This post has nothing to do with woodworking. But it has everything to do with the way that I approach life. So if you are one of the people who appreciated “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” read on. Otherwise, there’s nothing to see here.
I don’t buy a lot of stuff. Basically, I wear stuff until it falls off of me or breaks. I still have sweatshirts, jackets and vests from high school – and I graduated in 1986. So durability is important to me. Here are some of the things I really like.
Pointer Jeans: I wear blue jeans every day. I hope to be buried in them. While there are lots of stupidly expensive domestic blue jeans out there, you can’t beat Pointer jeans. This company is almost 100 years old, operates out of Tennessee and produces outstanding jeans at the same price as the imported stuff.
I have their slim cut jeans and carpenter’s jeans. Awesome stuff. Fits great. Looks great. Wears like iron.
Red Wing shoes: You can still get good shoes that are made in the United States and are designed for real work. I have a pair of Red Wing boots that are simply awesome. The Maine company has a less-expensive Chinese line of shoes, but those don’t interest me.
American Apparel: For me, this is the Lie-Nielsen of the T-shirt world. This California company defies every stereotypical business model and produces fantastic clothing at reasonable prices. Half of my clothing – T-shirts, sweatshirts, underwear – is American Apparel. We have a retail store here in Cincinnati, and it amuses me greatly to shop there. All the employees and customers are college hipsters, except me. I don’t care. It’s comfortable, made well and well-priced.
Orient watches: Confession time. I’m a watch whore. I love mechanical watches, as opposed to the quartz battery-powered stuff. I have some old 1960s-era Hamilton watches that I love, but nothing – nothing – beats an Orient watch. These Japanese-made mechanical watches are durable, priced well and beat the pants off all the European stuff. I think they are better than the Swiss movements. Orient has a long history of making mechanical movements, and the company weathered the quartz movement while other makers shuttered their doors or switched to making digital crap.
Saddleback Leather: Pretty much everything I want in a commercial good is embodied by the Saddleback Leather company. This family-run operation makes incredible leather goods of the highest quality and at reasonable prices. My wallet, shoulder bag, laptop case and suitcase are all Saddleback. They know how to make stuff. They know how to treat customers. Enough said.
— Christopher Schwarz
Ha! Proud fan and owner of Orient watches since 1st grade myself. Awesome in all respects!
Perhaps, for luggage, you should check out http://www.redoxx.com , a Montana based , all made by hand luggage company. Lifetime warranty, and railroad worker tough ( and we literally LIVE out of our suitcases for days on end )…. I just recently bought a ” grip ” and messenger bag from them and it has thoroughly impressed me….
Red Wing is a Minnesota company. Worx is the Chinese-manufactured boot–still good, but the real deal is an outrageously well-made boot. They also make the Irish Setter and Vasque brands, though I don’t know where.
The handsewn collection from Red Wing are made in Maine. I’m not sure about any of the others.
Still a Minnesota company, I double-checked (never know where stuff ends up these days).
I have nothing against Minnesota, but I care very little where a corporation is headquartered. I do care very much where they are actually made, and that particular line of shoes are made in Maine.
I have nothing against Maine, just was agreeing with minntc that Red Wing is from Minnesota, rather than Maine as the article suggests.
I’m going to have to try those jeans.
And my Red Wings have lasted twenty years and have been resoled four or five times.
(And I think I may be buried in them!)
Good article Chris.
Love my Saddleback and my Redwings! The watch looks nice but I haven’t worn one since middle school. I tell time by he sun and can usually guess within an hour. Night’s tougher but it’s only a couple of hours (love The Cosmo).
Good for you! I’m the same, I try to buy as much of my stuff made in Canada or the USA… As less as possible from china!
Cheers
David
I’ve got some Vasque boots. Great stuff. If you hike near anything resembling a rock, you need a good leather upper. Vasque hikers have that, plus have a good sticky tread and provide stability.
If memory serves, Vasque is made by Red Wing.
