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FOB Factory


john11f

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  • 5 months later...

Not sure what RMC's timeline was, but this sort of thing is def. present on some early- and mid-'90s Cane's

The MP-619 and M41058 both give off strong CSF vibes in that regard

Edited by julian-wolf
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You got some examples of those?
I remember noticing the wonky back pockets on the RMC S003 first before other brands did it this obviosuly on WW2 pairs. And the last 2 years or so more brands do this. FOB now, TCB, Warehouse (I don't remember them doing this before), the recent SC 1946 model, CSF obviously, Bridge of the Times as well, Denimbridge/Denim Base...I suerly forgot some.

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I'll take some close-ups of both of the above at some point, sure

The M41058, in particular, looked very human-made—both in terms of (in)consistency in thread count and in terms of loose threads & yarns popping out of seams

 

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I’d have thought Sugar Cane would have been the first decent stab at war denim - @Double 0 Soul is your best bet probably. Real McCoys is a possibility but IMO their S003 are not great. Those FOB Factory don’t look great either.

Freewheelers tried the ‘wonky’ stitching too, again not amongst their best.

The challenge with reproducing war denim is understanding the whole manufacturing process to make them look as they would have been. Wonky stitching is only part of the picture and from what I’ve seen only CSF capture the atmosphere, most others seem to find it difficult to capture that feeling.

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41 minutes ago, unders said:

I think part of the problem is that the imperfections are often consistent, which  doesn’t sit right for obvious reasons. 

I think there’s something right and something wrong with that. It’s a scale issue fundamentally. CSF makes a pair each day (I dunno, I’m just guessing) but Levi’s factories were producing a pair every 30 seconds.

Point here is that a machinist repeating a task hundreds of times quickly is more likely to find efficiency through consistency. The variations then would be that each machinist would be slightly different to his/her colleagues making the same part.

As I said elsewhere the cutting would have an influence because the machinist would be working to join parts that don’t match the way they should, but the repro folks have never figured that or decided it’s too difficult to account for so they focus on the ‘wonky-ness’ of stitching because it’s easier, then screw it up by using excellent machinists in good conditions making jeans ‘slowly’ giving them too much time to think about their ‘mistakes’

Edited by Duke Mantee
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29 minutes ago, Duke Mantee said:

I think there’s something right and something wrong with that. It’s a scale issue fundamentally. CSF makes a pair each day (I dunno, I’m just guessing) but Levi’s factories were producing a pair every 30 seconds.

Point here is that a machinist repeating a task hundreds of times quickly is more likely to find efficiency through consistency. The variations then would be that each machinist would be slightly different to his/her colleagues making the same part.

As I said elsewhere the cutting would have an influence because the machinist would be working to join parts that don’t match the way they should

Some good points here Duke. Surely they’d be relevant to Levi’s (and other) jeans of all eras though and not just WWII, which seem to be the only repro models they appear on?

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19 minutes ago, Maynard Friedman said:

Some good points here Duke. Surely they’d be relevant to Levi’s (and other) jeans of all eras though and not just WWII, which seem to be the only repro models they appear on?

Thank you. Yes, I think it is relevant to other eras too. I guess the focus was just on war denim given the popularity over the last few years. If nothing else perhaps manufacturers (and buyers) are becoming more focused as to what genuine reproduction should be?

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These look heavily inspired by the Junky SC 1946s with the super long excess stitch runoff.
Those were the first pair I saw with the suuuuper exaggerated runoffs throughout. The thread color even looks really similar.
I agree that these look a bit too over the top, especially with so many brands already trying to reproduce this style.

Seeing more brands experiment with style of sewing makes me wonder what the next "trend" will be in our niche hobby.
More 20s-30s era? Maybe even earlier and jump into the waist overall repros? Is it time to repro 80s era acid wash jeans yet? (I really hope not!)

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5 hours ago, Broark said:

Seeing more brands experiment with style of sewing makes me wonder what the next "trend" will be in our niche hobby.
More 20s-30s era? Maybe even earlier and jump into the waist overall repros? Is it time to repro 80s era acid wash jeans yet? (I really hope not!)

Looks like 1910s and the likes are coming, if you look at warehouse's and TCB's offering with the 1915 models and the olympic model. 

Edited by Thanks_M8
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Prefer the 'in between the war years' stuff, especially for  the cuts (thinking of Levis rather than Lvc; Warehouse triumph in that dept imo).  Loved the WW2 denim back in 2016 but am a little over its' general saturation within the market atm.

Reading back through the last few posts l have to agree with you lads, CSF have that individually made feel to them that others do not, and can't because of the scale, although imo there is less of a  guarantee on a pair actually fitting you!

 

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19 hours ago, Duke Mantee said:

I think there’s something right and something wrong with that. It’s a scale issue fundamentally. CSF makes a pair each day (I dunno, I’m just guessing) but Levi’s factories were producing a pair every 30 seconds.

...

Is that an actual Levis 'fact'? :P

I thought it was more to do with growth: One factory going into the (American involvement into the) war, and four factories when they emerged from it in 1946. I think that That catalyst made for some interesting denim pieces being made at the time. Alot of trainees, a mixture of jean parts depending on year and factory (army worker, labourer ect..) - the perfect wonky storm :)

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1 hour ago, Dr_Heech said:

Is that an actual Levis 'fact'? :P

I thought it was more to do with growth: One factory going into the (American involvement into the) war, and four factories when they emerged from it in 1946. I think that That catalyst made for some interesting denim pieces being made at the time. Alot of trainees, a mixture of jean parts depending on year and factory (army worker, labourer ect..) - the perfect wonky storm :)

Aye, a ‘fact’ I read somewhere about or by Levi’s. I’ll see if I can find it again. What would that be? Maybe 1500 pairs on a 12 hour shift? Hopefully you can give me better details but the purpose was to demonstrate the difference in scale.

And I totally agree with the trainees, mixtures of components etc, but I still think even a trainee being pushed (by necessity or greed) in production will find a way to become efficient quickly and that brings consistency. I’ve seen that in every type of business, including the offices I ran.

Edited by Duke Mantee
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Here’s said ‘fact’ https://clickamericana.com/eras/1900s/unlikely-history-of-levis-jeans

I’ve not bothered to try and verify (like most stuff most folk read), it’s just something I’ve found browsing the interweb and may or may not be nonsense. Hopefully @Dr_Heech can verify the details. It’d be interesting to know the reality if this is made up bullcrap.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 8 months later...
  • 1 month later...

New in, Fob Factory F198, size 33, one wash and unworn.

I’m not sure what year these were made but they feel old and have a slightly musty odour and plenty of loose threads (which I’ve been removing), which is something I’ve found on some of my pairs from the 90s and noughties. I’m not sure about the weight either but they feel about 13-13.5oz. Colour’s a bit darker in real life than my crappy photos.

Notable features:

  • World Jeans International buttons (very matte)
  • Scovill rivets, unbranded at the front
  • Offset rear belt loop
  • ‘F’ on red tab
  • Storage crease on crotch!

Measurements (BiG style)

  • Waist: 32”
  • Front rise: 12”
  • Back rise: 15.5”
  • Thigh: 13.5”
  • Inseam: 34.5”
  • Hem: one is 8.5”, one is 8.75”

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