cander49

Interesting. I've never had any issues with pants ripping from my speed hooks, but my laces tend to tear kind of quickly. Speaking of shoes with speed hooks, I put down a deposit on a pair similar to these, from Brick and Mortar, a month or two ago:

I think they're supposed to be done around August or September. Long wait, but should be worth it. Apparently, this pair in the picture was hand-modified by the owner to have an antique-style edge, so they're slightly imperfect, but they don't have any of the special order finished yet, so they're still using it for the picture.

Sick boots, Aho. I've only ever had Aldens with speed hooks. Is putting on / taking off a boot that tall annoying with eyelets instead of the speedhooks?

FWIW, Quoddy got back to me and will happily fix up that shoe. Still really confused as to what happened. The other shoe needed more challenging work, and they did that much better. Maybe they had a new guy on this one?

Holy shit. I really couldn't express greater disappointment for Quoddy's repairs. I sent back 2 pairs early January and just got them back today, 2 months later. I needed a fair amount of work this time, so I wasn't going to complain that it took longer than 2 weeks (how long it took the last time I needed work a year and a half ago). However, I was disappointed to see that they upped their resole prices from $35 to $79 in the span of a year and a half. Oh well. In any case, I was shocked as soon as I saw the box. They shoved both pairs into one shoe box.

(One of the pairs in the box, for reference)

Not surprisingly, one of the shoes was completely crushed in the back. Hopefully I can sort it out with shoe trees, but as of now, the heel won't stay up when I wear it.

Unfortunately, this was far from the worst of my problems. As you can see here, they simply failed to fix a gigantic hole in the seam. I specifically photographed this and inquired about it, and they said they could take care of it? 

You may have seen some excess glue on the eyelet on that last photo... I requested that they replace a cracked eyelet. They did, but they glued it down over a piece of the old one. On top of that, they didn't even bother to wait to thread the lace through until the glue was dry, and they accidentally glued the lace to the hardware. Seriously?

I am flabbergasted that they managed to do this so poorly. On top of that, the lace that they glued to the shoe isn't even the color I requested. Instead of a dark brown, they gave me a chestnut color, and now it's glued to the shoe. Ugh...

Just emailed them back to see what they can do about fixing these up. Honestly, I'm almost scared to send them back at this point though... Edit: not almost. I AM scared to send them back.

For what it's worth, Rancourt recently made me a pair of shoes, and the work was outstanding (admittedly, they were a couple weeks slower than quoted), so they get my vote for hand-made mocs righ tnow. Quoddy did great work in the past, but based on this, I have very little confidence now.

Edit 2: they used to not use glue in any capacity. Wonder what happened with that? I could actually smell the glue from outside the box before I even started unpacking it.

 

I just wanted to share that, to this day, I deeply regret not winning this auction on eBay 2.5 years ago: http://www.ebay.com/itm/VTG-NOS-Unworn-ALLEN-EDMONDS-SHELL-CORDOVAN-Leeds-10-5-D-Amazing-Find-Color-6-/121182717489?ssPageName=ADME%3AB%3AWNA%3AUS%3A3160&nma=true&si=%252FUfGSb1ytEaSL4TdGXZsI74FxDY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

You can't see the picture anymore, but the description suffices. New old stock Color #6 (!!!!!!!) shell cordovan wholecut bluchers from 1960 in my size, with far better details and construction than what AE puts into anything these days. I was just getting into shell and had no idea that I could never get something like this again. The auction went for an ultra-cheap $415 and I was the 2nd highest bidder. I didn't bid again because I figured I could get a better deal in the future. Fucking facepalm. Don't even have the pictures anymore. So much regret...

Really love those Alden Cander49. Is the leather natural CXL?

It's actually a J Crew model, exclusive to them I believe. It's "tobacco" calfskin. The color is ever-so-slightly redder in real life, which doesn't quite show up in my photos. Compared to other chromexcel shoes of mine, this leather darkens more easily with treatment, but it seems to require even less treatment.

Finally going to get these resoled and refinished for the first time soon. Alden, 2.5years old (edit, originally thought it was more like 3), lots of use.

Re: the above, yeah, they stretch a lot, but I haven't had many pairs of raws that don't. I've gone up 10 pounds due to inactivity while finishing my PhD, and they've stretched nicely along with me.

Wife just repaired them, btw:

Crotch patched, and seams restitched with some extra black denim I had removed from Samurai hems:

My wife does a ridiculously good job with this stuff, to the point that it's always almost totally invisible from the outside as long as I catch it moderately early.

