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the mercury drops enough stepping back into denim... vintage j.c.higgins for sears n roebuck-big yank/anatomica-tender132-birks

Cathartic, Dawson, vans

Technically from yesterday, but still counts I think. Freewheelers Ironalls. Warehouse tee. Freewheelers Trackwalker. Yuketen.

Mosquito Creek & Molar Pass, soaking wet but plenty happy Tilley / Bubo / Sassafras / Hoggs of Fife

Edwin, dawson,vans. Same stuff ass always

Back in those size 34 Resolute 710 again

Human Made, Sugarcane (Okinawa/Hawaii), EG, Nike

Warm, yesterday Union Special / Tezo / Hollows / Bubo / White’s

I've been into quality denim for a little over a year now, inspired by b_F's Resolute 710 shade card on reddit I decided to make my own with my three pairs of jeans. From top to bottom: TCB 505 one month Sugar Cane 1966 four months TCB 40s twelve months

this thread needs a bump of some wel worn beat up FW. Here’s my trusty 43s.

This week I’ve been going through and tuning up some of my machines, and thought I’d share a few. First is my Willcox and Gibbs single-needle chainstitch machine, from 1906. I’ve shared it before, years ago, when I first got it, but I’m starting some new sewing projects so it’s getting pulled out, dusted off, and cleaned up a bit before getting put into use. For those of you who’ve sewn on traditional machines, I know you know how frustrating it can be to properly set the tension of the two threads when working through multiple layers or different types of fabric. It’s horrible! I have a 50s singer domestic machine that can sew through leather but I don’t even really bother because the tension settings are *so* imprecise. With this machine, I never have to bother. It has an automatic tensioner! In a machine that’s now 117 years old - can you believe it? You’d think we would have worked out a way to get these onto new machines since then, but this is still the only one I’ve found where I don’t have to bother. Part of the ingenious design of this machine is the single-needle chainstitch itself. Rather than use a bobbin thread, the needle meets a rotating hook under the machine, which is timed at just the right moment to grab the thread from the eye of the needle just as it returns back to the top of the machine. The thread then loops around, catches on itself, and makes a link of a chainstitch - identical to how you’d sew it by hand. Supposedly, the inventor of this machine, something something Gibbs, was a teenager in the late 1870s when he came across an ad for a Singer domestic machine in a newspaper. He couldn’t afford one himself, but was struck by inspiration and set out to make his own version to work with. The only problem was, the ad only showed the top of the machine, and Gibbs had no idea there was an entirely separate bobbin mechanism underneath until after he’d come up with this single-needle workaround in its place. It’s an absolute dream to work with, easily the best and most consistent sewing machine I’ve ever used. It takes eleven drops of oil into various holes around the machine when it sounds like it needs it but has otherwise never needed any maintenance whatsoever. Truly a testament to the simplicity and genius of the early mechanical age. Plus, it has nice little gold leaf paintings on it too! :p And the whole machine is about 9 inches tall by 10 inches wide, and weighs maybe fifteen pounds. Here’s a photo of the machine in its case next to a record for reference. Next, I’m re tuning my tattoo machines for a little guest spot I’m gonna do at my old studio next month. These aren’t all my machines but they’re my three favourites. Clockwise from top left is an early 90s Mickey Bee shader, a custom single needle liner made by Jim Rosal of Yakima, WA, and a 2006-ish more traditional liner by Juan Puente. I’ve had each of them for at least five years and hundreds of tattoos and they’re usually pretty consistent… the shader’s starting to run really hot during longer sessions and might need some new wiring, and my Rosal liner is right about to burn through its front spring, and I guess the puente hits a little too hard for what I like to use it for. But they are all perfect in their own way. Electromagnetic machines like coil tattoo machines really have their own personalities; they can run completely differently at different altitudes, with minute differences in voltage or quarter-turns of the contact screw at the top, or if I hold it too close to someone’s big iron (magnetic) gauges, ive learned, lol. And the differences between how these three machines run mainly depends on the geometric relationship between the size of the frame, the length of the armature bar, the angle and length of the contact screw, the weight, length, and angle of the front and back springs, and so on… all tiny differences that make each machine suited for entirely different purposes. You can see in the above photos the relative distance between the contact screw (at the top) and the end of the armature bar (the big iron bar in the middle that the needle slides onto). The shader, top left, has a long, light-gauge spring, so it rebounds slowly and lazily off the contact screw, making the machine both run slower and also much more sensitive to the pressure of a person’s skin pushing against it. It makes it easy to do really soft shading, and it’s gentle enough that you can go over the same spot several times without damaging the skin. Compare that to the liner at the bottom, which has a short, stiff spring, meant to pound the needle downwards with basically no resistance. That’s for when you’re putting in a big ol’ outline and don’t care how much your client screams! Just kidding, it’s also pretty soft, but it definitely doesn’t have the same amount of give as the shader - it’s far too stiff to bend much at all. The other liner is right in the middle: it’s a mid-length, very thin spring with a deliberate bend put into it, which makes the skin response really snappy. A single needle has basically no resistance when it enters skin, unlike bigger needles, so if your machine doesn’t have a lot of give to it, it can push ink much further into the skin than intended, and cause ink to “blow out”, or spread beneath the ideal dermal layer just a bit below the surface, and make a thin and detailed design heal mushy and hazy. The little bend in the front spring allows the needle to pull back much further than either of the other two machines, so you can get a lot of variance in the width of your line without either punching too deep through the skin or causing the ink to fall out as it heals. Hopefully that wasn’t all too boring to read, lol. These machines are so fun!

