Freewheelers, Bootleggers Reunion, Bubo, etc.

[Double 0 Soul]

1 hour ago, LazyS said:

Dog 91.44 cm

Is this the length to the dog or of the dog?

25 minutes ago, ATWM said:

Can dog be hemmed to a better length about 78 cm or so 

Spoken like a true cyclist 

[LazyS]

Approx from nose minus wagging tail, I’ll check inseam when I get home

[indigoeagle]

All this talk about 1942 and 1941 models. 
I didn't remember this. But in December 2023 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of BerberJin LVC had issued a 1942 model together with BerberJin based on a pair owned by Mr. Yutaka Fujihara.
Made from dead stock Cone Mills White Oak denim at Levi's "Eureka Innovation Lab" in San Francisco.
Limited to 80 pairs.

It has probably been mentioned somewhere on SUFU before.
I'll post some more pics in the 36-42 model threat.

 

 

[shredwin_206]

[okimoto]

Not fully dry but some nice bright and overcast shots after their second wash

[Broark]

27 minutes ago, okimoto said:

Not fully dry but some nice bright and overcast shots after their second wash

‘47s, right? Been thinking about finally trying them out soon. I enjoy the ‘42s but I’ve been getting a little burnt out on cinches / crotch rivets lately.

[okimoto]

@Broark Yeah, ‘47s. These feel a bit more generous all around than my S601s if that’s any comparison for you. The denim has stretched more, though. Really solid cut

[Maynard Friedman]

16 minutes ago, Broark said:

‘47s, right? Been thinking about finally trying them out soon. I enjoy the ‘42s but I’ve been getting a little burnt out on cinches / crotch rivets lately.

Have you been squatting by the campfire?

[Broark]

3 minutes ago, Maynard Friedman said:

Have you been squatting by the campfire?

Regularly!

[MJF9]

47s are a great cut and interesting denim... my most pyjama-like pair of FW... in fact, as I hear was once said by a famous denim influencer (mentioning no names, goes by the initials bF)... I also got Oni secret denim vibes 😉  

 

[UkeNo]

2 hours ago, MJF9 said:

47s are a great cut and interesting denim... my most pyjama-like pair of FW... in fact, as I hear was once said by a famous denim influencer (mentioning no names, goes by the initials bF)... I also got Oni secret denim vibes 😉  

 

Did he say that before he sold the FW47’s and bought the SC46’s instead?…Interesting

[ATWM]

I can’t exactly say why, but a Freewheelers ‘46 jean is one of the only pairs left I think I would spring for. May do the 47s eventually if it never happens again. But I always have good luck with 46s. 

also from what I understand the oni denim is notably slubbier and a looser weave. Heavier too. I’m not sure that’s a great comparison. The fw 51s are the same denim just a different dye. 

Edited December 13, 2025 by ATWM

[MJF9]

They are different denims, no doubt. I get the secret denim vibes in respect of how pliable, maleable the FW 47s are. I've worn both which informs this

[indigoeagle]

Recently in ScytheTV they talked about the reissue of the S506XX 44-45 jacket.
They also discussed the new fabric, saying, that it not that much different from the previous one, just bluer and very rough.
One wouldn't see the difference wearing the jeans with the previous one and the new jacket.

The Hooper guy is wearing a nicely worn S506 showing the fading.

From 06:00 on they are showing the different fits. The guy from Scythe is wearing both size 40 and 48 with both looking good on him. 

 

 

[ATWM]

4 hours ago, MJF9 said:

They are different denims, no doubt. I get the secret denim vibes in respect of how pliable, maleable the FW 47s are. I've worn both which informs this

Interesting. It’s been repeated often in this thread some years back I remember that this wasn’t the case - that the dye was the only difference - the 51 being a lighter shade. Did it change? Was that never correct? If memory serves I thought Duke himself noted this. Of course I could just be losing my gourd. 

Edited December 13, 2025 by ATWM

[indigoeagle]

2 minutes ago, ATWM said:

Interesting. It’s been repeated often in this thread some years back I remember that this wasn’t the case - that the dye was the only difference - the 51 being a lighter shade. Did it change? Was that never correct? If memory serves I thought Duke himself noted this. Of course I could just be losing my gourd. 

I think MF9 is referring to FW denim and Oni secret denim.

Yes, Duke had said, that the 47, 51 and 56 and the first WWII version- the 43 one- are all the same denim, with different dyeing levels.

[beautiful_FrEaK]

On 1/8/2024 at 11:59 AM, beautiful_FrEaK said:

Denim
In my head I have a rather clear image of how vintage Cone denim would look like (based on other repro brands I have including LVC with Cone mills denim) and I would say this FW goes into the opposite direction. It is quite textured, neppy and slubby (in comparison to the aforementioned “vintage denim” I know). Also, the indigo hues are quite varied.
Without sounding too blasphemous it reminds me a bit of a light crossing of Sugar Cane’s 50/50 denim with some PBJ/Oni-vibes. The fabric is not too rigid and softens quite quickly. It has a burly feel and reminds me a bit of a rug, hence my correlation with Oni.
It will be interesting to see how it evolves (the faded pics let them look more natural/vintage).

