Ties in the woods

Alway gotta show mother nature the respect she deserves.

For Conor

This post is for Conor over at Young Man/Old Man .  Even though I think he should grow a beard the rest of his sartorial musings are sound.  So yeah check him out if you've got a chance.

My Chippewa #25290's are just about a year old, they have gone from looking like this:

After a year of trudging thru mud, cutting down trees, digging gardens, cutting down more trees, shoveling sand, laying bricks and a whole heckofalotta standing around, they like this:

So I re-waxed them last night with Nikwax.  The Nikwax was separated in it's tube, I tried to masage it back into a homogenous mass.  I think I failed, the wax part of the solution is just sitting on top of the leather and the oil part got absorbed.  The leather was at first really soft, but now the wax is just flaking off.  I'll pick up another tube of Nikwax and try re-waxing them this week.

 

Norfolk jacket

I have a new (to me) Norfolk jacket coming over from dear old blighty.  I like the cut and colour, and should be able to match it with a few different looks.  I'm thinking of perhaps picking up the vauxhall trousers and waistcoat from Old Town Clothing.  For some reason I'm currently inlove with the idea of fistail backs on trousers.  I was thinking either the grey moleskin or corn corduroy, not really sure how the corn corduroy would look with the colours in the jacket,  it may be a bit too startling. 

Another startling option would be a set of trews in the Taylor or Cameron weathered hunting tartan.  The taylor would be rakish, and horrible and simply lovely while the Cameron would be a bit more subdued.  

There also was this J. Press jacket up on ebay I could use for inspiration.  I like the addition of the mechanics sweater, I would however go with a this reproduction m1911 sweater from WPG. If I was to go the mechanics sweater route I could pair it up with a nice pair of Barbour or Orvis moleskin pants.

Games keeper Roberts

What? What!

So much sartorial inspiration!  

Not sure where I got this picture from, just found it on my hard drive while looking for something else.  I really do need to get myself one of those belts like the second gentleman from the left is wearing to hold my shells, hell I just need to start dressing like the first gent on the left, now where to to get one of those walking sticks that unfold into a stool?

Clippings from the Waste (Twice) look book

I've heard rumblings and grumblings about how people are getting sick of the "American heritage look," and are looking for something else.  I consider my look to be a mix up of classic yankee work and leisure wear.  I'd like to say that it's my style and that the zeitgeist and myself are just lining up for once.  We'll see if I jump on what ever the next bandwagon look is.  Le sigh...

On the topic of todays post I pulled some pictures from the Fall 2009 Waste (Twice) look book.  Overall I think the outfits they have assembled are a bit too twee, and I think the model looks like a right twat, and why do lines exclusive to Japan keep using anglo models?  These are a few outfits that I could use as inspiration or use a piece or two from.  Oh and sorry for the sucky crops, I had to save the images as PDFs and crop them in iPhoto.

I like the soft shoulders of this sports coat, the patch pockets and odd placement of the breast pocket.  The overall outfit is a little too Decemberists for me.

Again it's the sports coat I like in this picture, the soft construction and the rounded front.  The description says it is Harris tweed, but it falls like it is canvas.  I'm not a fan of drivers caps, the bow tie and normal length pants are a plus however.

I like the mackinaw pea coat, the rest of the outfit looks like what I would have worn when I lived in brooklyn 4 years ago.  I can't believe I used to dress like that.

Again I like the sports coat, and I like the khakis with turn-ups.  I've been thinking of getting some nice heavy weight canvas trousers with turn-ups lately.  The cable knit turtleneck  and way too tight jacket make him look like a pregnant schoolboy.

This looks to be the most normal wearable outfit.  hell about 2/3rds of my friends dress like this.  I like the chambray hooded shirt, but I fear that the hood would be too small to use and would be purely a design feature.  And what the hell is up with the fanny pack worn bandolier like?  Makes him look like a fanny...

