tod

Can't decide between these brown cxl Alden cap toe boots from TSM, or the Natty cxl cap toe trench boot from Viberg.

 

Any opinions?

I am an unabashed Viberg fan, but I think between these two I'd go with the Aldens.

Do you mean the double stitching on the welt?  If so, White's offers the option for single stitching ("close trim"), and in that case I think White's Semi-dress or Bounty Hunter is exactly what you're looking for..

Regarding arch support:  I will just say that it makes a HUGE difference for me.  Without it, my feet for years felt sore and my back hurt if I stood for more than an hour or so a day, or had to walk much.  I just figured that was life for many years, but then at some point started getting some arch support insoles, and it made my life much better.  I used them in all my boots.  And then I found White's, and it was the first pair of boots that I could wear all day without an insole and still feel good.  Honestly, it's like a miracle dudes!

Now, I have learned in recent years that I have not only hight arches but also very flexible feet (so that mash down when I walk to use the technical term), so it may be that I am an ideal candidate for White's. But i know it helps others as well. For those that don't need the support, I can only say you are very lucky.  You can wear totally flat but cool-looking Iron Rangers (which would kill me).  But for those who do, White's is the shit.

So cool..

 

thanks! I have a follow-up, from The Northampton Shoe Museum:

 

Dear William and Deborah

 

Thank you very much for sending me the details of your exciting concealed boot find.

 

We do indeed have a concealed shoe index here at the museum, which was set up by Miss June Swann (author of one of the attached articles) who was the shoe curator here at the museum from 1950 until she retired in 1988. At the moment the index stands at approximately 1,900 entries from all over the U.K and also records concealed shoe finds in North America, Canada, and a number of countries in Europe including France, Spain and Poland.

 

I will certainly add your find to the index in due course.

 

It's what I know as a side elastic boot. Such a boot style with the elastic gussets was patented in 1837 by Mr J Sparkes Hall. It has the cloth boot pulls at the front and back to help pull the boot on. It is typical of a concealed find being very well worn.  The theory is that the good human spirit goes into the shoe and that good spirit will protect the house from evil spirits wanting to harm the house or its occupants. Concealed children’s shoes are popular because their spirit was considered purer and therefore more powerful. It’s an intriguing subject and incredibly popular. It also raises many questions that cannot now and probably never will be answered in full. It’s highly unlikely that the occupants hid the shoe as it is usually builders who through building work, extensions or renovations have exposed the house and so they need to make amends of some sort. I I think your boot is probably 1860s. It’s a great example. Will you be putting it back?

 

Best regards

 

Rebecca

 

The builders had already bricked and plastered up the hole before they showed us the shoe, so it's not easy to put it back at the moment. We're planning to get a glass box for it for the moment, and then maybe next time we have some work done we'll brick it back in- it's certainly not going to leave the house, anyway!

 

Gotta agree, those lone wolf mechanic boots looks great once they crease up. Saw them when new and didn't really like the shape, but I've changed my tune.

Me too.  Really like the mechanic boots, but can't justify getting a pair in addition to my black White's BH's...

^ Those CXL Indy boots will only get better with age!  Here are mine at four months, really starting to look the way I like them.

I was wondering if I could get some opinions from thise who own a pair of White's, specifically the Semi Dress boots. I recently sent in my foot measurements/tracing - that paper that White's sends you in their catalog - I sent that in to Baker's for sizing advice on a pair of Horse Hide SD. I also included my shoe size in a bunch of other shoes for their reference. Anyway, they called me back last night while I was at work, so I had to let it go to voicemail. But evidently my size is 11C. This just doesn't sound right to me at all. Every other pair of boots I own is an 11E or 11EE and I also wear a wide width in New Balance shoes. Do White's run naturally wide, or..? I value their taking the time and effort to size me up, and I plan on giving them a call after the holidays, but I wanted to get some thoughts here as well.

White's most definitely measured me too small.  I would get a pair of try on boots to be sure if I were you.

Fella's, while I've got your ears... what's the general opinion about the quality of three major mid-range North American shoe makers - Chippewa (Originals), Redwing (Heritage), and Wolverine (1000 Mile) (yes I know there are many others too). Not really interested in their work boot lines... What I see most written is Chippewa is at the bottom, and Redwing and Wolverine tend to be regarded as better boots. There are certain aspects of all three that appeal to me, and certain aspects that don't. I don't like RW's toe buldge; I don't like RW's and Chip's synthetic soles. I really like the look of Chip's 1901 service boot. I think Chip tends to cut some corners and use cheaper leathers; and some lines are made in China, but those don't count. There are just not enough things about the 1000 Mile boots that ever got me interested enough to get a pair. 

 

Synthetic soles, IMO, are the first place a boot maker is going to cut costs. A material like Texon on the Chip's is much less expensive than full leather with a rubber outsole. Getting a pair of their boots properly resoled is more expensive than the actual cost of the boot itself (Brian is currently resoling a pair for me now - can't wait!!!) 

