Shoes that look better with age...

[Chicken]

oh man, braidkid, i really like those trickers. nice steez.

i guess you could always add things like vibram #705s to the soles, but like you're saying i love the way they look. i say since you already have the semi dress with grippy soles, leave these the way they are. just avoid wet surfaces. (and have a good health insurance.)

i also love looking at vintage alden 405s. thanks for posting them guys.

[GregNYC]

Braid, riff - very nice boots. I like the Tricker's thick sole, and really like the Navy work boot's panel stitching on the side. Looks like what I imagine to be the real thing. (Maybe except for the narrow-ish last. The blobby Barrie last was supposedly used on the Army boots that Alden made for the govt in WWII.)

Mattes - do those vintage 405s have speedhooks? What year are they from, approx?

OK folks, here are my Cat's Paw Whites, back from Alex's recovery job As you might recall, they went to Jim's here in NYC, who did an OK job on the soles, but died the stitching black, and put an ink-like dye all around the mid-sole to match the dark brown color of the uppers.

So - I took them to Alex's to grind down the leather so as to remove the dye. They did a pretty good job, but they had to grind the heels so deeply that they *increased* the undercut slant of the heel. More Cuban than ever. So, I had another Cat's Paw rubber heel and told them to just start over and re-do the heel -- with *less* rake.

So -- the last few pictures show the original, ground-down super-Cuban White's raked heel, next to the more regular looking Alex heel. Alex had to grind away the ridge of mid-sole leather from in back of the heel. I liked that ridge, because it would catch my jeans and keep them from sliding all the way to the ground. Oh-well, I'm thinking of sending them to Greg at Eddie's to do all over again.

(BTW, I think I know why White's rakes the heels so much. It makes them easier to walk in. The way they are now, the heel clumps down, then the foot slaps down as from a lever. Before, the raked heel gave the hell-strike more an even, rolling motion. But it looked strange, to the folks at Jim's, and to Alex too.)

[pikler]

Those look great Greg, though I do prefer the more raked heel they originally had. I'm looking forward to a pair of semi-dress of my own some day.

[Madmax]

I am going to San Diego in late april. Can anyone recommend any shoe stores in San Diego or Los Angeles that sells Alden?

[fre-co]

Wow so much nice stuff on this page!

Trickers look fantastic Braidkid. Same size as me too.

Riff: Those captoe aldens also look lovely

Greg: I must say I quite like the straighter heel on those, although it is a bit of a shame to have lost the ridge. Overall they are looking pretty damn good.

Re stacking: I think 405s look much better with rolled jeans than stacked, I have never worn them stacked that way since trying it out in the picture.

[SLAB]

Greg, those Whites look amazing! I would leave them as they are now, not so much of a fan of that Cuban heel. What size are they? I'd take them from your hands if you want

[braid]

They look great Greg. Alex did some awesome recovery work for you. I still can't believe how bad they hosed up your white's.

If you're paying this much for recovery work, perhaps you could send them back to White's in Spokane and they could bring the boot back to how you want it?

[datasupa]

BTW, I think I know why White's rakes the heels so much. It makes them easier to walk in. The way they are now, the heel clumps down, then the foot slaps down as from a lever. Before, the raked heel gave the hell-strike more an even, rolling motion. But it looked strange, to the folks at Jim's, and to Alex too.

that's exactly right, the heel is designed to be more ergonomic. it is definitely more comfortable to walk for a long period in the whites than say, trickers. the high arch also supports the entire foot much better. white's are pure function over form.

8 month semidress progress report

[YIKES]

those are damn beautiful! I love the heel on them... I need to get some boots like that

[fattybfat]

braidkid: what color are those trickers? is it c'shade or marron?

Look great with the fit pics

datasupa: those whites look absolutely beautfiful after 8 month, toe doesnt look that squarish either

[braid]

fatty (uh, can i call you that?) they're the marron color.

datasupa, do you use trees?

[Guest mattes]

Mattes - do those vintage 405s have speedhooks? What year are they from, approx?

I got them from ebay and emailed the the seller if he knew about the age?. He told me that doesn't know about the age and he told me that he got the Indys from the store which was as a floor model.

What are speedhooks???

[GregNYC]

Slab - sure I'd sell them - they are 9.5Es. Send me a PM. I might just go for another fresh pair w/ double leather soles... That would make the toe box look better to me than the single leather they came with. They look lots better now with that extra layer of rubber on the bottom.