 

 

I will just quote myself (see above). And I will add I never handled vintage Levi's or Oni denim  And to add to this, the "FW 47" and "SC 46" are quite different jeans. Basically, all they share is a "4".

On 12/13/2025 at 12:42 PM, UkeNo said:

Did he say that before he sold the FW47’s and bought the SC46’s instead?…Interesting

 

[UkeNo]

13 hours ago, beautiful_FrEaK said:

I will just quote myself (see above). And I will add I never handeld vinateg Levi's or Oni denim  And to add to this, the "FW 47" and "SC 46" are quite different jeans. Basically, all they share is a "4".

 

I wasn’t suggesting they are. The joke was to be found in the idea that you sold the 47’s and preferred the 46’s. 

[MJF9]

What @beautiful_FrEaK said above is what I independently thought... or did I read it when he wrote it, store it in my subconscious and remember it when I started wearing my FW 47s?  We'll never know for sure.

Apologies lads... I made a comment and legged it.  I'm too fking busy, the family are falling like dominoes with this flu bug and I'm avoiding them like they have the plague as I'd like to have a germ-free holiday break... when it arrives

I checked my FW47 against my FW 27 jacket.  I recall them both being 'standard' denim.  The jacket is nicely worn and washed, with vintagey vibes.  The FW47 have been worn say 10 times and are more rug like.  But the worn 47 pairs I've seen look more like my jacket (in fact, better) so I can let you know in about 5 years what happened to mine.  Hold that thought!! 😃 

[Broark]

I've got a pair of '43s from a few years back (my first pair of FW actually) that use a similar denim, so I can kind of see what you all are alluding to.
I should probably give those some wear, need to get them hemmed but now that we have SE locally it's much easier.

Also, just received a package (waiting on others to arrive, then I'll share photos), but happy to report no tariffs surprisingly.

[ATWM]

3 hours ago, Broark said:

I've got a pair of '43s from a few years back (my first pair of FW actually) that use a similar denim, so I can kind of see what you all are alluding to.
I should probably give those some wear, need to get them hemmed but now that we have SE locally it's much easier.

Also, just received a package (waiting on others to arrive, then I'll share photos), but happy to report no tariffs surprisingly.

fwiw, UPS and FedEx have both sent me bills quite after the fact. Can’t speak for DHL or USPS but taking delivery doesn’t necessarily mean home free. Hope you are though…

[Broark]

From what I’ve read online USPS will try to collect at the time of delivery, so I’ll keep y’all posted if I end up receiving a bill at a later date.
For what it’s worth the package was marked as a gift with lower value, shipped via EMS.

[Broark]

Nice pair of 601xx 1922's available here in size 32, and they include a set of FW suspenders.
Not sure why the seller has the item rated as a C, they look to be in pretty good shape.

[LazyS]

 

[shredwin_206]

[julian-wolf]

I think this is maybe the only new FW release I picked up in 2025, but it's an instant favorite

 

 

Edited December 24, 2025 by julian-wolf
remove artifact

[CSL]

Yeah! That's a great shirt. They've done a few with those 'baggy' pockets. It's a different kind of look and I like it.

[julian-wolf]

@CSL I've had a short-sleeved version of this same shirt (the Bubo Highballer) for a few years now and it's great too (made from a lovely cotton that's woven from different gauge yarns to be very three-dimensional); I've gotten lots of of wear out of that one. The pockets are perfect for collecting little rocks & shells & whatnot

This one's on a whole different level for me. The merino is super soft and has a great range of colors. Most of the seams seem to be hand-felled; the only other Bubo shirt I have that's done that way is the Sierra (which is another absolute favorite, with another uniquely pretty fabric). The way the cuffs + elbow patches are done is great

My big concern is that I don't have any sense of how it'll handle water. Browsing around all the stockists' sites that I could find, the only reference that I saw to a shrink test was on Monkey Wrench, where they said:

Quote

This is a 100% wool , non-washed product. This item lost its shape after a test wash. Do not wash it yourself; always consult a professional dry cleaner, dry clean, or have it professionally cleaned.

I'm def. not gonna go get a shirt dry-cleaned, but I might go as far as to add it to the yearly hand-washing schedule along with sweaters…we'll see. I could handle 5 or 8% shrink without the fit suffering much, but 10%+ would start to be tough

[CSL]

@julian-wolf Hmm. Hard to know how a hand wash would affect it.

When I used to haunt vintage and thrift stores I could always spot (vintage) Pendletons that had been washed by how oddly short they were. What I mean is that they'd shrunk mostly in length rather than width. I'd be afraid of that happening with your shirt.

I get a fair amount of dry cleaning done and some of my vintage shirts - flannels, gabardines, and Hawaiians go that route. You may want to reconsider that option.

Edited December 25, 2025 by CSL

[julian-wolf]

Maybe, we’ll see

For now I’ll just take a page from your own book: keep it dry for as long as I can and trust the rest to fate! Wearing it mostly as an overshirt in the colder months, I should be able to push the decision back a year or two, and by then there might be more data floating around