Surprisingly enough this may be my favorite outfit.  Twee yes,  I would definitely ditch the hat

but I could see going out on a pub crawl dressed like that.  I think it would fit with my lions mane quite well.

digging these pockets

One thing that drives me nuts about J. Peterman is the lack of photos on their website.  I'm iffy on their marketing babel and I hear that their quality is on the poorish side of things.  I'm very interested in this jacket however, or perhaps I'm interested in the upper pockets. Instead of having flaps the pocket has an upper yolk/cape that comes down and buttons over the tops of the pockets.  I would love to have a british khaki canvas sports/norfolk jacket with those pockets. Ditch the epaulettes and add in a bi-swing back and lower bellows pockets, the jacket would be killer.  Throw in some leather covered buttons while your at it.And the obligatory bizarre J. Peterman spiel:

"Once a year I drop in to see Lord George Milford Haven, 451st in line for the throne.

He has a small country estate outside Liphook. We usually spend the afternoon tramping across the moors, scaring up grouse and pheasant.

On my last visit, he greeted me wearing a very fine pair of muck boots, moleskins, and this jacket.

"So, what's going to be the big seller this year?" He asked.

"You're wearing it."

Four-Pocket Herringbone Blazer (No. 2446). The quintessential country gentleman's jacket. Made of a handsome fabric from a mill that's been turning out 100% English wool for his family since the 1830s. Amazingly soft and luxurious, but still rugged.

The pocket flap is actually part of a larger swatch of material that's anchored at the shoulder and side seam, and tucks under the lapel. Not only unique, but a sign of master tailoring. The inverted pleats on the pocket and the epaulettes give it a military feel."

New Hat Day!

Or new used hat day!  Not sure how it looks on me, I feel a bit weird in it.

No Sleep

Have not really slept the last 2 nights due to my daughter deciding that going to bed at 4am is a reasonable activity.  In my few hours of napping I had some pretty weird dreams.  The "huge decrepit rambling victorian houses inhabited by unseen shambling horrors" kinda weird.   I think I've been spending too much time over at over at propnomicon.

Oh and in the weird an wonderful vein anyone else looking forward to The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus ?

And lastly, Andrew did some shading on my SeaStag last night, one more trip and he should be done.

Torn

So after championing  Sigg for years they have done this whole "we never said we didn't have BPA, we said we didn't leach BPA" thing, what I remember them saying in fact was "we don't know if we have BPA, the company that make our liners won't tell us but tests confirm that no BPA is leached."  New information from SIGG is saying that they knew the whole time what was in their liners.

Now Sigg is doing a voluntary recall where they will replace any older bottle you have.  I'm going to send in my old bottles but I'm torn on keeping the new ones.  I feel lied to by Sigg, but the alternatives are stainless bottle like Kleen Kanteen and they are made in China.

Being Steve Mcqueen

Trying a little Nerd Boyfriend action here

Steve McQueen "The War Lovers"

USN CPO Shirt

Hamilton Khaki Officer Automatic

Coca-Cola Classic 

riffing on...

Now how to tie it all together?

axe

I'm pretty unhappy with my Gerber hatchet (Gerber Gator II, it's the one with the saw in the handle).  It's misbalanced, the saw in the handle comes out with any real force and probably most importantly it just doesn't match my aesthetic of wool and canvas camping.  The look fits my light weight camping kit better, but I just carry a knife with that kit.  So I'm relegating the gerber to the emergency kit in the boot of the Sabb and seaching for something a bit more "old man".

First impulse is to buy a Gransfors Bruks, they are the bee's knees of hatchets from what I

understand.  I was looking at the 418 vs 420.  Hunters Axe vs Small Forest Axe.

From Gransfors.com:

Hunter's Axe, 418:

"Specially made for hunter. The poll is forged thinner than normal and gently rounded and burnished to a flay poll to be used when skinning an animal. You pull the hide with one hand at the same time you hit with the Flay Poll of the axe between the hide and the flesh; and stroke by stroke the hide comes off. The axe is good for chopping, in wood as well as meat. The grip of the handle has circular grooves which gives a steady grip even if your hands are wet or sticky. This axe has received, as the first and only axe in Sweden, a design award from The Swedish Society of Crafts and Design."

