Hi all,
To me, there’s nothing better than that old pair of Carhart’s, but eventually I end up needing to buy new pairs of work pants, and I’m impatient about them breaking the way I like them. I’m especially having trouble with the double knee, cotton duck carhart’s, they come out of the wash stiff as a board and never seem to get any softer unless I wear them for a week straight.
For those of us that are impatient, anybody got any good tips for speeding up that crucial break-in process?
Justin Fink – FHB Editorial
Your Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
Replies
Have you tried just running them through the washer about 3-6 times (in a row)?
I wear those heavy canvas pants from Skillers, and I always wash them about 3 times before I wear them.
********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
I haven't tried to run them through a bunch of times in a row, but they have gone through a bunch of times to be sure.
You know that faded, muted, soft look that an old pair of carharts gets? I can't figure out what is causing that fade...I'm starting to wonder if it's hard-wearing, or a ton of sunlight or something?Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Your Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
More likely it is many washer/dryer cycles. I know zilch about fabrics, but my guess is that 100% cottom canvas has some kind of sizing in it that breaks down somewhat over time from the washing.********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
"You know that faded, muted, soft look that an old pair of carharts gets? I can't figure out what is causing that fade...I'm starting to wonder if it's hard-wearing, or a ton of sunlight or something?"
Posing in the coffee shop does it for me. Just don't get ink on them or folk will know the truth. ;)
Run them over with your truck
just take 'em off first......
.
.
.Wer ist jetzt der Idiot
?
Head down to your local laundromat, mid-week, towards closing and wash 'em a couple of times with a load of rocks. A good mix of course and fines works well.
Seriously though, washing them repeatedly is a waste of water. You just need to cowboy up and break them in old school.
What's the saying - anything worth achieving is worth something something?
You try Fabric softener????
"Dogs don't follow an emotional leader. They follow the dominant leader. We are the only species that follows an unstable leader. "
Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, in an interview in National Geographic Magazine
Drag them behind your combine with a log chain !
Greg
Cement mixer plus your pants plus 5 gallon bucket of river rocks. Run for 20 minutes. Wash as usual...
Get over it....... The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg '06
Then how would you handle your Speedos?...The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
You have problems with stiff speedos ?Get out the cement mixer...
Get over it....... The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg '06
I propose a good 'ol fashioned HILL ROLL on Thanksgiving Day! I bet you can get some young ones to join you. Find the biggest hill and let 'er rip.
I gotta agree with the cement mixer but you know that fabric will get torn up too much. Best way to save water and break em in - wear some knee pads underneath for a few hours and do some late weeding or picking up leaves, that'll stretch out the knees nicely. Or you could wait at a gas station and volunteer to fill up folks tires for a few hours!
I think that he put cement in the mixer rather the laundry detergent.
Iknow that with my regular jeans , if i add about a cup full of vinegar to the wash they come out as soft as multiple washings. might give that aa try.
This truly is one of the biggest proplems known to man, I bought 2 pair in the spring put them on the roof all summer that faded them but did not soften them, Best to wear them roofing or cutting firewood, Now i buy the new lightweight ones they are like having broken in ones already, I dont know the new model name but ask your store
I put Carharts in the dryer with tennis balls! Wash and dry on the hottest settings twice and that gets all that darn sizing out. I usually toss some orange oil into the washer as it speeds up the "sizing eating process"
Then again, what is wrong with wearing them for a week! ;)
I usually wear mine a couple of times in a row, then throw them in the hamper. The usually stink bad enoguh that they climb out and break them selves in on their own.
"Then again, what is wrong with wearing them for a week! ;)"Man, you city folk are so wasteful.You can get two or three weeks out of them, easily !!Scrape the muck off at the end of the day, stand them in the corner, and yer good to go for tomorrow...
Get over it....... The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg '06
I've washed and dried stuff with a couple of sneakers.
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened. [Sir Winston Churchill]
Yeah, they sure do stand up well in a corner.
You can also prop them up next to a chair, climb on chair, then jump right in with your boots on.
Get your work pants already broken in!
