ELC Luftwaffe after stretching

[Peter Graham]

I recently recieved the jacket discussed in this thread. viewtopic.php?f=20&t=5758 I took a gamble that it would fit but unfortunately it fitted like a straitjacket so rather than put it back on ebay, I reckoned that it was unlikely that I'd pick up such a bargain in a bigger size, I tried stretching it. First off I wore it in a warm shower for about twenty minutes. Waited till there was no one in to do this ! Then I carefully pulled and stretched the leather before zipping it up and stuffing it full of bedclothes till it looked like a barrel. I left it in the bath for four days like that before trying it on. The jacket had gained about a full size apart from the waist as the leather is double thickness. I then dipped the waistband in a hot bath and stuffed it full of bedclothes again and left it for two days. The jacket is still trim but it's now comfortable to wear with a t shirt and a thin sweater. Nothing has pulled out of shape or distorted and it doesn't even need pecarding. I'm delighted. I've checked back and no one has posted info before so I thought these pics might benefit anyone thinking of buying one. The quality of the jacket is as to be expected from Eastman and I love all the nice detail touches especially the waist buckle. The zippers are Riri and are top notch. The only critisism is that the horsehide is a bit lacking in grain but this jacket was in pretty much brand new condition when I got it so I'll soon rectifiy that.

 

[Roughwear]

Well done Peter. You have worked wonders with this ELC jacket. It's a good fit now. So if you left it in the bath for four days does this mean that everyone in your house stayed dirty for this time? :lol:

 

[Peter Graham]

I forgot to say that the bath was empty. We used the shower !

 

[Roughwear]

That's good news Peter.

 

[deand]

Would you say that Luftwaffe jackets, on the whole, exceeded the A-2 in the category of "fits-like-a-second-skin"?








dean

 

[Peter Graham]

Would you say that Luftwaffe jackets, on the whole, exceeded the A-2 in the category of "fits-like-a-second-skin"?

Most original Luftwaffe jackets are French civilian motorcyclists jackets and judging by original photos they were cut pretty trim. ELC's jacket is certainly trimmer than a correspondingly sized A-2. The narrow arms and waist make it less prone to the slight "blousing" that the A-2's elasticated waist and cuffs can allow. I forgot to thank Mark for his advice on stretching the jacket. Thanks Mark.

 

[Weasel_Loader]

I envy anyone that can fit properly into a Luftwaffe jacket and feel somewhat comfortable. That was a great deal you got on that jacket and glad to see you make it work out.

 

[jack aranda]

Good job, Peter. Another great fitting leather jacket in your collection. Eastman does nice work. Someday, I suppose, just for the sake of completeness, I'll have to own an ELC of some flavor

 

[dujardin]

nice one Peter,

your black jacket with chains, 2 or 3 beers and you will be back in those good old dayssssss....
do you remember ...punks not dead :lol: :lol: :lol:

byeeeeeeeeeee and don't forget...keep on smilingggggggggggg

 

[John Lever]

Peter,
That looks like perfect fit to me.
BTW does anyone know that Eastman do their Hartmann in a 50 cal. finish.? There's one for sale on ebay.de now.

 

[havocpaul]

Excellent work Peter! When I look at some of those wartime pics of Luftwaffe pilots I wonder how they managed to put those jackets on, especially 'Pips' Priller who wasn't the slimmest of men!

 

[rich]

I reckon they must make them smaller now, mine always fitted well, not restrictive at all. Pete, I posted these before somewhere but this is what you'll end up with after a few years. It's a heavy beast, much more so than their A2. The liner
hasn't worn through either, something that seems just a matter of time with A2's.

 

[John Lever]

Wow! that's a stonker.
Is it black with a brown base coat or brown through and through ?

 

[rich]

Started life black as a witches hat, it's burnished away to show the brown underneath.

 

[John Lever]

Like it.

 

[better duck]

BTW does anyone know that Eastman do their Hartmann in a 50 cal. finish.?

That would be a "12.7 mm finish" then, in the case of a Luftwaffe jacket

 

[Andrew]

Hey Rich, a couple of pin holes to the right breast, some shoulder boards and bingo! $$

 

[MikeyB-17]

Sweet Baby Jesus and all the orphans! That Luftwaffe looks stunning, Rich! Heck, now I'm going to be scouring the pages of Ebay for one of those-never really paid them much attention before. Doubt I'll do as well as Peter did though-and fantastic job on the stretching!

 

[John Lever]

BTW does anyone know that Eastman do their Hartmann in a 50 cal. finish.?

That would be a "12.7 mm finish" then, in the case of a Luftwaffe jacket

Here's one or maybe it's just worn -
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

 

[Tim P]

oh sod it!!!!!
how much do I want one right now? Will have to let the dust settle. a nice civvy wearer, not too retro loking.
By the way I had a lot of success stretching a wool L1 flight suit that was too short for an umpah loopah despite starting life as an XL reg. soaked it, wore it and did all manner of acrobatics before revisiting hourly and streeeeetching it (no worries about ruining it as it was useless to me as was) still on the short side but regained much of its size and they are seen worn well short in Korea pics. anyone with Korea pics of short L1s to make me feel better please post.
Back to the hartmann though.. I had no idea they wore in with such character. a goodwear I had however did not like similar attempts to increase the shoulder dimensions.