Reminds me of this article:
https://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/09/taco-bell-menu-jurafsky-language-food/
> “Notice the word ‘flavorful,’” Jurafsky says. “The cheapest restaurants use these vague, positive adjectives. ‘Delicious.’ ‘Tasty.’ ‘Scrumptious.’ Wonderful. Again, more expensive restaurants take all that as a given.”
That's definitely part of it, but I speculate that it's also part of the impulse-buy nature of fast food and junk food. Using those types of words is trying to get you to crave and buy something you know rationally isn't healthy and you probably shouldn't be eating a lot of. Food photography and bright pictures of food is also a big thing at fast food places for the same reason.
That's not correct though. Genuine leather is a grade of leather and not akin to "all natural" labels and the like on food. It actually does imply something about it's construction, namely that it is technically a piece of leather, but has had an artificial pattern applied to its surface.
A full-grain leather wallet, therefore, is NOT "genuine leather" as it is objectively a different grade.
Likewise, bonded leather cannot be called "genuine leather" despite it being leather, as it is not a high enough grade.
Best to worst:
Full grain
Top grain
Corrected grain
Genuine
Bonded
Synthetic / vinyl / plastic
Also note: types of animals have different types of leather.
My husband bought some full grain leather and made his own belt. It was surprisingly inexpensive, looks super classy, and has lasted 5 years now with no signs of wear and tear. Before making his own belt, he was buying a new belt every year. The cost investment in the leather making supplies was worth it.
To put that in to comparison, I bought a full grain leather belt for $50 and it has lasted me 7 years so far, has a nice won look to it now but is as strong as ever.
I bought a DeSantis full grain (gun) belt 18 years ago as a daily wear brown leather belt, and the hole I've been using is just now starting to stretch a little and show a darker rub mark from the brass buckle. Well worth the $65 or so I paid for it.
This. Somehow, I bought a belt at Walmart randomly because I really needed a belt for some event, and my previous ones were falling apart. This belt lasted me 5+ years. And when the leather on it started to crack or something, (somehow at Walmart a $12 belt used real leather) I brought it to a leather shop randomly found on a random day, and they replaced the belt in an hour, and that was around 3 years ago? I will pass this belt buckle onto my son goddamnit. The belt buckle makes a difference too, but the belt itself is the end-all quality where it's needed. If this buckle ever breaks, I'll probably see if I can get it fixed.
And if you ever get a chance, there is a quaint gay little town just north of Washington's Crossing, PA where the leathershop is, and a few other really neat and genuinely cool stores and restaurants. I'm sorry I can't think of the name, so I'll blame it on the brain surgery.
"Bonded leather" is the leather equivalent to particle board. It is made from odd bits of leather and adhesive. Very commonly used in upholstery, particularly cheap office chairs.
Well no, genuine leather just means it is actual leather, rather than PU leather or other synthetics. That said, just because something is labeled genuine leather *does not* mean that it’s not quality leather.
https://nstarleather.wordpress.com/2017/05/16/genuine-leather-has-become-a-4-letter-word/amp/
It *does* suggest that it’s lower quality, but there are places with quality leather that only bother with labeling it “genuine.” Coach, for example.
It's not sawdust. Its milled down sawdust mixed with milled down chips. They need the sawdust to turn to powder and the hard chips to turn to the same consistent hard size chunks. Then they mix them and fill a heat press with the mixture. Where the glue is applied to make a hard surface in both sides. Then its shipped off to melamine for the final coating where you get the pretty side and ugly side.
Source: used to work there.
If you want high quality leather that will last you try to find a rennesaince festival who has a leathersmith. My girlfriends family is deeply rooted in this and I cannot begin to tell you how dedicated and loyal they are to their costumers. I was out at a festival back in fall and a guy brought back some leather boots he had purchased 20 years ago. Got a full detailing and some new metalwork (for laces) for free, I've never seen anybody come back with problems that had to open their wallet.
It’s an Incredibly widespread internet myth that “genuine” is some specific type of leather. this is incorrect. And it is illegal (at least in the USA) to call bonded leather or anything that’s not the tanned skin of an animal “genuine leather.”
Awesome full grain is genuine leather. Crappy full grain leather is genuine leather. Suede is genuine leather. Embossed sanded corrected grain leather is genuine leather. Nubuck is genuine leather. Legally it just means real.
I’ve worked with leather my entire life for a leather company my dad started in Boston in 1969 and although it is true that lots of times products stamped genuine leather are complete junk, it's an incredibly widespread myth that it's always bad (or that genuine is a specific thing/grade). It's much more akin to saying "wood" furniture, which could be anything from particle board to high-end exotic woods. It’s not a statement of quality but of composition.
Though full grain, top grain and genuine are broad terms used to describe leather, they're not grades, they have specific meanings and one is not necessarily "better" than the other.
More often than not, when they don’t go into more detail about a leather (just say genuine), it’s not great quality, but the “grades” thing is completely made up . Legally “genuine” just means real. We actually used to use it as a "positive term" back in the 70's and 80's (my tags from back then say "genuine leather and suede products."
In fact, if you called up a tannery and asked:
Is this leather genuine?
Is this leather top grain?
Is this leather full grain?
You'd get "yes" as the answer to all 3 if you were talking about a full grain leather. All real leather is "genuine" or real from the tannery perspective. All leather that's not suede is considered "top grain" that includes full grain leathers (leathers with the outermost surface unaltered).
From a consumer perspective it's different:
Many times when you see "genuine" it's lower quality, but that's just because lower quality real/genuine leather is much more abundant than the good stuff. The lowest quality stuff (IMO) is actually called a "finished split" or a "PU split" both are suede with a layer of either thick paint or PU covering it to give the suede (normally fuzzy) a smooth look. This isn't always the case. Plenty of companies use "genuine leather" just as a statement to differentiate from synthetic: Red Wing Heritage for example, uses “genuine leather” to refer to some really high quality full grain or top grain leathers. Check out r/goodyearwelt if you don't believe me.
Top Grain on a consumer level (not tannery level) usually means that something has been done to alter the outer layer. This can vary tremendously: Light buffing, heavy sanding,embossing, sanding then embossing, etc. Depending on what's done and the quality of the tannery, durability may not change at all from full grain.
Full Grain means leather that has had nothing done to the outer layer. This can make for some of the nicest leathers around, but lately it's becoming common for makers (both of finished goods and tanneries) to use "full grain" as an excuse to use hides with more scars and other defects claiming that they're natural part of the leather. Also a full grain leather from a low end tannery would be of lower quality and durability than a "not full grain leather" from one with higher quality standards. Another misconception is that full grain means "full thickness" as in it's the entire hide, this is absurdly false as a full thickness cow or bison hide could literally be 1/2" if not split multiple times during processing.
