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Who makes best Navy G-1???

Hamsterbear

Member
Hi guys, or you Navy jacket guys.....
A friend at work wants me to help him find a nice Navy G-1 leather jacket to replace the one he had while in the service. Who makes the best G-1? Orchard? Brill bros? Schott?What maker is the best, and which ones should I avoid? I'll admit that I'm not up on my Navy jackets to make a good choice. I don't want to get him a brand X and have it be a piece of junk.
He was in the Navy from the late 70's through the 1990's.
I think he'll need at least a 46 reg. Anyone have one for sale?
Thanks,
Brian
 

hacker

Active Member
I'm assuming your looking at the later E model jackets. Those starting in the early 70's. Keep in mind that the earlier G-1's were of nicer quality. As to the "newer" makers, R. Edwards and Star would be my first choice. I have seen some nice Brill Bros and Martin Lane as well. Orchard and Imperial are at the bottom, and they are probably cow as well!!! ....IMHO!


Hacker
 

Hawkeye

Member
From the limited info I've heard on G-1 manufacturers, Star Sportswear seems to rank pretty high up there in terms of quality.
 

Atticus

Well-Known Member
In the way of E-series G-1s, I think my issued Cooper is a pretty nice jacket. It has especially nice goatskin---at least as good as that on my D-series G-1s. Its collar is a bit too big to suit me though. And the zipper isn't as nice as those on the older jackets.

I also have an Imperial Leather, which sucks a root.

AF
 

zoomer

Well-Known Member
Atticus said:
Its collar is a bit too big to suit me though.
I think some would-be expert posted once that if the collar will latch comfortably, it's considered too big...???
 

Atticus

Well-Known Member
zoomer said:
Atticus said:
Its collar is a bit too big to suit me though.
I think some would-be expert posted once that if the collar will latch comfortably, it's considered too big...???

Hi Zoomer,

I looked to see if I had a photo of the Cooper that would illustrate what I mean by the collar being "too big". I don't really have one though. I guess what I mean is the collar is too wide. It isn't ugly, and I wear this jacket as much as any of my G-1s, I just wish the collar was smaller like those on late-sixties G-1s.

By the way, since this photo was taken, I've relaced the "sprung" waistband.

Dscn0087-1.jpg


AF
 

Jaydee

New Member
I would agree to stay away from Orchard and Imperial. Star is an excellent brand. Don't avoid Brill Bros. I have a 1975 E that has really nice Goatskin, and super heavy duty Talon brass zip. Keep in mind that the Specs went to Cow or CalfSkin in 1984 for the G-1! :x
 

Grant

Well-Known Member
If you can find one there are a number of 7823D models that were made in the early 70's before they went to the E model. Star Sportswear, The Martin Lane and Brill Bros., Inc. all made D models with Star having the last D contract in '72.

Good luck in your search.

Grant
 

hacker

Active Member
Only problem with Star is they started to use those crappy Dynel collars early on, great goat though.......Ralph Edwards made a fine jacket.......Gregory made some nice ones also, might be C models though.......


Hack
 

Atticus

Well-Known Member
Jaydee said:
Keep in mind that the Specs went to Cow or CalfSkin in 1984 for the G-1! :x

Jaydee, I have a 1976 Imperial Leather G-1 that is so hardcore cow, I had to put up an electric fence to keep it from grazing in my garden.

AF
 

hacker

Active Member
Atticus said:
Jaydee said:
Keep in mind that the Specs went to Cow or CalfSkin in 1984 for the G-1! :x

Jaydee, I have a 1976 Imperial Leather G-1 that is so hardcore cow, I had to put up an electric fence to keep it from grazing in my garden.

AF


ummm......might try a slow BBQ!


Slowroasted
 

Grant

Well-Known Member
Hey Hacker,
FYI, Gregory only had one contract in 1967 for the 7823D (DSA100-67-C-3928).

Grant
 

hacker

Active Member
Grant said:
Hey Hacker,
FYI, Gregory only had one contract in 1967 for the 7823D (DSA100-67-C-3928).

