Forge Clothes

[jlpservicesinc]

Steve, that is funny..     I should at some point get followed with a camera by one of my buddies to take some photos..   I have like 3..  In my Ninja pajamas.. 

Ah, Ninja PJ's are white in winter..   Now you see me.. Now you don't..   Well at least in snow terrain.. 

Something of interest.. Snow is actually a huge of blue..  So ideally having ninja Pjs with a very light hint of blue helps blend in even more..  Also of note a splotch here or there of use helps to blend in.. 

 

[Deimos]

My ninja PJ's are from Indonesia, they don't have snow there. Some of the older masters I have spoken told me that in the jungle they would wear golden jackets to mimic the camo of a tiger.

[jlpservicesinc]

It is interesting as well that what TV Ninjas wear and traditional are 2 totally different things. 

I have a set of camo ones that I made 30 years ago that I still wear and I wore them nearly everday and they might get washed once a month..  Of course I spent a lot of time outside training so they were get washed when water skills  or in rain.. 

A special form of tie die was often used to make a muted fluttered color instead of solids. Also Purple, red and a reddish brown were very common color for what would be considered active duty.. 

During day time that golden color with that fluttered hews of stripes were used.    

I never mastered the art of making the patterns and there is a trade for it.. I tried several times with limited success.  I spoke with the Grandmaster of Fuma Ryu about dies and process but never quite got it.  

I then stopped trying to mimic what was done since the Ninja Pj's aren't really a great walking down the street clothes.. Back in Japan during the hey day..  They wore common garb that could be converted easily with little fan fare. 

I think much of it is misunderstood today..  Practical people do practical things..  Much of this is forgotten in lew of what if's..  

.   

We large people still use these shorter then practical based on tradition, but ideally the tools should be sized for the person using them.  

I started working with an 8ft long bo and very long sword and as I progressed my blades kept getting shorter and shorter.  My last training blade was only about 18" long as nearly all techniques were based on close quarters and small spaces.. 

[Frosty]

7 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said:

It was a joke of sorts on then charred meat..   LOL..  My sense of humor is getting the better of me..    

Good grief Jennifer, you don't have to explain the joke, I got it the first time and played along. 

Full of beans for sure.

Ninja PJs . . . . I'd have to be a ninja in a nudist colony. Not even the victim deserves that. I might not have to carry weapons though. 

Frosty The Lucky. 

[Steve Sells]

For those that do not already know, I teach Jujitsu, which is an ancestor of Ninjitsu; so occasionally I tease practitioners of Ninjitsu for entertainment value

[Deimos]

That is why I started about the white PJ's. I practice Silat, and we get a lot of comments about our black PJ's and bright red belts.

 

[jlpservicesinc]

Your not alone..  Fashion colors are all in vogue.     Years back it was white 3 levels, green 9 levels, brown and then black. 

Today they are all very colorful. 

[JHCC]

When I was studying Ying Jow Pai (Eagle Claw kung fu), my sifu would remind people that rank in traditional Chinese martial arts did not include any kind of belt system. However, to make the Americans happy (he was from Hong Kong), he developed a simple system that started at black belt and progressed through yellow and green to white. He had quite a sense of humor. 

[Deimos]

Yeah, people are all about belt color. Like that means anything...

[ThomasPowers]

Wall Street Ninjas: three piece suit; Construction site Ninjas: blue jeans and flannel shirt.  The idea is to blend in and "hide in plain sight";  true invisibility!

[jlpservicesinc]

John that is great..    Soke Hatsumi was known to give a higher ranking belt to a student just to see if the student would come up to the challenge. 

 

 

[Rashelle]

It's not  just undergarments that are hard to find in natural materials. Even pants are hard to find. Most women I know in person that the subject has came up, we all end up wearing mens pants. Needless to say they are not well fitted and thus not that comfy.

 

[ThomasPowers]

Pure wool kilts for the win!

[jlpservicesinc]

Rashelle, There are places here that offer a decent cotton mix that i wear regularly..  Duluth trading.  the firehose pants.. 