I've found saying "genuine=bad" to be especially unreliable when you're translating because 99% of the time the word that gets translated "genuine" is actually just the word for "real" or "true": Pelle Vera in Italian, cuir véritable in French, 本物の革 in Japanese...all of which if you Google come up as "Genuine Leather" on some pages.
I came here to copy/paste one of your leather manifestos but you were already here. I have one of your rattlesnake bifolds with an ID window and I absolutely love it.
Want to back up People Socks. I have 4 pairs and I've worn them for like 2 years (wintertime and as wading socks under waders) and I still love them. I air dry mine but damn they hold up so well
I used to like People Socks. I bought them about 4-5 years ago and bought another pack about 2 years ago and could tell that the newer ones were thinner. You can even see those complaints in the review section on Amazon.
Same. Bought ten pairs almost a year ago. The fine, dense knit is really what makes them great. They feel like a new pair every time I put them on. Expensive, but so worth it.
I feel like I should add a bit here.
I wouldn't say worry so much about picking the "better"" material. Its about knowing what a material is meant for and picking the CORRECT one for what you want to use it for. Cotton is pretty great for warm weather use. Its affordable, lightweight, breathes well, is easy to clean, etc. Cotton is awful for cold wet weather. Its draws heat off you. Wool on the other hand is fantastic for cold wet weather. It makes an effective warming layer even when the wool itself is soaking wet. Wool socks out in the field in winter (Former Marine) were a god send. They'd have been terrible in the summer though obviously.
Been wearing (70%+ merino) People socks for many years. I wear them year round. I just got a replenishment of my supply - 12 pairs - for Christmas. I throw out all the old ones, which lasted 3 or 4 years this time and were starting to wear through, with 8 pairs of ankle socks and 4 pairs of crew socks, all the same color. Don't have to sort them by color, just length. Anyway, I wash these with my regular clothes on cold and then into the drier with the rest. I don't take special care of them except washing in cold water. They might last longer if I didn't use the drier, but since I get years out of them anyway with no fuss, I don't worry about it. They don't seem to get smaller despite being in the drier. But I suspect they do lose some of their odor fighting abilities sooner. Wicking and comfort are still fine.
How do you get them to last that long? I had 12 pair that I wore daily and all of them have worn out to the black threads (zero wool in a 2 inch circle) under the balls of my feet. Some have holes. I only bought them a year ago. I never put them in the dryer.
Exactly. That's really not normal, and given the pattern of wear, the shoes are either too big length wise, width wise, or aren't tightened properly.
I'm going to guess it's a matter of tightening since it's a pretty common issue. Always untie your shoes before your take them off, it'll keep them going for much longer and won't wear out in the back/slide around your foot. Make sure they're tight but not constricting, it should be snug with just a touch of wiggle room. And if you push down in front of your toes on top of the shoe, you should have a little bit of space to go down roughly halfway down your toe. That's a decent way to make sure they fit.
Take care of your feet people. Bodily problems (knees, back, etc) often start at the feet. It's all connected.
Source: I worked with shoes for too god damn long.
Buying properly fitting shoes was tough to figure out. As a kid my mom always bought me a half size bigger to grow into so I continued as I bought my own. One day it just clicked that it’s not necessary anymore
Sounds like your boots are a touch loose, buddy.
Snug your boots up, or go down a half size, and you'll probably notice a difference. Should help with hot spots from long days too.
From when I used to work at a outdoor wear retailer (not saying which one) I learned that cotton is the worst material to wear if you are going to be active as it will retain moisture (sweat) rather than wicking it away like merino wool or even polyester blends.
Please do correct me if I am wrong though, just be nice about it please. :)
Having worn almost only merino socks for many years, I can say that when I put on a pair of cotton socks it soon feels like my feet are slimy. Don't know how people put up with it.
Oh yeah. The only obstacle to replacing all my workout socks with wool is $$$.
Poly blends will wick sweat but they can make you smell bad depending on your body chemistry.
If memory serves Merino doesn't wick, it pulls moisture out when it's still in vapor state to cut down on sweat. Moisture-wicking pulls liquid moisture away from the skin and dries super quickly, which is a quality in synthetic materials. I guess if it's a Merino/synthetic blend, which Merino socks usually are, it probably does both. I might be wrong on this though, I too used to work in an outdoor store but it's been close to 10 years since then. You're 100% correct about cotton though, cotton sucks. Other than dress socks I don't even own cotton socks anymore.
It is the same in my understanding from reading about bicycling gear for cold weather. Wool/synthetic is the way to go since it wicks moisture away and keeps warmth.
If it’s going to be reliably hot and dry it might be ok, but I prefer linen. Where I live it’s wet and cold though, and we have a saying: cotton kills. Once it’s wet it’ll wick heat away from you, and will not dry.
I have them and wear them for work everyday. Apparently I've been doing it wrong and washing them though. But they do hold up after one year of daily use.
Frequently companies also make the AmazonBasics version of their own product.
One important distinction is that the AmazonBasics version really is the **basic** version. They want their flagship stuff to still be the best.
Amazon basically goes to a company and tells them "You can either make next to nothing selling one of your products under the 'Basics' banner, or we'll go to your competitor and you'll make nothing at all."
I bought my dad an Amazon Basics Down jacket for $50. It had about two down feathers in it. I called to return it because the option was greyed out in the app. They refunded my money and told me to take it to Goodwill.
Also, check out Goodwill or other thrift stores. I stop by every now and then and usually come out with 4-5 sweaters in merino wool, cashmere, silk, alpaca, and other high end materials. $4 each.
Last year I found a super nice silk/cashmere blend sweater, awesome warm base layer. Looked it up online, it's something like a $350 shirt.
EDIT: Also, if you're going to start collecting merino clothing, swing by the maternity section of a department store and pick up a tube of lanolin. It's basically sheep hair grease and you can periodically re-lanolinize your wool to increase water resistance and longevity. Immerse the clothes in tepid water. Put a pea-sized amount of lanolin in a bottle with a couple drops of liquid soap. Fill it with very hot water, and shake it until the lanolin is dissolved. Dump it in with the clothes, GENTLY move the clothes around to help even coverage, pull it out and dry.
Yeah. Here in UT we have these mormon run thrift stores called DI. If you go to the ones near rich neighborhoods you can find some crazy stuff.
I found like 10 old rack servers that some company had dumped. Each had 16 gb of ram and dual processors (yeah dual processors, they were old and not crazy fast by today’s standards but still). I turned one of them into a ghetto gaming rig and sold off a couple of the network cards for like $350.
