The Flat Head
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Coupled with the varsity. Shit do I love flat head…
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According to Kiya, the THC series is loopwheeled. The plot thickens….
I specifically bought 2 THC tshirt after reading kiya's comment..only to know
that it isn't loopwheeled now.. -
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According to Kiya, the THC series is loopwheeled. The plot thickens….
I specifically bought 2 THC tshirt after reading kiya's comment..only to know
that it isn't loopwheeled now..Well, there seems to be a little confusion as to whether they are or are not loop-wheeled. I'd wait for some more information before drawing a conclusion one way or the other. BTW, I've also bought THC t-shirts from Kiya at Self-Edge.
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Hi dudes, this is Cold Summer / Kyle@TFH here.
This is a sticky situation.
I've actually been wondering about this for the past year. I can read Japanese, and I noticed that the word used for loopwheeling in Japanese (吊り編み機) was nowhere to be found on the THC tees' product page. I thought that perhaps this was a simple oversight, but when we had a chance to see a loopwheel machine at Flat Head's Heritage Garage last week, I asked our guide point-blank if the THC tees were loopwheeled, and he said that they weren't.
I'm not really sure why this is. These tees are one of TFH's most popular items and it's possible that loopwheel fabric just can't be produced in the quantities necessary to meet demand; when I asked about it, I was told that the specs on these tees haven't changed over time. As anybody who owns one of these T-shirts already knows, the fabric and construction is second to none, and almost all of our T-shirts (excluding special ones like the Flatlock series) cost the same, so it's not an issue of money. Knowing all of this, I bought four THC tees the other day, and I honestly prefer them to any other tees I've touched, loopwheeled or not. I think we need to evalutate these - and tees by other Japanese manufacturers, for that matter - on their own merits, rather than based on the mystique of any particular machine used in constructing it. But I understand people may be upset if they bought a product expecting one thing, and got something else instead. I can tell you that the TD series is definitely loopwheeled, along with many of the other lines.
I don't believe there has been any intent to mislead on the part of our dealers. Kiya and others have advertised their products with the best information available to them at the time. Nor has TFH attempted any deception - if that was the case, I wouldn't be typing this right now! The correct information has always been available in Japanese and on our website. And I'm committed to providing the most accurate and honest information on our products that I possibly can.
It's simply an issue resulting from previous misunderstandings in translation. As Finn pointed out, I only recently joined the TFH crew. The previous TFH translator was neither a native English speaker nor a denim enthusiast familiar with the terminology of our hobby, and didn't make the distinction between round-body construction and loopwheeled fabric. As a result, the catalogue (and probably all previous ones) was very unclear on this matter.
Fortunately for you, I'm here to ensure that these sorts of misunderstands don't happen. I know the English and Japanese vocab for all of this and bring a borderline obsessive-compulsive/aspergian level of denim enthusiasm to the job. I'm going to make sure that our customers and dealers alike have clear information on specs from now on.
I had hoped to stay quiet about this whole issue - I wanted to give the dealers a chance to deal with this issue as they saw fit, or alternative wait until the company gives me an official statement to post on the whole matter. Apparently some decided to publicize it; that's entirely at their discretion. I will have more information for you when Flat Head provides it for me, and I apologize for any misunderstandings that may have occurred concerning the specs of the THC tees. I've already translated a lot of pages for the site - including T-shirts - which will hopefully be going live soon, depending on when our webmaster puts it up.
- Kyle
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hey Kyle,
thanks a ton for the clarification and for your work you already did for TFH and - in the end - for us customers to get everything in line and in the right direction, so that we can be even more safe and secure in the future about what quality goods we are buying with our money!
now to make this short, I really didn't want to stir up any kind of trouble or any other unneccessary problems with this and if I was aware of you wanting to hold back with this info until you guys and your retailers could take care of it by yourself, I definitely wouldn't have quoted your words…not a single one mate! I'm really sorry if I've stepped on some toes now
I've asked the guy if it would be a problem to publish your message - just cuz all of the informations in it, I thought it would be a nice and informing read for us denim enthusiasts to know even more about the products and all - so he gave me the go (without knowing your intentions as well!) and I went ahead and published it! should have pm'd you first though, but now it's too late anyhow!
still I really don't see this as a big mistake or a "lead into the wrong direction" from TFH or anyone else involved. it just was - just talking bout the THC line here - a misinterpretation of a guy that doesn't really care if a t is loopwheeled or not and might haven't seen things the way you/we do.
so for some guys that little detail - only hearing that word alone - is way too important when buying a t, instead of just caring about the actual feel and quality of an item!but this also shows, that even if the THC line was loopwheeled, one isn't even able to really tell the differences just by looking at the quality/feeling the garment or even the price...imo this is also a big plus and a fact that shows that TFH produces nothing but quality goods and that one really shouldn't care too much if a t is loopwheeled or not!
still I'm feeling sorry though mate! thanks again...
