Honeycomb Help
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Sorry @Matt I am slow
@neph93 nailed it. I think a combination of hard wear (the most important factor) and some of those babying practices together would maximize fading (hard wear) and contrast (babying the denim) because any time you soak or wash I would think there's a uniform removal, however slight, of indigo, where abrasion from hard wear will remove indigo less uniformly, and more in folds, creases, and any other areas of high wear. But I don't think impractical measures to eke a little more contrast out are worth it for me personally.
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@SKT:
you can tell my knees take a beating with the dog and kids.
Oh dude! Those look like they're well on their way!
The 18oz is my favorite denim that IH makes because of the fading capabilities (exl. the XHS, and the others coming down the pipeline) and "slubbyness," compared to the other IH jeans.
Honeycombs fades should start being more obvious after a few more weeks of regular wear. You can see them peaking through around your inseam already
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An M-65 does sound like a good idea @SKT , your honeycombs look to be setting in great. My XHS hasn't gotten the love it should so far with a mostly super humid 90+ degree summer. Strangely I find rocking my 21oz double knees more doable in the heat, the density of the XHS can be sweltering. Soon though, very soon, the fall of the XHSib, gonna enjoy them like a PSL haha
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Something about fall and 3 letter acronyms, just works
I'm trying to decide between stepping up for the M65 or if I want a khaki N1 -
I just noticed this topic. I will offer some advice when I have a chance for formulate a meaningful well thought out post…. I'm sorry I have been so busy and tired...
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I'm going to give a few thoughts here and I hope you will realize that this is just what I do… I'm not even saying I think you should do these things. No matter what, if you keep wearing your jeans they will fade beautifully.
Wearing Iron Heart is a highly pleasurable, almost spiritual experience to me. And I feel like the jeans should be treated with the respect they deserve. There's a lot of nuance to finding the right fit and considering how you plan on wearing them. I wholeheartedly feel you should soak your jeans several times and let the dry in between to get as much shrink out of them as you possibly can. You can even do partial soaks to shrink just the legs.
Read the threads about what particular pair of jeans you have are and see how much they are going to shrink, then shrink them so the fades do not shift later on. No matter what you do, if you do get the shrinkage out the fades will shift when you wash them later on because the jeans will shrink vertically. So don't be afraid to soak them in the hottest water possible, several times.
Wear you jeans as long as possible without washing them.
It even says so on the tag. This doesn't say that you should never wash them. You actually should wash them… eventually.... But don't do so until they are very well broken in. This usually takes me well over a year to get to the point where I feel like the jeans are safe enough to run through the washer. I do not just throw new jeans into the washer. I'll talk more about this later...But the jeans tend to start to stink after two or three months of every day wear... So I soak them and gently hand wash them. They have laundry sanitizer now. So you can gently soak stuff with very little agitation. There's no need to turn them inside out as long as what they are being hand washed in is very clean.
More information about hand washing can be found here:
https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=9785.0Jeans that are more snug at the knees will have sharper, higher contrast fades. Loose fitting jeans will have wispier more washed out fades.
My overalls are looser fitting and have wispier combs.Yes, you can use starch to make your jeans crispy again like when they were new.
But it is better to use a spray bottle and wear your jeans damp only behind the knees (and maybe the lap area but it's hella uncomfortable) almost every single time you wear them for an entire month. I'm not kidding like every time I put my jeans on the first month I spray them behind the knees. I even dry my hands on the back of my knees when I wash my hands (if no one is looking).
…then after about a month I turn the jeans inside out and spray the heck out of them with starch and let them dry. Once they are dry, continue to use a different spray bottle to make the damp (where you want heavy creases) each time you put them on again like another month.
Make your own starch:
Get a spray bottle and fill full of water. Pour the (cold) water into a metal pan and add two tablespoons of corn starch and mix very well until all the lumps are out. Then heat on low heat until the solution starts to thicken, keep stiring as much as possible about five minutes (until it boils). Let cool overnight and use a funnel to add all of the liquid and residual starch into the spray bottle. Shake vigorously before spraying. I only put starch on the inside of the jeans because it will leave white flaky residue on your jeans.Now after six months to a year the jeans are probably pretty nasty and ready to be washed. The jeans already have high contrast fades all over... The jeans probably are threadbare in several spots. This is when I think they are ready to go into the washer.
I like to turn them inside out and pre-wet them and I always add a small amount of some kind of boot oil or leather preservative to the leather patch first. I use Tide Hygenic clean pods. No need for any fancy soap.
The settings I use:
Hand Wash/ wool
Cold water
No spin
Water Plus
Extra rinse
When they are done, shake them out and lay flat on a towel or two and try to absorb as much water as possible. Then you can lay the jeans on top of a pair of box fans to dry them fast or hang them in the sun. This could take like twenty four hours to get them completely dry.
After they are completely dry, I like to put them into the dryer, right side out on high heat to soften them back up again. I only do this when they are dry. Only when they are dry.
Then you can do the wearing wet on the lap and knees again as much as you want. Don't worry if things don't line up like before. They will eventually and this is why I wear them about a month before I starch them or anything.
These are all newer and have been through the routine I described. I sold all my well worn pairs so I don't have anything to show from wearing long term.
