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My 2 new Buzz A-2's!

asiamiles

Well-Known Member
I recently found not one but two Buzz Rickson A-2's on the secondary market. The prices were reasonable so I took a chance. I admit I was ready to be disappointed, but when they arrived I got a very pleasant surprise.

The first good news was that after my size 38 RM Rough Wear felt about half a size too small for me, both of these jackets fit me very well...sure they could maybe be an inch longer and an inch wider in the shoulder to be absolutely perfect on me, but hey, they're A-2's, so no complaints there. The second good news was the leather. Neither may look like 60 year old jackets but that's because they're not; I do think they come pretty close to how such jackets might have looked after a few months or a year of wear back in the day, which is probably because that's the amount of wear they've had. I have to say when I see BR A-2's on the rack in stores they don't look so appealing, but in this state both jackets look rather beautiful. Both are horsehide; a little research tells me the top one being BR's so-called Bronco hide. The bottom one has the kind of mismatched grain that you find on originals; by that I mean a natural mismatch...I've seen a couple of repro jackets where the mismatching of panels looks too deliberate.

I confess I don't know how spot on they are as reproducing originals. Perhaps others can comment on that? So I've avoided actually saying what models these are...perhaps you can ID them without looking too hard at the labels?

pough.jpg

perry.jpg
 

havocpaul

Active Member
When I clicked on the pics the first came up as Pough' and the second Perry (I wasn't deliberately cheating!)...the Perry has almost identical hide (mismatched) as my BR Dubow which I bought on the secondary market last year. I have said before that it is one of the very best repros I've owned and certainly has the best fit, and in all the worship and praise for GW jackets I would hold it up as equal to any. The more I've worn it the better the hide gets and the build quality is exceptional, it would be certainly looking like a real vintage A-2 if the knitwear became worn, that being the only part that looks new. Sure they made a mistake with the label, it having the size seperate to the main label whereas that contract of Dubow had the one-piece label, that doesn't bother me, it is the look and feel that's important and heaps of praise should be given for the amazing 'Mustang' hide....I am sure you'll love them both!
 

shanghai joe

New Member
good to know that there are others who can make their own choices........


I can say yes only if I'm allowed to say NO!

enjoy your BRs in good health, Miles-san!!
 

ties70

Well-Known Member
shanghai joe said:
good to know that there are others who can make their own choices........

Joe,

maybe you are right and we others have been praising GW too loud and too often lately...but please keep in mind that a lot of people do not have the choice to buy RMJP or BR A-2s because they are simply not available in large sizes like 46 and up.

Being a 48 I have the choice between AERO, ELC, G&B, RMNZ and now GW. Buzz Rickson's isn't on my radar. I guess I could more likely find a fitting original...

Were they making these jackets in my size I would definitely consider them, as they look great!

Ties
 

shanghai joe

New Member
ties70 said:
shanghai joe said:
good to know that there are others who can make their own choices........

Joe,

maybe you are right and we others have been praising GW too loud and too often lately...but please keep in mind that a lot of people do not have the choice to buy RMJP or BR A-2s because they are simply not available in large sizes like 46 and up.

Being a 48 I have the choice between AERO, ELC, G&B, RMNZ and now GW. Buzz Rickson's isn't on my radar. I guess I could more likely find a fitting original...

Were they making these jackets in my size I would definitely consider them, as they look great!

Ties


Ties,

Thank you for offering your angle of GW.

I'm petite a 40 so my choice is infinitely wider. I've seen RMNZ, BR and had a few re[pros when I was starting out but choose to go original route.

Glad that you brought up the point that it's OK NOT to hail Caesar.......again you're right the praises have drowned out the other repros.........choice is a good thing provided they have your size!

