MikeRock

Duane Watts' swivel knife is what I want to try. $110 last I checked. https://youtu.be/vI8tW30tn58 Video Unavailable.....at least to me.

Looks like that Batman character Bane, with the mask. Does it make your voice deeper and scary Neat!

Thursday, August 13, 2020 1950s America survives... in Japan A fascinating phenomenon that William Gibson first noted in his "cool hunter" novels some years ago turns out to not only be real, but a viable business in Japan: Takashi Tateno keeps an office in a simple studio above his wife’s hairdressing salon on the outskirts of Okayama, a medium-sized city in central Japan. In fashion circles, Okayama is famous for one thing: making the world’s best denim, using looms that date back to the 1950s. But Tateno isn’t a denim head. His brand, called Workers, adapts all sorts of American work wear from the 1900s to the ’60s—railroad jackets, canvas dusters, flannel shirts, double-kneed pants. Moreover, he’s obsessed by the American workers who manufactured these garments in their heyday, and the skills, techniques and tools used to produce such high-quality clothing on an industrial scale. Before he hatched the idea of his own collection, Tateno spent years making clothes himself and working in a factory. At the same time, he launched a Japanese-language website that was absolutely alone in its single-minded pursuit of knowledge about the plans, patterns and procedures that old American work-wear manufacturers used to make their garments under such labels as Crown, W.M. Finck & Co. and Can’t Bust ’Em. Tateno journeyed to the United States multiple times to sift through archives and contact heirs to now-defunct clothing manufacturers to see if they had information about their ancestors’ businesses, and to buy up examples of the old clothes he loved so he could dissect their construction. Tateno ushers me into his upstairs space. One room is filled with all kinds of clothing, everything from the work wear he collects to contemporary Italian jackets by Boglioli. There is also machinery, including an ancient riveting machine, plus old sewing-machine accessories that Tateno purchases so the factories he hires to produce his collection can make things to the exact specifications of, say, 1924 or 1942, with the same tools in use back then. “When I learned to sew and tried to make these garments myself, I began to realize just how intricate the work was, what kind of tremendous skill level was required to turn out such huge quantities of high-quality garments,” Tateno says. “These were produced at a time when American workers were the most knowledgeable and skilled in the world.” Though the kind of skilled manufacturing he admired in these garments had largely disappeared in the United States—a consequence of apparel production moving abroad and garment workers no longer finding work—he saw older Japanese people around him in Okayama with high-level sewing skills. And so he realized that if he could unearth the manufacturing secrets behind these old garments, he could make them in Okayama—and perhaps make them even better than the originals. The cult of the artisan is ensconced in contemporary urban American culture. This is the ideal of a person who can handcraft a pair of jeans or a necktie, conscious of the most minute details of fabric, workmanship and authenticity. The era Tateno’s clothing harks back to is not the age of the lone artisan laboring over a single creation, though; it’s the era of packed factories in Pennsylvania, Virginia and California churning out thousands and thousands of high-quality garments at a reasonable price, all because of the workers’ skill. The irony is that this ideal of the American worker, which sounds like something lifted from old-school union advertising copy, can be hard to find in America today. Japan. It's the one place in the world where the present is as fascinating as the past. Labels: Americana, history posted by VD @ 8/13/2020 05:36:00 AM Mailing List signup 0 comments

https://www.superiorthreads.com/thread/kevlar/c/60-204 That should do. God bless

Quite a find, Bronze age harness so well preserved that they can see how the harness was assembled. Pretty darn cool!! https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-53714864 God bless Detectorist 'shaking with happiness' after Bronze Age find 10 August 2020 Image copyright Crown Copyright Image caption Items believed to be pieces of the Bronze Age harness were also found A metal detectorist was left "shaking with happiness" after discovering a hoard of Bronze Age artefacts in the Scottish Borders. A complete horse harness and sword was uncovered by Mariusz Stepien at the site near Peebles in June. Experts said the discovery was of "national significance". The soil had preserved the leather and wood, allowing experts to trace the straps that connected the rings and buckles. This allowed the experts to see for the first time how Bronze Age horse harnesses were assembled. Image copyright Dariusz Gucwa Image caption Mariusz Stepien discovered the hoard near Peebles in June Mr Stepien was searching the field with friends when he found a bronze object buried half a metre underground. He said: "I thought 'I've never seen anything like this before' and felt from the very beginning that this might be something spectacular and I've just discovered a big part of Scottish history. "I was over the moon, actually shaking with happiness." Mr Stepien and his friends camped in the field as archaeologists spent 22 days investigating the site. He said: "Every day there were new objects coming out which changed the context of the find, every day we learned something new. "I'm so pleased that the earth revealed to me something that was hidden for more than 3,000 years. I still can't believe it happened." Image copyright Crown Copyright Image caption Archaeologists found a sword still in its scabbard during their excavation Archaeologists found a sword still in its scabbard, decorated straps, buckles, rings, ornaments and chariot wheel axle caps. There is also evidence of a decorative "rattle pendant" that would have hung from the harness, the first to be found in Scotland, and only the third in the UK. Emily Freeman, head of the Crown Office's Treasure Trove Unit, said it was "a nationally-significant find." She said: "So few Bronze Age hoards have been excavated in Scotland, it was an amazing opportunity for us to not only recover bronze artefacts, but organic material as well. "There is still a lot of work to be done to assess the artefacts and understand why they were deposited." The beginning of the Bronze Age in Britain can be put at about 2,000 BC.

