Steve: That thumb was no problem at all; just needed some Lubriderm. Didn't really even hurt at that point. Even the right thumb that was far worse didn't hurt. They're not an issue until you see blood.....that won't stop coming. It's just a matter of not drinking enough water. You drink enough and it doesn't happen, especially in extreme winter cold. They never get infected; I see to that. Lubriderm mixed with Bag Balm is the best hand cream I've found when working in extreme conditions. Some people sometimes sleep with cotton gloves soaked with the Lub/BB mix or just pure lanolin, which works very well.
Marc: I got the Fall 2011 catalog today. Don't really need any more. It's been in there off and on for years and I have it digitally from their website. I'd like to know what they did with my pants; they looked a lot like the pair on the cover but with new 'skirts' sewed on the bottom. The Devils Club in SE Alaska used to absolutely shred the leg bottoms. For what they cost now I wish I had them back!! I used to get them for $60/pr. Believe it or not, the cheapest price I can find on them anywhere in the country right now is right here in Fairbanks. The first thing I do to them, after shortening them about 12"(!), is rip out and discard the metal suspender buttons and replace the fly buttons with a heavy zipper. Then I restitch the leg seams from top to bottom inside and out with sz. 99 dacron thread on a vintage hand-crank Singer sewing machine. THEN and only then will the stitching not ever wear out.. and I mean NEVER..... much better than original. I restitch some of my Carhart pants the same way but they don't need it as badly as their stitching is far better than Filsons. You can easily wear the fronts clean through on Carharts in a month of intense field work in the brush but the redone stitching lasts.
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