I have a problem with rivets on jeans that aren't a) copper, and b) real burr rivets. These days, I pretty much only wear Levi's 501 jeans. I'm a big fan of the Levi's LVC 1947 501xx repros, which have real burr rivets, but I also dig the cheap off-the-rack 501's, which I like to alter to fit more like Dior Hommes (the lack of selvage denim being a plus in that I don't hesitate ripping open the side seam and taking an inch-and-a-half off the leg opening). Besides altering the fit of 501's, I also rip out the fake press-on rivets and replace them with real burr rivets. Three or four years ago, I got a pair of APC New Cure jeans because I dug the fit. I hated the nickel rivets, however. I wore them on a trip to Japan and upon returning, took the pocketful of copper ten yen coins I had accumulated and turned them into burrs to rivet them in place of the bad nickel rivets. This involved chucking them in a metal lathe and milling them down to around 3/8" diameter. Here's a few pics.
I posted this project on superfuture several years ago.
