Pimped an old rusty kitchen knife:
Friday just after work I bought some essentials from my favorite farm shop. And they had a small fleamarket there, where I also bought this kitchen knife by “Friedrich Otto Stöcker Solingen”. Not a real beauty but rugged and easily to sharpen. It needed some some polishing, oil and a treatment on the wetstones. Just fitting wonderful to the other knifes.
Red Wing 9013 + Gasoline Alley Seaman Trouser:
A great team, my old Red Wings 9013 and the Seaman Trouser from Gasoline Alley.
Henri Lloyd vintage sailing drysuit in orange:
I got this around 30 years old sailing drysuit by Henry Lloyd made in England by an mid-old Sailor. He is to big to fit in anymore. He had to drive to Munich to buy this in his apprenticeship. The orange is faded a lot and got heavy abrasions marks all over but I guess it´s still waterproof (90 %) I hope. I will put it into test soon on my first regatta. Let´s see how it does.
Es Verger Restaurant Alaró Mallorca:
If you are on the search for a non forgettable experience on Mallorca, head to Alaró, turn out of the village to the right for about 1,5 km and then up the hill for about 4 km. You will arrive at the famous Es Verger. The owner the small grandma on the image will put the lamb early in the morning in the oven and it´s left there all day to welcome the guests. The lamb is so tender hard to describe. The place is just beyond description – very typical. Wine was great as well and cheap and we were very lucky that be-cause of the rainy weather not too many guests headed the muddy gravel road up the hill. Thanks a lot !
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.
Swiss army backpack salt and pepper small vs. big or light vs. heavy:As promised I took some images of the smaller or lighter Swiss army salt and pepper backpack from 1963 made by A. Mosimann. As you can see it lacks the stronger and reinforced carrying system and the closing flap with the leather buckles. This makes it about 2 kg lighter and a lot slimmer when not filled. The materials have the same strength and the reinforcements of the stitches are pretty much the same. Absolute superb craftsmanship I have to say, not one single weakness I could find on the construction of the backpack. All buckles or leather parts have got reinforcements on the other side of the canvas. The canvas itself is very strong but does not tend to break. I guess if you treat it with some wax it will be waterproof like a barbour jacket.
Speaking of the comfort I have to admit the bigger and heavier rucksack feels a bit more comfortable esp. when you plan to carry a lot of weight. But at the same also quite heavy and bulky even when empty. The closing method of the lighter one is quite strange at the beginning but quick to access and if you fold it it should be keep most rain away. So I would say a quite clever design. So if you need a stylish vintage backpack with rugged leather I would say there is no better one on this planet for around 30 Euro / 40 USD. Grab one as long as they are available.
For an earlier review of the bigger and heavier backpack have a look here:
Post WWII German Army boot from Baltes:
After about half a year in the trunk of Ferdi´s car, who is a very skilled but too busy shoemaker I finally got these boots back. They are the bigger brothers of these boots. These have got really thick leather, nearly as thick as a belt, about 2 mm. The color used to be black but on very stressed areas it was worn off and is brownish shining trough. When I bought them I was considering to give them a treatment with black shoe cream but luckily I left them their character.
Now with the new soles and fixed heels (I guess they will darken a bit after a while) they for sure will last a lifetime. I gave them some treatment with neutral leather oil, they fit like a glove and you really have another example how skilled they were making boots at Baltes around 1960.
Swedish boots from 1946 in brown (MCB 44):
This week I saw an auction with a fixed price about this boots and it was instantly sold, luckily the seller had another one and I was quicker this time.
The seller got this boots right out of an barn from a friend in Sweden.
Amazing craftsmanship and I guess after some wear and break in he will look awesome. The only thing which troubles me is the leather sole and the iron parts on it. See the image of the heel, it has a iron rim like a horseshoe. I think about putting a rubber sole onto them, what do you think?
The only reference I could find about a similar boot is:
Swedish army boot from 1943 on Fedora Lounge.
If you are interested in this boot, check this seller on ebay.
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