Amtraq and Merz b. Schwanen Showroom visit Munich:
Yesterday we visited Uwe and Alex from Amtraq, and Dirk from Merz b. Schwanen in their temporarily Showroom in Munich. What a great combination, just a bit hard to handle all that great stuff in one place, too much to see. The Dehen jackets, the indigo dyed Merz b. Schwanen shirts, the Rising sun stuff … Thanks for the great time!
Happy birthday mom – French forge de laguiole knife:
Couldn´t post the images earlier be-cause I did not want to spoil her birthday present. Recently I was in France and I saw this beauty. It´s hard to find a fitting present for her, but this time I think I hit it. She is into pocket knifes as well, and probably carry hers more often than I do. Im sure I inherited the fascination for knifes from her. At least she did not do anything against it – im glad for that.
But getting back to the forge de laguiole knife. I always wanted to have one and there is the saying that the best presents are the ones you struggle to let them go. It got a very elegant shape, perfect piece of craftsmanship and nice details. Love the bee or fly, the decoration cuts on the back of the blade and black, gold and silver matched so well together. I do not want to start to talk about the details of a original laguiole knife, there are others who are more versed to do so.
I wanted to check some details on the knife and she had to get it from her handbag. So it seems to be well accepted.
Straight Razor – my first strop!
About 2 years ago I bought my first strop to hone/sharpen my straight razors. There are some fancy 100 Euro + models out there and my first thoughts were, you got it for decades so – spent the money. On the other side I wasn´t sure If straight razors would be my thing.
Luckily I went for a relatively cheap one. It´s not that I stoped to straight razor shave, but as a beginner you cut the leather so easily. In most tutorials or movies they strp very fast, which makes absolutely no sense esp. if you are not a “master” in it. Just go about 20 times slowly with hardly any pressure over the leather, thats it.
And at the beginning you are a bit nervous or let me say not so focused. So making a false movement with the blade is done so quickly. So my advice is, save the money and buy a nice one after you ruined the first one.
I guess in about a year, I´m ready to buy something more appropriate for my razors. But in ne meantime, this one serves me well.
Seaman Trouser handtailored for Gasoline Alley:
A weekend in Munich and esp. the saturday “morning” isn´t complete without a visit at the Gasoline Alley. So last saturday I was there around 2pm, just to come back again 2:55pm (5 min before closing) be-cause of this seaman trouser/pants. Burkhard Pflug created this trouser with a lot attention for details and I have to say It is perfect. The fabric and the cut feels very comfortable and areas which more stress are reinforced.
I´guess there is no real excuse not to have one. You can chose between navy blue and beige.
Tellason Denim Chore coat arrived at the shipyard:
Last week the guys from Amtraq were at the lake of constance for half a week. After reading my post about “stuff that works at work” they decided to sponsor a Tellason Chore coat / Coverall jacket which I had to promise to use at the shipyard. I agreed, but knowing that paint, hardener,rasin and all the tools will be tough on the great jacket made me somehow sad.
Wonderful details, I especially like the huge pockets, the reinforced buttons and the possibility to close the collar tight around the neck – this will somehow restrict the itching fibres finding their way to the skin.
It´s no summer 30 C usedforworkalldayjacket but as soon as the days get colder it will be used more often.
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison:
Yesterday night they showed a great doku at ARTE about Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison jail. The beginning of his career and the LP is one of the best!
Meeting the Amtraq Distribution guys:
I had the joy to meet Uwe and Alex from the Amtraq Distibution Team after and at the Outdoor fair 2012 in Friedrichshafen this week. The setup of their stand was without doubt the coolest of the whole fair. The products they represent, the chevy and Uwe and Alex themselves. From the Dehen baseball jackets, the Topo Design backpacks, the Tanner Goods leather stuff and bags or the Swim-ology swim shorts. All brands shown there were carefully selected by their style and quality. I hope they will come down again next year to represent their portfolio.
(If you miss the Tellason denim or the Sportswear reg. stuff, it was an “Outdoor fair” so the focus was more on the other brands.)
Fatboy clothing recognized their t-shirt I´m wearing and reblogged the photo here.
Vintage U.S. Navy anchor belt buckle:
I got this great anchor belt buckle a couple of days ago by Uwe from Amtraq, thanks a lot, the gift!
Baltes post WWII German Army boots for sale on Ebay:
Another fine pair of german made rugged boots on sale on Ebay, they age so nicely, and get sold mostly for less then 50 Euros. Size 43 should fit 9 UK / 10 US.
Check the images of my two pair of broken in boots from the same factory:
Vintage German Army boots size 43
Vintage German Army boots size 44
Just had a straight razor shave, I hardly use the single bladed Gilettes be-cause
anymore. I love practice on my skill, use the straight razor and probably also the trill of the shave.
I made jokes a while ago when about three bladed razors and how they will go up until 10-20 so you can shave your face with one stroke, we have reached the 5 blade nonsense not too far away anymore.
Watch this barber and see how easy it is!
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