GhostMeat

Heh...I totally just accidentally bought a pair of F2001's. Just meant to see how much it would end up being with all the shipping. And, BAM, i hit a button that definitely did NOT say "place order" or "confirm this or that".

But, hell, I'm keeping them!

Man, I keep coming back to this thread, hoping someone has bought those 33" 1001's, giving me a good reason not to buy them.

Nice Rick Hinderer blade. Very, very nice. For the uneducated, A Hinderer knife is about as tough as a pair of Iron Hearts. So there, I've given you all something else to obsess over!

When I first started exploring denim, I used to think it was pretty crazy that people talk about all the stuff you put in your pockets to show wear. Now I find myself thinking "should I post something about carrying an Emerson CQC7 Mini (about the size of a stick of gum -- legal to carry just about anywhere) in their back pocket to get some fades going?" I figure we all obsess about rugged denim -- why not super rugged knives? I know, there's a whole other forum for that. Hah!

gm.

updates on my sexih07bk.

sorry about the dust particle on the lenses... didn't realize it was there until i looked at the pictures once i got to school.

Here are a few of my IH-461s Bootcuts. I actually wore them for the first time in a while since I've been working on a pair of Flatheads. Man, my new place is made for photographing denim: Big natural light window... tall mirror right next to the windows that the seller left... Perfect!

These are about 18 - 20 months or so, I forget. Only one wash.

Ah, man, I'm at work and I'll get photos about this up later...

So the wife and I bought a new home 2 weeks ago and, it's so funny, the first thing that I noticed about my new walk in closet (there are two, I get my own) is that it's made for 1) storing multiple pairs of denim and 2) there's a mirror and window situation that is perfectly suited for photographing denim. I'm a photographer and am a picky bastard.

I even noted which bathtubs in the place are best suited for soaking.

Super denim nerd!

gm.

Hey is there some kind of technical name or tailor jargon for this kind of repair? I haven't ever had to repair denim holes like this, but if I do, I'd like to know what to tell a tailor to do in their own language (without having to learn Korean -- the best tailors around here are Korean dudes!).

repair:

Also, don't forget that you don't have to buy the size that some mystical rulebook tells you to.

Common practice says that you size down one and let the denim stretch out. I got a pair of 3001's and bought them true-to-size. So now I have a pair of 3001's that are somewhere in between 'slim straight' and 'straight'. And trust me, they were still pretty tight when I first got them, especially after a soak. You'll still get some fadin' happening.

Beatle and beautiful freak have both given good advice here. You need to decide between comparable cuts for both brands, which in my opinion is as follows:

Slim straight - FH3001 or FH310 v SDA106

Straight - FH380 v SDA103

Thought it might be fun to put up some photos here. I've spent a little over a year and a half with these Iron Heart 461s' and I'm about to put them in the wash for the first time.

Well, I should say it'll be the first time they've been washed with water. I've had to take them to the dry cleaners once or twice. The first time I did it it was because I must have sat in something damn awful!

gm.

I ordered a pair of Bootcut Selvedge IronHearts (IH-461S) a little while ago. When I finally got them, I waited 2 or 3 months for them. I'll explain...

I went through this huge "process" I've gone through to actually get them. It's actually a good customer service story for Giles, the guy who runs the UK IronHeart operation. He's been pretty cool about everything and I'm a real patient person. The bottom line is I will have waited over 2 months to get them... but they are basically exactly what I wanted.

First off, I have a pair of the 634S Straights and I like them. I know, they don't fade as slickly as the Sammies, but that's what I have my RRDSs for. I dig the darkness.

So... about two months ago, I saw that they had the IH-461S Selvedge bootcuts in. I'm a huge fan of very slight bootcut jeans (RRDS is my fave), so I knew I had to get them. I ordered them complete with the custom Silver Rivets as well as the Silver crotch rivet. I was very fortunate enough to actually begin communicating with Giles a few weeks before he actually ordered/received the first shipment from Japan. Giles, was able to slip my custom order in with his first shipment of the "standard" copper rivets! Awesome!

