Good Wear Leather Coat Company — Sale 1941 Werber B-3 Jacket

This item has been sold.
Werber Sportwear B-3 Jacket (1941 model)
Price: $1,195.00 (lightly used condition) — note shipping costs below
Fit: this pattern is comfortable in the correct size
Sheepskin: Suerb redskin, with variation in shade
Horsehide Trim: russet Shinki horsehide, aged with dye and some sanding
Belting: Heavy Latigo cowhide, light russet color
Zipper: vintage NOS M-42 nickel Talon
Snaps: all vintage United-Carr Line 24, including gypsy snap in collar
Buckles: all vintage 1941 Army Air Forces buckles
Hanger chain: vintage 1941 original
Thread: mid-brown cotton
Size: 46R

This jacket was made for a customer, and it ended up being a little bit too snug for him. A second jacket was made, and this was returned. The jacket has about 10 hours of use, and was made to look slightly aged (through sanding and some stress). Note the cuffs and sleeves, as some surface crazing can be seen. It won't expand beyond what's seen now, and this jacket will only age further into the realm of being difficult to distinguish from an original.

We colored the redskins ourselves, based on what the customer wanted. The desire was for sleeves that were a little darker than the body panels, somewhat darker, and then cuffs that were even darker. Finally, the collar and front hem panels are seal pigment. Such a combination of shades was seen during a period in 1941 on several B-3 contracts, and this was the result of using multiple tanneries during a time where the Army was converting from redskins to pigmented skins. There was no reason to not mix hide colors with war on the horizon.

The skins are dense, heavy, and somewhat stiff. It's still comfortable to wear, and extremely warm. Wearing this jacket, one should be prepared for positive comments.

The fun part about this jacket is the vintage hardware. All the buckles are from originals we've taken apart (which we only do to severely damaged originals which we harvest patterns from). The snaps are from our great collection of United-Carr snaps made in 1943, and the zipper is an original M-42 Talon supplied to us from Mash Company by the customer. Even the hanger chain is from 1941.

We took apart a size 40 original to get our pattern. We had the label copied, and are very happy with that work. The sizing of the jacket is nearly identical to what a size 46R would be with an original of this contract.

The jacket would ideally fit someone in the range of 5'10" to 6'1", with a chest of 42-44", and a weight of about 180-205 pounds. The sleeves are a little short for John, and the chest and shoulders a bit wide.