Tag Archives: heritage

FHB Corduroy Walz/Waltz Jacket

FHB Corduroy Walz Jacket / Sakko

FHB in Bielefeld also referred by themselves as the “Original Bielefelder” is producing since 1894, 100% of their goods in Germany. You might have spotted the craftsman doing their Walz/Waltz after their apprenticeship. This tradition is still proudly done in some crafts where you travel with minimum belongings, have to hitchhike, shall not come close to your hometown for some years and other “rules”. (check here for some more detailed info about the tradition).

Said that it´s is logic that those guys wont travel with an improper wardrobe. FHB´s aim is to provide those craftsmen with a sturdy, high quality wardrobe so they can fulfill their job and journey. A really tough Corduroy is the basic of their products. Lined with a strong canvas and tough buttons. There is no fault spottable in the construction. Another fine detail is the “Z” like sewn on buttons which stands for “Zunft”, a registered trademark of FHB. The more traditional two row jacket/sakko has 6 buttons who stand for the workdays and the vest/waistcoat underneath got 8 buttons for the work hours on every day.

When I first saw this company and their products I was happy to finally spot a german/european company who can keep up when it comes to heritage brands on the globe. This jacket is an overseen classic which will add well to a wardrobe with style. Rugged, no flimsy details, so easy to take care after and long wearing which will pay off after a while. Thanks FHB for working dedicated to maintain your standards.

Where to get FHB outside Germany?
Manufactum has some of their pants and Winkelbediende Warenmagazijn is selling FHB since 3 years. Within Germany e.g. you can order it at Zunft.de.

And last but not least a Walz/Waltz inspired song by Tom Waits.

Red Wing 8128 Brogue Ranger Velva Retan

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Red Wing 8128 Brogue Ranger brown Velva Retan leather

Last week I had the chance to finally see the Red Wing 8128 in the Jeanslife store in Winterthur. Roger got this model on stock since 3 weeks, quite about the same time when Red Wing Amsterdam released the info on their blog. I never liked the dark brown of the former and discontinued model and wished to have a more cognac leather. Like my Red Wing 9013 would have been perfect. The actual color of the Red Wing 8128 is hard to describe, it´s a more a “grey brown”. Definitely a bit darker as on the Red Wing Amsterdam images.

When you search for Velva Retan Leather you find out that this leather was also used for the industrial Red Wing Syle 952 which tells you that it´s going to be a tough one.

Another info I found what exactly Velva Retan leather is, was this:
“Pioneer: A brand of oil retan leather. Also known as Velva Retan. After the initial tanning, the leather is subjected to hot steam in a tanning drum and then shot with hot oil and waxes. The open pores absorb these chemicals until they are saturated. This leather is primarily for work boots.”

(C) and source of this info here

So what do we have now? The classic appearance of a brogue boot, made out of a though workboot leather and paired with the lightweight and hardwearing Nitril Cork sole. Sounds promising to me.

American Optical Original Pilot Sunglasses

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American Optical Original Pilot Sunglasses:

Thanks to Peter from RLX5513 for providing me with the right pair of sunglasses. A pair of used AO American Optical Original Pilot Sunglasses. But actually Peter is the man for buying vintage watches and his handmade bags.

AO – American Optical is still the most favoured eyewear/sunglasses of the US Military. The company history goes back 1826. The AO sunglasses have been worn by Commander Neil Armstrong on the moon, Tom Cruise in Top Gun and Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider. So I guess they are appropriate for me as well. Since the glass of them are rather dark when you go indoors (as a sunglass for protection should be) the upgrade to make them perfect and easy to stow away will be the L.I. Sounder Leather Sunglass Strap.

Just found an article about the American Optical Original Pilot Sunglasses @ “an affordable wardrobe by Giuseppe Timore”.

Art auctions – true vintage

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Zeller art and antiques auctions:
The love for “vintage” stuff might have been influenced a lot by working for Zeller art and antiques auction for about a decade. Surrounded by thousands of objects which move through the auction house every 3 month will not get by unrecognized even by a nerd. Realizing that some stuff is affordable and even quite cheap if you compare the craftsmanship involved in creating those pieces I started to hunt. It is not just the präservation of a (our) heritage it is also a kind of recycling. Bargains on flea markets are hard to find, with ebay being a price guide most sellers have a good reference for the price. Auction houses tend to start low with a price to attract bidders and if you are lucky you might be the only one who bids.

The images above, I took on a visit just give a quick impression “behind the scenes”, some more great stuff is still coming in and to show approx. 3500 – 4500 lots is impossible. Bidding online is possible but visiting a traditional Art Auctioneer like Michael Zeller who does his job since more than 40 years is a thrilling and sometimes entertaining performance.