And, new briefcase from Kaehler in Horween Dublin (their English Tan color) from my wife for (early) Christmas. This bag is astoundingly cool in person. Really looking forward to seeing how this breaks in. Everything about this bag is extremely well done. The leather is just gorgeous. It's hard to capture it in a photo, but the color is insane. Dublin is a full-grain cowhide treated with the same processes as shell cordovan with extra waxing at the end, and since it's cowhide, it's thicker and has more grain. Because of the huge amount of waxing, the pull-up is out of this world. It's going to get more intense with wear, which is pretty damn cool. The construction feels really, really sturdy. Every detail, from the super heavy-duty zipper, to the laptop compartment leather/metal knob enclosure, to the metal feet, to the reinforced stitching seems super well thought out and built to last.

Xpost from Oni:

6 months of effective wear, 2 washes, against a hideous hotel carpet:

 

 

 

I need to give them a wash, quite obviously, but I'm not exercising much at all right now while finishing up the last stages of my PhD, and I'm nervous about how tight they'll be on my temporarily expanded waist line.   Also, need to repair the crotch very soon. It's going to be a mess really quickly. This denim isn't at all durable. Haha.

6 months of effective wear, 2 washes, against a hideous hotel carpet:

I need to give them a wash, quite obviously, but I'm not exercising much at all right now while finishing up the last stages of my PhD, and I'm nervous about how tight they'll be on my temporarily expanded waist line.  Also, need to repair the crotch very soon. It's going to be a mess really quickly. This denim isn't at all durable. Haha.

New pickups from Tanner: belt for me, wallet and bag for my wife, coasters for both of us.

Apologies for derailing this excellent thread with my enthusiasm for foot-friendly footwear... 

 

Here's a good video showing the downsides to basketball shoes and the negative effects they have on feet, as well as on the body's overall athletic performance. The problem areas he discusses with basketball shoes can be related to any foot wear, and the impacts on the feet and body are generally the same. 

 

 

 

I've learned a lot from reading and listen to Dr Ray McClanahan. I've even bought his CorrectToes and wear them nearly everyday with Injinji toe socks. I have noticed some positive changes in my own feet/toes, but not sure how much more they will get "corrected". 

 

 

 

Here's another good video demonstrating the transition from running with conventional footwear to running with barefoot shoes. 

 

 

 

If you search YouTube for barefoot running videos, and watch some analysis of the best elite runners, even those athletes that wear shoes with slightly elevated heels are still running with a forefoot strike and a long back leg stride. 

 

This is an extrapolation totally on my part, but the idea about heel striking when running can be applied to walking. We've been programmed to believe (due to wearing shoes with elevated, padded heels) that we're supposed to extend our leading leg forward in front of the hip and land with our heel first and then roll forward onto the ball of the foot. This is not a natural movement pattern. When barefoot running or walking, the the leading leg does not extend past the hip, rather the trailing leg extends farther backwards, and the forward foot lands with more emphasis on the forefoot than the heel. The ankles and knees will flex to about shock and prevent trauma due to impact. Otherwise there's a risk on injuring your heel. 

 

For years and years I bought into the supportive insole and footwear BS, especially White's whole schpeal on the "natural phenomenon" of the foot being at a certain angle when relaxed when one leg is crossed over the other, White's arch to alleviate fatigue, blah blah blah. If your feet hurt when you don't wear supportive footwear, it's because your feet are accustomed to wearing supportive footwear. You feet and body will adapt to what you throw at it, for better or worse. 

 

Now I look at that as complete and utter BS and a marketing scam that's endured over 100 years. I LOVE White's, Nick's, Wesco and all the other great boot makers - and especially some of the Japanese Engineer boot interpretations. I wish they would apply their superior crafting skills to footwear that is lighter, flat - zero drop/no elevated heel - with no arch support or cushioning/padding, and a wider, foot shaped toe box. 

Biomedical engineer (5 weeks from completing my PhD, well published for a grad student, with 4 pubs and 146 citations) and reasonably fast runner (1:10 half marathon, 2:42 marathon) here. To be completely honest, the research does not generally support that "natural" or "zero drop" is more healthy. In fact, the most well-supported evidence is that the best way to avoid injuries is just to pick the pair of shoes that is most comfortable to you. It's pretty well documented at this point that just picking a shoe based on your instinct when trying them on will do a better job of preventing injury than any other form of choice. Some people choose minimal, zero-drop shoes, while others pick bulky high-drop shoes. I tend to prefer shoes that are light (I'd never consider anything more than, say, 6.5 to 7 ounces) with a low-drop (I like 3mm), but to suggest that others should pick similar shoes is not reasonable.

