SUPERDENIM SMALL QUESTIONS THREAD (Use instead of making new threads)

[JDelage]

@PED - Sorry, I had not seen your question. It's the RMC CCC jacket.

[Double 0 Soul]

3 hours ago, Flash said:

Thanks mate , I'll go with fedex then 

Edit , checked and its basically the same price as ems 

Ive just checked and my last FedEx order from JP (bike bits) was sent by FedEx Priority, it left the shop in Nagoya on 1st Jun at 06.05am (GMT) and arrived at my door on the 3rd at 9.04am and this cost an extra ¥3000 on top of the EMS price.

[Broark]

FedEx is insanely fast, just had something ship from Japan on Monday JP time and it arrived on Tuesday noon US central time...

[PED]

On 3/9/2021 at 5:27 PM, Duke Mantee said:

It looks like the Real McCoys CCC jacket to me

Thanks Duke

[Mr Black]

FedEx have an annoying habit of trying to invoice for customs charges plus processing costs a couple of weeks after delivering the package. An odd idea as presumably it’s difficult and expensive (for them) to chase in payments.

 

i have a standard email i send back to them which has seen them drop all charges every time.

let me know if you want a copy.

[chambo2008]

Okayama denim use DHL, super fast like 2 days from Japan and the customs was pre laid so no need for parcelforce. 

[rockon99]

Yo, this is just a sufu etiquette question i suppose.

What are ya'll doing for image posts? I used to (and sometimes do) post images from my flickr page, but sufu seems to not auto format them to the page size, and they take up a lot of space. If I add images to my post (drag and drop/choose files), would that be better? Are they then zoomable without just being huge? lol 

Apologies, been on here for years, but am only recently revisiting. 

[chambo2008]

I just load the pictures direct from my phone, no messing about with codes etc 

[Broark]

I find Imgur to be the easiest to use. Just drag and drop into Imgur, then copy and paste the image address in sufu and it gets resized.
Plus if you click on the image and open it in a new tab it'll be the original size if you want to zoom in.

[ameritech]

Looking for a detergent recommendation.

Want to wash my jeans at my laundromat pretty regularly and trying to ape the color of 1970's/ late 1960's Levi's. Not an expert on this, but I have gathered that optical brighteners were standard in detergents in the US at that point. I'm not sure to what extent, or what else was going into detergent formulas at that time, or anything about detergent really.

Read on here that Superstitch in Paris makes a detergent designed to get this effect out of washes. It's sold out on their site. My gathering is that the majority of other specialty denim detergents are very gentle and that what I'm looking for is harsh (correct me if I'm wrong).

Anyone here tried for something similar or have anything helpful to share? If someone could recommend a widely available detergent in the US that resembles the 60's/ 70's formulas, or at least will get similar results, I would appreciate it... I'm thinking there could be an easy on-the-shelf solution here, but I've only used Dr. Bronner's (very gentle). Also please contact me if you've got a bottle of the superstitch stuff that you don't use. 

[Maynard Friedman]

It sounds to me that a standard biological liquid, or better still, powder, is what you’re looking for. I’m sure these contain bleach and/or optical brighteners. Superstitch is probably just selling a rebranded version of these with additional marketing blurb for a heavy mark-up. Alternatively, contact manufacturers such as Unilever or Procter & Gamble for their advice and recommendations.

[ameritech]

Thanks @Maynard Friedman, that's helpful, I was not aware of the distinction between bio & non-bio detergents. Have you used these on your jeans before? Any tips? I have to admit that knowing bleach is in the equation has me a bit skittish, don't want to overdo it and go too light too soon.

Funny enough, the Superstitch marketing blurb reads "detergent that allows you to frequently wash without attacking the canvas and indigo", no mention of 60s or 70s- I read that in a search result of the board from user @Collin. I guess what they're going for is color removal of harsher detergents while going a bit easier on the fabric. Can't imagine the biological powders are good for the long term strength of the jeans if I'm washing every 2w or so. But within reason that's a compromise I'm willing to make

[Iron Horse]

Not an expert on the '60s, but in recent years I've read up on the differences in how laundry was done pre-1950s after noticing the difference that very hot, even boiling, water makes on washing jeans and how vintage jeans showed the same characteristics. Plus, there were the different soaps, and stuff like fels-naptha being used, not to mention stuff like water softening or lead pipes and potential effects.

Anyway, it seems laundry soap formulas kept changing:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laundry_detergent

Quote

"Until the 1950s, soap was the predominant surfactant in laundry detergents. By the end of the 1950s so-called "synthetic detergents" (syndets) like branched alkylbenzene sulfonates had largely replaced soap in developed countries.^[6][7] Due to their poor biodegradability these branched alkylbenzenesulfonates were replaced with linear alkylbenzenesulfonates (LAS) in the mid-1960s. Since the 1980s, alkyl sulfates such as SDS have found increasing application at the expense of LAS."