I'm the lone wolf I do not have to party with the crowd........oooops I mean I'm the lone wolf I do not need to hunt with the pack.

glad to make your acquaintance!

enjoy your jackets whatever your choice.........

a' votre sante'

ole joe from London
 

greyhound52

New Member
Joe and Ties,
I have three BRs and really like them. I own four GWs and really like them too. No one makes a Doniger like John or the A-1. I think you can own jackets that meet your needs whether it be BR or GW or whatever. I just admire the jacket not really concern myself with the maker. The BRs miles has are really nice the hide is like my BRs. I think we can all agree to admire whatever jacket regardless of make like a work of art. :lol:
 

airfrogusmc

Well-Known Member
asiamiles said:
I recently found not one but two Buzz Rickson A-2's on the secondary market. The prices were reasonable so I took a chance. I admit I was ready to be disappointed, but when they arrived I got a very pleasant surprise.

The first good news was that after my size 38 RM Rough Wear felt about half a size too small for me, both of these jackets fit me very well...sure they could maybe be an inch longer and an inch wider in the shoulder to be absolutely perfect on me, but hey, they're A-2's, so no complaints there. The second good news was the leather. Neither may look like 60 year old jackets but that's because they're not; I do think they come pretty close to how such jackets might have looked after a few months or a year of wear back in the day, which is probably because that's the amount of wear they've had. I have to say when I see BR A-2's on the rack in stores they don't look so appealing, but in this state both jackets look rather beautiful. Both are horsehide; a little research tells me the top one being BR's so-called Bronco hide. The bottom one has the kind of mismatched grain that you find on originals; by that I mean a natural mismatch...I've seen a couple of repro jackets where the mismatching of panels looks too deliberate.

I confess I don't know how spot on they are as reproducing originals. Perhaps others can comment on that? So I've avoided actually saying what models these are...perhaps you can ID them without looking too hard at the labels?

pough.jpg

perry.jpg

Miles, great color, hows the weight of the hide?
 

shanghai joe

New Member
greyhound52 said:
Joe and Ties,
I have three BRs and really like them. I own four GWs and really like them too. No one makes a Doniger like John or the A-1. I think you can own jackets that meet your needs whether it be BR or GW or whatever. I just admire the jacket not really concern myself with the maker. The BRs miles has are really nice the hide is like my BRs. I think we can all agree to admire whatever jacket regardless of make like a work of art. :lol:


sure thing.......we're all entitled to our opinion.........raison d'etre of the VLJ !
 

airfrogusmc

Well-Known Member
His Dubow is the best repro I've seen plus he has an original in my size that fit me GREAT that he took the pattern from. You really can't tell it from the original except its new anyway that I observed from both Pedros and Pauls GW Dubows. Should have mine soon and I'll give a review with pictures. John says the espresso horse is an almost exact color match to Pauls original 27798 and the weight of the hide is scary its so close.
 

ChuckO

Member
I want to state before starting that I AM A BUZZ A2 OWNER AND I LOVE MY BUZZ. I also want to say I am no expert on A2 authenticity.

But...The Buzz A2's do seem to have a certain amount of generic parts to them. The cuff and waistband knits all look the same to me except for color. The style of the cuffs also looks more like that of a nylon flight jacket than an A2. They have an unusual shape. The waistbands seem a little large also. The leather though seems like the best out there. Again I don't know how authentic it is but the complexity of the color on mine is amazing. The collars also look the same to me from style to style.

As to Goodwear. I think it's great that people are behind them. They look fantastic and the leathers just seem to keep getting better. The size issue brought up is a good point but also getting a Buzz from here in the states is neither easy nor cheap. It seems like $1300 - 1500 is the price new. I think that's the main reason you don't hear more about them. Plus GW doesn't have the generic parts and the price is about $900 right? If I was buying new I'd buy a Goodwear. Also everyone raves about the service for GW. Can't forget that.
 

shanghai joe

New Member
maybe we should have a seperate section tiltled : for all things gw

that way the ravers can have their fill and those who are gw-shy will not have to travel the well trodden path..........all discussions no matter where they originate leads to the path most trodden........

because right is right to follow right were wisdom in scorn of consequence.......TENNYSON
 

asiamiles

Well-Known Member
ChuckO said:
I want to state before starting that I AM A BUZZ A2 OWNER AND I LOVE MY BUZZ. I also want to say I am no expert on A2 authenticity.

