skalogre

I recently remembered this thread (well, the original one) after many many many years... I think I last posted around 2008? Anyway, some of you may recall LeicaLed's awesome photo of his Grenson Ilkley boots hanging off the side of a helicopter in Afghanistan; here is my pair, a bit older...

Gave them a good polishing after some time and just had to show off the gorgeous patina on them; it is always worth paying more upfront for quality. Pay once, cry once. Worn these Northampton-made Grenson Ilkley boots quite a bit since 2005 through scorching heat rain, snow and mud; they have only become prettier. Working it out, around US$220 with shipping - incredibly cheap considering prices of equivalent country boots today - comes out to around US$24,40 per year. Here's to the next 10 years!

Well, YOUR presence has sure been missed! Good to see you here!

, too!

Hellooo!!!!!!!!!

Good to see a post from you, has been a while for me (checking SuFu's STLBWA thread, that is)

youngpunch, these are beautiful. but how do those soles work out for you?

Also curious about this.

P.s. amazing how this thread is not only still active but also HUGE!

^I've never looked into Church's too much. But on Ask Andy and Style Forum I've heard comments like "Church's has fallen," or "not what they used to be." I'm not sure what models people ever liked, or when Church's heyday was....

Many consider their acquisition by Prada (iirc) as the beginning of the end, and I think many also feel that the price has gone up without a commensurate increase in quality (or, maybe, even has been a drop).

OTOH, I have not seen up close any of their shoes to verify this so I don't know.

Actually there is just a slot to put Take5 discount cards in.

But are they selvage?

Good grief. And I always thought that Whites were ugly with conventional leathers, but that monstrosity takes the cake!

Does look like elephant (or elephant grain) leather though. Plain wrong if the former, bad taste if the latter.

trust me, you could always paint it black later.

I was looking for a pic of that leather sole edge trim dye bottles but I think this is more entertaining

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I'm not Greg, but I'll add that I too have a pair and of all the boots/shoes I own, I get the most compliments in that pair. (Mine are leather soled as well.) They're reasonably well made and can be recrafted many times. So, I guess that's a recommendation from me.

Two pairs of Craftsman here (standard and Comfort), another recommendation.

(I, also, am not Spartac..err..Greg )

Amlai, how many pair do you own? See, I'm only on pair #1, and those Ultimate Indy's have "Own Me" written all over them. I'm such a sucker for a good looking commando soled boot or shoe. I'm going through the rationalization process right now- "I already have this boot. Why do I need a second pair?" "Yes, but look at the material of this new boot, and they're a better grade, and leather lined, and don't forget the commando sole, which you love." "Yeah, but..." So, I'll do that dance for a while and then we'll see.

Sorry, I am unfamiliar with that term. Is it some sort of medical jargon?

I still have my pair of OG SDA's that are new, unsoaked, unworn. They are too small for me. They have the old arcs, old tab, and the old leather tag. They are a size 31. I am willing to get rid of them for the right price.

DAMN IT. I just received a day ago from BIG a pair in size 31 with the new tabs/arcs

Too late to return now, I've shrunken them down, otherwise I would have bought them off you...

Just to add on.

AFAIK, all RM Williams boots are whole cuts(1 piece of leather) This ridge come from the shaping they do on the boot last. It goes away after a while, or at the very least it becomes less visible.

Except for their laced boots and the Stockman jodphur, of course

Actually, on my two yearling leather Crasftsman pairs the ridge is very resilient, but has disappeared completely from the kangaroo leather Stockman, unsurprisingly, as it is very pliable.

Anyway, does anyone think that the boot posted earlier on was blocked or the ridge was from something else?

I saw something on SF too. I also recall seeing something on RMW's own site about it.

RMW's site is not as informative as you'd hope, which is a shame.

Here's a crease on my RM Williams, they break and stretch the leather and this might be the result...

