American made con't

Today, I'll keep it simple.

New Balance.  They have a separate link to their made in USA and assembled in USA products and a great little video about the town in Maine that makes them.   Hey the official shoe of the hardcore scene can't be that wrong...

and I'll continue with Maine.

Quoddy.  Chukka's, Bluchers, Oxfords, Boots, and more. All hand made to order.  that's right, they start production on your shoes AFTER you order.  

and yes, some of these products are STILL more expensive than you want to spend. But with rebuildable, re-craftable items like these that can actually be sent back to either the manufacturer to be re-HAND worked on by a cobbler in your town to resole or refinish, the value is there.

The truth is, I don't NEED 40 pairs of shoes/sneakers if the 4, 5, or 6 that I own fit right, are comfortable and last for years...

and that is coming from an ex-sneaker head(ish) person.  Its not easy thinning out the herd of shoes that you want to keep around 'just incase I need them'.  But they'll probably have more value and be more appreciated after being donated to someone in need of a SINGLE pair of used shoes than sitting in your closet collecting dust.

yes, this will continue.  No, I'm not on a rampage.  This is just the way I think.

buying/owning American made goods part 1

Its no secret, we don't have to BS around it.  there's no kidding anyone, seriously, its totally OK......If you're reading this blog, you're probably not part of the 1% that controls 90% of the wealth of this country or world.  its fine.  I'm cool with it if you are though.  For me, I've thought very differently about consuming for a while now and when I can, I try to buy American.  No, its not easy, Apple doesn't make a computer here, I'm also not a hypocrite, so I know that I buy things made in China.  I work for a company that makes 95% of its products here in the USA.  Almost 70% in NYC, Rhode Island and New Jersey.  This is a personal choice that I'm proud of.

Here are a few things/brands/companies that are proud of it as well.  And some don't even let you know up front.

Allen Edmonds 

Red Wing

Filson

Schott

LL Bean Belts.  this was an interesting one.  Just put Made in USA in their search bar.

164 results.  If you can't find a gift there, you're crazy.  and with their guarantee, its a win-win. 

Room and Board 

Furniture and Accessories

 Obviously, I can go on and on, and that's not what I'm trying to do.  All I'm saying is that I like to take the time to take a step back and if there 'might' be an option to go made in your home country, I try to do it.  If it turns out the final cost of the product is just too much (because you know the labor cost is more, this shouldn't be a secret) then pass, and get something else.  Note, I did not say YOU should do this.  this is just how I approach things.  And I thought I'd pass it along, that's all.

happy holidays.  Happy Chanukah today.  word up.  more tomorrow......

Neck Ties not Bow Pasta!

Accessorize. Can't lie, I love the little details. The little details in outfits, bicycles, motorbikes, furniture, mugs, cooking utensils, etc...

If you're not sure what to add to your list this season, hop on over to Steve and Co. and I bet you'll find a few little things that you never knew you needed...

Steve and Co. - Man Clothing and Accessories

another re-posted video DOG!

while I wouldn't usually expect to find this over at hated of the world, they had it! and it is awesome. so here is; bizzle gets some dunkers....in HD. (not sure if its really HD)



is it bad that it makes me want to give up all other hobbies and become a muppet style puppeteer but with live animals? yeah it is....

Ice Cube x Eames

...and.....a-mazing

I've seen it posted a few other places, but being that I love everything Eames and 90% of what Ice Cube has done and that I never would have thought I'd be able to post them together for 100% satisfaction, I'm doing it. I hope you enjoyed the video.

Bros

Yeah, pretty sweet.

ready and waiting

prepped the sportster for its final night here in the BK. the new owner is on his way from PA (you see that Kim!). He is coming with a friend that is actually bringing a frame for my buddy Larry who shares the shop with me...small world. and keeping the Lancaster to Brooklyn bike quota in check.

spin around the block, power washed, degreased the motor, cleaned out the carb, lubed up the throttle, detailed the tins, scotch brited the pipes and said thank you for always being reliable and never letting me down. godspeed sporty, godspeed....(whatever that means) .

Here's to a world without the reliability of a bike that starts with the push of a button and doesn't fall apart.

Pangea Speed *new* Streamliner Bars

Received a nice little package from Andy over at Pangea Speed and decided it was time to mount up these beautiful little bars.

I've always like the rabbit ear bar look, but proportions never seemed right. The either stuck up too much or were way too narrow and straight back making them awkward to actually twist a throttle with.

