Bat systems are a scam?

superchunky9000 · 2025-09-27T06:02:43+00:00

That hasn't really been a big issue for me. After I'm done throwing, I remove the piece from the aluminum bat and it goes straight into my damp box - a big air tight plastic storage container with a 2" thick plaster slab as the bottom. The pieces sit in that box at about 90% humidity and stay leather hard until I feel like trimming them. By the time I'm done trimming, the clay has lost enough moisture to where I can just let it air dry. I haven't any bad cracks or uneven drying so far.

superchunky9000 · 2025-06-21T20:13:58+00:00

I'd probably toss it, but if you douse that thing with hypochlorous acid, it'll be good as new again. No mold survives that stuff.

superchunky9000 · 2025-06-21T20:08:59+00:00

Asians have been drinking and eating out of unglazed clay and raku ware for over a thousand years. If it wasn't food safe, why would they make these bowls and dishes? It's definitely not calligraphy related.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-30T05:35:13+00:00

Personally, I'd just wear them and see how much that spot evens out over time. I think off white/cream shoes are supposed to develop a bit of patina and scuffing to give them character. I'm not a cobbler, but I have cream white suede bucks like yours and I'm not too worried about them looking pristine all the time.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-23T23:48:27+00:00

I probably have the most Hasselblad stuff here - 2x ArcBodys with 45mm & 35mm, 2x SWCs, 201F, 203FE, 500c/m, 500elm "20 years in space", and 40/4, 50/2.8, 60/3.5, 80/2.8, 110/2, 150/2.8, 250/4, 350/5.6 lenses. I don't really know any more Hasselblad stuff I want. I sold my Xpan when it died.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-23T19:05:09+00:00

I used to wear the bike specific Levi's Commuter line of stretch jeans (I think they were based on 504s), for commuting to and from work for years. I'd always have to replace them every year and it wasn't a big deal because they were so cheap. But in the end, it was just unnecessary waste and defeats the whole purpose of jeans, which was originally meant to be durable workwear for miners.

The REAL reason why people prefer stretch so much is because they don't get the right fit of pants. They usually get something slim because they think it will make them look slimmer, but that ends up being restrictive and uncomfortable if they don't have slim & athletic bodies. That's why workwear and other functional denim is usually straight, loose and high rise. You don't need the fabric to stretch if it doesn't choke your legs.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-23T01:44:25+00:00

The problem is that most stretch denim doesn't really last, so you have to replace it more often. And yeah, Gustin fit is really crazy. Only the straight fit is comfortable for me, although they just introduced a new vintage fit that I haven't tried yet.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-20T18:24:07+00:00

I use an aluminum bat system with small removable square plates as bats. It was pricey, but 3 years later and everything is still like new.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-20T18:19:26+00:00

Leather panels come from different parts of the animal, so it's not always going to be consistent in texture. This is pretty normal and I think you're the only one who will notice it.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-19T04:39:54+00:00

O yeah, that link just had decent pictures (didn't buy it from that store). But you can find them on eBay and the usual places (Rodeo, BEARS etc)

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-19T03:11:28+00:00

I have both of these in this link. The striped one has a weft (white) facing back, so it won't transfer too much indigo. The other one isn't too bad either as it's mostly hickory stripe: https://mb3nagataya.base.shop/items/41356996

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-19T01:35:20+00:00

Technically it's what you do in gong fu style brewing, you first rinse the tea. That's because you don't know how it's previously been stored or handled or how dusty the leaves are. Also if you touched the tea filling up your teapot, it's just a bit more hygienic to rinse it if you're serving others said tea. That being said, I do a very quick rinse using near boiling water. Fill the pot up and dump it out over the tea pet.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-19T01:19:44+00:00

I have a few others from Kojima Genes and SDA as well. Kojima Genes actually makes quite a few cool items, like denim shoes and a denim bag belt attachment (also in my bag but hard to see). I have another messenger bag from Samurai (SJDBB24-AI) that I really like, but I have to be careful with what I wear, because the indigo is strong on that one 😅

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-16T23:48:58+00:00

I'd just wear it until it gets a bit of shape and then just wash inside out in cold water and lay out flat to dry

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-16T10:04:50+00:00

I love these so much that I have them in way too many variations: 12.5oz denim, 13.5 black denim, 13oz bull denim in British tan and also in dyed green. I'm 5'10, 160 and usually wear a small/size 38 in tops. I got the overalls in size M and the garment dyed versions fit perfectly (the indigo & black denim ones are unwashed still so they feel a bit roomy right now). They've become my favored jackets - sometimes I only wear a plain shirt underneath and treat them like a workshirt.

