SWK Heavy review

[Lyrd]

My SWK heavy wool Black watch arrived today. This is my review of it after wearing it out tonight to the local pub.

Arrived a bit rough looking with a noticeable hole in the box. Fed-Ex must have chucked it in the bottom of the airplane can when they shipped it. Lucky for me Jerry's care in packing kept everything safe and sound.

Ordered: Wool Heavy kilt in the Black Watch Tartan.
Brown leather belt with brass buckle.
Brown Fur day sporran. (w/comp chain)
Leather basic sporran strap

The first thing i noticed was the weight of this thing. Truth in advertising is something Jerry is certainly sticking too. Advertised as SWK heavy, and heavy it is. I dont know what weight the wool is...and i have not measured the yardage...but i'm guessing it's at LEAST 13 ounce material.
I have only purchased lighter weight kilts made from acrylics and the like, so my observations about the weight may be off. But there is no doubting the difference between this kilt and one like a sport kilt. I took it out of the bag Jerry packed it in and tried it on before removing the basting stitches as recommended. At first it felt a bit too loose, and it does seem even buckled at the tightest position it's still just a smidge loose. Nothing that necessitates moving buckles, and with the belt it fits just fine. But if you plan on loosing weight, do so before ordering a SWK. Quality wise the kilt is a mixed bag. The leather and buckles are what you would expect for under $150 dollars. Not super cheapies, but not great either. I didnt have the problem others have posted with the left strap being larger then the slit. It is snug, but easily inserted. The rest of the kilt is beyond what you could possibly expect for the price. The kilt is pleated to set without any wandering i can see. The belt loops are matched to the pattern and are VERY hard to see. I had to check to make sure they hadnt forgotten to sew em on! The fringe is emaculate and well done. I had no idea what a difference in look just a double offset fringe made in a kilt. As far as i can tell it also is without mistake or defect.
The bottom edge looks good but has a weird defect (?) There are holes, that appear to be from a needle, and precise enough i would say made with a machine. You cant see em unless you hold it up to the light, but it looks like maybe the bottom was hemmed, then the stitches were removed leaving the needle holes. They are aprox 1/2 inch from the bottom edge and run all the way around. They don't detract from the kilt in any way, i just thought they were odd and wondered why they were there.

The kilt fits just great. A smidge too long...but not as long as i thought. Are you sure it's 24" Jerry? I just hiked it up a couple inches to just past the top of my navel and the bottom edge hit me about middle knee. Certainly good enough for government work in my book, and will save me having to pay a seamstress to hem it. It feels great, hangs divinely ( is that a word you can use to describe a kilt?), and swishes like nothing i have worn before. And i havnt, this being my first wool kilt. It got great reviews at the local irish pub...3 kilt checks...and earned me 4 or 5 pints of Guinness. So over all, this kilt is way more then you can expect for the price, i recommend SWK to anyone looking for a great wool kilt, but have not the deneros for a hand sewn work of art. It's MORE then worth the money.

Sporran: About what you would expect for around $45.00. It looks good, but to be honest the snap closure was a disappointment. An adjustable closure would be better, and allow for larger items to be placed in it. With my wallet, pack of smokes, lighter and keys i couldnt get the snap...errr.snapped. In Jerry's defense, it says it has a snap closure on his site, i just didnt think about how that would translate into RL. No biggie, and not something i would return it for by any means. Just something to be aware of.
The sporran chain and basic sporran strap are just that. Basic. They work, look passable and no complaints for the price.
The belt as far as looks isnt anything above what i have bought from Sport kilt, but the velcro adjustment feature makes a HUGE difference. It's light years easier to adjust, and once you do it dosnt slip from it's adjustment and become looser. Like the snap closure, not something i thought about as far as how it would work in RL, but this one worked in my favor. Very happy with it.

Over all impression: Very impressed, very happy, very satisfied. Jerry is asking to little for these kilts in my mind. ( if he raises his prices dont blame me! ) The speed of service cannot be explained, even by NASA, and the quality is above and beyond expectations. Kudos to Jerry! another happy customer.

Be Well
Marc aka Lyrd

PS: I bought a new I-phone today, and as soon as i figure out how to download pics to my computer from it i will try to post some pics.

[ardchoille]

That bottom edge "defect" may be related to this and not a defect at all. I see that on a lot of wool kilts that have the selvage edge instead of a hem.

Very good review, thank you. I'm planning to order an SWK Heavy soon.. probably two since I'm guilty of getting a friend kilted

Thanks again.

[fluter]

That bottom edge "defect" may be related to this and not a defect at all.

Ian has it right. It's an artifact of the way the selvedge is done on this fabric. The little holes describe a zig-zag pattern, correct?

I don't know enough to say what kind of selvedge that is (see the other thread), but it has a nice, clean edge.

[Lyrd]

Ian has it right. It's an artifact of the way the selvedge is done on this fabric. The little holes describe a zig-zag pattern, correct?

I don't know enough to say what kind of selvedge that is (see the other thread), but it has a nice, clean edge.

You sir are correct! That exactly describes them. Like i said, it dosnt detract from the kilt at all, and i wouldnt have even seen em if i hadnt gone over the kilt with a fine tooth comb. I wonder if everyone that gets a wool kilt for the first time wonders the same thing about those funny little holes.

[Nick the DSM]

congrats, dude. sounds great!

[thescot]

That bottom edge "defect" may be related to this and not a defect at all. I see that on a lot of wool kilts that have the selvage edge instead of a hem.
. . . .

Hem? I'll probably get shot for this, but never hem a kilt. And if you but one that is hemmed, you're probably not buying much of a kilt.

I know, I know, some of the ladies here have hemmed kilts, but a kilt should be made with the selvege at the bottom, and there are alternatives to hemming it. I won't get into all that again, but I'd never hem a kilt no matter how well the hem looks.

[Mark Keeney]

there are alternatives to hemming it. I won't get into all that again, but I'd never hem a kilt no matter how well the hem looks.

I'm interested in the alternatives to hems.

[James MacMillan]

Hem? I'll probably get shot for this, but never hem a kilt. And if you but one that is hemmed, you're probably not buying much of a kilt.

I know, I know, some of the ladies here have hemmed kilts, but a kilt should be made with the selvege at the bottom, and there are alternatives to hemming it. I won't get into all that again, but I'd never hem a kilt no matter how well the hem looks.

Jim, I know what you mean - But Never say "Never!"

Let's say that you had a chance at some fantastic Scottish woven tartan wool kilt fabric on e-bay, but the selvage was bad? (I'm told by some that this happens sometimes when the loom gets out of adjustment.)

Anyway, let's say that you found this great deal, and it had bad selvage...wouldn't it be better to contact your kiltmaker, and ask him or her if it was a problem? Then make a low bid, just to see if your scarpet was at great hight? (I always wanted to use that phrase!) And then go ahead and have a kilt made?

Well, I think you might jump at the chance.......I did!

[McFarkus]

The Black Watch heavyweight from Jerry was my first kilt too. I love the soft hand of the Australian merino wool. Excellent quality for the price.

[Woodsheal]

The Black Watch heavyweight from Jerry was my first kilt too. I love the soft hand of the Australian merino wool. Excellent quality for the price.

They're no longer described as being of "merino" wool on the SWK website. Perhaps Jerry found a new fabric for these?