Couple weeks later, I received the jeans. They looked great! However, due to a misprint on the IronHeart website, they were pretty damn small. Too small for the size I ordered, which should have been exactly like my 634S Straights. I mentioned this to Giles and he was really good about both addressing my needs and updating the website. Even though this was a 'custom' order, he allowed me to return them (mostly on the account of the website being misprinted). So, I had a choice: Either send them back and just get the standard copper rivets or wait a couple weeks till Giles went to Japan. He would re-order a pair just like I wanted and the would be ready by the time he gets to Japan.

I thought, well, hell, I don't want to go with "standard" copper rivets and i want what I ordered. So I said, no problem, man, I'll wait another couple of weeks. I also asked, since scissors haven't been put to denim yet, would it be cool if they made them a 32" length instead of the usual factory 34" length. He said sure. Sweet!

So sometime passes and we get back in touch and Giles is in Japan. He tells me he has some good news and some bad news.

Oh boy.

The good news is that he has my jeans sitting in front of him in his hotel room (or wherever he was). Nice. The bad news... is that they have copper rivets on them. DOH! I guess there was a disconnect on the order somewhere.

So again, I have another choice. He can send me the ones he has and give me a credit for the Silver Rivets or I can wait another 4 weeks for the right pair to be made. Needless to say, I thought that I've waited this long... what's another 4 weeks?

I did finally get them and I dig'em a lot. It was worth the wait. I now have my urban battle armor.

Click here for some pix...

gm.

Ghostmeat: 3001s look good. I like the regular fitting 3001s when it's done right.

Thanks. The slightly looser fit is actually intentional out of taste and necessity. I actually got these in Japan in Ueno and they only had a 31 and a 34 in stock and I had to go with the 34. Because, you know, I couldn't leave Japan without something.

Honestly, I could go a little tighter, yes. These have only been warm soaked for 30 minutes and line dried once, so I have a little room to play. I'm not totally in to the ultra slim fit. I'm old and can't pull it off with the rest of my wardrobe.

MiKE

Here are my 3 day old 3001s -- and my wife's dope-ass bunny slippers. Rad.

...and of course, my wife is Japanese. Thus the gushing cuteness of the slippers. At least that's my excuse.

:

^december 2009

Man, about 10 minutes ago, my wife just plopped a copy of the Dec. '09 Lightning Buyers guide in my grubby palms. I'm totally stoked.

She's Japanese and works for a Japanese company based here in the US and she actually had one of her coworkers bring a copy back for me when he came over for a business trip. It's pretty intense.

My woman rocks. ROCKS!!

I can tell you that I looked far and wide for a great bootcut. I've settled on a pair of Iron Heart IH-461S. They are a slight bootcut -- before I got into raw denim I wore a lot of Diesel Zathans and Ruehl Vandams and the 461s are not as flared out as those. I've worn a pair of Nudie Ralphs and they're kinda like that.

And damn they are stubborn -- a 21 ounces, they're pretty heavy. Everything else feels like paper. I love it. Urban battle armor.

A friend of mine has a pair of Studio D'Artisan SD-105s and they looked pretty well cut as well. Similar to the Iron Heart 461s in that they didn't seem really flared.

Anybody have any good picture of bootcut fits?

I really want to be a bootcut pair

I'm thinking of either Pure Blue Japan XX-004 or Iron Heart 461

Man, we should have a thread for bootcuts

I just got back from a trip to Japan and bought a light natural colored Samurai Jeans curved belt from Americaya in Ueno. The guy said to tan it in the sun for 2 days before wearing it.

Anyone ever done that? Have before and after photos?

I wore the belt for a little bit (it's a beastly thing), but have since put it down since I want to tan it evenly.

- Iron Heart IH-461s (16 mnths)

- Nudie Ralphs

- ALD Prescotts (rarely)

Though, I just got back from Japan 2 days ago... going to prep a pair of FH 3001s I just picked up.

I just got back from a trip to Japan. Hung out with my wife's parents and toured all over the country. Got to visit a few denim places and picked up a pair of Flat Heads.

So, I get back home and I realize, man, I've had my Iron Heart 461S's for over one year and have never washed or soaked them. Since 6/6/2008. I have taken them to the dry cleaners twice (no laundering, actual dry cleaning). So, considering I sat in my in-laws dogs slobber all week, I decided I'll wash the things.

I'm stoked to have some clean jeans for once. I know they won't fade much, but at least I'll have no more dog slobber and DNA in them.

gm.

