ROY X CONE contest, 1.1.11 - 2.1.12

[rnrswitch]

Measured my waist. It measures 32 to 32.5 and I ordered a 31.

[aho]

^rnr, any more info on the buckles?

[rnrswitch]

Well, from what I gather they are steel and ROY "gun blued" them by dipping them in acid and then poring some neutralizer over them to blacken them and oxidize them. He also rubbed some oil on them to further protect them from corrosion.

I guess he went to really great lengths to get them and almost didn't get them even though he had designed the jeans with those particular buckles in mind.

[robbie]

Arrived!

I was, and still am speechless. I am in awe, literal awe over the contents of this box.

I had them delivered to my inlaws because I am on holiday, we got back from an overnight trip and I saw them sitting on the doorstep. I forgot to help with the luggage, and was in a total daze once the box was open just eying the details. I sat on the front porch for a good 10 minutes before my wife told me to come in out of the cold.

I haven't measured, but my wife and inlaws insisted i put on a 'fashion show' with my jeans, and then had me explain in detail all the AMAZING details on these jeans from the chain stitch to the selvage to every other bell and whistle.

I explained my strategy for kicking the shit out of future rnr, the prize, so on and so forth.

Then my wife looked at me and said, why aren't you on superfuture?!

measurements soon after I finish unpacking.

[aho]

^Congratulations and what a supportive wife and family!

rnr, brilliant! One of my favorite parts, next to the pocket detailing if you know what I'm referring to...Hell, I love everything about them AND the boxers!

[zissou]

Just catching up.

I think the way these jeans are made an outside patch would not fit well.

I agree. The duck patch could have gone on the outside much like the A.B. Efelts, but I have to say that I like the outside without any branding.

Lost roughly 2" in the waist and 3" in the inseam. Came in just as requested.

Nice line of loom chatter below the knee on one leg.

Nice to hear about 2" off the waist. That's just what I need. I have the same chatter behind one of the knees...

Take my measurements with a grain of salt

Thanks for those! I think with ~2" off the waist and an inch off both rises, and these will be a great fit. I should just shut up and soak.

But, everybody feel free to email Roy with your gratitude and details of the jeans you love. He really has gone way beyond what I expected out of these. The cinch back alone is ingenious and rivals some of the stuff described in Sansome's book.

The buckles are new old stock that ROY basically had to sell his soul for and there were only 32 of them.

I was just staring at the buckle in amazement. And, I can't even figure out how he constructed the cinchback. It makes no sense.

I just tried on my boxers, and of course they fit perfectly. I realized that they are nicer than most of my actual shorts!

Thank you again, guys, for making this happen. I'm very glad to be part of it. On NYE, I'll raise a glass to you all, and to 365 days in Roys!

[Farhad]

My jeans are fitting much better.

I could have gone down a size but these are still amazing. hope they don't stretch a ton.

Maaaja Props to Roy and the gang. Details are just awesome.

[mikecch]

Very sad face.

"Mailers are advised that all USPS outbound international mail destined to Sydney and Melbourne, Australia may experience delay as a result of abnormally strong Equinox Trade Winds between the United States and Australia. The Equinox Trade Winds are expected to negatively impact international mail transportation to Australia until further notice."

[robbie]

ordered 32x34, received about a 33x35ish with my 'give or take' tape measure -measurements.

[DocBlue]

ordered 32x34, received about a 33x35ish with my 'give or take' tape measure -measurements.

Did any european get his pair already?

[rufio]

Very sad face.

"Mailers are advised that all USPS outbound international mail destined to Sydney and Melbourne, Australia may experience delay as a result of abnormally strong Equinox Trade Winds between the United States and Australia. The Equinox Trade Winds are expected to negatively impact international mail transportation to Australia until further notice."

Don't wanna make you sweat, mike, but I have a USPS package that's over a week late right now. It sucks. Trade winds? I didn't know USPS subcontracted to the Dutch East India Company.

[mikecch]

Don't wanna make you sweat, mike, but I have a USPS package that's over a week late right now. It sucks. Trade winds? I didn't know USPS subcontracted to the Dutch East India Company.

Thanks for the heads up; that's OK... as long as I get them by mid-January

[chambo2008]

how about parcel's coming form aus outwards?

[mikecch]

how about parcel's coming form aus outwards?

No idea, sorry.

[stresMaldo]

Very sad face.

"Mailers are advised that all USPS outbound international mail destined to Sydney and Melbourne, Australia may experience delay as a result of abnormally strong Equinox Trade Winds between the United States and Australia. The Equinox Trade Winds are expected to negatively impact international mail transportation to Australia until further notice."

now now..

You shouldnt have been so quick to jump in and gang-negative rep me.

I told you I was posting in peace...

j/k. despite all of that, I hope you get your pair soon, Indigoshrimp.

-stres

[chambo2008]

so how comes no pictures of the pair roy is wearing in this thread?

[mikecch]

^ It's on the first page.

[rnrswitch]

so how comes no pictures of the pair roy is wearing in this thread?

We decided to hold off on posting pics until we all received the jeans. We don't want to ruin the excitement for everybody.

[grooveholmes]

I hope SuFu gets some more servers... because this thread might blow up in more ways than one...

[chambo2008]

^ It's on the first page.

ahh first post has been changed since i first saw..

