15 January 2022

How My Carhartt Overalls Are Failing

I like my Carhartt overalls.  When not at work, this is what I wear.  I have no complaints about them.  I've probably worn them about 1,000 days worth so they have held up well.  Still, it's hard to find this kind of info so I thought I would post something about it.

What I have noticed is that they right around the knees there is a double seam.  I think I could stick from the instead foam knee pads in these (though I've never tried or looked into it).  This is where they seem be be failing.  The fabric just above both knees is thinning out here.  To extend their service life, what I did was apply some iron on patches on the inside.  Again, I've gotten at least 1,000 wearings out of them so they don't owe me anything.  I'm just trying to get another 3 to 6 months out of them.  I plan to buy a new pair.  






The reason I'm trying to get a few more months out of them is that for the last year I (and my wife) have been focusing hard on loosing weight.  Right now I'm down 167 lbs (my wife is down 136 lbs).  I have about 45 lbs to go so that I am on the low side of what is considered normal BMI.  Would like to avoid buying new clothes till then.  

I haven't talked too much about the weight loss and I will at some point.  From a high level perspective, I got sick and tired of my feet hurting all the time.  I'm in my early 50s and I could see where this was headed and I didn't like it.  My wife's cousin was on a program and a coach so we signed up.  No surgery.  With the 167 lbs lost so far, I feel fantastic and like I am in my 30s again.  Really.  I would say about 80% of the things I associated with getting older was in fact just getting fatter.  Loosing the weight has made me feel much much better.  

What's the trick to loosing weight?  Well, we all pretty much know what to do.  The hard part is getting your mind wanting to do it more than anything else.  If I could figure out a method that reliably would get a person in that mindset, I would be wealthy beyond all measure.  Alas, I don't know how to do this.  For me, it was my feet hurting all the time and then like Dave Ramsey (finance person on radio), I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

In the first photo (I don't have that many photos of me in my blog - who wants to see me?!?) I am holding a Grammercy bow saw I just finished making from their kit.  The instructions were good on their website (toolsforworkingwood.com) and I am happy with it.  I like making my own tools and try and do a few each year.  The next one will be to make a Studley Tool chest mallet.  I was on Jim Bode's antique tool website and I saw a casting come up so I bought it.  Can't wait to clean up the casting and make the wooden mallet and handle bits.



5 comments:

  1. Joe, when I saw the first picture the first thing I thought was "man, he's lost weight", even without reading any further. You're really going to have to size down the overalls!

    Good for you for the weight loss - your body will thank you in so many ways. Feet, knees, other joints, heart, lungs all will be happier. Just make sure you're doing it the right way. Get proper nutrition. And exercise is key to this, too.

    Matt

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    1. Congratulations on the weight loss. I have dropped 100#s in the past couple years and the feeling is wonderful - sleep better, move easier and less aches! Friend calls it the ELMM diet - eat less move more. Get good footwear also, helps with the legs and back tremendously.
      JJC

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  2. Thanks Matt and John (for some reason your comment showed up multiple times so I just deleted so it showed up once - no worries). I have been working closely with my doctor. She is thrilled with the progress and hasn't had any concerns. Looking forward to seeing the next set of blood tests as it's been about a years since my last physical. Yes, all kinds of other things feel better as well. I see a completely different outlook for my life moving forward. Wife has same new outlook as well.

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