I think I paid 37,500 yen for both items. I'll see if I can dig up the receipt later and find the actual breakdown -- but basically, that's less than US$420 (at this postings press time's exchange rate). I think. The exchange rates have been pretty wacky the past week. I heard that the US Dollar took a nosedive the very day we left and exchanged money. Ack! I don't care though -- it's kind of a cool experience. Glad I have a good, secure job that I can wear jeans to every day...

Awesome! How were the prices compared to the US?

Just got back from Japan a couple of hours ago. I had a pretty awesome trip with my wife. Of course I made her take me to a couple of denim places. We hit the Ueno area (she says it was the former "black market" for American goods -- you all might have already known that, but I didn't and thought it was interesting) and also Bears' in another part of the city.

I eventually picked up a pair o' Flat Head 3001s and a pretty awesome Samurai Jeans belt at Americaya in the Ueno district. I had the jeans hemmed and chainstiched there too.

Not much to add to the forum other than that we were told to spread the word that when there are a bunch of denim shops in one area (like Ueno) they all make an agreement to not sell the same brands. So for example, Americaya carried Samurai, SDA, and Flat Head and Hinoya carried Iron Heart (my current gig) Skull and Oni. Those are just examples and they carried other brands too.

I'm headed to Japan soon and I will be in Tokyo for a while. Where can I find a place that has a good selection of Flat Head denim? I found some old post about denim stores in Tokyo, but I can't find much information about the places in that 2005 post.

Alright, I'm headed to Japan pretty soon. Sweet! Anyone have a top 5 list of places to hit while I'm in Tokyo? I'll be all over the place (Tokushima and Kyoto), but, alas, Tokyo is the only place I'll have time to just muck about. I think I'm in the mood to get a pair of FH 3001's from the source! (er...or close to it)

Yowza, nice. iron heart = urban body armor.

I ordered a pair of Bootcut Selvedge IronHearts (IH-461S) a little while ago. When I finally got them, I waited 2 or 3 months for them. I'll explain...

I went through this huge "process" I've gone through to actually get them. It's actually a good customer service story for Giles, the guy who runs the UK IronHeart operation. He's been pretty cool about everything and I'm a real patient person. The bottom line is I will have waited over 2 months to get them... but they are basically exactly what I wanted.

First off, I have a pair of the 634S Straights and I like them. I know, they don't fade as slickly as the Sammies, but that's what I have my RRDSs for. I dig the darkness.

So... about two months ago, I saw that they had the IH-461S Selvedge bootcuts in. I'm a huge fan of very slight bootcut jeans (RRDS is my fave), so I knew I had to get them. I ordered them complete with the custom Silver Rivets as well as the Silver crotch rivet. I was very fortunate enough to actually begin communicating with Giles a few weeks before he actually ordered/received the first shipment from Japan. Giles, was able to slip my custom order in with his first shipment of the "standard" copper rivets! Awesome!

Couple weeks later, I received the jeans. They looked great! However, due to a misprint on the IronHeart website, they were pretty damn small. Too small for the size I ordered, which should have been exactly like my 634S Straights. I mentioned this to Giles and he was really good about both addressing my needs and updating the website. Even though this was a 'custom' order, he allowed me to return them (mostly on the account of the website being misprinted). So, I had a choice: Either send them back and just get the standard copper rivets or wait a couple weeks till Giles went to Japan. He would re-order a pair just like I wanted and the would be ready by the time he gets to Japan.

I thought, well, hell, I don't want to go with "standard" copper rivets and i want what I ordered. So I said, no problem, man, I'll wait another couple of weeks. I also asked, since scissors haven't been put to denim yet, would it be cool if they made them a 32" length instead of the usual factory 34" length. He said sure. Sweet!

So sometime passes and we get back in touch and Giles is in Japan. He tells me he has some good news and some bad news.

Oh boy.

The good news is that he has my jeans sitting in front of him in his hotel room (or wherever he was). Nice. The bad news... is that they have copper rivets on them. DOH! I guess there was a disconnect on the order somewhere.

So again, I have another choice. He can send me the ones he has and give me a credit for the Silver Rivets or I can wait another 4 weeks for the right pair to be made. Needless to say, I thought that I've waited this long... what's another 4 weeks?

I did finally get them and I dig'em a lot. It was worth the wait. I now have my urban battle armor.

Click here for some pix...

gm.