Since Orient is owned by Seiko-Epson and Citizen, it does not seems a raelly good anarchist choice.
I try to buy American whenever I can — especially for food, clothes and tools — and try to encourage my friends and family to do the same, but it’s a tough sell at times since everyone is addicted to buying on price alone — but leading by example seems to be the best way to make progress on this. Keep up the good work.
How’s about a recommendation for a chisel roll? I’ve been through a few of them…. stitching comes out too often. What are you using that will hold up? Thanks! 🙂
I like the ones from Blue Spruce. They travel well. Dave Jeske told me his daughter is going to make another run of them this summer. So send him an e-mail and let him know you are interested.
Thanks Chris….not sure why this posted twice, though! 🙂
CC Filson, has some of the best sportswear for the outdoor enthusiast. I have had my wool and moleskin vests for about 10 years and they still look great. My moleskin shirt is more than 15 years old and still has all the buttons and no holes or tears and has probably been washed 500 times.
Red Wings are a no-brainer. Best value in boots/shoes around.
+1 on Saddleback. Their stuff can become an obsession, for both sides of a marriage. At this point, my wife has more of their stuff than I do. This may be the first Schwarz recommendation that pleases the WASP (Wives’ Against Schwarz Purchases) contingent.
diamoond gusset jeans is a good american made jean company. i have been very happy with all that i have tried from them.
and
if you like good boots made to fit, then you can look no farther than russell moccasin company out of wisconsin. best boots i have ever had, and i have tried redwings, carolinas, and wolverines, and a few others.
I’ve gotta plug Steger in Ely Minn. I might be the only guy in Las Vegas to own a pair of mukluks! 🙂 I love ’em, and believe it or not, in winter on Mt. Charleston it’s cold enough to wear them. Had a pair of Lowa Civetta Extreme double boots and my feet froze in them. Never a problem with Stegers. I’d like to get a pair of their Apache moccasins.
How’s about a recommendation of a chisel roll? All the ones I’ve used keep losing their stitching after a while.
It’s been such a warm winter that I forgot one more: Schott NYC.
http://www.schottnyc.com/
Great U.S.-made leather jackets. I own the 585 and love it.
++1 on saddleback. Stuff is ridiculously good and I covet dang near anything on the site. They owner is definitely obsessive about his products and its shows. I almost thought about seeing if they could do a chisel roll of some kind, but I realize that leather is heavy, and a chisel roll made by them would probably weigh as much as the chisels stored inside.
Brian,
I have had good luck with the Lie-Nielsen leather tool rolls. Mine have stood up to years of hard living.
Red Wing is indeed Minnesota, not Maine. Red Wing is a really neat town if you ever get out to Minnesota. I got married there!
More and more of the Red Wing line is imported. Boots I bought a couple of years ago were USA made, but are now from China. I expressed my dissappointment. The really nice premium boots and some of the “traditional” styles are still USA, but it seemed well over half of the Red Wing, and all of the Worx, Irish Setter, and Vasque were not. They still seem like very well made boots, it just frustrates me when an iconic USA company sells out to the “market demands”. I ended up with an imported version of my previously American made boots for my summer boots. We’ll see how that works out. My insulated waterproof boots are still the USA made 2412’s. Those are the best I’ve ever owned. I’m on my 3rd pair.
My Grandfather said:
Wood and Leather gain Honorable Scars – plastics and metals scratch.
In true Schwartzite Anarchist fashion, I’d like to point out that made in America isn’t all it’s cracked up to be anymore. I think “Made by people who give a Damn” might be a better label. I’ve gotten some pretty crappy tools from big outfits (Sears deserves to be on the brink of bankruptcy for the drop in quality of their “made in USA” Craftsman tools) that were ostensibly made in the US, but weren’t any better than their Chinese counterparts. While I understand that it is better to buy American made in the big picture, I have to wonder what’s the point in the long run if we try to win the race-to-the-bottom with manufacturers overseas.
Can we PLEASE get Manufacturer tags that say “Made by people who give a Damn” ?!??!!