 

Love to hear some thoughts, and insights as to how they're made, leathers, over quality, etc. Thanks fella's. mpp

I've talked before about the pair of pre-Katahdin Chippewa engineer boots that I wore regularly for over 10 years -- great boots in every way.  The current Katahdin cap toes look just the same as my old ones in the pictures, so I assume they are of a similar hardwearing nature.  though the plain toes posted in the link above look differnet, both with regard to the leather and (perhaps) the last.  The cap toe's I had were definitely "Munson-like" if not genuine Munson.  The classic Munson, with the extra toe room, fits me just right, and so did the Chippewas.  The leather is a matte, oiled leather that does not look like much at first, but after two years or so it started really looking great.  I think I posted pics above somewhere in the thread...

Anybody have any recommendations for boots that are shaped like these viberg service boots, but aren't necessarily that expensive?

 

http://viberg.com/products/service-boot-colour-8-chromexcel

 

$720 USD is a bit steep for me :/ but looking for something that would last a couple years and is at most around the $300 range

If you happen to be a 9.5 there is this exact pair for sale on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Viberg-Service-Boots-Chromexel-Color-8-Size-9-5-CXL-/261674692601?pt=US_Men_s_Shoes&hash=item3ced06eff9

Any chance those henleys are still available..?

^ Nice work!

 

These have really grown on me over the years. Upon developing an interest in work boots, I started out not liking the white vibram sole or even the moc-toe. Fast forward 7-8 years and I love the classic look.

Agreed.  I am not generally a fan of the wedge sole or Christy sole or those various forms of it; but I do think it looks good on the classic Red Wing.  Just like Clapton wore...

My alden indy on first-day wear 

 

 

since this is my one and only boots, do any of you guys have tips on how to treat and take care alden 405 like spesific boot cream, leather conditioner, etc?

 

thanks

These will need very little treatment of any kind.  It's a pretty tough leather (unlike the 403s).  I would not treat them with anything for quite a long time -- unless of course you are fighting wildfires or logging in them.

When you do treat them (say a year from now), I have found that Pecards darkens leather significantly, Venetian Shoe Creme very little.

here are my natural cxl retro oxfords from whites after a summer of regular wear. 

image by jgomez541, on Flickr

Really nice..  Good to see some oxfords.

didnt peep that until I read your post

To my mind it looks great.  I've seen some other round toe boots that go too far toward the clown look, but the IRs pull it off I think.  Of course, everyone has their own ideas on chunky vs sleeker boots..

^ Oh, there are also these new boots from Woolrich, which I've never seen in person but which I think look pretty good for a classic light workboot:

I don't know for sure, but suspect they are made by Thorogood.  Currently selling for $300:

http://www.woolrich.com/woolrich/details/men-s-yankee-buck-boot/_/R-23019?_=1413916875369

I appreciate the great reply's!!

 

I want to stay under $500 not because I cant afford it (I am cheap though), but because I know I wouldnt appreciate a top quality boot.  It would be like throwing a 16yr old in a $100,000 car.

 

ill look up some of these brands you all are mentioning. 

 

So far I like the  WWII Impressions Boondockers & Iron Rangers.

Right on.  Here are the Chippewas BTW, for $220 as it turns out:

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/49464?page=mens-katahdin-iron-works-engineer-boots

Pretty sure these are the same as my pre-Katahdin Chippewas, if so a great affordable boot.  The leather looks very flat to begin with, but got darker and smoother as I wore them.  I didn't do any treatment for probably a couple of years and they started getting a very nice natural patina.  Then I treated them once in a while with mink oil.  I would say at about four or five years, wearing them several days a week, they looked just about perfect.  Had them re-heeled twice, and got a good ten yeas of wear before the leather started splitting and I finally put them into retirement.

With regard to Iron Rangers, man I think the black harness leather is totally boss.

Beautiful boots in the last few pages.

 

Quick question -- what shoe creams or conditioners do you like for smooth leathers (e.g., Venetian Leather Balm, Bick 4, Obenauf's LP)?

 

Thanks.

John

I like Venetian Shoe Creme for a fairly light conditioning.  Of course, if you're fighting fires or walking through mud a lot, something heavier is called for...

So I just skimmed this thread, and it seems everything in here is $500+

 

There must be boots under that price range that are quality right?

Can anyone point me in the right direction? 

I had a great experience with my Chippewa engineer boots (really service boots), bought on sale for $65!  There is a pic of them here from a few weeks back, with 13 years of wear on them.  They fit my wide feet well (Munson last), and looked better and better as the years went on.  They were before LL Bean started offering the Chippewa Katahdin boot, but I think that will be the same build as these were.  Now going for maybe $260 or so, sometimes on sale I think.

If Red Wing Iron Rangers fit you (they are oddly narrow and long) they are great looking boots, and seem to hold up well.  Just around $300 but often on sale.  Zappos has free shipping and free returns if you are in the US.  They have no arch support, so may need an insole if that matters to you.

/\ I dunno Gav! 

 

... but ... 

 

check this out - 

 

 

Taken from here; http://fleshfoot.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Not saying that they would.. but if they evolved like this, then i think yes, not bad.