Dehen 1920 Signature Varsity Jacket

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Dehen 1920 Signature Varsity Jacket:

What a nice collaboration between my family and one of my friends Uwe from Amtraq. For my anniversary I had the joy to unwrap this great jacket which was on my wishlist since seing the first time.

What a bomb proof construction with some of the best materials around. My favorite is the structure/surface of the american bison leather. Its like a bigger scotch grain but not as much as ostrich leather. Best of all, it looks great from the beginning, no big break in time.

Here are the facts:

Pendleton 24 ounce melton wool body
American Bison leather sleeves and pocket welts
Chenille and embroidered decoration
100% worsted wool trim
Quilted lining
Snap front closure

For orders check the Amtraq distributed stockists.

Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob pipe

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Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob pipe:

Grabbed this pipe on a recent trip to Italy. Not knowing that it is actually the famous Popeye pipe. But not only Popeye was one of it´s famous users, Norman Rockwell (Saturday Evening Post), Mark Twain and Frosty the Snowman and now me.

I was a bit puzzled when I read the “Meerschaum” reference on the bottom of the pipe but it is part of the name. The pipe (head) is made of a corn cob and wood.

Grown in Missouri soil and handcrafted for over 143 years in the same Washington, Missouri, building, Genuine Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes are an American Legend – making Missouri Meerschaum the world’s oldest, largest, and leading manufacturer of corn cob pipes. Since 1869, six generations of Missouri Meerschaum skilled craftsmen have believed there is no substitute for quality and excellence.

Post WWII German Army boots size 42 on Ebay

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Post WWII German Army boots size 42 on Ebay:
Be-cause the images on Ebay are so bad so I will post my images here. Another fine pair of Baltes post WWII German Army boots in size 42 are right now on ebay. They are the version with the thick leather which will look sometime like mine on the image above. They are goodyear welted, got the vorwerk sole and have the wooden shoenails.

Check the full post I did on this boots a while ago.

Stuff that works at work

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Stuff that works at work:
About 10 month ago I swapped my job in font, behind and inside computers against building boats. It took a while to figure out what kind of cloth and stuff will work well for me. They have to be tough, some style and shouldn´t make me cry if they are ruined.

Most important are the boots, a pair of Thorogood Moc toe boots proofed to be worth to call a workboot.
They are :
comfortable
white sole does not leave traces on boats
are a bit protective
the leather can be cleaned of most ugly stuff with aceton
were goodamn cheap – 50 Euros for them
(I´m sorry, no Red Wing´s boots here, but as soon as I do not find a sponsor I will keep them for working)

Trousers, at the beginning I had a well made paar of workwear trousers, but I could not stand the plastic content all day. I swapped to jeans, be-cause that what they are ment to. I usually buy them at ebay for less then 10 bucks and toss them away when they are ruined by synthetic rasin, hardener, paint or aceton. My favorite one so far the the Carhartt double knee pant. It got reenforced knees, and has a quite comfortable cut.

Watch, my heuer chrono proofed to be taking some hits and works still. Somehow it hurts me to see it aging but on the other hand I can not imagine another one, and for sure no digital Casio.

Belt, I was able to grab some deadstock swedish army belts a couple of months ago. One I kept for myself and it is a joy to watch him aging.

Ipod shuffle, sometimes when working hard with all day sanding stuff and no way to hear the radio or a word. You will love some other sound. If you wonder about the note on it. Just a test how restrictive Apple is with their engraving service.

Any advice or sponsorship is welcome, If you want to sacrify a pair of jeans or boots contact me. I will feature its use/destruction frequently.

Swiss army backpack – salt and pepper – how to close it!

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Swiss army backpack – salt and pepper – how to close it!

I never was too happy how I used to close this backpack – there is for sure some soldier proof instruction around. I´m heading for some serious barbecue and I thought again how to close it better. There are two d-rings / loops in the middle of the rucksack, just go with one of the sting in the upper and pull and the with the other string in the lower and pull. Go with the ends around the canvas and do a bow knot. Thats it, it is closed and fixed to the pack. Since the material is very strong and stiff other methods until now resulted in a too high profile of the back.

Check also the two posts about the swiss army backpack – heavy and the comparison about the light and the heavy one.

Swedish army boots, brown from 1943

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Swedish army boots brown from 1943:
I got another fine pair of Swedish army boots, now in size 43 be-cause the others were a bit too big. This pair is not just 3 years older, they even got this nice print on the leather showing the crown and the 1943. They also got the loop to pull the boots on and the color of the boot is a bit more darker. So perfect, can´t wait to give them a slim rubber sole and break them in.