Grant


Thanks for the info!......I don't deal in G-1's after the B model....so I can't remember the newer versions........I had a Gregory once way back and remembered it was a decent jacket.....Personally I'd stick it out for an earlier model.....plenty around....even a size 46.

Hack
 

Jaydee

New Member
Atticus said:
Jaydee said:
Keep in mind that the Specs went to Cow or CalfSkin in 1984 for the G-1! :x

Jaydee, I have a 1976 Imperial Leather G-1 that is so hardcore cow, I had to put up an electric fence to keep it from grazing in my garden.

AF
That's weird! Maybe someone can enlighten us as to why. Here's the Specs:
http://assistdocs.com/search/search_basic.cfm
Enter mil-j-7823 in the "Document ID" field and hit search.

It clearly states in 7823E that leather shall be Goat or Kidskin. And in Amendment 3 in 1984 it changes to Cattle of Calfskin.
 

Hawkeye

Member
hacker said:
Only problem with Star is they started to use those crappy Dynel collars early on, great goat though.......Ralph Edwards made a fine jacket.......Gregory made some nice ones also, might be C models though.......


Hack

Are Dynel collars always black or really dark brown? Asking as I just bought a Star G-1 from 1969 (I think it was 69, the label photo wasnt too sharp) that looks to have a really lovely russet brown mouton collar. Havent recieved it yet so I havent had a chance to look at it in person. This isnt dynel, is it?

da77_1.jpg

da28_1.jpg

d983_1.jpg
 

Atticus

Well-Known Member
Jaydee said:
Atticus said:
Jaydee said:
Keep in mind that the Specs went to Cow or CalfSkin in 1984 for the G-1! :x

Jaydee, I have a 1976 Imperial Leather G-1 that is so hardcore cow, I had to put up an electric fence to keep it from grazing in my garden.

AF
That's weird! Maybe someone can enlighten us as to why. Here's the Specs:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WW2-WWII-USN-...oryZ4729QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Enter mil-j-7823 in the "Document ID" field and hit search.

It clearly states in 7823E that leather shall be Goat or Kidskin. And in Amendment 3 in 1984 it changes to Cattle of Calfskin.

Hi Jaydee,

I just went through the specs for the 7823E(AS), and sure enough the leather called for is goat or kid. But I also notice that mouton is specified for the collars, and we know that dynal was used from mid-1969 onward.

I think that it is pretty comon knowledge that many E-series G-1s were made of embossed cowhide, although there were also many E-series goatskin jackets. I'm not sure how the manufacturers were able to get around the specs, but maybe someone on the board can help us understand.

AF
 

Vcruiser

Well-Known Member
hacker said:
Atticus said:
Jaydee said:
Keep in mind that the Specs went to Cow or CalfSkin in 1984 for the G-1! :x

Jaydee, I have a 1976 Imperial Leather G-1 that is so hardcore cow, I had to put up an electric fence to keep it from grazing in my garden.

AF


ummm......might try a slow BBQ!


Slowroasted

WTF...in HoosierLand BBQ is PIG.....man!! SweetBabyRay's sauce with extra grease added.....
PigPit
 

Atticus

Well-Known Member
Hawkeye said:
hacker said:
Only problem with Star is they started to use those crappy Dynel collars early on, great goat though.......Ralph Edwards made a fine jacket.......Gregory made some nice ones also, might be C models though.......


Hack

Are Dynel collars always black or really dark brown? Asking as I just bought a Star G-1 from 1969 (I think it was 69, the label photo wasnt too sharp) that looks to have a really lovely russet brown mouton collar. Havent recieved it yet so I havent had a chance to look at it in person. This isnt dynel, is it?

da77_1.jpg

da28_1.jpg

d983_1.jpg

Hawkeye, that's mouton. Dynal began being used sometime in 1969, which was still in the D-series contracts. All of the E-series G-1s had dynal collars.

AF
 
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