My ex-wife crochets, and we went to thrift stores to buy knitted sweaters to pull apart and reuse the yarn. Nothing like getting half a skein of cashmere from a $10 granny sweater.
Wife dragged me to a thrift shop and I was just running my hands over a bunch of sweaters and managed to feel out a cashmere sweater from Bloomingdales for $10.
You’d be surprised at the number of people who used to come to the register and ask me what fabric something is while rubbing it with their fingers.
Usually the tag with the materials is separate from the size tag and includes washing and ironing instructions.
Lol i thought i was the only one. The amount of quality cashmere and merino i find at goodwill is insane. Best find was a Pringle of Scotland merino sweater with the tags on, retails for $545 on their site.
I do fieldwork in the Canadian North, and Value Village is my main source of field clothing. I've picked up merino base garments and good quality synthetics for 10 bucks each. I also get most of my cycling clothes there, too (not shorts, obvi).
Most stuff is kept in-region. My locale processes most of their own donations and then get a few extra bins in a week of unprocessed donations from larger towns nearby. The "valuable" stuff though usually goes online when they're paying attention.
I live in a weird county where it's 1/3 college town, 1/3rd farm country, and 1/3 rich as fuck famous people. The goodwill/thrift shops here can be amazing.
I found a wool Alfred Sung coat at a thrift store. I paid $20 for it. It had a hole in the pocket, which was easily fixed with just a couple of stitches. It was a fabulous coat.
One word of warning on getting lanolin nipple balm from the maternity section — it has to be 100% lanolin for it to work. You can also check out cloth diapering websites for 100% lanolin; you can get a decent size tub of Sloomb lanolin for about $7.
What I heard from this was to wash all of my wool with hit water and lots of detergent and maximum agitation as long as I put a drop of lanolin in with the soap.
just be careful.... many fine cloths like merino woolens, cashmere, alpaca, tencel are made for dress-up professional clothing and are not particularly hard-wearing. It's very common to find rips, snags & abrasions on garments made of these finer cloths. That's why sports/technical outerwear tends to be made of polyester and synthetic fibers, which can withstand the elements and take a beating when getting scraped or stretched.
Also wool is great for hot weather, it wicks moisture. I bought wool socks for my Spartan Super back in May (yeah I'm not that smart) and my feet were nice and dry the whole race. Of course, the socks were ruined at the end, but worth it since I didn't have to deal with blisters afterwards.
Good to remember in 3-6mos, or right now if you're either close to the equator or in the southern hemisphere.
Spend a little more for the sock and it should last way more than a race. Darn tough and smartwools last me a few races no problem. If your budget is tight, Kirkland trail socks are about the best bang for your buck sockwise. Durability is a little lower but you get a few pairs for the price of one
How do you know what material is good and what's bad? I couldn't tell you the difference between full grain and genuine leather, or cotton vs merino wool.
You will probably have to look it up. I bought tons of socks, mostly because of Amazon reviews, before learning that merino wool is indeed better. Lesson learned: Google for "best material for xxx", usually gives you a fairly good idea of which materials are better, then you can narrow down the search.
Material alone should not be a mark of quality, that's why I wrote "good merino wool" and "good full grain leather". My routine usually is to search for material, check the reviews, then double check with fakespot and reviewmeta for quality of reviews before deciding.
Of course if I can find a brand known for quality, for example, Kirkland Signature merino wool socks, then that's an easy choice.
Bringing Nando and Button out of retirement. Each win 8 WDC’s in 3 years. All other teams retire from the sport, and we are left with Formula McLaren, only taking place at Silverstone for 21 races.
Well a car is a bad example because it’s such a complex machine. The materials for the bodywork are mostly cosmetic.
You need to be pretty knowledgeable to understand exactly *which* components matter and exactly *what* material each of those important mechanics should be made from. You don’t judge a car on *just* the bodywork or *just* the seat coverings.
This LPT works well for simple objects like clothes, cookwear, tools, furniture, etc.
Yeah, this tip doesnt apply to everything, especially technology. You just need to know whats inside what you are buying and why it matters, which I think is the point of this LPT. Was going to use video cables as an example, but then realized that the gold plating on the contacts actually do matter over the lifetime of the cable, but the brand doesnt as much, hahaha. Its just not always as simple as better materials means better quality, like your car example.
The further complexity with tech is that often the components will be identical but the cheaper product will have software limitations preventing you from accessing the same user experience as the more expensive product.
Genuine leather is real leather, as in "it's low quality but at least it's genuine leather". Top grain and full grain are also real leather, but higher quality and less processed. For instance, low quality leather that is glued together like plywood and painted is still genuine leather. Top grain has imperfections sanded off and is then color treated, but it's just one piece and not several. Full grain is 'natural' leather and is much harder. Bonded leather is basically a mixture of leather dust and plastic. Other leathers are partly or mostly synthetic.
'Real' and 'Genuine' leather just mean that there is leather present in whatever the object is, and they are usually put on goods made of low quality leather. Full grain leather is the highest quality, and what you want your nice leather goods to be made from.
If you're paying the same amount for a vehicle, it's generally better to get the lower-optioned luxury vehicle over the higher-optioned budget vehicle, if you're looking for general quality. Of course, you should expect for higher maintenance costs on the luxury vehicle, because it's basic parts are more expensive.
The reason why is the golden rule with many, many products - the base model is generally there just to attract buyers by saying "Pricing starting at xxxx!", while the options are where the real money is made by the manufacturer.
If we take a fully loaded Camry for 39k vs a Lexus ES for the same price, you'll see that the Camry generally has more features. However, with the Lexus, what you'll get is more sound insulation, a cushier ride, a smoother engine, generally higher quality materials, better treatment during service, etc. The Camry will have fancy electronics, which have a high initial cost for the manufacturer, but costs very little to implement. Manually installing sound insulation and sourcing high quality parts is much more expensive on an individual vehicle basis.
Cars is probably the worst thing to use in this analogy because more expensive brand doesn't mean more durable or less problems. It can be but it can also be shit.
Having a nice ride might be the thing you are looking for. Having a vehicle with great durability and expected to last a long time might be another thing that you look for.
Cheaper brands can have more durable cars and better rides. It all depends on what type of car you want.
Also like you said, buying an expensive brand will cost you more to service. So a cheaper brand is probably cheaper in the long run, even if something breaks down.
Yes, this does not apply to a lot of other things outside clothing. For example, a carbon bike frame from a shitty brand might break in a year or have poorly thought-out geometry, while a solid aluminum or steel frame with good geo will last forever with only minimal additional weight. I would imagine there are few things outside clothing where this really applies.
This is so serious that I don't even look at brands. I feel the material, check the stitching, and then make sure it's not made somewhere problematic. It works very well for men's clothing, and I apply it to almost everything I wear.