I am far from being the most knowledgeable person to explain this but the crease on RM WIlliams is due to the blocking used during construction. Very few bootmakers use such a technique anymore as it is more labour-intensive from what I understand. There was a post I saw over at the other SF with more information, I'll see if I can dig it up.

n this monumental book twice the size of Flusser’s Dressing the Man, Sternke writes (my translation):

Whoever takes a look at the boots on offer will discover two different vamp constructions. The usual boots will have underneath the elastic inserts, a vertical seam, whereas the finer and costlier models come without this additional vamp seam, because the vamp is made of only a single piece of leather. Only a few remaining traditional makers offer such boots - and mostly then only on special enquiry. One of the few which still carry them in their regular catalogue is the Australian firm RM Williams, who usually leave the shaft unlined. The one piece shaft has a clear long ridge running down the front of the boot resulting out of the time consuming process of blocking the shaft, during which the form of the shaft is pre-formed before it is stitched – an additional step which certainly adds to the cost of the boot but permits a decidedly better final form over the upper and assures a better fit. Without the blocking step the leather crumples on walking and the resulting rolls of leather press on the foot (Quoted from page 242)

http://www.styleforum.net/showpost.php?p=281152&postcount=1

maybe this is nothing new to some of the posters here, but it's so friggin cool to me.

shoes with goodyear welt

chukka boots with norwegian welt (chainstitched)

from this site

his collections are huge too, including sick vintage levi's.

Some great pics there Chicken, thanks.

P.s. in case someone here has not heard of it,. that Vass book, "Handmade shoes for men" (iirc), has some great photographs and details on the various processes (as well as being quite the Vass showcase, heh).

Good news! After several conversations with Nick at B. Nelson, they can do this job. They do have a McKay machine for the loop stitch, and would do the loop the same way as the article depicted earlier - through the half-sole. Plus, he said they would do a neater and more craftsmanlike job of the loop stitching - check out the un-evenness at the waist.

The only thing Nick said was to make sure that the rubber half-sole you request is available in the U.S. The one in the photo is not....

So, thanks to Coleslaw for posting this - I might send my non-SuperLeather Indies there for this job....

Of course, Greg, you do realise that we will want, nay expect, photographic evidence of the changes

George Military Boot. Was to be worn with mess uniform.

I'm projecting some wear on these and I'm liking what I'm thinking. So, any love?

I like those a lot. Remind of the maker again. I've looked at them online somewhere before but can't recall. Do you have some better pictures too?

If I remember correctly C&J used to make the cavalry boots for the British Military and these are almost identical in design to some old ones I have seen. I didn't buy them at the time for some stupid reason.

Chicken, I found those on the Shipton & Heneage webpage while looking for chukka boots. I wouldn't mind seeing another angle or two, but that is the only pic they have. They could be made by Alfred Sargent, but I don't know. They are boss, that is for sure.

I don't want to go way off topic here but does anyone have any word on the line of button down oxford shirts made by Turnbull & Asser for Jean Shop?

Fre$co- Well, not Alfred Sargent. I went to Pediwear and searched a bit. Sanders Shoes has a few styles identified as "George", though none with the military designation. But the overall styling is plainly similar (they show one in patent leather, which I'd never wear, not doing many red carpet affairs lately, but if I did...). On the S&H USA webpage is where you'll fine them listed as a military boot.

S&H probably use Sargent or another mid-tier British shoe factory for their wares. I would say that it is very likely that those are corrected grain (if not patent leather), which would mean there is a very good chance that with time you may have the finish crack and flake off. High shine dress uniform boots are meant for parade wear/formal function mostly, if I am not mistaken, so the shine would be the primary concern not durability.

These watches are the most over-rated watch in history. Not worth the high $ in my opinion.

What, more overrated than Rolex?

what do you guys think of loafers?

Personally I hate them with a fervent passion (especially penny loafers/tassel loafers) but I know others like them. Matter of taste

think i might sell off my laptop to get these and slap on some vibrams . i've seen older pairs and they're a thing of beauty. the history they tell with the lifetime level of craftmanship is unlike anything i've ever touched.

Whether this was a serious post or not, no sneakers/tennis shoes/sport shoes/et.c. please.

