Tuesday 27 September 2011

SINGER 47W70 DARNING - REPAIR MACHINE


Ive been Hunting for this machine for a few months - Super Happy!, as one of these bad boys just arrived by my desk. and its a real beauty ! Can't wait to get it up and running. Its a 1914 Singer 47W70 Darning Machine !

This is one of holy grail machines for Darning / Repair, and you can see why. Check out a video our friends at Self Edge, New York with their Machine.
Above Video (C) Self Edge

Also below Jason Denham next to his 47W70 in his new
DENHAM SERVICE CO
(much respect Jason!) Two images below (C) JASON DENHAM


Having just got my machine, i also hunted down the Instructions. To Stop Nasty Companies from charging for photocopied and badly scanned instructions, ive uploaded my set. Heres a link of a few Pdfs for the instructions ive collected. This way hopefully no one will not need to spend any additional money. Just Cut and Paste the link, Enjoy:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GSAE6F2R


Friday 2 September 2011

BRANDING IRONS


(C) MOHSIN SAJID - KUFIC NAME LEATHER PATCH LOGO


I alway said if i made a leather patch, i would like it branded with a real branding iron. - no compromise. This way i could use my our leathers, resulting in the ultimate branded patch. I always wanted a real one, just like our friends at Lee, and modern counterparts like: Mark Westmoreland.

Top image (C) Lee Jeans, Bottom image (C) Mark Westmoreland / OKI-NI Ltd
Theres nothing more satisfying or super dangerous as branding something... and in my personal opinion, all jeans should be branded in some way, its the heritage, and apart of the DNA of a the jean...


(C) Mark Westmoreland
(C) R by 45RPM
To my surprise there are many ways to get this process done, Cheap and Super Expen$ive.
There are alot of sellers on ebay, selling branding iron sets, each letter and number, so you could just buy the letters /numbers you want, off you go... plus lots of BBQ sets, which you can have personalised messages, ( ment for steaks but very easily just use it for denim patches)... quite funny and practical.

Source: Ebay
I just wanted my logo - in metal, So i could do it my self. I looked into a number of options, Denim label manufactures, like: Landes, Okinawa - which i have used a number of times, but all have high minimums, and not so good for a super small runs... To get an old school branding iron made, it was possible, found a few local craftsmen, who were willing... would set me back about 300-500GBP, as it would be either be made by hand, or done with computer cutting tool... Then you have the hassle of heating the iron up, making sure you don't get hurt in the process... I needed something safe, with out the hassle of setting up a BBQ or sitting next to the gas stove.
Then i came across: http://www.brandingirons.com/ check out the video it sold me:
(C) Branding Irons Unlimited
Super simple, would be under statement, Spoke with the sales rep Mark a number of times on email, sent him over my Illustrator ai design, in 2 sizes, ( mens and womens) agreed price, paid via Visa - simple ! i had my branding iron 3 weeks later via DHL...

(C) Branding Irons Unlimited
The results speak for them selfs, heres my 1st leather patch, made with a Electric Custom Branding Iron:
(C) MOHSIN SAJID - KUFIC NAME LEATHER PATCH LOGO
If anyones interested in making such a branding iron give Mark a shout.

Mark Smith (Sales Representative)
Branding Irons Unlimited
8577 Canoga Ave.
Canoga Park, CA 91304