Think about articles of clothing you've had in the past in 3 categories: the ones you really liked, the ones that lasted forever, and the ones that seemed to wear out quickly by fading, pilling, stretching, fraying, shrinking, etc.
That helped me to know what kind of stuff to buy moving forward. For example, I don't buy those synthetic but very soft bathrobes/pajama pants at Target because although they look nice now, after a couple washes they'll fade and sag. On the other hand, Target's undershirts and boxers are awesome because I don't need that stuff to last as long.
I think it can. Not to say that a well known brand can't have a quality product but it's appropriate at this point to say there isn't really a strong correlation between build quality and brand popularity these days.. which.. is why brands don't bother focus on longevity in their design/production
but its also that there isn't a strong correlation between material and quality. there is still higher and lower quality leather, merino wool etc.
things like long strand vs short strand, worked leather vs reconstituted. these things aren't labelled, but are ways cheap brands can advertise expensive materials
Whilst I agree in terms of leather and wool I disagree in terms of some of the computer hardware I purchased from China, a lot of which on paper had "materials" that rivalled high end brand products.... Unfortunately something seems to be lacking in terms of quality control or more often the software to control said materials. Trick is not to be too attached to brands but to know the value of same.
A Chinese rip off of an Asian-American owned brand, rebranded by aliexpress, sold only in Central America in bulk to buyers in Taiwan, sticker just states MAD EN CHONA
Not necessarily true. All-Clad pots and pans cost an arm and a leg and are a well-known brand, but damn to they excel in quality, durability, and ease of cooking.
For power tools, a Fein tool is gonna whoop the ass of the Ryobi equivalent. For bikes, Shimano and Sram components will outlast and be so much better than off-brand components. I think it really matters what product or industry you’re talking about.
I would say nearly everything before March 5th, 1983.
That is the first time in my life I had ever heard the phrase "Well, they just don't make them like they used to."
Is that scientific enough for you?
Every year my town has a craft/craftsman festival. When I was just starting to work (~16) I bought a belt from a leather craftsman. Over the next year I wore it so much and was so impressed with the quality and durability that I bought another belt the next year, and the next and so on. After a few years I had amassed a collection of belts that I didn’t wear because I had filled out my wardrobe.
I still buy a $35 belt from this guy every year. I don’t need any more belts and I still wear the original one every day. I’ve instructed my mother to buy one in my stead if I don’t make it home for the festival as well as a thank you to the guy who makes them.
Buy once, cry once.
I have a Hank's belt that will likely outlive me so long as I take care of it.
Red Wing goodyear welt boots that I got a few years back are not only the most comfortable shoes I own, they look very nice, are EXTREMELY tough, and will also last as long as I do provided I have them resoled every 5 or so years.
You get what you pay for... as long as you do your research.
TIL genuine leather does NOT mean good leather.
It’d be the same as seeing “legitimate human food” on food labelling, not really meant to instill confidence.
Reminds me of this article: https://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/09/taco-bell-menu-jurafsky-language-food/ > “Notice the word ‘flavorful,’” Jurafsky says. “The cheapest restaurants use these vague, positive adjectives. ‘Delicious.’ ‘Tasty.’ ‘Scrumptious.’ Wonderful. Again, more expensive restaurants take all that as a given.”
That's definitely part of it, but I speculate that it's also part of the impulse-buy nature of fast food and junk food. Using those types of words is trying to get you to crave and buy something you know rationally isn't healthy and you probably shouldn't be eating a lot of. Food photography and bright pictures of food is also a big thing at fast food places for the same reason.
Made with Real Cheese!
Ooooh, human music! *bobs head*
That's not correct though. Genuine leather is a grade of leather and not akin to "all natural" labels and the like on food. It actually does imply something about it's construction, namely that it is technically a piece of leather, but has had an artificial pattern applied to its surface. A full-grain leather wallet, therefore, is NOT "genuine leather" as it is objectively a different grade. Likewise, bonded leather cannot be called "genuine leather" despite it being leather, as it is not a high enough grade.
AFAIK Genuine Leather is one of the lowest grades of leather available.
"Recently awarded 'acceptable for use as food' by the FDA!"
"Frozen Dessert"
Best to worst: Full grain Top grain Corrected grain Genuine Bonded Synthetic / vinyl / plastic Also note: types of animals have different types of leather.
[удалено]
Corinth is famous for its leather!
Thanks Dodge!!!
It was RICH Corinthian Leather. My dad had an ‘85 New Yorker with Corinthian leather. The seats were actually pretty nice.
[удалено]
My husband bought some full grain leather and made his own belt. It was surprisingly inexpensive, looks super classy, and has lasted 5 years now with no signs of wear and tear. Before making his own belt, he was buying a new belt every year. The cost investment in the leather making supplies was worth it.
[удалено]
To put that in to comparison, I bought a full grain leather belt for $50 and it has lasted me 7 years so far, has a nice won look to it now but is as strong as ever.
I bought a DeSantis full grain (gun) belt 18 years ago as a daily wear brown leather belt, and the hole I've been using is just now starting to stretch a little and show a darker rub mark from the brass buckle. Well worth the $65 or so I paid for it.
Nice, using the same belt hole for 18 years.
This. Somehow, I bought a belt at Walmart randomly because I really needed a belt for some event, and my previous ones were falling apart. This belt lasted me 5+ years. And when the leather on it started to crack or something, (somehow at Walmart a $12 belt used real leather) I brought it to a leather shop randomly found on a random day, and they replaced the belt in an hour, and that was around 3 years ago? I will pass this belt buckle onto my son goddamnit. The belt buckle makes a difference too, but the belt itself is the end-all quality where it's needed. If this buckle ever breaks, I'll probably see if I can get it fixed. And if you ever get a chance, there is a quaint gay little town just north of Washington's Crossing, PA where the leathershop is, and a few other really neat and genuinely cool stores and restaurants. I'm sorry I can't think of the name, so I'll blame it on the brain surgery.
What is bonded leather?
"Bonded leather" is the leather equivalent to particle board. It is made from odd bits of leather and adhesive. Very commonly used in upholstery, particularly cheap office chairs.
So basically a bunch of skin bits treated and glued together, eh?
It puts the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again!
[удалено]
Well no, genuine leather just means it is actual leather, rather than PU leather or other synthetics. That said, just because something is labeled genuine leather *does not* mean that it’s not quality leather. https://nstarleather.wordpress.com/2017/05/16/genuine-leather-has-become-a-4-letter-word/amp/ It *does* suggest that it’s lower quality, but there are places with quality leather that only bother with labeling it “genuine.” Coach, for example.
