Exactly the kind of discouragement I was looking for!
Just saved me both time and money…

Anybody have any experience with waxing whipcord fabric / deck jackets?

I've got a Buzz Rickson N-1 I was thinking of beefing up but don't want to botch it if it's a bad idea from the outset.  Otter Wax?

I've seen a bunch of other brands (pike brothers, freewheelers) offer their deck jackets waxed…

@Jett129:

You’d probably get electrocuted from the static electricity generated under the sheets. Just kidding!

LOL too true.  In that regard, I'll hold off on my request for a full matching set:

Ultra Heavy Flannel Pajama Pants.

Drawstring waist.  One button on the fly (same as the collar button on the westerns).  Some side trouser pockets and maybe one back patch pocket.

No elastic or strings on the cuffs… Hemmed, so I can keep the extra fabric for patching.

I know this is never going to happen, but I can't understand why.

The year was 2007.  I had spent the greater part of 2006 diving into the whole raw denim craze, via Nudies, APC, Ande Whall.  Think Superfuture.Superdenim, Self Edge, Blue in Green.  The summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college was marked by my cousin's suicide, my first girlfriend, and a good summer job in NYC.  During this time, I was dead-set on getting myself a good type-3 denim jacket, and I had only three criteria in mind: 1. Blanket lined  2. Hand warmer pockets  3. Internal pocket.  This last one probably stemmed from having grown up watching Bond flicks and somehow being entranced whenever he would reach into his suit jacket to pull something out.

Anyways, I did lots of searching.  At that time, I believe the Iron Heart UK website had one pair of jeans for sale, old arcuates and tab in tact.  I remember something about being able to select your rivet metal, but could be wrong about that.  No jackets though.  I think I eventually landed at Rebirth and found the IH 7526-J.  Maybe I was bad at research then, but this was the only jacket I could find anywhere that met my criteria.

This was before Paypal; getting it paid for required an in-person trip to the bank and a wire transfer to Japan.  At the time -  being only 18 years of age - I felt very pleased with myself for going to such lengths to acquire a gem from abroad.

It came, I wore it pretty much every day for most of college, and the rest is history.  Actually, I didn't buy another IH item until several years later when I bought my dad the first release of aprons (you should see the wear on that thing now).  Then again years later when I moved to Colorado, got my first therapy job, and started amassing a wardrobe of western shirts.  Just yesterday a kid asked me "why you always look like a cowboy?"  Who knew it would end up here.

So soft:

Now I'm an old man and mostly just rock 'n' roll by drinking tea:

Edit… This is how I used to rock 'n' roll:

Thanks for the replies, everybody!
@gaseousclay, thanks for checking yours.  Sounds like this kind of thing probably won't make them fall apart as fast as I worried.  I get your bias.  Every Iron Heart jacket I own is just a solid work horse right out the box.
@Giles, I completely understand and respect your diplomacy.
@UnTucked, Get what you paid for point is noted.  I agree that the hefty price tag on these jackets is really all about the fabric itself.  I'm not even particularly a fan of type IIs, but the garment itself is only a vehicle for the enjoyment of craft in weave and dye.  That said, I do wish there was a little higher baseline standard of construction.  I do not receive your words as talking me down.
@Appfaff, Thanks for the advice and direction.

It is only fair that I positive-rant briefly that I did contact Okayama Denim and a person by the name of Merv is being extremely responsive and supportive in this issue.  I'm definitely going to send them back and either get replacements that have been double checked or a refund which I will thusly circulate back into something else.

@Giles ? @otherguys ?

@Jett129:

How do the jackets look on you/fit?

They look and feel great to me… that’s why I’m especially bummed!  The real thing I’m freaking out about is whether the armpits are going to fray or unravel unreasonably fast. I want these guys to last me a long time, of course.

Any idea of whether the pics look like the issue will impact the structural integrity?

After taking a couple deep breaths and cooling off from my initial rant above, I’m wondering… can anybody comment on whether this is something I should not be worried about?  Am I making mountains out of molehills?

OH HAVE I GOT A RANT FOR YOU ALL…

I just dropped some serious dollar to buy both colorways of PBJ's natural indigo 17.5oz type II jackets.  Perhaps from the outset an unreasonable choice on my part, and so only I am to blame.  In the 10+ years I have been collecting denim, I've always wanted something from their AI series, but never pulled the trigger on the jeans because I always tear through jeans to the point of no repair at some point.  Jackets have always lasted me longer (I don't mind holes, but it's when the seams fall apart multiple times that things get retired) so I went for these.

Ordered from Okayama Denim.  Super excited.  Fast shipping, actually arrived within a week.  Open them up, the inside armholes are sewn worse than any article of clothing I have ever come into contact with in my life:

I don't even know how much to titrate my ranting right now.

The stitching just doesn't follow the fabric.  The fabric edge, at probably THE most critical stress point is already fraying, and has no support of the second needle's stitching.  That one's just sewn into nothing.  I can understand some wavering in the lines, but there are inches of the fabric that just aren't even sewn down.  I can also understand that this is a really hard part of garment construction, but isn't that what I'm paying a professional for?  If I hire a guy to roof my home, and it leaks at the seams, and he says "yeah that part's just really hard…"  You see where I'm going.
Does anybody do quality control on these things?  Two jackets in one order!  Is this about cutting costs that such things are let to slide?

Maybe I'm spoiled by Iron Heart gear, but all else aside, HOW YOU GONNA NOT FELL YOUR ARM SEAMS?!

It's overall this disenchantment with the industry right now.  I know PBJ is more known for their fabrics than particularly for their construction - btw, the fabric on both is f-ing nuts, seriously like none other - but I don't see how you can sell an article of clothing (for so much) that is sewn up so shoddy.  If all I wanted was beautiful fabric, I'd just buy a roll of fabric.  I swear can go into any thrift shop in Colorado right now and drop ten bucks on an off brand jacket that's going to last me longer than this thing.

Anyways, I've contacted OD, and look forward to updating the community on how this situation is handled.

Literally...can't...even.