Shoes that look better with age...

[dkatz]

Raul of Willie's Shoe service / Don Ville gave me an awesome polishing tutorial yesterday. I've polished these Grensons several times in the five or six years I've owned them, but they've never looked so good!

[hollowsleather]

That shop apron is 11/10 as well.

[velomane]

Do you recall what product he used for the edges?

[tigren]

got same problem with symmetry.

with girth, usually it's simple DIY, but for tweaking the length let the local cobbler dial it in for you. half-size is very doable.

matter of fact, i just dropped off my WL TOW this morning for some heavy duty stretching

Minding touching on the simple DIY fix for girth issues?

[onehundy]

if anyone want to get rid of a pair of black wesco boss in 9.5 lmk.

[Megatron1505]

Due to my very high instep, the left boot of my new Bounty Hunters takes me about 10 minutes, and a lot of swearing, to put on, the right boot is fine.

I think that my left foot must have a higher instep than my right. Any suggestions to make this easier? Once the boot is actually on it feels perfect.

[demonator]

thats how it it mega thats normal. because the tongue on whites sitiched up all the way to the almost top

[themexican]

Chromexcel can certainly take a shine it just takes a few thin layers of polish. i start out with a clear creme, then a thin layer of paste, then a spit shine

Rw by jgomez541, on Flickr

redwing Gentleman travelers from when they were still made with cxl

[BrownMetallic]

Due to my very high instep, the left boot of my new Bounty Hunters takes me about 10 minutes, and a lot of swearing, to put on, the right boot is fine.

I think that my left foot must have a higher instep than my right. Any suggestions to make this easier? Once the boot is actually on it feels perfect.

as suggested to Aries, let your local cobbler tweak/dial in the stretch for you. it's not worth it to DIY the stretching on heavy duty boots. what will take them 2 days = a couple of weeks of agonizing pain & unnecessary discomfort.

edit: oh, btw, carefully check the boots 1st for dissimilarities. my friend MTOed a pair of SDs 4mos ago with similar complaints regarding instep & the arc ease hitting the wrong/different spot on his left foot. it turned out there were some measurement discrepancies [right vs left] + the arc ease on the left was higher/different shape than the right.

i suggested he take photos & send it to Kyle with explanations ... w/c he did. long story short, he sent them back & White's re-did the order.

Edited April 11, 2013 by BrownMetallic

[CrashTestBrummie]

It's a constant thorn in my side that none of my pictures of my WW2 Lotus veldtschoen actually do them any justice, but I thought that some of you might appreciate these pics of a pretty fucking decent job that the Shoe Healer did of resoling them.

The sole split a while ago, and whilst they were on their original soles the trim had been ground down right up to the stitch-down, meaning that Richard Smith wasn't sure that his team would have enough room to work. I was prepared for the worst...

Before

After

I know that natural sole edges are a little faddy, but I doubt you've seen one on a boot like this...

[CrashTestBrummie]

And hopefully, I'm done with the shearling Galways till next winter, although with the way that the English weather has unfolded recently then I'm not counting my chickens...

Some superficial 'damage' to the sole from bearing the brunt of the winter weather. Going to take a steer from EG as to who is best to handle the little repair due to their policy on repairs by 'outsiders'.

The walnut country calf has started showing some subtle colour variations; I'd heard it said that it was a 'flat' colour but I reckon these will look stunning in a couple or three years time.

[TheBlackGoat]

About one year into these Wescos

[coleslawyum]

Another year…

Chippewa Boots 5 years

[dkatz]

^looking good, dude!

That shop apron is 11/10 as well.

For real, man. Raul LOVES that thing, and it shows. Next time I'm in there I'll try to remember to get pictures. And we should put his shop on the list of places to visit when you're in town!

Do you recall what product he used for the edges?

We actually didn't treat the edges with anything special - just cleaned them and then treated them with a neutral creme. Everything we used was Saphir.

Edited April 12, 2013 by dkatz

[ranonranonarat]

coleslawyum that's one hell of a beautiful wear on those boots that certainly looked better with age.

CTB great work done by richard. i have a pair of zug boots that are due for a bit of resoling soon but was hesitant on how natural soles would work, alas you have taken the plunge and they do look great and deserve that new lease of life! beautiful boot collection as always.

[pomata]

tricker's william resoled with vibram commando, inspired by Chicken

[volvo240thebest]

neat work, I like it.

I have the very same pair of Tricker's but in dark brown, and they're in dire need of a resole at the moment, too. Might try something similar, but I have yet to find a cobbler who I trust enough to handle him such a precious pair of shoes..

[Snake]

Thin Finn, here is my Viberg Service Boots, Vintage Tan, Work Toe, Vibram 430, Single Natural Mid Sole.

Edited April 16, 2013 by Snake

[ThinFinn]

^brilliant looking boots there mate. thx for sharing!

are these MTO or have you bought them from anywhere directly? should be built on a 160last, yeah?

[Snake]

It's MTO directly from Viberg. Not sure what last it is though.

[rayw44]

^Nice boots Snake.

I just got these from the Wesco factory seconds page. I believe they were a Wesco Japan custom that came back. Burguindy leather, black lining, black stitching and what Wesco calls "black" roller buckles.

Hardly a flaw at all. That should blend in quite quickly.

[Mich]

^ Very nice, reminds me i should check the Wesco seconds more often.

[rodeo bill]

haven't posted in here for a while! I just picked up my much loved duckers chukka boots from a resole. They're 5 years or so old by now, and I wear them a lot. The stitching had torn where the uppers are fixed down, which has been patches inside and resewn, and the soles were completely shot. This is the 4th or 5th resole by now, this time I went for Dainite studded rubber. Done by Rompsky's in Fulham- I'm really happy with how they came out!

[ThinFinn]

received a new pair of vibergs yesterday. viberg 1950 service boots in brown horsehide, so shoes that (hopefully going to) look better with age some day!

wore them the whole day yesterday...comfortable from the start:

Edited April 23, 2013 by ThinFinn

[SwedeAlex]

received a new pair of vibergs yesterday. viberg 1950 service boots in brown horsehide, so shoes that (hopefully going to) look better with age some day!

wore them the whole day yesterday...comfortable from the start:

WOW! That´s a great looking boot! Probably the best looking boot I have ever seen. I got almost the same makeup, but from White's.

Horse Hide is GREAT! So subtle, yet durable and heavy.

Enjoy these and post pics often

[ThinFinn]

^ it´s my first pair of hh boots and i have to say that leather is brilliant. is so rich in color and the smell of the leather is awesome as well!

and you can be damn sure i´ll post a few pics in here

[PeterParker]

I remember seeing those on eBay. Seemed kinda dodgy with the errant stitching on the right boot, but if you can look past that they're gorgeous boots.

[ThinFinn]

^that´s really not a problem for me mate...the boots are handmade and errors like a "wrong placed" stitching happen every day i´d think. it´s all good, doesn´t lower the quality or awesomeness of this boot at all.

[garden gnomes in space]

to each his own, but if I was ever to pay Viberg prices, they damn well better be perfect. beautiful boots nonetheless Finn.

[skurlandski]

I was about to buy those off ebay, but ThinFinn beat me to them. Trust me, they were faaaaaar from Viberg prices.