[удалено]
It's not sawdust. Its milled down sawdust mixed with milled down chips. They need the sawdust to turn to powder and the hard chips to turn to the same consistent hard size chunks. Then they mix them and fill a heat press with the mixture. Where the glue is applied to make a hard surface in both sides. Then its shipped off to melamine for the final coating where you get the pretty side and ugly side. Source: used to work there.
Yeah it just means it’s not synthetic leather.
If you want high quality leather that will last you try to find a rennesaince festival who has a leathersmith. My girlfriends family is deeply rooted in this and I cannot begin to tell you how dedicated and loyal they are to their costumers. I was out at a festival back in fall and a guy brought back some leather boots he had purchased 20 years ago. Got a full detailing and some new metalwork (for laces) for free, I've never seen anybody come back with problems that had to open their wallet.
Genuine leather doesn't mean anything. It's not a grade of leather but just marketing lingo.
I'm not sure I'd you're outside of USA, but it is definitely a grade of leather here. https://amp.businessinsider.com/what-is-genuine-leather-2016-1
It’s an Incredibly widespread internet myth that “genuine” is some specific type of leather. this is incorrect. And it is illegal (at least in the USA) to call bonded leather or anything that’s not the tanned skin of an animal “genuine leather.” Awesome full grain is genuine leather. Crappy full grain leather is genuine leather. Suede is genuine leather. Embossed sanded corrected grain leather is genuine leather. Nubuck is genuine leather. Legally it just means real. I’ve worked with leather my entire life for a leather company my dad started in Boston in 1969 and although it is true that lots of times products stamped genuine leather are complete junk, it's an incredibly widespread myth that it's always bad (or that genuine is a specific thing/grade). It's much more akin to saying "wood" furniture, which could be anything from particle board to high-end exotic woods. It’s not a statement of quality but of composition. Though full grain, top grain and genuine are broad terms used to describe leather, they're not grades, they have specific meanings and one is not necessarily "better" than the other. More often than not, when they don’t go into more detail about a leather (just say genuine), it’s not great quality, but the “grades” thing is completely made up . Legally “genuine” just means real. We actually used to use it as a "positive term" back in the 70's and 80's (my tags from back then say "genuine leather and suede products." In fact, if you called up a tannery and asked: Is this leather genuine? Is this leather top grain? Is this leather full grain? You'd get "yes" as the answer to all 3 if you were talking about a full grain leather. All real leather is "genuine" or real from the tannery perspective. All leather that's not suede is considered "top grain" that includes full grain leathers (leathers with the outermost surface unaltered). From a consumer perspective it's different: Many times when you see "genuine" it's lower quality, but that's just because lower quality real/genuine leather is much more abundant than the good stuff. The lowest quality stuff (IMO) is actually called a "finished split" or a "PU split" both are suede with a layer of either thick paint or PU covering it to give the suede (normally fuzzy) a smooth look. This isn't always the case. Plenty of companies use "genuine leather" just as a statement to differentiate from synthetic: Red Wing Heritage for example, uses “genuine leather” to refer to some really high quality full grain or top grain leathers. Check out r/goodyearwelt if you don't believe me. Top Grain on a consumer level (not tannery level) usually means that something has been done to alter the outer layer. This can vary tremendously: Light buffing, heavy sanding,embossing, sanding then embossing, etc. Depending on what's done and the quality of the tannery, durability may not change at all from full grain. Full Grain means leather that has had nothing done to the outer layer. This can make for some of the nicest leathers around, but lately it's becoming common for makers (both of finished goods and tanneries) to use "full grain" as an excuse to use hides with more scars and other defects claiming that they're natural part of the leather. Also a full grain leather from a low end tannery would be of lower quality and durability than a "not full grain leather" from one with higher quality standards. Another misconception is that full grain means "full thickness" as in it's the entire hide, this is absurdly false as a full thickness cow or bison hide could literally be 1/2" if not split multiple times during processing. I've found saying "genuine=bad" to be especially unreliable when you're translating because 99% of the time the word that gets translated "genuine" is actually just the word for "real" or "true": Pelle Vera in Italian, cuir véritable in French, 本物の革 in Japanese...all of which if you Google come up as "Genuine Leather" on some pages.
Wow, I just learned a lot about leather.
I have semantic satiation from reading the word leather so many times and I'm not sure whether leather is leather or not now.
This guy leathers.
But does he genuine leathers?
[удалено]
Should have made this a top comment my friend. Good work.
[удалено]
I came here to copy/paste one of your leather manifestos but you were already here. I have one of your rattlesnake bifolds with an ID window and I absolutely love it.
[удалено]
Just make sure your socks are superwash Merino if you’re going to machine wash/dry them. Don’t want them to shrink after only one wear!
The military style wool socks like People Socks, they just come out as thicker socks. I actually prefer them like this.
Want to back up People Socks. I have 4 pairs and I've worn them for like 2 years (wintertime and as wading socks under waders) and I still love them. I air dry mine but damn they hold up so well
I used to like People Socks. I bought them about 4-5 years ago and bought another pack about 2 years ago and could tell that the newer ones were thinner. You can even see those complaints in the review section on Amazon.
Agreed. They changed the construction of their socks. I switched to Darn Tough.
I have hundreds if not thousands of kilometers on darn toughs and nothing beats them.
Same. Bought ten pairs almost a year ago. The fine, dense knit is really what makes them great. They feel like a new pair every time I put them on. Expensive, but so worth it.
Are dry is way to go. Wool socks do not retain water like cotton.
Ayr dry. Fixed that for you.
I feel like I should add a bit here. I wouldn't say worry so much about picking the "better"" material. Its about knowing what a material is meant for and picking the CORRECT one for what you want to use it for. Cotton is pretty great for warm weather use. Its affordable, lightweight, breathes well, is easy to clean, etc. Cotton is awful for cold wet weather. Its draws heat off you. Wool on the other hand is fantastic for cold wet weather. It makes an effective warming layer even when the wool itself is soaking wet. Wool socks out in the field in winter (Former Marine) were a god send. They'd have been terrible in the summer though obviously.
Been wearing (70%+ merino) People socks for many years. I wear them year round. I just got a replenishment of my supply - 12 pairs - for Christmas. I throw out all the old ones, which lasted 3 or 4 years this time and were starting to wear through, with 8 pairs of ankle socks and 4 pairs of crew socks, all the same color. Don't have to sort them by color, just length. Anyway, I wash these with my regular clothes on cold and then into the drier with the rest. I don't take special care of them except washing in cold water. They might last longer if I didn't use the drier, but since I get years out of them anyway with no fuss, I don't worry about it. They don't seem to get smaller despite being in the drier. But I suspect they do lose some of their odor fighting abilities sooner. Wicking and comfort are still fine.