Jeans got the old S&S on-body treatment today.

I do think a lot of older members on this forum are still around, or at least passively participating in this hobby; but I think a lot of people’s life circumstances have changed over the last 15 years. I got my first pair of nudies when I was 15 with money I made flipping nike sneakers, lol, and I’m 27 now, and buying new clothing isn’t really something I ever think about anymore. My partner and I have been trying to get rid of some of our clothes, and are mostly doing trade-ins at the local vintage shop… we’re up to $400 in store credit now, cause we never see anything we want to trade for! But for the people who were my age now when they were getting into denim 15 or 20 years ago, I imagine most of their life circumstances are completely different. A lot of people have families or careers picking up, peoples’ bodies change and their collections don’t fit them as well, or, like some of y’all said a few weeks ago, maybe there isn’t enough new variation in the repro markets to keep people’s interest over such a long period of time. I think that’s all to be expected when you’re part of any hobby over multiple decades. But what I do think is different about this community is how it’s shaped all of our mentalities. the thoughtfulness we all have about our clothing, our appreciation of historical detail, construction techniques, irregularities and the magic that lies in things made with traditional techniques on old machines. There just isn’t much being made like that anymore, in any industry, and coming to know and appreciate all of these qualities is what makes me sure I’ll remain interested in this small section of the clothing world as long as it’s still around. And I imagine that’s true to some degree for a lot of those who aren’t as active here anymore. There might not always be as many things to talk or think about these days, but we’ve all had our lives and perspectives shifted in some meaningful way through being part of this community, and that’s not something I ever want to fully let go of, or take for granted.

Union Special daisy mae / Tender shirt (& socks) / Ooe bag / Sassafras shorts / Russell mocs Never wore this shirt, much, and I think that was just 'cause it was longer than I liked, especially in the back—more of a short dress, than a long shirt—which really seemed like a shame, 'cause everything else about it's right up my alley Cut off the bottom few inches, and I think it'll see a lot more wear now. Really looking forward to that. Was planning to just serge over the hem in stead of rolling it, in order to keep the sort of rough / whimsical look, but was reminded when trimming it down that the whole thing's cut on the bias and won't tend to fray, so I'm leaning towards skipping the serge all together, leaving the whole edge raw and just tacking over the seams

And here's the matching jeans, 1914 belt loo..fuck it, 1922 model, washed once and worn from purchase in December until the end of April, when shorts became the necessary attire.

cooler now I can risk wearing slightly thicker jeans: Cushman x CSF denim, Tender shirt and Gustin boots.

@Maynard Friedman Here you go Martin, some quick snaps of my newest addition, Warehouse 1927 first pocket flap model. Bought a few months ago and only worn once inside after its initial wash - size 46 t-back which is actually a little generous atm, but after some wear and another wash, should be perfect. I know l know, l said l wouldn't buy another 506xx repro, especially after my opinion that the pocket flap shapes and stitching were too contrived to be close to the originals, but this particular jacket is made with the special 7.5 x 2.5 synthetic/natural mix cotton fabric, the same denim as my 1914 belt loop model jeans l purchased at the end of last year. There have been at least 3 other warehouse 1920's models recently, but they are all made with the banner denim, which is supposed to represent the 10oz denim (so after 1927) whereas this greencast denim here (difficult to capture in a pic) is supposed to represent the 9oz denim, so pre 1928. Love the fact that it's all orange stitching except for the pocket and flap, which is pale yellow. The closest photo colour-wise is the shot of the patch and collar. Enjoy! And a big Thankyou to @Flash for being my proxy on this item.

I don’t wear anything else besides different tees. (Post soak on the jacket with a couple of pics) iron heart self edge 18oz OD warehouse tee iron heart self edge 8301s sbg

Some flats from my phone.

Sufu is enough. I like it because it’s essentially stuck in 2007, when the internet wasn’t a total consumerist ad driven wasteland. All of my other interests had good forums then that mostly died because everyone just migrated to QVC. I mean Instagram. Yea, there are ads here, even a few threads that function entirely as ads (does anyone actually read those?) - and yea, spending time here can make one want to buy shit, but one can only wear so many jeans. I have not seen one attempted denim driven social media personality that didn’t make me cringe. They’re all just product reviewers. I really feel sorry for anyone who didn’t come into this genuinely and is trying it on as an influencer angle. This is a weird interest and there are thousands of better hats to try on in that regard.

I know l keep spamming this thread with photos of other people's worn-in jeans, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to share this awesome pair of 501XX from circa 1926. Apart from the obvious patina from years working in hot, dry and dusty environments, the darker shadow on the waistband area suggests these were worn with a jacket/blouse for most of the time or is it just a belt shadow(?) Just stunning imo... (Photos taken from Hundredbuyers)

Gonna stash these away for the next few month, probably. Right backpocket is unravelling at the top, 'cause I started wearing my phone in it. Sometimes even carried two phones in it, when I was at work... Got a small hole in the crotch, not bad, but still. Bunch of seams start to degrade, but I try to stay up to date with repairing those.

Fit update on the Shins XX pair. They relaxed quite a bit and I already look forward to the next machine wash