Actually, from what I've seen, they're pretty well made. My wife has had a pair for awhile, and there haven't been any issues. Quoddy refused to do some simple work on one of my pairs that I have from them, so I figured I'd try someone new.

Finally decided to put through an order with Rancourt for some 5-eye moccasin boots in repello suede. I've had a few pairs of Quoddys for 3 - 4 years now and all 3 are going to need a little work (restitch or resole) soon, so I figured I should have some casual mocs that I can wear when all 3 of these are back in Maine getting tuned up. My wife has a pair of their boat shoes that I managed to get for her on eBay, brand new, for $30 shipped, and they are super well made, so I'm looking forward to getting my own, even if they cost more than 10x as much as hers. Will post pics when they come in in a few weeks.

Somewhere between 7 and 10 days of wear and the contrast is showing.

I've decided to wear more black and grey, largely prompted by buying a super cool black hat from Gladys Tamez Millinery and wanting to wear it all the time, so I think mine will actually go pretty fast. I originally wanted to keep them pretty black, but these look like they'll fade so interestingly that I'm going to try to do a lot of active stuff in these instead of my Onis, just so I can see results faster. Based on how they're creasing so far, I actually think that they'll turn out significantly better than my indigo 710s that I won my category of HWDC2 with. The only complaint that I have with them is that I actually have to be super careful about keeping them clean. Dirt blends into indigo pretty easily, but it's immediately apparent on black, so I find myself having to spot clean all the time to avoid looking filthy. Haha.

Will do my best, though I try to keep them black as long as possible and just wear them to the office. The amount of grey/whize poking through in high stress areas is imense already. And there are some grey marble effects as well, that might get pronounced with washing. I'll probably wear my pair until the 710DMO is released, so they should see two more months (unless my DWC contest pair shows up).

710 BKB, three weeks of wear

Nice! I'll get pics of mine soon... Seems like they have a lot of color poking through after 1 week of minimal intensity wear. I guess these will be pretty fun to watch as they fade.

Here's the fit pre-soak. BiG hemmed the inseam to about 2" longer than I'd want it to be so that it should sit right about where I want post-soak. I feel like they look better in this pic than they actually fit, but they felt like they were going to end up just a bit looser than I'd want in a few spots.

I wanted to slim the waist a typical amount and the leg as much as possible, so I soaked the whole thing in moderate water and then soaked the crotch down in the hottest temperature my bath tub would put out. They're almost dry and the fit seems like it'll be pretty good.

I'm near NYC right now, so I ended up stopping by Blue in Green and picked up a pair of 710BKBs. They're looking good and I'll have to get pictures up when I'm back home. I honestly can't say how much I'll wear these vs my Onis, so I'm not sure how fast I'll fade them, but it'll be fun to see them break in.

Well, I always wanted a decent quality pair of black jeans. had to sell my IH 555-03 as the fit was too tight. And a full black 710 sounded like a dream come true.  They hold up to my expactations, besides I wouldn't have thought they fade so fast. In fact, I would prefer them to stay darker for a long time.

 

But I don't think they'll end up with high contrast if you wash and wear them a lot. The rather slubby surface gets grey spots on top pretty fast and I think it shows more because of the black weft. I don't have expeirence with the BKs, but those always looked grey from the start and didn't seem to fade as fast.

Cool. Yeah, I'm leaning towards the Black Hawk. I decided that I would prefer only grey or black thread, so that seems like the best option.

After another soak a little more evo of my BKB, about 15 wears in. These are really fast faders, haven't even worn them hard.

Max, so glad to see that you have a pair of these. I'm thinking about buying them myself, but I'm kind of on the fence over which pair to get. I like these, the regular 710 black, and the 710 black shadow. What made you pick this particular pair? It seems like you think these will fade faster than the regular pairs despite being black on black? Why do you think that is? I want a pair that's going to fade to gray, but I'd rather than it not occur super quickly. I admit that I'm a little nervous about the zero denim, just since it's so irregular. It sounds like it might be kind of like my intentionally irregular / slubby Onis that had some issues really quickly. Thoughts?

Hey guys, pardon my delay in posting these photos! I got my prize in about a month ago, but had the intention of fixing up my jeans before I wore them to take photos with it. Alas, there is so much work to do on them that it will probably never get done. Haha. So, I've decided to just post photos with my jeans all torn up.

Here's the bag in all of its glory:

I thought leather and studs looked cool with leather and studs:

Me wearing it in my contest jeans:

And, here's where it sits in my apartment:

 

And a comparison between my 11 month old ONI-527 secret denim.

 

Your pair is sick, btw. These look really awesome and inspire me to wear mine into the ground.