Maybe you need soap with linear alkylbenzenesulfonates? Also perhaps a wringer washer, and sun drying.

This is next-level ASMR:

 

 

[rockon99]

Quick question. 
How much room can I have in the toe box (beyond the tip of my big toe) in Alden Indys (Trubalance last).
 

I just received a pair, one half-size smaller than my Vans size, and they feel comfy width-wise, but I’m worried the shoe is breaking in the wrong place because of the extra length. I think I could stand to go down a half size, but don’t want to dupe myself. 
 

thanks

[shredwin_206]

Looking for a denim cycling cap. 
I like to wear cycling caps under my hard hat at work. 
google search hasn’t brought up much 

[Thanks_M8]

@shredwin_206 TCB military caps come close, been thinking about those for cycling. Need something under the helmet for summer, else I get a sunstroke...

[Iron Horse]

On 3/24/2021 at 2:26 AM, rockon99 said:

Quick question. 
How much room can I have in the toe box (beyond the tip of my big toe) in Alden Indys (Trubalance last).
  

I just received a pair, one half-size smaller than my Vans size, and they feel comfy width-wise, but I’m worried the shoe is breaking in the wrong place because of the extra length. I think I could stand to go down a half size, but don’t want to dupe myself. 
 

 thanks

When I was a kid and we'd go to the shoe store or department store to buy shoes for me, the salesmen there, aside from always using a Brannock device with those thin disposable black socks, would also press down on the end of the shoe to make sure there was about an inch of space between the end of the big toe and the front of the shoe. Some people call this the rule of thumb; that is, there should be as much empty room as the width of your thumb. Some people prefer a half inch of space there, but it seems to me in recent years that there's this trend in the heritage/amekaji/etc. community for people to size down too much on their shoes and boots as much as possible to avoid any semblance of heel slip, roominess, etc. 

[Double 0 Soul]

Same at Clarks when i was a kid but the space would be considered 'growing room' now ive stopped growing, at least in the foot department, i wouldn't want an inch of space in the end of my shoes.

[Thanks_M8]

Still popular amongst a few cobblers and shoemakers to go by the toe-room. Afaik the room in the toebox doesn't define the fit, more so do the fit in ball and heel area, since you can have all kinds of toe-shapes, but the foot is "held" in the shoe by the ball and heel area. But still a matter of taste, some like their shoes a little tighter, some a little looser.

[Double 0 Soul]

3 minutes ago, Thanks_M8 said:

. Afaik the room in the toebox doesn't define the fit,

You might be on to something there...

[Maynard Friedman]

Who doesn’t want an ‘extra inch’?!

[Double 0 Soul]

Indeed, you get more for your money

It all depends of the dimensions/shape of the toebox in question, i have bought boots with an extra inch of space in the end but only because they were a narrow fit and i needed to accomodate my wide feet. If i'm in doubt i print off a copy of Rancourts & Co shoe fitting guide and follow the instructions, if i'm still not sure, i make marks/notes, scan the guide and email it through to the shop for a second opinion.

My rule of thumb is comfortable boots = success, uncomfortable boots = failiure

[MJF9]

OO, have you been buying shoes off @Duodequinquagesimus?

7 hours ago, Double 0 Soul said:

You might be on to something there...

 

[Duke Mantee]

10 minutes ago, MJF9 said:

OO, have you been buying shoes off @Duodequinquagesimus?

 

... or listening to @Maynard Friedman jokes?

[lee porter]

I’ve worked out that the us9e is the perfect size in the true balance last for me  and I’m a us10 in new balance 9.5d also works but a bit too much room in the toe box for me hope this helps rokon 99

Edited March 26, 2021 by lee porter

[Double 0 Soul]

That's an outrageous suggestion MJ i'd give my right arm for a pair of those gold Aladin slips, imagine how great lazy Sundays would be...

[AlientoyWorkmachine]

Hello all - new here after some time lurking. Looking forward challenging my powers of consumer restraint in the face of new temptation. On that note I'm already failing. 

Anyone know if Mil-mil (Milwaukee) ships to the US? Any experience purchasing from them? Just starting to dip my toes into buying from Japan.  

[Maynard Friedman]

Welcome. They certainly ship directly to the UK, or have in the past, as I’ve bought a couple of things from them, so I imagine they deal with US customers too. Send them an email to check, they’re very easy to communicate with. I think the main man there was called Mario but it was a while ago so my memory may be failing me.

[redragon]

9 hours ago, Double 0 Soul said:

That's an outrageous suggestion MJ i'd give my right arm for a pair of those gold Aladin slips, imagine how great lazy Sundays would be...

You will most definitely love a pair of traditional Rajasthani shoe...

[Double 0 Soul]

Would i ever!

It's my birthday in January

Hint hint