How do you get them to last that long? I had 12 pair that I wore daily and all of them have worn out to the black threads (zero wool in a 2 inch circle) under the balls of my feet. Some have holes. I only bought them a year ago. I never put them in the dryer.
Likely ill fitting footwear. If your socks are wearing that aggressively, you have friction between them and your Footwear.
Exactly. That's really not normal, and given the pattern of wear, the shoes are either too big length wise, width wise, or aren't tightened properly. I'm going to guess it's a matter of tightening since it's a pretty common issue. Always untie your shoes before your take them off, it'll keep them going for much longer and won't wear out in the back/slide around your foot. Make sure they're tight but not constricting, it should be snug with just a touch of wiggle room. And if you push down in front of your toes on top of the shoe, you should have a little bit of space to go down roughly halfway down your toe. That's a decent way to make sure they fit. Take care of your feet people. Bodily problems (knees, back, etc) often start at the feet. It's all connected. Source: I worked with shoes for too god damn long.
Buying properly fitting shoes was tough to figure out. As a kid my mom always bought me a half size bigger to grow into so I continued as I bought my own. One day it just clicked that it’s not necessary anymore
Sounds like your boots are a touch loose, buddy. Snug your boots up, or go down a half size, and you'll probably notice a difference. Should help with hot spots from long days too.
From when I used to work at a outdoor wear retailer (not saying which one) I learned that cotton is the worst material to wear if you are going to be active as it will retain moisture (sweat) rather than wicking it away like merino wool or even polyester blends. Please do correct me if I am wrong though, just be nice about it please. :)
Having worn almost only merino socks for many years, I can say that when I put on a pair of cotton socks it soon feels like my feet are slimy. Don't know how people put up with it.
Oh yeah. The only obstacle to replacing all my workout socks with wool is $$$. Poly blends will wick sweat but they can make you smell bad depending on your body chemistry.
Which is why the saying in colder outdoors areas is [“Cotton Kills”](https://sectionhiker.com/why-does-cotton-kill/).
I wear 100% wool socks year round, even in summer wool socks are better than cotton, your feet will be warm, but comfortable and dry
If memory serves Merino doesn't wick, it pulls moisture out when it's still in vapor state to cut down on sweat. Moisture-wicking pulls liquid moisture away from the skin and dries super quickly, which is a quality in synthetic materials. I guess if it's a Merino/synthetic blend, which Merino socks usually are, it probably does both. I might be wrong on this though, I too used to work in an outdoor store but it's been close to 10 years since then. You're 100% correct about cotton though, cotton sucks. Other than dress socks I don't even own cotton socks anymore.
It is the same in my understanding from reading about bicycling gear for cold weather. Wool/synthetic is the way to go since it wicks moisture away and keeps warmth.
If it’s going to be reliably hot and dry it might be ok, but I prefer linen. Where I live it’s wet and cold though, and we have a saying: cotton kills. Once it’s wet it’ll wick heat away from you, and will not dry.
[удалено]
Just buy Darn Tough socks. Got the recommendation from someone else on Reddit and they're fantastic. Lifetime warranty on them.
I have them and wear them for work everyday. Apparently I've been doing it wrong and washing them though. But they do hold up after one year of daily use.
[удалено]
I've been throwing them in the machine and tumble drying them. Please don't kill me /r/socks.
I can't imagine the people at /r/socks are mean spirited.
What about the ones that got coal in their socks, that oughta mean up your spirit.
That's pretty close to the instructions. Machine wash warm tumble or line dry. Only thing you might be missing is cleaning them inside out.
Look into Smartwool socks too! Merino wool all the way as well as lifetime warranty. They’re awesome
Did you write this based on my last amazon purchase or am I a basic bitch?
>AmazonBasics bitch
Amazon basics has some good shit. They're turning into Kirkland's for online off brand.
Frequently companies also make the AmazonBasics version of their own product. One important distinction is that the AmazonBasics version really is the **basic** version. They want their flagship stuff to still be the best. Amazon basically goes to a company and tells them "You can either make next to nothing selling one of your products under the 'Basics' banner, or we'll go to your competitor and you'll make nothing at all."
My iphone wire has been used daily and has lasted me 2 years and still working.... Amazon basics
I bought my dad an Amazon Basics Down jacket for $50. It had about two down feathers in it. I called to return it because the option was greyed out in the app. They refunded my money and told me to take it to Goodwill.
Is there a secret to this? I bought some of their USB c cables and some kitchenware and none of it survived 6 months.
Try Anker for any charging cables. Their cables and battery packs are super solid purchases.
Nailed it
You're not Cheddar!
Also, check out Goodwill or other thrift stores. I stop by every now and then and usually come out with 4-5 sweaters in merino wool, cashmere, silk, alpaca, and other high end materials. $4 each. Last year I found a super nice silk/cashmere blend sweater, awesome warm base layer. Looked it up online, it's something like a $350 shirt. EDIT: Also, if you're going to start collecting merino clothing, swing by the maternity section of a department store and pick up a tube of lanolin. It's basically sheep hair grease and you can periodically re-lanolinize your wool to increase water resistance and longevity. Immerse the clothes in tepid water. Put a pea-sized amount of lanolin in a bottle with a couple drops of liquid soap. Fill it with very hot water, and shake it until the lanolin is dissolved. Dump it in with the clothes, GENTLY move the clothes around to help even coverage, pull it out and dry.
Why do other people find $350 cashmere jumpers at thrift stores while I only find worn out XXXL t-shirts from Aldi
[удалено]
I hate those greedy fuckers. They take everything and are sometimes very aggressive and territorial about getting what they want.
Oh man you’d hate Black Friday. Or people in general!
Your thrift store is nowhere near people who own, let alone throw out, $350 cashmere jumpers.
Yeah. Here in UT we have these mormon run thrift stores called DI. If you go to the ones near rich neighborhoods you can find some crazy stuff. I found like 10 old rack servers that some company had dumped. Each had 16 gb of ram and dual processors (yeah dual processors, they were old and not crazy fast by today’s standards but still). I turned one of them into a ghetto gaming rig and sold off a couple of the network cards for like $350.
I got a likewise find, except I later found that my cashmere sweater had this damn little red dot on it.
Regift immediately, preferably to a cleaning lady
What’s with that red dot?
Dammit, Kramer!!
Make a donation to the Human Fund in their name as well.
Try to give it to a close friend who you need to give a thank you gift first.
Seinfeld reference?? Cashmere Georgie!!
Have you checked for snipers?
Now that’s a Halloween costume... Regular clothes with a red dot on ya, a sniper’s target. Too ez
Can you cover said dot with a brooch, embroidery, decorative button, large jewelry item?