How does using Swietenia macrophylla and Tectona grandis fit with this wholesome approach to life?
I don’t like exotics. I almost never use them. But when I go for authenticity, I’m going to begrudgingly use the stuff. You ever seen infills made from maple? I have. Ugh.
I’m not happy about this, and I’m trying to use stuff that has been harvested responsibly as much as possible. And I’m going to make something that will last for a long time — not some veneered lobby of a high-rise that will be torn out in 10 years. Individual furniture makers are a drop in the bucket compared to the millwork factories.
That’s my rationalization and how I live with myself.
I appreciate knowing your thoughts, Chris.
This is a thorny issue for woodworkers, especially those with an environmental conscience, as even with the required documentation in place it’s difficult, nay impossible to be certain of where, how and by whom some exotic timbers – especially these two – have been harvested. Personally, I would look for alternative species unless using recycled timber. It’s not as though these pieces you’re making are going on military campaigns in the tropics, is it? If you’re writing a book on the subject encouraging others to build this kind of furniture (which will probably stand in the living room at home) I suggest researching the use of alternative, less environmentally compromising materials.
Regarding authenticity, back in the day when this stuff was made, the makers were largely ignorant or careless of the damaging effects of felling these trees. Now we know better and care more. Does being authentic with a reproduction antique have to mean reproducing the old ignorance and carelessness?
Thank you for replying.
Checked out Saddlebacks’s FAQ.
http://www.saddlebackleather.com/Questions.html
Interesting way they have you choose color.
So Chris what color are you?
http://www.acontinuouslean.com/the-american-list/
Though this list is aim at a stylish young audience, it just so happens that Classic and Well-Made is very fashionable right now.
Another thumbs up for Redoxx. Also, in a somewhat different vein, Santana Cycles. Builders of the best multi-rider bicycles (tandems, triples, and up….) in the world. And WigWam socks. Love ’em.
Is your camera a G12? I like its compactness and look. From a distance it looks a tad like a Leica. Does it autofocus continuously when taking movies? Surprisingly the Rebel T3i does not. Canon makes a black leather case, but I’ve not seen color you have. Who made it?
It is a G12. It doesn’t have continuous autofocus, I’m afraid.
The case is from eBay. Very reasonable and well made.
Yep,Filson bags and belts are great; have to look for the Saddleback stuff now too. Consider also Bills Khakis for when you must go one up from the jeans and Niel M shoes of Wynne AR – neat loafers.
How do you explain your Vovlo fetish, Chris? 😉
Check out Rivendell Bicyles out of Walnut Creek, CA. (www.rivbike.com) They offer a bunch of Made in USA products under the brand name “MUSA.” The owner/founder, Grant Petersen is your counterpart over there and his take on cycling is refreshing in our post-Lance world.
We can go broke saving money. Does saving 20 bucks on a product made in China really save us anything in the long run? Quality costs money but junk costs more.
When you are back up this way, check out the Hartford Denim Company. Our local paper (the Hartford Courant) had a nice story on them. I emailed the writer to say he ought to profile Horton Brasses, but he never responded.
I think it is worthwhile to point out that American Apparel’s founder and the organization in general has a long history of apparently harassing female employees and discriminating against various classes of people (any one who doesn’t meet very specific standards of physical appearance).
These stories appear in a wide variety of places, but you can find most of them in some form at gawker.com/american-apparel.
As a result, AA is on my “never ever buy or wear” list.
I went to the American Apparel to look at their t-shirts, and got quite a surprise; the site is a bit pornographic with some of their clothes models. Quite a shock when you are looking to buy t-shirts. Perhaps it should coming with a warning for unsuspecting customers.
Will have to try Pointer Jeans. Love Saddleback. Also a watch whore, but I like digital crap.
Other recommendations for good US products that last and last: Bills Khakis are awesome. Tom Bihn for computer/travel bags. Saddleback is just too much sometimes (not money necessarily, but bulk).