Ichiran

Richard helped me with an item from the UK Timberland website, and couldn't have been a better proxy.  Thanks again!

BOHLIN design Sterling Indian Chief Buckle Ring

I recently had the local guy put on some Topy's on my Stows so that I won't die next time I walk on wet tiles, slate or carpet. And they weren't cheap. $40 for the pair. It's pretty much the same with every other cobbler. $40-$50. 5 years ago I had a pair of RM Williams Topy'ed for $20. Things have definitely changed. Cream Topys to match the leather underneath.

I never get tired of seeing Stows in this beautiful color. Nice job getting the soling done in cream -- that seems classy to me. How hard is it to replace them when the time comes? Can you keep the leather sole, or does everything need to be replaced at that point?

Hi everyone, I'm looking to finish off a belt and was wondering if anyone knows where to get a buckle along the lines of the one on this FH belt:

I've looked at the rectangular blanks that Tandy offers, but those seem less hefty and have a less refined look, to me. Thanks for any info!

Just noticed these on Cultizm:

Red Wing 1913/9013 in Chestnut Featherstone ($299).

^I agree, you did a nice job with tanning and oiling and it will darken up nicely with use.

I understand why you want to cut the wallet, but if I were you, I'd leave it as-is. I'd be worried that the thin strip of leather that would be left after your cut (to the right of your rectangle) would feel really flimsy. It's a great wallet, and the funny holes are just part of the charm, in my opinion.

I was wondering if you could give some more info about this belt. Is the leather the same as the Iron Rangers? Is the buckle removable? How wide is it, and how much did it cost? Thanks.

^I'm sure a lot of people (including me) would be interested in seeing pics and reading a review of the repro boots.

I'd never heard of Limmer, so I looked up their website; here's a pic of their oxfords for everyone to check out:

Norwegian welt construction, according to the site. They remind me a lot of Dr. Martens (which I have nothing against).

^Thanks! I actually keep my wallet in the front pocket of my jeans, that's why I use a billfold and not a bigger wallet. I don't like sitting on my wallet -- just a personal preference.

I really like muji things alot. Just plain simple

I totally agree -- here are some pics of my Muji wallet:

I only got it in June, so there's not much evo yet. I didn't tan or oil it, just natural wear. I'm thinking about trying Lexol to clean and condition when the time comes... maybe?

fattybfat: I got a Muji wallet a few months back, but a different model (a billfold); not sure if that was before or after you got your coin case. So far, I haven't oiled or tanned, so it's only darkened very slightly just from the natural oil from my hands. I'll try to take some pics tomorrow and post them. The quality is good -- the natural leather seems a bit thicker/tougher than the other colored leathers Muji offers (brown & black), however.

indesertum: If you're in Europe/Asia, you should be able to get them at most Muji stores. I was in the NYC store recently (midtown), and they'd just restocked on several models in all colors -- emmitbrown, if you're reading, they've got my model back in stock, too!

Would it be ok to apply black or brown kiwi wax to a pair of black cherry RW GTs? I am afraid I will cause the light brown area on the sole to lose it's color.

The closest match to the black cherry GT color in Kiwi wax is the color they call cordovan. Just apply it carefully; if you are very concerned about the sole, you can protect it with masking tape before you apply the wax. The alternative is to use neutral colored Kiwi wax, but you should still have a tin of cordovan to touch up scuffs.

Just noticed that Urban Outfitters is now selling the RW GT for $300, as well as the RW 875 for $235.

Birkenstocks had never really appealed to me in the past, but I read the past few posts and Googled a little -- I think these look pretty nice, actually:

^Thanks. The other nice thing, which I forgot to mention, was that they didn't charge my credit card until they shipped the shoes back to me. It's certainly the right way to do things, but I'm sure a lot of other businesses wouldn't handle it that way.

Thanks, JonB27, fattybfat, and rodeo bill! I'm happy with the results, and am looking forward to wearing them. The Alden service was really good, and I'd definitely think about using them again for other shoes. I wonder how they'd handle more idiosyncratic requests (I didn't want anything unusual for these shoes), and I wonder if they'd have any different attitude towards special makeups by places like Leather Soul or Alden of Carmel.

Hey everyone, work stuff has been keeping me really busy lately, but I wanted to post the results of my experience with the Alden Restoration Service.

To recap: I'd bought a pair of old Alden 901s on eBay for about $50, and called Alden to request the Restoration kit. (You can see my pics of the shoes and kit on pages 427 and 441) They completely rebuild the shoes, resole them, and refinish them, and send them back to you with a new box, laces, shoe bag, and shoe trees (all of which I was missing).

The service costs $135 and turnaround is 4-6 weeks. I figured that if they came out well, it would still end up being less than half of what they cost new ($379), so I gave it a shot. Anyway, on to the pics...

New box, bag, and trees:

To me, they look virtually new:

The insoles and soles are stamped "Alden Restoration":

Looking good, rodeo bill -- would you mind describing what you used to clean/polish them?

^I've wondered what the evo on those shell cordovan leather goods from BB would be like (the linings are calfskin). If you look closely, all of them are stamped "HANDMADE IN JAPAN"!

Just noticed these in a recent Brooks Brothers catalog:

BB X Paraboot straight captoe blucher boots in shell, $998.

What do the indies offer over the iron rangers?

Indies, Iron Ranger, GTs, Semi-Dress... in the end, the most important thing is your own sense of style. They're all good boots, but which one looks the best to you and on you? Even if everyone here agreed that one type was the best (which is obviously not the case), it wouldn't help you if that style didn't work for you.

I think the Indies and the Iron Rangers have a pretty dramatically different look, and which one you choose is mostly a matter of your own taste. Everything else is kind of secondary. You won't really go wrong either way.

fattybfat: Totally agree about the RWs on eBay, especially about the ton of J.Crew ones out there now. You and I spend way too much time looking at RWs on eBay, dude. Ha! I'm kind of hoping that some of those RWXJ.Crew 899s will eventually show up on eBay. They look interesting to me, but I don't want to spend $325 on them.

MiniW: Terrific pickup. I think you lucked out on the fit because of the last that Alden uses on their chukkas. They look great! [edit: I see that amlai has beaten me to it -- sorry.]

is it me or is the dye job on the dark rangers really awful?

It's a matter of taste, of course, but the variations in color are due to the fact that the boot is made out of a heavy oiled leather, so the leather can look lighter or darker in spots depending on the angle of the light, stretch/stress on a particular spot, or even rubbing the leather with your hand can cause slight variations. Copious detail here.

so I know nothing about boots, what is the minimum I can spend to get something that will last a long time? I live in ohio, so I expect wear in some ugly weather. is it possible to get something nice for under $200? $150?

The best bargain I've seen recently is the Katahdin Iron Works Engineer Boots by L.L. Bean, which are made in the USA by Chippewa and cost $149. Quite a bargain, in my opinion.

Just noticed that cultizm is offering the RW Iron Rangers in Oro-iginal ($299) -- I haven't seen this option elsewhere:

They have pretty good pics of the other colors, too -- Amber Harness and Hawthorne Muleskinner:

fre$co, I think they ship to the UK, so if you've enough money in your wallet, you can probably get your IR fix through cultizm!

Just noticed that J.Crew is now selling the RW Iron Ranger:

For some reason, their description claims that that the boot was made "exclusively for us from a vintage 1953 ad" even though you can buy it at Zappos, among other places. J.Crew is also charging $350 for them, versus $274 at Zappos -- not sure what that extra $76 buys you.