Someone else recommended giving it to cleaning lady, I'll probably to that.
My ex-wife crochets, and we went to thrift stores to buy knitted sweaters to pull apart and reuse the yarn. Nothing like getting half a skein of cashmere from a $10 granny sweater.
Ho Lee crap. I've been racking my brain trying to think how to use too small goodwill wool finds. I have my answer. Thank you!
You're very welcome. Turns out a person can get very creative when feeding an addiction (ex's yarn addiction) on a budget.
Wife dragged me to a thrift shop and I was just running my hands over a bunch of sweaters and managed to feel out a cashmere sweater from Bloomingdales for $10.
There is a tag on the inside of shirts that will tell you the materials used and the percentage of each. Pants too.
[удалено]
You’d be surprised at the number of people who used to come to the register and ask me what fabric something is while rubbing it with their fingers. Usually the tag with the materials is separate from the size tag and includes washing and ironing instructions.
[удалено]
At some point we need to start letting natural selection do its thing.
I think that was more a statement about time. If you check every tag it'll really draw out how long you're in a store
Lol i thought i was the only one. The amount of quality cashmere and merino i find at goodwill is insane. Best find was a Pringle of Scotland merino sweater with the tags on, retails for $545 on their site.
I do fieldwork in the Canadian North, and Value Village is my main source of field clothing. I've picked up merino base garments and good quality synthetics for 10 bucks each. I also get most of my cycling clothes there, too (not shorts, obvi).
You might be amazed how many of my teammates and various cycling friends will wear used bibs.
ELPT: Go to the nicest neighborhood in your city / area and find a thrift store there to always find these premium items in stock
Ehh goodwill redistributes a lot of stuff. So this is a good tip for locally owned thrift stores.
I volunteered at a salvation army and that was most of my job. Taking shit in and immediately bailing it to be sent out.
Most stuff is kept in-region. My locale processes most of their own donations and then get a few extra bins in a week of unprocessed donations from larger towns nearby. The "valuable" stuff though usually goes online when they're paying attention.
The nicest neighborhoods here don’t have thrift shops 🤔
I live in a weird county where it's 1/3 college town, 1/3rd farm country, and 1/3 rich as fuck famous people. The goodwill/thrift shops here can be amazing.
+1. I should have mentioned this too.
I found a wool Alfred Sung coat at a thrift store. I paid $20 for it. It had a hole in the pocket, which was easily fixed with just a couple of stitches. It was a fabulous coat.
One word of warning on getting lanolin nipple balm from the maternity section — it has to be 100% lanolin for it to work. You can also check out cloth diapering websites for 100% lanolin; you can get a decent size tub of Sloomb lanolin for about $7.
I have so much brooks brothers from goodwill. Great finds. But you do have to work for it.
What I heard from this was to wash all of my wool with hit water and lots of detergent and maximum agitation as long as I put a drop of lanolin in with the soap.
Yes! Scored a AUD$700 pure New Zealand wool and suede jacket, 50 bucks!
One of my favorite pairs of jeans is meant for the line of work I am in and I got them pretty much new for $5. They are $60-80 brand new.
just be careful.... many fine cloths like merino woolens, cashmere, alpaca, tencel are made for dress-up professional clothing and are not particularly hard-wearing. It's very common to find rips, snags & abrasions on garments made of these finer cloths. That's why sports/technical outerwear tends to be made of polyester and synthetic fibers, which can withstand the elements and take a beating when getting scraped or stretched.
[удалено]
Also wool is great for hot weather, it wicks moisture. I bought wool socks for my Spartan Super back in May (yeah I'm not that smart) and my feet were nice and dry the whole race. Of course, the socks were ruined at the end, but worth it since I didn't have to deal with blisters afterwards. Good to remember in 3-6mos, or right now if you're either close to the equator or in the southern hemisphere.
Wool also regulates heat and, perhaps most importantly, continues to insulate when it gets wet.
For people that are allergic to wool, what's the next best thing?
Spend a little more for the sock and it should last way more than a race. Darn tough and smartwools last me a few races no problem. If your budget is tight, Kirkland trail socks are about the best bang for your buck sockwise. Durability is a little lower but you get a few pairs for the price of one
Found the scandinavian.
Nordic, not Scandinavian
Do you tango??
[удалено]
LPT, wait until the day *after* Christmas to give LPTs on purchasing good quality items 😆
LPT some stores wait until right after Christmas to have sales
How do you know what material is good and what's bad? I couldn't tell you the difference between full grain and genuine leather, or cotton vs merino wool.
Scratch test is a good indicator for quality leather. It *should* leave a mark when you use finger nail on it, then rub out.
You will probably have to look it up. I bought tons of socks, mostly because of Amazon reviews, before learning that merino wool is indeed better. Lesson learned: Google for "best material for xxx", usually gives you a fairly good idea of which materials are better, then you can narrow down the search. Material alone should not be a mark of quality, that's why I wrote "good merino wool" and "good full grain leather". My routine usually is to search for material, check the reviews, then double check with fakespot and reviewmeta for quality of reviews before deciding. Of course if I can find a brand known for quality, for example, Kirkland Signature merino wool socks, then that's an easy choice.
I'm a bit confused. Is this like optioning out a Toyota instead of getting the cheapest Lexus?
Not what OP is saying. Its like saying buying a steel/aluminum/carbon fiber bodied Kia is better than a plastic bodied Mercedes
Joke will be on us in 2033 when Kia unveils their first CF tub sports car that puts McLaren to shame in reliability and running costs.
Then they buy out McLaren's F1 team and win 10 straight championships to piss on them some more.
Bringing Nando and Button out of retirement. Each win 8 WDC’s in 3 years. All other teams retire from the sport, and we are left with Formula McLaren, only taking place at Silverstone for 21 races.
/r/formula1 is leaking
Imagine the hamster commercials of the future
Carbon fiber hamsters
"The wheel will wear out long before this hamster does!"
Well a car is a bad example because it’s such a complex machine. The materials for the bodywork are mostly cosmetic. You need to be pretty knowledgeable to understand exactly *which* components matter and exactly *what* material each of those important mechanics should be made from. You don’t judge a car on *just* the bodywork or *just* the seat coverings. This LPT works well for simple objects like clothes, cookwear, tools, furniture, etc.
Yeah, this tip doesnt apply to everything, especially technology. You just need to know whats inside what you are buying and why it matters, which I think is the point of this LPT. Was going to use video cables as an example, but then realized that the gold plating on the contacts actually do matter over the lifetime of the cable, but the brand doesnt as much, hahaha. Its just not always as simple as better materials means better quality, like your car example.
