Salt Soak?

[mjsb]

Hello everyone...I'm new to the japanese denim and such...I've been into 'premium' denim for a year and a half now but i took the leap into the real denim world and I like it so far...I have a pair of Samurai 5000VX's 17oz that i've worn for 14-16 hours a day probably 80-90% of the time from when I've bought them on Dec. 2....I heard from somewhere, I don't know where...that a salt soak is good for the jeans? What does it do? I have already done a tub soak for an hour w/ me in them and then taking them off and leaving them to soak for another 2-3 hours or so....I figure that these are a learning pair, a fresh canvas to learn and fuck up on....I was also impatient with them on the third day and rubbed my knee into the bottom of my granite countertop until some color shown through, and it's beautiful...though...I hope it doesn't remain as visible over time

Thanks!

[toufu]

lol wtf....u only lasted 3 days? ahahahha

well i've never heard of salt soaking here

came across it somewhere at SF while sufu was down

closest thing to salt soak that i've seen here is the beach wash

[mjsb]

lol i just wanted to see what it would look like! it's a small like 1x1.5 inch thing

[Dick Danger]

I'm really trying not be an asshole every time I post, but fuck it's hard.

[machineo]

salt soak, like a swimming at the beach? i remember some discussion about it on mynudies about 6 months ago. dont really remember any of the real conclusions reached though. hell probably was discussed here too.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

the samurai "master" suggests a tablespoon of salt when doing the soak to help remove starch and help set the indigo. it is in the stickied "master's technique" thread inside the denim encyclopedia.

[Tenchi]

Salt...

Its a natural abrasive, its also a natural disinfectant.

It also helps with drying as it helps to dry faster. I'm not totally sure how it helps to remove the starch

But I'm guessing the faster drying time reduces the time it allows the starch to sort of crystallise and give its stiffness. So smaller crystals means slightly softer but still stiff denim.

Meh

[denimdestroyedmylife]

maybe the abrasive properties help remove starch?

meh x2

[Tenchi]

I'm just not sure if it is an abrasive in solution

I dont see any harm in adding salt to a soak.

If you think about bacon...its like preserving it in a way.

[kiya]

I happened to meet Yamane (the man that owns and started Evisu) on my last trip to Hong Kong about four years ago, we spent a few hours at his bar in Central Hong Kong talking about denim..

During the conversation he swore that the only way to soak your denim is with one to two tablespoons of salt. He said it removes "the resin" and helps set the indigo for future wear. There was a serious language barrier between us when talking about deepy technical things so i didn't fully understand, but from then on that's what i've been doing.

Maybe it was the fifteen drinks we had that convinced me or the fact that you don't argue with a person of his stature. regardless....

[toufu]

lol i thought resin = sheen

so the salt would remove the sheen that some really want to keep?

btw kiya...ur 1 lucky man...