[Paul T]

Just spent an hour on the phone with Ralph Tharpe. I'm putting together a pretty technical interview about the fabric - he's going to fact check it first, so helopfully the bext couple of days. WIll do the same with ROY, for an interview we'll post on 1 Jan.

ONe factoid:

Ralph has been researching brown cotton duck. There has been lots of debate about the black selvage line in these - as Levi's and others found early examples they found differing selvage lines some of which - on the Cotton Duck shirt in partiuclar - were incredibly wide, ie far from the edge.

The explanation. That early cotton duck WAS made for sailcoth. The sailcloth came in different weights; the black selvage line was a guide to show sailmakers the line at which to sew the sail sections together.

There are some other very deep and resonant bits of history in this fabric. More soon.

Also, I'm hassling Ralph for photos of him in his Mk 1 Cone x Roy jeans - these were made in the original ROY cut to investiage shrinking etc.

[crownzip]

Paul, Thanks for the great tidbit of duck history. Looking forward to reading both interviews.

A few years ago Ralph contacted me about a pair of unwashed Cone Deep Tone overalls I have. It was a real pleasure talking to the man. He was kind enough to introduce me to people at the Cone Mills office in NYC.

[stresMaldo]

Paul - can't wait to read those interviews!

I'm pretty damn excited to see these Roys and watch the contest unfold.

Maaaaan, I wish I could have got in on a pair of these!

hopefully next time I can get a shot.

[Shorty Long]

Thanks for the info Paul. I'm looking forward to the in-depth analysis of the fabric.

Just spent an hour on the phone with Ralph Tharpe. I'm putting together a pretty technical interview about the fabric - he's going to fact check it first, so helopfully the bext couple of days. WIll do the same with ROY, for an interview we'll post on 1 Jan.

ONe factoid:

Ralph has been researching brown cotton duck. There has been lots of debate about the black selvage line in these - as Levi's and others found early examples they found differing selvage lines some of which - on the Cotton Duck shirt in partiuclar - were incredibly wide, ie far from the edge.

The explanation. That early cotton duck WAS made for sailcoth. The sailcloth came in different weights; the black selvage line was a guide to show sailmakers the line at which to sew the sail sections together.

There are some other very deep and resonant bits of history in this fabric. More soon.

Also, I'm hassling Ralph for photos of him in his Mk 1 Cone x Roy jeans - these were made in the original ROY cut to investiage shrinking etc.

[zissou]

Looking froward to the interviews as well, Paul. Thanks!

So, I just soaked mine in ~110F water, and they lost at least two inches off the waist and three inches off the inseam in the first ten minutes! So, I took them out, did a short cold soak, and now they are dripping for a while. I'll post pre/post soak measurements later today.

I don't think I'm much of a fan of super hot soaking denim anymore. Everything shrinks much too quickly. I guess on the plus side, there was no indigo loss whatsoever, and the water barely had a yellow tinge to it. I'd recommend a longer warm soak instead, unless you really want to shrink yours. But, I'm telling you, they shrink a lot if you let them! You guys with less than two inches to spare for shrinking should definitely do a warm soak (not hot), and if you only have an inch or less to spare, do a warm soak while wearing them.

[rnrswitch]

I think the speed at which these shrink might have a lot to do with the fact that less starch is put into the fabric, which allows the water to penetrate the fibers more.

[Paul T]

I will have to edit this on the page. HEre's the uncut story of Cotton Duck:

You know there's some Cone cotton duck in the detailing of these jeans. Have you learned much about that fabric since Cone started reproducing it?

I was asking Neil [bell, of Levi's], why do I have to put the selvage line so far from the edge, and he was simply saying, That's the way I want it. Then Michael Harris sent me a scrap he'd found – made exactly like Neil wanted. Brown duck with a black selvage line.. and the selvage line is away and on the outside of the garment. And this is in a scrap from 1870.

I was doing research, in the Callaway Textile Dictionary and elsewhere, looking up the weaves and it referred me to sailcloths. I looked at the sailcloth definition and it said, in the UK the stuff was 24 inches wide, in the US 22 inches, 10oz per linear yard – and there was a line in the fabric that was the guide for sewing the pieces together when making sails. The further the line from the edge, the heavier the product. So without any question, things made from cotton duck with the line further away are Sail Fabrics! It is beautiful! I want to do more research on sailcloth. But can you imagine, in San Francisco in the 1870s, how there would be tons and tons of sailcloth around?

Was Cone making duck at the turn of the century?

Yes they were – although I don't know if they kept the selvage further away like that.

[Farhad]

Awesome paul!!! this is great. more more more

Edit: forgot to mention rnr I love the back story about the buckles. Great stuff. I love the way he did the buckle back. genius!!!

[Joseph Hill]

Measured 36w 34l. Cant for the life of me remember what I finally asked for (that couple of days is all such a blur now). They look like they should end up perfect with a shrink. I can't decide if I want to soak them right away though. Unsoaked would definitely require suspenders, which I was almost pretty set on anyhow. The question then is do I go for sewn on buttons to the inside (to keep a clean profile) or Bucksaw logger buttons on the outside, which might interfere if I did want a belt now and again. I may just have to soak them anyway as the cuffs are monsters in this denim weight.

[Dr_Heech]

Awesome paul!!! this is great. more more more

^^seconded !