Thanks!~

Isn't that a clone of the Landis #1? Sharon??

On needles........I just went through a series of emails asking Schmetz to simply make a longer thread groove in 26-200, 26-230, 26-250 and 26-300 needles. Just an additional 0.600" of grind, no other changes. The Chicago branch sent it to Germany and they told me first that they could do it. I offered to have a hundred of each needle modified. Next they told me that a Landis #1 was an awl and hook machine and they were not interested. I sent them part photos and the fact that we use Schmetz needles now, courtesy of Eli. They then got snooty and said due to Covid they were not interested........ It's not polite to swear on this site so I won't. That is Scmetz for you......... I guess I'll set up one of my tool and cutter grinders with a 1" dia. high speed diamond and grind the damned things myself.

Do any of your vintage machine users know the composition of 'hard winter wax'? It was melted in thread lubrication pots and the thread was passed through the hot wax, then excess was stripped off by a rubber stripping grommet. The stuff found in old Landis and Union Lockstitch wax pots is hard, black, and brittle with age. Any information on these oldish waxes would be appreciated. God bless

Second from bottom photo, far right object with varying width grooves........ for 'setting' the teeth in a hand saw. Called a 'saw wrest'. God bless Any old sewing machines, like an old Landis? Ask if he might have old wax melting pots off a Landis. Never know!!

If you remember the movie, "Medicine Man", with Sean Connery, there was a scene where he's wearing a mask..... Tucan. Then Dr. Crane shows up and the one liners are pretty bad......fun movie.

Wiz, Thank you for this link. I had seen their liquid but not this. Hopefully this is THE stuff! Will order Monday. Enjoy the 4th. God bless

Wiz, What kind of wax was used in the Landis #1 wax pots? Old pots have what looks like cold tar that will shatter if you pry on it or chip at it. The manual suggests that as the tallow in the mix is used up to add more tallow, but there is no recipe for the was mixture. Any help would be appreciated...

Make sure the sling customer pays first.....before he sees what a mistake he made! I just tried a chunk of 16oz on that '03-A3 and it's rather tight.

Roys, Thank you for that nice link. Saved!! God bless

Two here are a heavy 1/8". Original.... those were military M14 slings, real M14 full auto. Now the 1903A3 is.......ta da....0.135". Fifty years apart and only a few thousandths difference. 1/4" is a tight squeeze through the sling swivels. God bless

Hi Capt. Just ordered Holstory..... pricey at 100 bucks, but that's a little less than fifty cents a page..... what the heck. Nice workmanship on those holsters. God bless

Can someone take a photo of the shuttle with the two covers slid back out of the way, and maybe the shuttle out of the machine? God bless

What a fascinating catalog of waxed fabrics and more. Fairfield Textile Co. #10 (14.7oz) Duck Martexin Original Wax "Plain Weave" Fabric: 14.7 oz/sqyd before finishing, ~19.84 oz/sqyd after finishing 500 GSM before finishing, ~675 GSM after finishing. 100% Cotton Plied Yarns $16.54 / yard before volume discount God bless #10 (14.7oz)" Charcoal Sage MOD F

Duck Duck gooooooo to the rescue.....couldn't find my catalog in the pile. "Filson's 15-oz. oil finish Tin Cloth is relied on by loggers, foresters, sportsmen and tradesmen. To create our iconic fabric, a tightly woven canvas duck fabric is saturated with a liquefied paraffin wax and oil mixture under heat and high pressure ... "

Very nice! Is that the same kind of canvas that Filson makes their 'Tin Coat' out of?> Sure looks familiar. God bless

Eli Schlabach: Phone: (217) 543-3464, Landis Sales & Service, 115 E CR 500 N, Arthur, IL 61911.

I just got some 331LR needles for my Landis #1 from Eli. They measure 0.089" dia. at the shank and 3.665" long. Cheaper than Martin by a bit, and fast service. God bless 331LR NM: 200 Size 25 CANU: 55: 70AX1

Looks like it will work fine. Use brass machine screws, flat head, and you have it. Heck, the area is already clean and primed with solder. A little flux on the screw head and heat. God bless

Here's what the ZW page says: 7/9 oz Horse Hide Butt Strips - These strips average approximately 2 - 3 square feet. (10-14" x 48")