But...The Buzz A2's do seem to have a certain amount of generic parts to them. The cuff and waistband knits all look the same to me except for color. The style of the cuffs also looks more like that of a nylon flight jacket than an A2. They have an unusual shape. The waistbands seem a little large also. The leather though seems like the best out there. Again I don't know how authentic it is but the complexity of the color on mine is amazing. The collars also look the same to me from style to style.

As to Goodwear. I think it's great that people are behind them. They look fantastic and the leathers just seem to keep getting better. The size issue brought up is a good point but also getting a Buzz from here in the states is neither easy nor cheap. It seems like $1300 - 1500 is the price new. I think that's the main reason you don't hear more about them. Plus GW doesn't have the generic parts and the price is about $900 right? If I was buying new I'd buy a Goodwear. Also everyone raves about the service for GW. Can't forget that.

Like you, I wouldn't claim to be an expert, but even just going from the pics we see on here, I'd be tempted to say that John's A-2's come closer than anyone's to replicating the "look" of an original WWII A-2, so if that's your only criteria maybe no need to look any further afield. If I could get one of his jackets (especially an A-1) for the price I paid for these BR's then I would...so if anyone feels like trading a size 38/40 GW for a Jp-made A-2 at some stage, give me a holler and maybe we can work something out! That said, being able to get a jacket custom-fitted is actually one of the big draws to GW for me.

I'm not sure about the more generic nature of the BR's; doesn't John use the same knits on all his jackets? No complaint about the waistbands from me either, though I agree their cuffs seem/tend to look a little wide where they join the leather. The collars (one feature you mention) on my two are, I think, quite different as you can see in the photos.
 

ChuckO

Member
I just did a check on the BUZZ RICKSON'S BR80092 A-2 (Aero red lining) and that was $1700 plus whatever you'd have to pay someone to get it for you. I think that's why BR's don't get much ink. Great looking coat though. Asiamiles you could probably start a lucrative business re-selling used Japanese A2's in the US.
 

ChuckO

Member
There's a decent number of young guys in the U.S. that have similar interests to the Japanese "Americana" crowd that could wear the size 38/40 and would buy them. There's another forum that I check out that caters to denim obsessives and a lot of them are into the American workwear from the early to mid 1900's. There are a lot of people buying reissues of Levi jeans from that period.
 

asiamiles

Well-Known Member
ChuckO said:
I just did a check on the BUZZ RICKSON'S BR80092 A-2 (Aero red lining) and that was $1700 plus whatever you'd have to pay someone to get it for you. I think that's why BR's don't get much ink. Great looking coat though. Asiamiles you could probably start a lucrative business re-selling used Japanese A2's in the US.
Real McCoy's actually tend to sell for higher prices in Japan on the secondary market (eg. Yahoo auctions) than in the US eg. on eBay. As for BR's, I was after a size 40 Buzz Star A-2 on Yahoo last night but it had a squadron patch so I wouldn't go over $400; didn't bookmark it so not sure what it sold for but that's usually about as cheap as you can get one...you could probably get that back but you couldn't guarantee enough of a profit to make shelling out more than $400 a worthwhile money-making venture.
 

ChuckO

Member
I'd give you $600 for either of your Buzz's if I was still looking. I think if you could get them for $3-400 you could turn them around fast for $500. If your interested in trying it let me know.
 

asiamiles

Well-Known Member
As I said, $400 is generally about the cheapest you can pick up a Buzz for; they can sell $500~600, maybe more, but usually it's MCoy's jackets that command the higher prices. Here's the Star from last night, which I had bookmarked after all, and which went for just over $400; would have been "cheaper" a few months ago but now the US$ is very weak:

http://page16.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/u23987323
 
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