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Thread: Ode on an Apron
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3rd July 2016, 06:09 PM #1GOLD MEMBER
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Ode on an Apron
Prior to a couple of weeks ago, I didn't really see myself wearing an apron in my wood shop. I always had this image of your typical guy wearing an apron, dressed like it's 1890, sporting a perfect beard in some overly dramatic camera angle while posing and pretending to work with wood. Either that, or, worse yet, some kind of hipster barista at a high end coffee shop.
So, long story short, I was never going to wear an apron.
Some of you may recall my post a few months back about that "Never List"...
It all really started when I kept ruining my clothes. It reached a point where I had written off so many t-shirts and pairs of pants that I only had a couple left of each that could be worn in public. This was NOT going over well with the girlfriend. Didn't bother me much, but a man can only take so much abuse.
I eventually got a bit better about keeping a ragged set of clothes handy, so the problem was mitigated.
But then, my girlfriend got me an apron for my birthday.
FullSizeRender.jpg
It's made by Blue and Grae ( Blue&Grae :: Fine aprons and leather goods ) , which is a Brisbane based company that specializes in this kind of thing. She got it monogrammed with my initials, picked out the colors, etc. etc. The leather is from Queensland cows and is tanned using Gidgee which is sustainably sourced. All that... It's full blown "Artisan Grade" stuff. I kind of doubt you could spend more money on an apron if you tried.
In other words, I was going to wear it or at least make a colossal effort to wear it before giving up.
Never List: Shortened.
And man... I absolutely LOVE this thing. At first it was like a new t-shirt. I felt weird and self conscious about it. That passed quickly, and what remains is a drastically more efficient woodworker who is no longer ruining his clothes.
I keep a pen, a pencil, a marker, a white colored pencil, and a 150mm ruler in one pocket. These have obvious uses and having them right there is such a boon.
In another pocket I keep a stiff bristled brush. This may sound trivial, but it has really been a game changer. I would always use my planes and then sit them down on the bench in anticipation of knocking the shavings/dust off of them during some kind of massive cleanup at the end of every day... ok, most days... ok, some days... but now, as soon as I'm done with a tool I knock the dust off of it and right back into the drawer it goes. Seriously, having a brush as an extension of your hand like this changes everything.
The other pocket is large enough for a double sided leather strop and two honing compound crayons. When I'm done with a chisel, I give it a few swipes on either side, hit it with the brush and boom, back into the drawer. Is this helping keep my chisels sharp? ... Maybe? But it's providing the service of alleviating some of my sharpening anxiety, which you can't really put a price on.
And so, just like that, I'm an apron guy, and I'm loving every minute of it.
Cheers,
Luke
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3rd July 2016 06:09 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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3rd July 2016, 06:14 PM #2
'S'okay Luke, as long as you don't start wearing a collared shirt and a bow tie under your apron, I'll still speak to you......
IW
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3rd July 2016, 06:57 PM #3Member
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Pretty skirt
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3rd July 2016, 07:45 PM #4
Ode on an Apron
Reading your post,
I was clearly reminded of someone very ,very close to me.
I think my wife knows his name .
I will ask her later maybe from a distance.
PTO another great right up ,Luke
Cheers Matt
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3rd July 2016, 11:26 PM #5
Ha Ha , great story Luke !
I really like a good apron . I started wearing them for the same ruined clothes reason you did.
Just a cheap light weight one for a while .
Same as you, I was hooked , so much that I knew I needed a custom one .
To hold the tools I needed close to me.
So I went about getting a lovely deep blue scrap hide which happened to be hanging on a roll and made
my own.
Hand stitched with a coarse string , to hold a folding rule I wet a piece of hide and pressed it
over a wooden form then stitched that on when dry , then finished that off at the bottom with a large old brass stud.
I had a slit where my tape measure hung .
What I really liked, was a little pocket just down in front, below my left shoulder
on my chest, to hold my scribe , A scribe I had made from an Upholstery spring , it was sharpened down to a fine point .
A hard or impossible tool to carry in clothing even with its hook at the top for hanging up on clothing . The stiff leather made it safe to carry that way. I could move around without spiking myself. Another pocket for pencils as well.
This set up was the best way Ive ever worked, it lasted until that apron wore out , I have never got around to making one as good, that held just what I needed. Tape measure , folding rule , pens and pencils. Scale rule as well, along side the folding rule.
I like the way you can take an apron off if you have to head out for a while.
Since then I had another plain leather with no pockets. Then I got a bag of ten really tough sailcloth type , plain once again .
They last a long time but with enough glue build up they crack in half.
If you love your apron, don't wipe glue on it when your wondering how to get it off your fingers
Ive always wanted the first type again .
I'm looking at that link . Just what I would like again.
The twin straps over the back look like they would be more comfortable than just the strap around the back of the neck.