But you are correct that sadly mens pants do end up being a staple.   the problem I run into is huge thighs and a long inseam and short waisted.  Finding clothes that fit has always been tough. 

I own about 15 pairs of the Duluth pants as well as coveralls.  They are a stretch cotton so no melting..  I do a lot of fabrication work which is far more burning than forge work.  (hot spatter and all).. 

[Daswulf]

Duluth pants Are nice. Dunno about the women's line but I have to say they atleast offer more varied sizes than others. And when you are inbetween the "usual' sizes that means a lot. And they are durable and comfortable. No burn holes yet after a year. That is saying something! 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Pure wool anything is great, unless you are allergic to it. When I had to wear my dress blues, I would itch for days afterwards. Don't know for sure if it was the wool, or the chemicals the dry cleaners used to clean them. 

[jlpservicesinc]

My only real gripe is they do shrink some.. I have a 32" waist (chunky now) but buy a size 34 because if I get the 32 waist the legs shrink up to much in diameter and are uncomfortable..  I get the lighter weight flex firehose.. So when I put the tape measure on the look my pants start to fall down. 


 

IFCW, I have a very hard time with wool against my skin..  I can wear the really, really soft kind and some special ski socks.. I have Army wool pants for winter play, but have to have something between me and them or else I get bad rash type rubs. 

[JHCC]

I’ve experienced the occasional bit of, shall we say, frontal chafing when wearing a wool kilt in summer. A cotton sarong is much more comfortable then, but I’ve never tried forging in one. 

[George N. M.]

Jennifer:  Check out the work pants at Gohn Brothers in Middlebury, IN, the site I recently mentioned re women's cotton under garments.  They are cut for men but because they make them on site you might be able to get a custom cut to better fit.  They are very tough and can be worn with either a belt or suspenders (button suspenders work better than clips).

G

[arkie]

Jen, and others, how do the Duluth pants fare in comparison to say, Carharrts?  I've never tried Duluth's fire hose stuff.

[jlpservicesinc]

I go thru carharts very quickly.. For some reason they do not like to be rubbed against stuff.  I have a pair of the Duluth Flex firehouse pants that have been bleach stained in the bum since the day I unpackaged them and they are still going now 2 years later.

I am a fan of the Flex variety because I wear them for martial arts, rock climbing, all the building work, welding and fab etc, etc, and they look like regular loose fit pants. . 

I switched over to duluth for nearly 100% of my pants and non insulated coveralls.   

They all come with a lifetime warranty though I don't use it since I'd rather pay for the use I get and still support the company..  If they have a failure right off I will use the warranty but so far not a single problem with any item. 

I have a carhart coat that 2 weeks into ownership the zipper failed and sent the jacket back to carhart..  3 weeks later I get the jacket back fixed but like 2 weeks later the cuffs started to chafe.. 

I am not a fan of the Regular firehose pants they are heavy with no stretch and they shrink quite a bit. 

Duluth has a no BS warranty so if you buy a pair and don't like them they will help out.. 

 

What I do is wait for a sale and then buy a few pairs to replace the ones that are completely worn out..  ( I don't have any).. I've got a few pairs 4 or more years older and still going though the spandex in them is tired. 

[Frazer]

I have 8 pairs of Carhartt Ripstop pants that I like a lot and 2 of their coats. I have noticed that Carhartt has lowered the quality of some things over the last several years. I bought a pair of their boots and within 9 months of what I would consider light use the seam above the heel (around ankle height) busted wide open. 

I'll have to try Duluth next time I need some more pants, I do like all the pockets on the Ripstops, but nothing wrong with a little variety.

[JHCC]

I have a friend who works for Duluth who has some pretty wild stories of how extreme they are about the lifetime warranty business. They had one guy bring in a pair of pants that were so worn that, to quote my friend, "there was barely anything left but the label", and they still honored the warranty.

(However, he also noted that so many people are taking such blatant advantage of this that the company is considering modifying the warranty to not cover normal wear.)