horrible old man

So yeah

2010-10-28T11:44:00.001-07:00

have not edited this in almost a year. please consider it dead.
horribleoldman.tumblr.com will be open soon

Ties in the woods

2009-11-13T05:22:00.000-08:00

Alway gotta show mother nature the respect she deserves.

For Conor

2009-10-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-22T08:35:00.000-07:00

What? What!

2009-10-12T20:58:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-07T07:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

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

No Sleep

2009-09-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

Trying a little Nerd Boyfriend action here

Steve McQueen "The War Lovers"

USN CPO Shirt

Hamilton Khaki Officer Automatic

Coca-Cola Classic

riffing on...

2009-09-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

Now how to tie it all together?

axe

2009-08-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-19T07:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

The Beatniks Won

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

Pretty much what I've spent the summer listening to

Pining for Winter aka Plaid on Plaid

2009-08-11T10:22:00.000-07:00

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.

going into space

2009-05-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

I'll be on a blog vacation till at least August. New house has so much stuff to get done.

2009-05-12T07:04:00.000-07:00

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Nerd Boyfriend takes pictures of personalities and deconstructs where you can buy pieces of their outfits. I like it just for the pictures

John Updike

Lucian Freud

I miss the snow...

2009-04-30T05:09:00.000-07:00

my bike, Odetta the P14

2009-04-29T09:48:00.001-07:00

As always click on the pictures and the get wider.

Odetta is a lovely lady, my nice weather girlfriend. She is a factory team bike that was raced down at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome. Some time around 1980 he daddy brought her up to Cambridge as he was going to grad school at Ha'vhaad. My friend Robert (Row-Bear) the horrible old French man traded some road bike to the owner as there is/was no track in area. Robert tore the bike down and rebuilt her with a campy 1 inch pitch drive-train and wooden rims(!) as his winter commuter/roller-racer. Robert rode it in this configuration until the mid 90's, when it was hung out to dry in his basement in favor of a Moulton. Last fall I inherited the bike from Robert (along with 80 or so pipes) and stripped her down and rebuilt her with some modern components.

I've gotten some flak for rebuilding it, these are my 3 reasons:

1. The bike was built up in an anachronistic fashion anyways, the only thing original was the seatpost and stem

2. The drive train was screwed, the drive side pedal was helio-coiled in place

3. It's my bike, and if swapping out parts is what's going to make it ride-able, at least i'm riding it.

The bike is now built up with a set of 36 hole Phil Wood hubs laced 3x to Mavic Reflex tubulars fixed/fixed with a 18 & 22 tooth phil cog, the cranks are Sugino 75's with a 48 tooth ring mated to a Phil Wood bottom bracket, it has a Nitto Dynamic seatpost topped with a white San Marco rolls saddle, the stem is also a Nitto Dynamic with a NOS set of Cinelli 64's with Dia-comp brake levers (the right side is a dummy lever), the breaking is handled by a Campa Victory front brake, and my water bottle cage is vintage 60's T.A.

I'll be upgrading/swapping out my saddle soon for San Marco Regal in brown suede and I'll be replacing my 18 tooth cog with a 15 and my Sugino ring with a 3RRR "Mighty Pimp" in 46. I also have some Conti Sprinter/Gatorskin Tub's on the way in 22c to replace my crappy Celemente* that are on there now.

*I had a pair of Conti Competition's on there, but I've finally put enough holes in the rear that no matter how much tuffo sealent I put in it had to be replaced. I used my first spare (a used Vittoria Competion) for about a week before I ran over a huge fricking screw, so I switched it out with my other spare and 2 days later I put a huge hole in my sidewall. I'm ridding on some supper crappy Clemente now.

wanted: rucksack

2009-04-29T05:32:00.000-07:00

I love my Arcteryx Bora 50, but it's a little to technical for my Woolrich/Filson/army surplus look. It's also a bit much for an day hike. I have a 1950's musette bag I use for short afternoon hikes. I need (ok perhaps not need, deeply want) something sized between the two. I've been thinking about getting a rucksack, the two I've been eyeing are the smaller Swiss surplus rucksack or the Wander from Duluth. The Swiss sack would be cheaper and has real leather straps and a leather covered bottom, but it's almost impossible to find in the smaller size. The medium and large size both have an internal frame and hip belt, a bit much for what I'm looking for. The Duluth pack is available in a range of colours (I'm partial to navy, something different from my usual tan or olive drab) is made in the US and has a very long respected history. But then again look at the price, $165 bucks is a bit much when there are so many surplus packs to be had for 1/3rd the price, also a bit iffy on the leather patch with the moose on it (I'm a bit of a no logo kinda guy). Sigh... anyone else have any options?