Has anyone posted anything about Grenson yet? I don't feel like reading 350 pages to find out. If not, look them up, the brand makes amazing shoes and boots.

Yep; search for pics of Leicalad's Grenson Ilkley boots hanging of the side of a Huey in Afghanistan

looks like these already come tattered and worn only to get better with age..

...

I’m confused is this thread about shoes that look better with age? Or is it about shoe companies that have been in business for more than 100 years?

I’m a little surprised how much flack Kiya’s taking for introducing a new brand of custom locally-built boots with features like leather welts, leather soles, horse butt and Cat Paws. This should be a “shoes that look better with age†wet dream. Or is it that they cost less than $500?

As far as I see, it was not flak but mostly valid criticism and feedback. Something that Kiya's project I would assume would need to develop and expand as time goes on. What he takes to heart is completely up to what he feels would be necessary to satisfy his targetted demographic; our feedback may be of help OR it may be antithetical to his core demographic's needs...

Oh and the Whites/Wesco workboots (which I don't like, anyway) are under $500, AFAIK

^^The quality looks pretty good. But I have to agree with everyone here that it looks like a bunch of copied styles. But as long as its well made, I aint complaining. The wing tips looks uninspired though. Being more of dress boot, there are so many shoemakers that make them awesome (see Skye's, Stow's above). So I think if you're going to make a wing tip boot, its has to more special than usual.

True but frankly I would not compare an old established mid-higher end manufacturer such as C&J to what Kiya is offering. Now if they could get close to copying the sleekness of the aforementioned, guess who's VISA would cry unkle

I'd like to point out a few things..

I'm sure many of you won't believe me when i say this, but yesterday was the first time EVER i'd clicked on this thread title, and that was only because somebody called Self Edge to ask if they could buy the Patina boots now, to which i questioned where they'd even seen them and they said within this thread.. So copying styles within this thread isn't something we did, at least not on purpose.

Regarding copying popular styles, these are styles that have been done by hundreds of companies, it's really not very different than doing a 5-pocket jean, it's practically public domain now considering it's such a commonly used style of garment.

We're also not looking to produce reproductions, that's why you're seeing some odd accents on some of the boots that some purists might not dig.

All the boots are made either in San Francisco or Long Island, the design is done here in SF..

To the comment about a "one stop shop".. This is a completely seperate project not in any way related to Self Edge, it's a standalone store we're opening two blocks from SE.

We're carrying six lines..

Wild Child (a line by Samuel de Goede [Cotton Duck] and myself)

Patina (a line by me..)

Dry Bones

Skull

Flat Head

Clipper's

Buzz Rickson (& William Gibson)

The first two lines are fully customizable, you can even choose a boot and pick out your cordovan and we'll produce it for you within 6 weeks. Also, we'll have in-house aging services, pick out a boot and for an extra cost we'll make it look however you'd like.

There's lots of things planned and hopefully i won't die from exhaustion before it all comes together this summer.

That certainly sounds interesting, curious to see the results of some customised articles.

I have not posted anything in a while so as I got in yesterday a pair of RM Williams Comfort Craftsman in claret yearling thought I should post some pics. Anyway, here is my post from SF with three RMWs for comparison.

Stockman (in chestnut), Craftsman (in dark tan) and Comfort Craftsman (in claret). The latter is practically unworn. The flash makes them seem lighter than they really are. And yes, a good polish is needed

Seems that the Comfort Craftsman is, indeed a little more bulbous or should I say, taller at the toe box, probably so that the padded sole would fit inside. Naturally, the shape will probably change after a week or two, just like it happened with the Craftsman.

As a point of comparison, I also have the Stockman, which is in size 9F (AUS). The other two are in size 9G (AUS).

Trying to show here the difference in height; the length difference is due to the angle. Standard Craftsman in front.

P.s. the Comfort Craftsman got here in 11 days from order, Nungar trading.

As much as I love Alden, that sort of thing seems all to common...a bit rough around the edges with quality

Costs have to be cut somewhere, even if it will be with lax QC. Hope you have contacted them for an exchange, Braidkid.