Yeah, that's a different story!  When I saw the first post I thought, I like the shape and build but that color's whacky.  But with some wear, very nice, who would've thought...

/\ Mate, I have been looking at those RDT for ages, mentioned them a few times here but there's been scant interest and only recently a bit over at Denimbro. They're available in a pretty decent rough out as well. All over google images, nice evo pics. The owner of RDT / Craft Bank, Katsuya Tokunaga, was quite responsive when I e-mailed him. 

 

I try to avoid goodyear welted as far as possible, but the RDT Coupen are one of the few that I like to admire. The Teddy I believe is stitchdown, which I find preferable.

 

edit - oh, the RDT Coupen do come in a US 9.5 by the way. Largest size available, but only a few retailers had any left when I last looked.

I saw that they theoretically come in a 9.5, but can't actually find any of that size for sale.  I sent Craftbank an email about a year ago I gues inquiring and got a friendly by fairly garbled message back in English, saying basically if you transfer the money to this long-numbered bank acct I will send the boots. When I wrote  back for some clarification I never heard another peep...  But really some great mid-cut boots.

The Japanese brand Slow Wear Lion (what is the deal with these names..?!) also has some nice work oxfords, though not quite like RDT.

Finally, here's a recent entry by the Taiwanese store Mansway (!):

Speaking of work oxfords, here are two that I have coveted recently:

Rolling Dub Trio's Coupen boot:

And W&Anchor Bros workshoe:

if the RDT's were available from a reliable seller in a 9.5 or 10, I would certainly have bought them by now.  The Wanker Bros I came close to ordering, but finally balked at the wide and light welt, going for the Indy boots instead for my current brown boot/shoe.

^ I hear all this and am with you on some of it.  Probably price is too high, probably they (or Brett at least) is getting full of himself, etc.  But as far as quality and attention to detail, I have to say that the first time I opened the box with the HH's in them, I actually laughed out loud at the quality of the boots.  They were heavy, super tight around the welt, etc, and the leather was just totally boss.  Way higher quality than any boots I had ever worn (which for 20 years up to that point had been off the shelf Chippewas, Caterpillars, and Red Wings).  With most Vibergs, put them next to a White's boot, or most any other high end workboot, and you will definitely see the difference.  Not that they are perfect -- there are certainly flaws here and there, but when they are on, they are far better than any other boot I've had, including White's and Alden in more recent years.  Whether that makes them worth $900, I have my doubts too.  But there it is...

agree with everything, but the last sentence -- i'm possibly the odd guy out: viberg's all fluff and little substance to me. i can get the same or better quality for a fraction of the price buying old/deadstock boots -- and the vintage bonus is included for free.

 

i tip my hat to them for successfully milking their target group, however. that's some business acumen!

I just find Viberg a little soul less after reading the interview with Brett where he talked about increasing the prices even further. His dad seems like a good guy, but that interview was pretty much a blueprint for alienating a section of custom.

 

The caveat I should add is that I do think a lot of their boots look great, and I would definitely buy some for the right price (I have in fact almost bought some recently), I just don't love the brand in comparison to White's, Wesco, Alden or some of the English shoe makers.

I hear you on Brett.  But when I first wrote out of the blue to them several years ago, I heard back directly from Jason Viberg, who was a laid back and helpful guy.  I even got an email back from "Mom" Viberg in answer to a question.  Those days are gone of course, and the designs have changed quite a bit, and prices have gotten too high.  But I have to say, their slightly-more-than-basic service boots still rock for me...

Here are the black HH's I owned for a while:

Well well, so it is.

 

 

Never bothered to follow Viberg, so I was really only aware of the 110, 310, 2030 and 2040. 

 

Hard to tell without seeing the last bottom paper or better the last itself how they have modified the Munson - and it would be interesting to know whether they had in fact actually truly modified a Munson (built up / trimmed etc) at all or simply had a new last turned based on measurements, in other words just approximated.

 

Not a fan of the snub nose on that 2045 boot though. 

 

edit - the danger in modifying the Munson is losing the qualities, as in the correct anatomical fit, with which it was designed. Most Viberg lasts - and in fact EVERY last I've seen in English shoes, are just too tapered and exhibit outflare in the toe box. That said, one of the less desirable features of the Munson in my opinion is the high inside cone, makes lasting the vamp by anything but by hand a bit hit or miss. Then again, the last is intended for boots worn with thick socks so that would take up some of the vamp volume I guess. A dress shoe last, it isn't...

Here's a shot of the bottom of a 2045 Viberg, with some nice Cat's Paws as a bonus:

And here is, I think, an unstructured toe on the 2045.  I actually like the rounder, snubby toe, but this might work for those who don't:

/\ agree with under use of the Munson last, it is a shame it isn't utilised more outside of the military repro and reenactors markets. ..

 

I've yet to see a Viberg last yet that doesn't make my feet hurt just looking at them.  

Here is Viberg's 2045, which they describe as being Munson-inspired at least:

To me, that's a classic boot shape...