Kakishibu Nihon Menpu Denim

Contact Roman at lawless, he might be able to hook you up. Let us know what he says.

Actually, no.. I have no idea if it is the real thing or not. I'm not sure counterfeiting this type of denim would be profitable, though, so I'm inclined to believe it's the real thing.

Thanks for the leads, guys.. I've written Roman at Lawless and will see what he can whip up for us =) I'll keep you guys posted.
-\Visdom

Great info. How much fabric that you have bought?

Thanks for the info. Maybe I should get 3 yards to get a pair of jeans out from it.

I think it's worth it (obviously).. the Samurai's are available in my size, but at $700+, they are way out of a price range that I can justify in good conscience. I can spend half that and get two pairs of jeans, a workshirt, and probably enough material left for another garment, to boot!

On the other hand, Lawless is somewhat untested and an unknown quantity. I like Roman.. brief, responsive, and descriptive. I see him as a total "roll your sleeves up and get dirty" kind'a guy, and these are the people I like working with the most. Trust me, I can throw an arc or tack weld with the best of 'em and believe it or not, I've actually worked gold mines (in Indonesia - Papua, to be precise), so when it comes to jeans and their intended use: been there, done that. In my opinion, Lawless will experience growing pains.. a disruptive business model requires significant risk.. and either customer service, quality, or speed will likely suffer. Fingers crossed that they nail all three, but I'm trying to set realistic expectations. If Lawless is listening, I prefer Quality and Service over Speed.. I think most customers can forgive slippage in delivery dates as long as it is accompanied by frequent, accurate, and genuine communication.

-\Visdom

Yeah.. classic or gold/yellow stitching will probably be my choice. I'm a button-fly kind'a guy, so I'm definitely going in that direction. I sent Roman an eMail asking for the information he would need and he hasn't responded yet (To be fair, it was after standard working hours in Phoenix.. I guess everyone's entitled to some time off from work =) ), but I'll probably go with a more tonal look (which Gold/Yellow would accomplish) since I plan to wear these as a version of the standard, lighter Khaki pants.
-\Visdom

I agree, Roman seems to be willing to go the extra mile for his customers, and am anxious to try his shirts. 

Couldn't agree more.. he's definitely got his heart in the right place. He's dedicated to his craft and passionate about it, too, working on Saturdays.. we had a good correspondence going today over eMail about the Kakishibu project, and he's been nothing but flexible and accommodating. My only worry is that he's going to over-commit his resources and dates or commitments may slip. He knows his business better than any of us do, so he's best positioned to regulate his volume of work, but he must be drowning in work from the KS and all the buzz it, and the Gustin community, have generated.

On another note, I think it's telling that so many Gustinites are attracted to the Lawless model. I think it's a combination of Gust-In-flation and reliance upon Gustin's judgment to define details that has made Lawless such an attractive option. I still think Gustin's gamified marketplace, super-lean supply chain, and evergreen selection of interesting products and fabrics will keep me interested.

Is it just me, or do you find it odd as well that only about three of us are offended by the crooked shirts?

i've only backed one of the shirts, and after receiving it am puzzled by how many people praise the quality of shirts. the quality of what i received wasn't worth $80+...there were loose threads all over the piece, some running under completed stitches, about 3" from the cuff of the right sleeve you can plainly see where two bolts of fabric were joined. the threads were easy enough to cut off, and since i cuff my sleeves the joinery is rarely seen...but this and the alignment issues you've pointed out will make me think twice before backing another standard shirt offering.

i'm holding out high-ish hopes for my work shirt in progress.

Exactly....on all points.

I haven't received confirmation but I received an email last week asking what inseam I wanted?

I keep thinking that the guy whose name is stitched inside of every shirt would get embarrassed enough to do something about the QC, but so far, no.  The Magenta Plaid pic on the store page is ridiculous.