Here on Mondays, Goodwill has jeans and other pants for $1.29 a pair. If you get battery acid or tar on them there are no worries, just get another pair.
same with shirts or sweatshirts..
there was a similar thread a few years ago, somebody (Gunner?) said people who didn't wear underwear didn't like to wear other peoples used pants ?????
You could try working in them. <G>
Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein (or maybe Mark Twain)
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
"Everything not forbidden is compulsory." T.H. White, The Book of Merlin
or he could hire someone to break them in, better yet, get the office intern to wear'em...The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
Get paint on them right away. Then you won't care what kind of a mess you make, you'll constantly be wiping your hands on them, getting them all kinds of grungy, washed three times a week and before you know it they'll be the most comfy pants you own.
And full of paint, grease and a couple small holes and you have to start all over again...
DAMHIKT.
best way I know of is to cut them up into 4x24" sheets, put them on your belt sander, and find a house that needs the peeling paint sanded off. Then sew them back together.
Use fabric softner, and put them in with a load of good heavy duty towels. Wash em two or three times and your good to go.
Pardon my fat fingers.
http://www.hay98.com/
Just cook up this recipe and they'll be broken in soon. Your friends may not hang around and watch though.
http://www.firebreath.com/product.php?productid=173
Billy
Be a man. New carhartts (or better yet, filson's double tin pants) are great. I wash mine as little as possible, so they don't break down so fast. ; )
Actually, I think it is the washing that breaks them down. Maybe you should look for lightly used pairs on ebay.
And I really do like the feel of new carhartts, or waxed canvas pants. I used to sew leather patches around the cuffs, too, so I wouldn't shred that part. With enough hiking and walking in them, the knees articulate just right so that you can walk, but the rest of the leg is still tight enough to shed a little water, and not rip on barbed wire or thorns.
Arborwear has some double kneed pants that are softer, and move with you better. That's what I'm wearing most these days. We'll see how long they last though- I used to get about a year of hard wear out of the heavy weight double kneed carhartts.
zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
did you try D-mix? works for everything else.
or the EZ PANTS system...
So EZ even an editor can use it..."Dogs don't follow an emotional leader. They follow the dominant leader. We are the only species that follows an unstable leader. "
Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, in an interview in National Geographic Magazine
Alright, alright. So there's no easy way to break in the pants. Can't blame a guy for trying?Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Your Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
We can't ???
Get over it....... The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg '06
I kinda thought it was a trick question. I usually just work in mine. Perhaps try standing up while you write? ;)View Image
Make an intern break them in for you.
Pardon my fat fingers.
http://www.hay98.com/
hang them on a clothesline in the sun for a week...keep wetting them down....
.
.
.Wer ist jetzt der Idiot
?
WD-40.Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein (or maybe Mark Twain)
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
"Everything not forbidden is compulsory." T.H. White, The Book of Merlin
This may sound a little bazaar, but there may be a way to duplicate it:
I spent some time at sea on a Navy Cruiser and when we had a new pair of dungarees (denims) and were underway at sea, we'd tie them to about 100 feet of clothes line, tie the other end to a rail on the fantail, and toss the the britches overboard.
After being churned in the saltwater wake for a few hours, usually overnight, they came out soft as lambskin and nicely faded.
(For the new guys we'd tell them to tie off to just a belt loop, which resulted in their retrieving and empty line).
So there I am today, standing in line at the lumber yard thinking about how my recently washed Carhartts are fealing. Sick. Sick I say. :-)
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
I feel bad for you justin,
why------ it's gonna take you 30-40 years sitting around in those Taunton cubicles to break in a pair of Carharts------------
now----iffen you was to go out and get yourself a real job ,LOL:)
Stephen
Don't feel bad Stephen (et all), as soon as this print factory closes down for the day, I hop into my truck and start moonlighting. My pants get plenty of workout, and I go through jeans like they're made of nylon - always blow out the knees first.
But cotton duck is pretty tough stuff, and my double knee carharts are just where I like them after wearing for a few days in a row, but as soon as they come out of the wash they're stiff as a board again. That's why I was asking.