Well, he made his slightly lower than the last round and wider....aka perfect!?! First thing after mounting them up was lopping 2" off each end of the bars to get the right feel. Then I threw on a gorgeous new brake caliper/master cylinder set up that came from Kim. (more on that on a later date)

re-bled the front brake pretty quickly, but will be putting on new brake lines and throttle cable once the season tells me it is time.

CHECK OUT:

Andy from Pangea Speed on the daily

Andy's Born Free 4 Build Blog

New York City November

its almost december, yet the weather is holding in epic-ness for a few more days. I haven't ridden the shovel for a bit so I decided to go for a short ride around Gowanus, Park Slope, Sunset Park, Red Hook and then Soho before heading home.

Keino had a few pans at the shop. One of which is Gentry's with the coffin/prism tank. I really like this bike. Its not a 'pretty pan'. It isn't like every socal pan with the wassel peanut, 18" rear, 21" up front and a chrome springer. Its not flashy. And its not really my style, but every time I see it, I want it.

As with most rides I gave myself one goal, get a firewire 800 to firewire 400 adapter. needless to say after looking in a few local 'small businesses', and having no luck, I have decided to order it for $4.00 from a small internet company called amazon.com.

*sold* 52 telecaster for sale...be like The Boss this thanksgiving

mid 90's

Made in America

Fender '52 reissue telecaster

butterscotch blonde

$900

incredible sounding and versatile guitar. I've used it in every band I've been in over the last 10 years, from power pop to the metal of Get Your Death On. This guitar can play rhythm grooves and reggae and also cut right through the mix for leads as well.

great upgrades:

Brass Compensated Saddles.

the stock brass saddles aren't angled at at all the bridge which makes it 100% period correct but unable to actually get intonated properly. The compensated ones take care of this without having to switch to a modern saddle set up.

4-way switch.

This was a cool upgrade done by Noll Guitars in Rhode Island. The front neck pickup now works and isn't the stock '52 bass only set up. The switch positions are like this:

front - neck pickup only, 2nd position - neck and bridge in series (like usual tele), 3rd position - bridge pickup only, then the 4th position on the switch actually wires the two pickups in parallel like a humbucker. yes, it works, output increases and totally beefs up the tone. I usually played the guitar with that set up, and then when I needed to play a lead, switch it forward one notch to just use the bridge pickup.

Includes the original 3-way switch, the original brass saddles, the original modern style bridge and saddles and the original chrome pickup cover. OH and the Fender Tweed Case as well. Yeah, I'll miss this guitar, but I'm not using it. And I don't believe that music instruments belong in museums.....the deserve to be played.

*no, my foot is not included with the headstock. that was just a bonus.

hit me up if interested: mattlandman@gmail.com

ahem, introducing....Miles Ray Landman

Definitely the most amazing experience in my life. His Mom and Miles did great the first week of his life! Ups, downs, victories, frustrations, sleeplessness, 2 hours of sleep a night, learning. We wound up trusting our instincts and leaning on each other for suggestions when things weren't going as planned and with the teamwork of the great nurses and doctors I can say that it was/is an all encompassing joyous feeling. All worth it. I can tell we have some amazing times ahead of us, even if it is unconventional.

Without further adieu, a few iphone pictures:

this shot was taken during his first 6 hours of life outside of the womb....damn....he's a good lookin' boy.

he did a little bit of this sleeping thing when we were still in the hospital. Its pretty crazy/great that within 5 minutes after they are born, its like, here you go, all yours, have a good night, we'll be back in a few hours to check in on you!

they say that babies cry for a handful of reasons; hunger, gas, poop, pee, tired.

But I can tell you first hand that it takes a little while to figure out which one it is, because once they wake up from those short lived 1-2 hour naps of utter cute and cuddliness, comes this:

(yes, he is practicing his hardcore metal breakdown scream/face)

I had posted on facebook if anyone had a hookup for kids sized glasses to get Miles started as young as possible...I mean, if he's gonna be a Landman, glasses are a key feature. Kim came through with a pair of vintage Rivets. They are proudly displayed on the shelves with a few of the great prints that Leigh Anne picked up for his bedroom.

so precious. so incredible. This picture was taken when he turned 1 week and 2 days old. Here's what I keep doing; scroll back up to the first picture from a mere week earlier, then back down. It's crazy how much babies will change/grow in these first few days. Yeah, yeah, this may be old hat to some of you, but its my first time really sitting with it and observing it.