Small Forest Axe, 420:

"Same size as the Hunter's Axe but a more traditional pattern and poll. The blade is thin. The handle is long enough to allow powerful chopping but not too long so it will fit into a rucksack, the back of a car or a boat. Practical for splitting small sticks for the fire or cutting small-diameter limbwood for starter fuel in a fireplace."

There is a huge price jump between the 2 axes, but the idea of being able to skin game with my hatchet is pretty sexy.  But wait isn't that what my puukko is for?  I'm not sure how much I'd actually use my hatchet to skin game.  So ok I'll go with the 420. 

While researching the Bruks I kept coming across Bruks vs. Wetterlings debates.  Looks like they are both traditional Sweedish forges, and when fixed up a Wetterlings can perform as nicely as a Bruks.  If I went the route of Wetterlings I'd also save almost 50 bucks!  Here's the kicker however almost all reviews mention that Wetterlings need to be purchased in person to make sure your haft is aligned with your poll.  I don't have anywhere local to purchase a Wetterlings, that and the fact that i really don't want to spend the time sanding the finnish on the Wetterlings haft to make it less slippery.   On top of that the poll on the wetterlings comes with a secondary bevel which i would want to remove and then spend more time on the edge because it arrives as dull as a spoon.  The amount of time saved on the Bruks seems worth the 50 bucks to me.

So looks like I'm getting a Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe.

Wants

I plan on phasing out most of my pants this winter in favor of bib.  The extra pockets make them so much more versatile without having the douche factor of cargo pants.  I really like the look of the low cut rear, we'll see how functional they are.

Playlist 1

The Beatniks Won

1. God Only Knows  -The Beach Boys
2. Colours -Donovan
3. Love You -Syd Barrett
4. Horses -Bonnie "Prince" Billy
5. Mean Woman Blues -Roy Orbison
6. Planet Queen - T.Rex
7. The Soul Of A Man -Etta James
8. Play With Fire -The Rolling Stones
9. She's Got You -Patsy Cline
10. I Dig Rock and Roll Music -Peter, Paul And Mary
11. Blood and Bones -Scud Mountain Boys
12. Lover Lover Lover -Leonard Cohen
13. Snake Mountain Blues -Townes Van Zandt
14. Don't Leave the Light on Baby -Belle & Sebastian
15. Golden Brown -The Stranglers
16. Old World -The Modern Lover
17. These Days -Nico
18. The Old Black Hen -Songs: Ohia
19. Spoonfu -Howlin' Wolf
20. Grudge Fuck -Pernice Brothers

Pretty much what I've spent the summer listening to

Pining for Winter aka Plaid on Plaid

Sorry for the long break from posting, the new house has needed a lot of work.  Still nowhere near done, the barn has been barely touched and well looks like next year we are gonna need a new roof.

I was unpacking and repacking my winter camping gear when I came across my "snowshoeing outfit,"   thought I'd share as I pine for some snow.

The shirt is a vintage Pendleton I picked up on ebay, for a thick wool shirt it has gotten a lot of wear this summer.  It's been cold and rainy hear in Central Ma.  The bibs are vintage Woolrich, made in the USA.  Woolrich still makes these bibs, but now in Mexico.  The vest is a modern Filson.  Like the Pendleton it has seen a lot of use this summer, usually over a canvas shirt with shorts.  The jacket is a NOS Filson from around 1987, it's a model 81.  Basically a little heavier version of the single mac cruiser with a quilted recoil pad built right in.  The boots are my LL Bean "Main Hunting Shoe," they have seen about 8 winters now, besides a little Nikwax every season they are holding up pretty well.

I like how there are 4 different plaids going on but still look good together.