Nathan Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 I recently picked up a signed Devils airknit jersey of John MacLean, but I can't make heads or tails of it. At first glance, there's nothing unusual about it. So far so good, right? Here's where it starts to get a bit different. It's tagged in the body as Maska airknit, but "Maska" is in red (the standard was blue). And upon turning the jersey inside out... The camera doesn't do a great job showing it, but the elbow reinforcement is actually twill instead of airknit. It feels like other CCM jerseys of the time period; it has the double shoulders, all the various pieces of fabric are in all the right places. But there's all these things that are different about it. Oddly enough, the crest itself seems to be legit. If someone basically faked this and cobbled together a bunch of pieces to make it look like this, why? There's a plentiful supply of Devils jerseys from this time period. And why take the added expense of getting all of this done, only to sell it for as little as I got it for (less than $100)? Or is this an early prototype of some type? New Jersey switched from ultrafil to airknit during the 1990s; could this have been simply showing what it would look like without being too concerned about the actual level of detail (since again, at first glance, it looks perfectly fine)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngeloS76 Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 Looks like it's a modified replica from the early 90s or so. Fight strap was added in after the fact and so were the elbow reinforcements. Moreover, the fight strap is a non-CCM strap, and doesn't even have snaps. The shirt itself seems to be real Air-Knit, but it may be the case that it was never a licensed NHL jersey, because both the CCM block and the NHL shield are sewn in. A licensed replica would likely have shown the CCM block embroidered, but with no NHL shield to the side. So I think you're right about the crest being added on after the fact. The lettering seems to be accurate to the Devils font, so that's another plus. But overall, you hit all the major points. It's definitely a pieced-together shirt. I'm also willing to bet the shoulder reinforcements either won't be there or they'll also be made of twill. The reinforcement across the seams looks good, but it may be lacking the proper reinforcement of an authentic (i.e. being double-reinforced, user "chow-hound" made a good point about this some time ago, so his post might be of good use). You ask why, and I don't think we'll really know. Maybe the person who put this together thought that by making an accurate reproduction using decently high-quality components, it would fool a buyer into paying the same amount as a full authentic shirt while keeping the cost of production low. However, most buyers pay very close attention to what they buy, and the end-prices usually reflect that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant! Posted May 29, 2013 Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 It could be a factory second jersey that someone decided to alter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimcutta Posted May 29, 2013 Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 Does it have under-arm gussets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted May 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 Does it have under-arm gussets? Indeed it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chow_hound Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 Gussets appeared on 550 semi pros too so that doesnt help in this instance. Confident that as mentioned it is a 550 that was altered to be made a pro version. Tell tale signs are all there however the main question as to why... Probably someone who couldnt afford a pro back in the day but wanted to pass it off as one because as you mention there is currently an abundance of this style at reasonable prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob77ta Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 Isn't the airknit on a 550 semi pro thinner than the pro jersey? I thought it was...plus isn't the inside of a pro airknit jersey different texture wise? This one looks like the same material on both sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimcutta Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 Gussets appeared on 550 semi pros too so that doesnt help in this instance. Not all of them, and if it didn't have 'em, there'd be no doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chow_hound Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 No you're right they all didn't, which would make it definitive if there wasn't, but having them also doesn't make it definitely a pro jersey either. From the jerseys I've owned in 550 semi pro compared to the authentics and even gamers the material is identical rob. One thing you should check for is the reinforced double stitched lines that will run up the seams of the jersey. This is a small detail that didn't occur on the semi pros and most likely someone faking a jersey wouldn't be able to replicate without owning some expensive equipment to do it the same way. These lines will appear as a single straight line stitch on either side of the jersey seams when looking at the outside. On the inside it will be zigzags. They will run upwards from the side seams up to the gussets and around the diamond shape and then down the entire arm length. Should be a good indicator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnothaVictim Posted June 2, 2013 Report Share Posted June 2, 2013 Can you post close up pics of the crest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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