and finally for now. Yes, he loves his glasses even if he has to wait a few years to grow into them. Look at that baby smirky smile.

making bars from bars

with no bike here and completely slacking on getting Chris's sportster running, I need some sort of project to keep the few hours (read:1 hour) a day of free time busy. I had talked to both Chris and Kim about using the bends and bungs from the 70moto Gentleman's Bars and changing a few things ever since the shovel was getting finished. brought some pieces by BCM and we've slowly worked on it.

so....some heat, some patient coping, some tacking, back to coping, tacking, welding, heating, smoking, yes, a good amount of smoke was coming out of the ends of the bars, bending, heating, bending, and mounting. Kim was on heat duty while I was on the bending duty and I will fully admit that we went with the "art, not science" style of fabrication which can get interesting when bending stainless steel tubing. tip:use some science with your bends. bend it once, bend it right. whoopsie!

they are not the right style for maximum Bob's bike, but it's what we had to make sure the bars were perfectly in line with the front end. that was my biggest want for these. oh and a nice tight radius in the vertical sections of the bars....I think that they will look quite mounted up, especially after I spend some time behind the polishing wheel!!!

now, back to waiting!!!!! almost there!

It's the weekend...

Surfing is the best. It just is. Checking the surf report, picking the right board from the quiver, checking out the waves as you suit up, paddling out, standing on a floating log and traveling 100 yards down the line in the open sea, yeah, pretty much an amazing series of events. And following a few hours in the water with burritos is the topper.

Last few days were the 9' longboards. Today was a 5'10" twin fish kind of day. Caught a few with young Aiden and even ran into Gouldie and caught a few with him as well.

Swap Meet Finds 2

picked up this great panhead brake set up. All original parts, but not sure if/when I can actually use it. The mounting plates for the master cylinder and brake pedals changed for the cone shovel motors and this one won't truly fit on my bike without modification. But the pedal got me thinking about how to improve my current set up.

Plust the asking price was way too good for everything you see below including the Wagner master cylinder. besides, if I don't use any of these parts on my bike, I now have the first few pieces of my new panhead that I don't plan on ever having...just in case though, I've started collecting these parts first.

some fun stuff right there. It looks great.

Swap Meet Finds 1

very fun and successful day at the Long Beach motorcycle swap meet on Sunday. Seeing old friends, talking (be it talking the talk, talking shit, or just talking about nothing), and checking out all the great old parts.

Chris is working on a new build and has a few very distinct details in mind. The first of which, maybe second after the motor, was that he wanted to use an S&S L-series carb. Yeah, the ones no longer in production. Well, lucky him, he found it. and got it for a great price. After bringing the aged and dirty fella home, he immediately headed to the polishing wheel and here's the look after the first pass...

yep, it looks like a foghorn. awesome. Anybody know anything about that G.E.M. cast velocity stack? Let me know. (yes, it says GEM, not G.M.E.) share the knowledge, share the love. One man's junk is another man's treasure. One man's swap meet purchase can equal another man's monthly rent.

cast carb, cast velocity stack and came with the cast S&S air horn cover. He polished that up too.....not too much, just right.

Ok, I'm tired.

is it bad to miss a machine?

maybe I'm just being sentimental here in socal, but I miss the shovel...all the way back in Brooklyn. (I'll be home soon enough, buddy...).

In the meantime, I'm slowly gathering little bits here and there that I've needed for it; new main crankshaft seal, UNI foam filter for my BCM air cleaner, spring for my brake pedal, and hopefully a straight kicker arm after the swap meet this weekend.

Also saw the *new and improved* Sreamliner bars from Pangea Speed and may have to pick up a set of those, and in some downtime going to work on some bars with Chris and Kim as well. You gotta have options and with the sportster almost sold, I think I need to move on from the modified window bar look alltogether...Lastly, looking forward to helping out some more with the Maximum Bob shovel seat set up!

Pannikin Coffee Run

Took the truck down to Pannikin for a few double lattes and to meet up with Chris and Dustin for some good conversation. Ran into mr. Todd Richards and caught up on life, his morning 'drop the kids off at school' routine, (that's literal, not the figurative dropping the kids off at the pool style joke), and we each started on our first coffee drink of the day. We assured one another that we would run into eachother again throughout the next few weeks.

I think I've got the solution down for the coffee to go when driving this beast. Bag up the coffee cup, tie a knot in said bag, drive the key through the knot and into the ignition and voila! Coffee cup holder.