeremiah

Well-Known Member
honestly, it was what was available on ebay in a size that should work for me. The price was less than buying direct from ELC and no wait time. I guess either a monarch or a cable raincoat would have been fine either way.
 

B-Man2

Well-Known Member
Jacket looks great!
No need to do anything other than wear it.
Wear it in sunshine, wear it in rain, put a sweater on and wear it in the snow. Sleep in it , camp in it , wrestle with your kids in it. When your done throw it crumpled up in a corner of your bedroom. That’s what the guys who owned them in WWII did with them. Am I painting a picture here for you?
 

Skip

Well-Known Member
Ah, another Werber fan. Damn nice jacket and great fit. regarding your questions I think B-man summed it up pretty well, as thats what I do with mine...

Jacket looks great!
No need to do anything other than wear it.
Wear it in sunshine, wear it in rain, put a sweater on and wear it in the snow. Sleep in it , camp in it , wrestle with your kids in it. When your done throw it crumpled up in a corner of your bedroom. That’s what the guys who owned them in WWII did with them. Am I painting a picture here for you?

Its no doubt their Warhorse hide, which is what I have and like you said it was fairly plain straight out of the bag, at first I wondered if I made a mistake. Over the 6 months I've had it its developed some damn nice grain and is getting ever more supple and for some reason feels more buttery. All I did was wear it doing everything. The zipper should lose its notchiness after a few months of zipping and unzipping. Its different to the more modern Talons of later jackets and one soon learns how to operate it. Took me 5 minutes to work out how to unhook the damn thing the first time I wore it.

I'm a size 40 and opted for a long 38 to give me a more snug chest otherwise it would have been too blousy for me. The shoulders are tightish and I understand what you mean re the arm placement, but it does stretch a little with wear and now has shaped to my form.

I've had mine in a torrential down pour and yes it takes in the water which darkens the leather but then when it dries it goes back to original so I wouldn't put any grease on it, they don't need it.

wear in good health
 

Silver Surfer

Well-Known Member
those zippers are easy to get used to, if ya dont force em. when engaging the male end into the female end, be sure that the male end is fully seated. if is not, it will zip up, but you will have a bitch of a time getting it un zipped,,,,,trust me. also when the ends are fully engaged, give the puller a little twist to the left, and the voila, it will zip up smoothly. ditto zipping down. within time, the zipper will smooth itself out and it will be as easy to use as a talon.
 

Wright Field

Active Member
Ah, another Werber fan. Damn nice jacket and great fit. regarding your questions I think B-man summed it up pretty well, as thats what I do with mine...



Its no doubt their Warhorse hide, which is what I have and like you said it was fairly plain straight out of the bag, at first I wondered if I made a mistake. Over the 6 months I've had it its developed some damn nice grain and is getting ever more supple and for some reason feels more buttery. All I did was wear it doing everything. The zipper should lose its notchiness after a few months of zipping and unzipping. Its different to the more modern Talons of later jackets and one soon learns how to operate it. Took me 5 minutes to work out how to unhook the damn thing the first time I wore it.

I'm a size 40 and opted for a long 38 to give me a more snug chest otherwise it would have been too blousy for me. The shoulders are tightish and I understand what you mean re the arm placement, but it does stretch a little with wear and now has shaped to my form.

I've had mine in a torrential down pour and yes it takes in the water which darkens the leather but then when it dries it goes back to original so I wouldn't put any grease on it, they don't need it.

wear in good health

Thanks for the advice. I can already feel it softening up in the places where it’s flexing frequently. The large panels are still pretty stiff.

I wrestled with the sizing since my chest & shoulders are bigger than my gut (for now lol!). I didn’t want to go too large in the shoulders for fear that the mid-section would be too voluminous. But I couldn’t go any smaller in the shoulders and still raise my arms. I’m sure it’ll stretch with wear, but even now it’s only a minor issue.
 
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