Rafa
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No problem Rafa, all of this was eventually going to show up here anyway. I answered Alex's questions about the tees but I didn't think to ask that he not post it online.
I'd just tell everybody, please don't give Kiya or other retailers a hard time about this or pester them with questions about "is ______ loopwheeled?!" They're good guys, we owe a ton of our knowledge about the whole Japanese denim scene to them, and they'll take care of things when they're ready. I think they all know by now, let's just let them deal with it as they see fit.
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@Cold:
I'd just tell everybody, please don't give Kiya or other retailers a hard time about this or pester them with questions about "is ______ loopwheeled?!" They're good guys, we owe a ton of our knowledge about the whole Japanese denim scene to them, and they'll take care of things when they're ready. I think they all know by now, let's just let them deal with it as they see fit.
backed! please take it easy on their backs guys! kiya and all the others are awesome guys and they'll sure know how to deal with this (if needed at all, since the quality and price are the exact same)! think about it…
thanks again Kyle!so Ben...post some more info/pics mate, so we can get back to our daily routine
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This is all pretty interesting… I have grown to love my THC tees and after owning Loopwheeled from a couple different companies had decided that preference was with what I believed to be the flatheads THC line because they are the absolute sturdiest tshirts I've had the pleasure to own... Knowing this changes none of that.
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I agree, the THC shirts and Flat Head shirts in general are just superb in their construction and cut and the fabric is excellent. With collars like that, I don't need them to be loopwheeled.
Credit to Kyle for coming on here and explaining things and to Rafa for his responses.
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for me, these are the most important facts and nothing else matters imo…loopwheeled or not!
@Cold:
As anybody who owns one of these T-shirts already knows, the fabric and construction is second to none, and almost all of our T-shirts (excluding special ones like the Flatlock series) cost the same, so it's not an issue of money. Knowing all of this, I bought four THC tees the other day, and I honestly prefer them to any other tees I've touched, loopwheeled or not. I think we need to evaluate these - and tees by other Japanese manufacturers, for that matter - on their own merits, rather than based on the mystique of any particular machine used in constructing it.
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I agree those collars are :-*… Anything else just doesn't cut it for me now.
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I don't know much about this topic. I don't own any TFH tees, and I don't even know what THC stands for – I just know the "higher" the % the better -- but even after only a couple posts, it's clear TFH is lucky to have Kyle represent them. He addressed this issue head-on, in a professional/respectful manner, and was eloquent and informative in his response.
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Thanks Cold Summer for your explanation.
One thing to take away, please ask TFH to make their Ts in bigger sizes for us folks in North America. Love to get some, but many of them are limited to 42 inches in chest sizes. And if they do, I don't think the shoulders need to be more than 21 inches imho.Seanocono, I think the closest you will get in a XL is size 46 (and unfortunately sold out in SE) in this: http://www.selfedge.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=68&products_id=901
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Thanks, Omega Man. Unfortunately, even those would be a little too small in the chest, if they were available. I'm actually hoping the 46" chest of the latest IH XLs stretch a bit, which I'm sure they will. I'll find out later today.
I definitely second TFH making some larger-sized Ts for us North Americans. I really dig all the native motifs.
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Sean, if you can find some of their "wide body" models, you might be able to get one that will work. Those are sized like standard Flat Head tees, but are generally 1-2 inches wider in the body. Good luck with your hunt. Everyone should get at least one FH tee, they're fantastic.
As far as this whole loopwheeled/not loopwheeled thing goes, it's all pretty irrelevant to me. Several people with greater knowledge than I will ever have say that telling if a finished garment is loopwheeled or simply tube bodied and woven on a modern machine is impossible. As further proof of this irrelevance, when Haraki started making the new 7.5 oz tees, he didn't bother telling Giles that they were loopwheeled- because it didn't matter to him. If an obsessive perfectionist like Haraki-san doesn't care, then it can't be very important to the quality of the shirt.
Bottom line is that FH tees are beautifully made, comfortable and of the highest quality. If you're going to write off buying one because of what appears to be an honest translation error about a fundamentally inconsequential knitting technique, then I just feel sorry for you.
(BTW, I like IH tees better, because I hate the neck on FH tees
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