Swiss Rucksack

Duluth Wanderer

pics of the new house

2009-04-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

www.asofterworld.com

2009-04-23T05:51:00.000-07:00

stolen from Questionable Content

2009-04-22T06:06:00.000-07:00

And when it gets a bit warmer

2009-04-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture for a full image, the blogging software cuts the picture in half. Not sure if I'd ever go hiking in a bow tie. A bit twee I know, but without the bow-tie the outfit is a bit Gerbirgsjager. Perhaps the suspenders and bow tie are over kill, dunno yet how I feel.

The shirt is a 1960's Canadian tropical wool army shirt, the braces, belt and shorts are all Filson, Beau-Ties supplied the bow tie. The Puukko and belt pouch are both vintage e-bay finds.

It's still chilly in the White Mountains

2009-04-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

Per a couple of e-mailed requests (just post comments people!) some info on the above outfit. The shirt is a vintage Woolrich chamois cloth, Shorts are Filson double tin, socks are some old kilt hose (I wear Smartwool liner socks under them), tie is a Unas find, the belt pouch is a vintage 1920's geologist pouch (filled with a notebook, mechanical pencil and some maps). The sweater a Barbour storm half-zip. It's a pretty niffty water-proof/wind-proof deal that saw a lot of use this past winter. I first thought that the elbow and shoulder patches were suede but they are something called Alcantara. I've own 2 other Barbour sweaters and this is the only one thats quality has not disappointed me.

Wanted

2009-04-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure which blog I stole this picture from, it had popped up on quite a few. It's from the Fall 2009 collection for J. Crew. I love the shawl collar and pockets. It's hard to see where the cardigan falls on the hips, but I'm hoping it's short hip length. I feel weird about wanting a J. Crew sweater, but here's the deal it's made by Inverallan in Scotland. If you look at the Inverallan website you can pick out any style, knit pattern and colour you want for a custom jobber. So I'd want the same cut as the J. Crew cardigan in natural off-white.

Thrown together with soon to be mine Limmer mid-weights I think I have the beginnings of a Fall outfit to hang out in my barn and smoke my pipe.

See Mom people really do dress this way

2009-04-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

A Restless Transplant

Wheels of Paris Roubaix

2009-04-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

I was talking to my friend Rob about building up a new set of wheels. He's looking for something sturdy and well thought out. I recommended 28-32 White Industries laced up to Mavic Open-Pro's 3 cross with a radial non-drive rear wheel. I'm a big fan of hand built wheels. Running 36 hole Phil Wood hubs laced 3x to Open Pros on my Paramount and White Industries laced to Velocity Aeroheads on my Hot Tubes. The Hot Tubes are 20 hole radial on the front and 28 hole 3x drive & radial non-drive. The 20 hole was a bit of a mistake, I ment to order a 24 hole. I was a bit skeptical of running a 20 hole front, but it survived last year on the Cervelo and has migrated this year over to the Hot Tubes.

I googled some wheels from Paris Roubaix, thinking that the pro's might be running a similar wheel build. It looks like the are mostly running 32 3x front and rear. Not even running light weight hubs (DT*, White or Tune).

What does you all think about handbuilt wheels and spoke patterns?

Stuart O'Grady, 2007

Alessandro Ballan, 2008

Emilien Berges, 2008

*Ok I lied Emilien Berges is running a DT hub, and it's freaking tied and soldered!

2009-04-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all OPEN in now open. The Grand Opening is this April 11th, 7pm. I will not be attending, but make sure to swing by and give some love to the boys.

Une Saison en Enfer

2009-04-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

To many this sunday is Easter to me it's the Queen of the Classics, the Hell of the North, the most brutal of all pro races Paris-Roubaix . This is the race that the pro's love to hate*, and I just plain love.

The P.R. bike is a little different form the bikes used durring the rest of the road season: traditional hand built wheels, wider tyres and longer wheelbases are the norm. Some have tried cantis, cylocross style top leavers, higher handlebars or even placing elastomers in their frames. In the 90's Lemond tried out front suspension, and in 1994 Bianchi with John Museeuw even tried out a full suspension road bike (28 lbs!). The bike was a one off, and Museeuw ended up finnishing 14th due to a blown tyre. According to Robert MacNeil (http://www.campyman.com/) "The bike was only raced once because the bike cost way too much, if I remember it cost a tad over $ 20,000 to produce. Sadly, it was never raced again because GB MG disbanded and Bianchi was no longer sponsoring the team."

Anyone have any thoughts on what new features we might see this year?

*"Paris-Roubaix is bullshit" -Hinault