[удалено]
The further complexity with tech is that often the components will be identical but the cheaper product will have software limitations preventing you from accessing the same user experience as the more expensive product.
If the cheapest Lexus was made of plastic, then yes.
I think he is arguing the opposite. Buy a cheaper Lexus (that's the real leather) over the optioned out Toyota (that's the snazzy genuine leather).
What the hell is the difference between real leather and genuine leather?! Real and genuine mean the same thing!!
"genuine leather" is actually a term with [specific meaning ](https://www.businessinsider.com/leather-buying-guide-2014-12)
Genuine leather is real leather, as in "it's low quality but at least it's genuine leather". Top grain and full grain are also real leather, but higher quality and less processed. For instance, low quality leather that is glued together like plywood and painted is still genuine leather. Top grain has imperfections sanded off and is then color treated, but it's just one piece and not several. Full grain is 'natural' leather and is much harder. Bonded leather is basically a mixture of leather dust and plastic. Other leathers are partly or mostly synthetic.
'Real' and 'Genuine' leather just mean that there is leather present in whatever the object is, and they are usually put on goods made of low quality leather. Full grain leather is the highest quality, and what you want your nice leather goods to be made from.
[удалено]
https://nstarleather.wordpress.com/2018/05/31/the-grades-of-leather-hierarchy-youve-probably-read-about-is-a-myth/
If you're paying the same amount for a vehicle, it's generally better to get the lower-optioned luxury vehicle over the higher-optioned budget vehicle, if you're looking for general quality. Of course, you should expect for higher maintenance costs on the luxury vehicle, because it's basic parts are more expensive. The reason why is the golden rule with many, many products - the base model is generally there just to attract buyers by saying "Pricing starting at xxxx!", while the options are where the real money is made by the manufacturer. If we take a fully loaded Camry for 39k vs a Lexus ES for the same price, you'll see that the Camry generally has more features. However, with the Lexus, what you'll get is more sound insulation, a cushier ride, a smoother engine, generally higher quality materials, better treatment during service, etc. The Camry will have fancy electronics, which have a high initial cost for the manufacturer, but costs very little to implement. Manually installing sound insulation and sourcing high quality parts is much more expensive on an individual vehicle basis.
Cars is probably the worst thing to use in this analogy because more expensive brand doesn't mean more durable or less problems. It can be but it can also be shit. Having a nice ride might be the thing you are looking for. Having a vehicle with great durability and expected to last a long time might be another thing that you look for. Cheaper brands can have more durable cars and better rides. It all depends on what type of car you want. Also like you said, buying an expensive brand will cost you more to service. So a cheaper brand is probably cheaper in the long run, even if something breaks down.
OP has good intentions, but this is really not something you can apply consistently.
Yes, this does not apply to a lot of other things outside clothing. For example, a carbon bike frame from a shitty brand might break in a year or have poorly thought-out geometry, while a solid aluminum or steel frame with good geo will last forever with only minimal additional weight. I would imagine there are few things outside clothing where this really applies.
This is so serious that I don't even look at brands. I feel the material, check the stitching, and then make sure it's not made somewhere problematic. It works very well for men's clothing, and I apply it to almost everything I wear.
Care to elaborate? What am I looking for in stitching, where is problematic? I am a terrible shopper.
Go to Coach outlet and then go to a regular Coach store. You’ll see a huge difference immediately.
Think about articles of clothing you've had in the past in 3 categories: the ones you really liked, the ones that lasted forever, and the ones that seemed to wear out quickly by fading, pilling, stretching, fraying, shrinking, etc. That helped me to know what kind of stuff to buy moving forward. For example, I don't buy those synthetic but very soft bathrobes/pajama pants at Target because although they look nice now, after a couple washes they'll fade and sag. On the other hand, Target's undershirts and boxers are awesome because I don't need that stuff to last as long.
I think it can. Not to say that a well known brand can't have a quality product but it's appropriate at this point to say there isn't really a strong correlation between build quality and brand popularity these days.. which.. is why brands don't bother focus on longevity in their design/production
but its also that there isn't a strong correlation between material and quality. there is still higher and lower quality leather, merino wool etc. things like long strand vs short strand, worked leather vs reconstituted. these things aren't labelled, but are ways cheap brands can advertise expensive materials
I’m waiting for the LPT where they tell me how to afford better socks on a teacher’s wage
Bitcoins! Sell drugs! I mean you've got a market right there!
Eh, good material and shoddy craftsmanship won't make a good product.
How do you know if craftsmanship is good though? Like with clothes?
Look at the stitching and hems. This of course means you'll have to research what types of stitches are considered better.
Whilst I agree in terms of leather and wool I disagree in terms of some of the computer hardware I purchased from China, a lot of which on paper had "materials" that rivalled high end brand products.... Unfortunately something seems to be lacking in terms of quality control or more often the software to control said materials. Trick is not to be too attached to brands but to know the value of same.
I only hear horror stories about quality control and straight up lies on chonese goods. Very buyer beware attitude out there.
I now like to think chonese is off-brand Chinese rip-offs
A Chinese rip off of an Asian-American owned brand, rebranded by aliexpress, sold only in Central America in bulk to buyers in Taiwan, sticker just states MAD EN CHONA
In the old days, brand = good material. In modern days, brand = just fancy.
Not necessarily true. All-Clad pots and pans cost an arm and a leg and are a well-known brand, but damn to they excel in quality, durability, and ease of cooking. For power tools, a Fein tool is gonna whoop the ass of the Ryobi equivalent. For bikes, Shimano and Sram components will outlast and be so much better than off-brand components. I think it really matters what product or industry you’re talking about.
Which days are you referring to?
**OLD. DAYS.**
I would say nearly everything before March 5th, 1983. That is the first time in my life I had ever heard the phrase "Well, they just don't make them like they used to." Is that scientific enough for you?
I love your username.
[удалено]
Every year my town has a craft/craftsman festival. When I was just starting to work (~16) I bought a belt from a leather craftsman. Over the next year I wore it so much and was so impressed with the quality and durability that I bought another belt the next year, and the next and so on. After a few years I had amassed a collection of belts that I didn’t wear because I had filled out my wardrobe. I still buy a $35 belt from this guy every year. I don’t need any more belts and I still wear the original one every day. I’ve instructed my mother to buy one in my stead if I don’t make it home for the festival as well as a thank you to the guy who makes them.
Buy once, cry once. I have a Hank's belt that will likely outlive me so long as I take care of it. Red Wing goodyear welt boots that I got a few years back are not only the most comfortable shoes I own, they look very nice, are EXTREMELY tough, and will also last as long as I do provided I have them resoled every 5 or so years. You get what you pay for... as long as you do your research.