What is the Best Federal Greatcoat to Buy?

[Taji04]

I am looking to purchase a Federal greatcoat. Who do you all recommend are the best vendors for an reasonably affordable price without have to wait for eternity to get it? Are there really any affordable vendors out there that are authentically acceptable given the difficulty of finding a good quality coat? It seems like one has to re-fi the house just to get one these days.:mouth_clo

I also have been poking a bit around regarding kits. Wambaugh and White does not make one, and the one vendor who makes them says that he out of cloth, with no indication as to when he will have any. It seems that there are very few options out there, and this is the last item I need to round out my impression.

Thanks for any input you all might have:thumbs_up

[Pvt Schnapps]

Re: What is the best Federal great coat to buy?

Given your specifications -- and despite knowing the blowback I'll likely receive for saying this -- I'd recommend getting the Jarnagin greatcoat and doing the buttonholes yourself for under $400 (http://www.jarnaginco.com/catframe.html). I wouldn't recommend their other garments, but their overcoat is superior to that of other commercial vendors and progressive options are, as you discovered, pretty sparse. The fabric is good, the weight and color compares favorably with the kersey used by higher end vendors, and if there's a big difference from the originals in cut and assembly it has thus far escaped me and everyone I've fallen in with at events where greatcoats are called for. When more progressive options are available you'll find yourself facing prices substantially higher for a garment that sees relatively little wear. It's a lot of buttonholes to do but, based on my experience, you can get them done in the time it takes to watch a couple of football games.

Others' mileage will certainly differ. Good luck.

Please Note: Dear Schnapps, The breeze you are feeling is the blowback. Consider yourself duly chastised. :wink_smil The price at Jarnagin for a greatcoat is $380 + $75 for proper lining. There are other vendors who supply a proper product for a similar price, and many show up on the used market for less. Signed, John Wickett, your humble moderator

[NMVolunteer]

Re: What is the best Federal great coat to buy?

I agree with the mods. Buy used, since most used sellers are not going to sell rags; if they do, they probablt will not sell again. Stony Brook has a consignment store as well, and will either list manufacturer or quality with the postings.

[Pvt Schnapps]

Re: What is the best Federal great coat to buy?

If there are other vendors who offer better greatcoats at a comparable price to Jarnagin, then please let us all know. I know several young fellows who have the same question as the OP, and I'd like to be able to steer them directly to the right source.

[Taji04]

Re: What is the best Federal great coat to buy?

Thank you, Gentlemen, for your input. I didn't know if some of Jarnagin's products passed the authenticity muster within this community, so I am encouraged by the honest analysis and pragmatism brought to the table in these discussions.

I hope others continue to contribute to this thread as the greatcoat dilemma seems to be an ongoing issue.

[PogueMahone]

Re: What is the best Federal great coat to buy?

I agree with Mike. Wickett, please provide details.

[woodsda]

Re: What is the best Federal great coat to buy?

Brian White (Wambaugh and White) is making me one as a custom order. Never hurts to ask!

[Taji04]

Re: What is the best Federal great coat to buy?

Brian White (Wambaugh and White) is making me one as a custom order. Never hurts to ask!

How much is he charging and what is his lead time?

[woodsda]

Re: What is the best Federal great coat to buy?

How much is he charging and what is his lead time?

I will let you contact him and discuss price, it is a custom order. Custom orders have a good lead time.

[Taji04]

Re: What is the best Federal great coat to buy?

I will let you contact him and discuss price, it is a custom order. Custom orders have a good lead time.

Thanks, Don. I will contact him tomorrow to see what he has to say.

[mike44thva]

Re: What is the best Federal great coat to buy?

Contact Chris Sullivan at Stonybrook Company. He did a run of greatcoats last year, and may do another this year. He also has consignment pages for partially completed uniform items that he makes, as well as used items.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: What is the best Federal great coat to buy?

I agree with Mike. Wickett, please provide details.

A number of them have been named already.
Todd Morris
Stony Brook used page.
S&S (currently $525 for a Ray Hock coat)
County Cloth kits are $198!

Then there's the matter of "have you asked?"...
As Landrum says, there's Joe Blunt, Shane Miles/Kelly Ford, and Brian White.
Ask, I'll be they'll make you one!

Point being...
The Jarnagin coat isn't "under $400"... its over $450. For "a few dollars more" you can get a properly made item. For "about the same price" (sometimes less), and a little patience, you can find them on the used market.

For half the price of a Jarnagin coat, you can sew your own.
Don't know how to sew? Neither did I. But I was poor and had no other choice if I wanted to pursue the hobby the way I thought it should be done.

As to a dwindling number of makers...
This end of the hobby didn't flourish because Joe Covais and others dropped from the sky and started making stuff. The demand was there in a flourishing hobby. In many cases, they wanted better for themselves and their pards, then customers beat a path to their door. The hobby of the 1990's - 2004-ish was rife with "the next great vendor" of the month who got swamped with orders, couldn't keep up, and dropped off the face of the earth for fear of facing a battalion of angry would-be customers at the next event.

So, if you want quality vendors...
1) Use the ones we got.
2) Grow the hobby (recruit!! - Demand creates its own supply)
3) Become a quality vendor (or just make your own and show folks).

The A-C has a long history of not abiding excuses for why corners should be cut. If you want to cut corners, that's between you and your unit. But don't expect validation of the practice here.

The Rev War and 1812 hobbies have a lot fewer people than we do, yet somehow they manage to have active groups with very high levels of historical accuracy. I know its harder now than 10 years ago, but we still have it EASY.

[jake.koch]

Re: What is the best Federal great coat to buy?

Having made a greatcoat from a County Cloth Kit, they are definitely not as difficult a kit to make as some other uniform item kits can be. Just be patient with all the million and a half buttonholes!

[Pvt Schnapps]

Re: What is the best Federal great coat to buy?

Thank you, John, I'd certainly recommend the County Cloth kit, but currently the site states that none of their kits are available due to lack of fabric, which underscores a problem alluded to in the original post. They do have patterns, though, so that's a start: http://www.crchilds.com/Kits%20US%202013.html

As far as the Jarnagin's, the list price is $395 rather than the $380 I said earlier and the jean cloth lining appears to have gone up from $50 to $95. However, I'm not sure why a jean cloth lining is necessary, or would have been found on every one of the 3.8 million greatcoats produced during the war. In fact, there seems some evidence that linings for greatcoats were no more uniform than those for blouses. The original mounted service overcoat shown on C. J. Daley's site has a dark blue lining (http://www.cjdaley.com/mountedovercoats.htm -- note the QM specs for both foot and mounted call for "heavy lining," no color specified http://www.cjdaley.com/clothingmaterials.htm) and then there's this, possibly a heavy artilleryman...

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: What is the best Federal great coat to buy?

Jean is documented, as are other fabrics. But I think Jarnagin still use a cotton drill, which was not used, as far as I am aware.

At $395 + $95 up charge for a documented lining cloth, there is no financial advantage to a Jarnagin coat. Kersey is available. Patterns are available. Vendors are out there who will make a greatcoat if you ask. This isn't hard stuff.

Go shop for a proper, ready made US M1810 coatee. You'll spend over $1,000!

Who's ready for a good knockdown dragout over latex paint?
It's like 2002 all over again! ;-)