But, the office jokes are pretty funny, I have to admit. But you know when they will be especially funny? During the next snow storm when you guys can't feel your fingers, and I will be working with my shoes off, hot cup of coffee in one hand, and the promise of an office birthday and cupcakes in teh afternoon. (sorry, couldn't resist jibing you guys back...ha!)Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Your Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
Ha! to you
That stuff about snow storms doesn't bother me anymore.
I'm at the point where, if I can't work indoors on days like that, I'll just stay home.
Feet up, shoes off, probably in my PJs 'til lunch....
I had enough of working in cr*ppy weather when I was young.
I'm sorry - do you actually have to go to the office on snowy days? That's right, I remember....Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein (or maybe Mark Twain)
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
"Everything not forbidden is compulsory." T.H. White, The Book of Merlin
Justin,
I only WISH it would snow------- or even threaten to snow---- or even be a little bit cloudy---------- I just stay home warm and dry--- reading and woodworking and screwing around on" breaktime" and cooking a BIG lunch, and watching nude swedish college girls playing volleyball on Cable.............
Just giving you a hard time justin---'cause actually I have never been able to successfully break in brown Duck Carharts----- even roofing in em they feel like cast iron right up untill they are worn out and I throw 'em away.
I am such a sissy,now I just buy denim carpenters dungarees. LOL
rumor is it may snow Friday,-oh darn---a three day weekend.
Stephen
<< Just giving you a hard time justin---'cause actually I have never been able to successfully break in brown Duck Carharts >>
Ha! One of you finally admitted that you agree with me! (thanks Stephen)Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Your Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
I've got several Carharrdt's, one thing you can do is take a shower in 'em at the end of the day. Then let em hang, drip dry. Should be softer after 2-3 showers.Expert since 10 am.
I heard that you office types wore out the knees first!!!
trying for a promo???"Dogs don't follow an emotional leader. They follow the dominant leader. We are the only species that follows an unstable leader. "
Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, in an interview in National Geographic Magazine
when ever I wash my carthart jacket , I do not use the dryer but hang outside on the line during a warm day. It keep it from shrinking and stays soft.
Your first idea is the best.
I wear mine for 10 days straight.
I guess Carhart heard you. I can no longer find the style # in anything but "prewashed".
I prersonally like to break in or prewash my own pair.
The same thing happened to Levis several years ago. I just blame it on the YUPIES. They are looking for the next cool thing because it makes it look like they go outside to work and their soft skin doesn't handle the real thing very well.
Just my views of course!
There are a lot of construction grade pants out now that are as good as carhart. Back in my career as a carpenter in Seattle we used Filson pants made of heavy canvas they were so stiff you looked like a robot when you wore them. To add to the water repelency we eould add wax to the front and cuffs to prevent water and mud from seeping into the pants early in the day. They were great but what a way to add to the chaifing equasion. Loggers in the Olympic paninsula would call them tin pants and be able to stsnd them upright in the corner when they took them off. After 25 years i still wear them in the rainy season.
We also drilled holes into the bottom of our cordura bags to drain the water out so we didn't have a fish bowl full of nails.
I have heard the term "tin pants". I think from a book about logging in the North West.
Filson makes the Tin cloth pants.
"Without education, we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously." G.K. Chesterton
http://thewoodwhisperer.com/
I wear them. No matter what you do to soften them initially, it's not the same as biting the bullet and wearing them.
I put my new pants in a 5gal bucket with a whole container ( 26oz Morton Salt), any brand will do. Boil 2-3 gallons of water, enough to completely submerge the pants in your 5 gallon bucket and stir till all the salt is dissolved. Brine the pants for at least two or three days. You can let sit longer if you have the time. Empty bucket and wash the pants. When wash cycle complete, pants back in bucket. Boil another pot of water and add full bottle of fabric softener in bucket with hot water. Stir and let sit another two or three days. Wash pants on hot and when cycle complete put the damp pants on and wear them dry. This method will help soften your brand new work pants.
Thanks for sharing! https://ninjamerchstore.com/. this would probably help in it.