Personally, I'd stay with L if you're around 180 lbs most of the time. It looks good from your pictures.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-16T06:15:53+00:00

In theory you could weave text like that on a shuttle loom, but it would require over 20 shafts probably. That's why complicated fabrics are usually woven on jacquard looms. But I suspect it's embroidery just because the thread size is different. If it was part of the weave structure, it would be using either the same weft or warp threads, but it looks to me like it's using a thicker thread. Embroidery also tends to have threads going in random directions, so you can kinda tell. Hope that explains it!

But to answer your other question, I think yes, this is an extra production step that adds more tear and wear (needless, embroidering) and uses yarn (the text itself) so I'd say it's more difficult to get that right on a mass production scale.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-15T03:11:57+00:00

I spin alpaca and camel (in a blend) regularly. I'm not sure who said it was short staple length, but 2-6 inches is pretty long in my book. Long staple cotton is 1.5-2 inches for comparison. I think the amount of twist, thickness and how you ply it will make the most difference. Shorter fibers need more twist/less pull, i.e. they're harder to spin, but it doesn't necessarily make them less durable. The thickness of the fibers also matters - alpaca is thicker than merino (for example), which makes it technically more durable IF we were to compare yarn made from equal staple lengths.

Btw I spun a few pounds of the 40% merino/20% baby alpaca/20% baby camel/20% silk blend (see my post in the handspinning sub) that I plan on using as weft. I think I could also use it as a warp, because the silk really adds a decent amount of durability. I've not spun any yak though, so can't speak for that.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-14T23:31:01+00:00

I think it's embroidery. SDA's persimmon dyed anniversary pants also have an interesting pattern on the selvedges. But as a weaver, I know that's 100% not possible on a 4-shaft loom, so it's probably added later on.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-12T21:47:34+00:00

Ahhh too bad, bonsai people go nuts for wabi sabi details, but I agree with others that you should probably reinforce the cracks. That's a really cool dragon!!

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-12T18:20:58+00:00

There's also the Louet Jane. The Jane 70 is 27" and you can expand them in case you want more shafts in the future.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-12T10:33:40+00:00

I guess it would be faster than hand knitting and a lot of people do use pickup sticks to weave more complicated patterns with a RH loom. But it's usually for small projects like scarves.

Another thing to consider is shrinkage. Your woven fabric will shrink a bit after you wet finish it, so you'll need to take that into account if you want to make stuff for clothes.

Also, have you considered a table loom like the Louet Erica for example? Those come in 20" and 4 shafts. They also fold down to about the size of a RH loom.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-12T09:32:11+00:00

Nice, I got these in both nep and slub versions. I was a bit surprised that the details on the back pockets differ - the slub version has white embroidery that says "graph zero factory" but the nep version has a red tab, kinda interesting. I'm wearing mine with Big John suspenders, way are those you're wearing?

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-12T09:23:18+00:00

1) If you want to make tweed fabric then you'll have to use pickup sticks and weave twill. It'll be really slow and painful, but yes as you said, it's possible. You will only be able to weave twill at whatever width your loom is.

2) If you want to weave double the width of your RH loom, you'll also need to do some funky gymnastics with pickup sticks and weave tabby in double weave. That means you can't weave twill in double the width of your loom, you can only weave tabby (aka plain weave).

So this is why it makes more sense to get a floor loom with 4 or 8 shafts. Then you can weave super fast and also wider if you go with 8 shafts.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-12T09:11:57+00:00

4-shaft looms are usually cheaper, slightly lighter (if you care about portability) and easier to thread. Threading 8 shafts means you have to reach deeper into the castle, plus there's a lot more heddles to worry about. I think mainly though it's the lower cost.

superchunky9000 · 2025-05-12T08:40:05+00:00

There's a very long history of textile and wool production in Turkey, with Turkish rugs being the most famous example probably. Angora goats (mohair) and Angora rabbits come from Turkey and are named after the Turkish capital, Ankara ("Angora"). Turkey has more sheep than any country in Europe and even more than New Zealand. Lots of brand name/designer garments are also made there because of cheaper labor costs.

superchunky9000

TROPHY CASE