By the sounds of things over my shoulder I don't think it will be a pressie though. .she's suffering Price shock.
I know I couldn't make one for that price.
Rob
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4th July 2016, 02:01 AM #6China
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Had to wear an apron at trade school, first thing I pick up when I enter the workshop, wouldn't be without it
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4th July 2016, 08:20 PM #7
I used to wear an apron in my first printing job as a kid. Moved onto a dust coast after that and wore one for years, pockets everywhere.
TTLearning to make big bits of wood smaller......
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5th July 2016, 12:48 AM #8
What a coinkydink!
SWMBO has grown weary of patching my shirts, pants and overalls - she reckons I look homeless - so I've been looking at various aprons myself.
I'm actually considering a welder's apron instead... no pockets, but it should handle the wear'n'tear I tend to put 'em through at work and the price is right. (Besides, I can still wear my faithful overalls, patches, stains & all, underneath. )
- Andy Mc
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5th July 2016, 09:03 AM #9
Mine refuses to mend my lovely, comfortable 'shed clothes' so once they reach the stage I'm likely to get arrested if I appeared in public in them, they go in the washing machine one last time and become shed rags (literally).
I just can't get on with aprons dangling about my person, I have a morbid fear of catching them in something spinning at warp speed & disappearing into said machine along with it. I was running some wood over a jointer once, and as I leaned forward to complete the stroke, a bit of T-shirt must've been sticking out & somehow managed to find the end of the cutter head. I felt a whack at the back of my neck as 1/2 the shirt instantly went into the bowels of the machine. Luckily, it was a well-loved shirt that disintegrated easily, or I might have gotten more than the very big fright I did get. So you can bet your life sleeves are always well rolled-up & everything well tucked-away before I go near anything that spins, these days......
Cheers,IW
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5th July 2016, 11:16 AM #10.
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My favourite shed clothing is a pair of Carhart Duck weave cotton bib and brace overalls that I bought in the US.
Initially they were quite stiff but 6 years on and they are now very comfortable although they now have a few tears and holes.
Because of these overalls I have since started buying duck weave cotton gear but none of it is really quite a comfortable as the Carhart stuff
In terms of aprons I have 2 suede leather, a normal size brown one for WW, and a custom made (longer length and higher front) black one for MW.
I hardly wear the WW one but the MW one is great for when there are sparks flying around and it has probably stopped me setting my regular clothes on fire a few times
I got mine from maka.com.au - Not sure if the site is functional or not as none of the images show up on the website.
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5th July 2016, 03:52 PM #11SENIOR MEMBER
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Like yourself Luke I never envisaged myself wearing one either, I figured it was cheaper to make one than keep ruining decent clothe. Still not finished but you get the idea.
SAM_1891.JPG
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5th July 2016, 07:36 PM #12Senior Member
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GUYS. GUYS. Whats all this namby-pamby clothing/fashion talk? We're supposed to talk about MAN STUFF like wood and TOOLS and sharp things that make dust and chips. Yes Tools like Titan chisels and Norris infills. BUT PINAFORES. Come on. Who cares if machines, acids and moths eat our workshop clothes. Wear whats left in pride until they fall or rot off. Who washes them? Not me. Maybe leather aprons like blacksmiths have might pass (wrap a bull skin around me to stop the red metal Igor!) or a knights leather jerkin under armour wear, but monogrammed material with cute/handy little pockets and belts. NO Luke. Even as presents from our women. I like them complaining about how crappy, holey and stinking our workshop clothes are. Its the essence of man stuff. Its a man "cave" OK so wear the skins of animals if you must (preferably shot by you for food) but not "workshop fashion". I feel great when I pull whats left of my old clothes on. I LIKE THE SMELL. I like the holes and chewed bits, the torn and slashed machine damage, the burn holes and nail piercings and the pieces that drop off and end up under the varnish of some of my furniture. SO, back up on the workshop fashion people and wear those cut down left over 70's flairs and holey, crud/sweat caked 80's polo necks and tie dyed T shirts. Man up guys. Look and smell like an old woodworker. AND, just to make a statement to her indoors, skip a shower once in a while. She'll love you for it. Remember, it starts with aprons and ends with hair nets.
Doggie. Sweaty Titan guy.
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6th July 2016, 12:38 PM #13
I was slow to take up the apron but her indoors made me one to save the clothes a bit. Only cotton canvas however not cool looking leather.
Good bit was I got to say what pockets I wanted. I also have a couple of operation theater gowns I use for turning as the apron does not quite cut it for that task.
Regards
John
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6th July 2016, 01:14 PM #14
My kids gave me a "SuperDad" apron when I first took up woodworking, without pockets. So I begged SWMBO to add some pockets for me, and I love it. Of course, since we last moved house I can't find the bloody thing...
Bob C.
Never give up.
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6th July 2016, 01:45 PM #15
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