Mattes - thanks for checking. Speedhooks are for the laces, at the top of the boot instead of the holes. They are faster to get the laces through.

NYC folks - wanna have a GTG/movie outing when "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" comes out?

[datasupa]

datasupa, do you use trees?

yep, trees r good.

i usually alternate wearing the whites and my stows, and always keep em in trees when not wearing

[braid]

^ cool, they look good, just looks like a lot of creasing in the toe for such a short amount of time which is why I was wondering.

[tmadd]

NYC folks - wanna have a GTG/movie outing when "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" comes out?

Greg, thats a great idea.

Anyone down for an SF Bay Area Kingdom of the Crystal Skull meetup?

[Guest mattes]

Slab - sure I'd sell them - they are 9.5Es. Send me a PM. I might just go for another fresh pair w/ double leather soles... That would make the toe box look better to me than the single leather they came with. They look lots better now with that extra layer of rubber on the bottom.

Mattes - thanks for checking. Speedhooks are for the laces, at the top of the boot instead of the holes. They are faster to get the laces through.

NYC folks - wanna have a GTG/movie outing when "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" comes out?

yes they have those hooks, see the pics at page 292.

[DenimDad]

Slab - sure I'd sell them - they are 9.5Es. Send me a PM. I might just go for another fresh pair w/ double leather soles... That would make the toe box look better to me than the single leather they came with. They look lots better now with that extra layer of rubber on the bottom.

I was thinking of the double leather soles also, but am reluctant to start over since the pair I have is really starting to get comfortable. I contacted White's directly and they quoted about $80 to replace the soles, and around $180 for a more complete rebuild including the welt. I may go this route rather than springing for a new pair...

[dave023]

Great last pages....

[GregNYC]

According to IMDB, "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is slated for release on May 22:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367882/releaseinfo

Folks ought to have their Ultimate Indies by then, and my regular pair will have a great patina of polish.

[tmadd]

I just got my Indy's that I had resoled at Eddie's. They look great, even better than I thought they would from the pictures Greg sent me. They are also incredibly comfortable, I had really worn them to the ground before I sent them in...too bad I didn't take any pictures prior to sending them in.

Tyler

[la-vvoc]

how much does the catpaws job cost on indys?

[tmadd]

how much does the catpaws job cost on indys?

With shipping and everything, that job cost me $165, but it was a total resole, so it might be less depending on what exactly you were having done. However, I am not sure Greg will be doing stitching anymore...he agreed to do it for me and quoted me a price before realizing that his stitching machine wasn't able to do a job this thick, so they ended up spending at least 5 hours hand-stitching the soles...I can't complain at all, as they look amazing, but I don't foresee Greg being eager to do a job like that again anytime soon. Who knows though...maybe if there is enough demand it would be worth his while to acquire an adequate stitching machine.

[DenimDad]

Wow - beautiful shoes, tmadd. Love the color on those Indys

[la-vvoc]

what do you think the price would be to add catpaws to a new pair of indys?

[riff]

Just lovely Tyler. Your cats paw/Indy collection is fantastic!

[amlai]

Slab - sure I'd sell them - they are 9.5Es. Send me a PM. I might just go for another fresh pair w/ double leather soles... That would make the toe box look better to me than the single leather they came with. They look lots better now with that extra layer of rubber on the bottom.

The only problem with the double leather soles is that you no longer get to see the nails on the bottom. I really like the way it looks with the nails going around the shank.

[la-vvoc]

i thought this was a sick picture of some frye harness boots im selling (frye logo looks badass lol):

[Chicken]

With shipping and everything, that job cost me $165, but it was a total resole, so it might be less depending on what exactly you were having done. However, I am not sure Greg will be doing stitching anymore...he agreed to do it for me and quoted me a price before realizing that his stitching machine wasn't able to do a job this thick, so they ended up spending at least 5 hours hand-stitching the soles...I can't complain at all, as they look amazing, but I don't foresee Greg being eager to do a job like that again anytime soon. Who knows though...maybe if there is enough demand it would be worth his while to acquire an adequate stitching machine.

oh man, you lucky man. hand-stitching could've easily cost you another $100, if not $200 for labor. they did a fantastic job for you.

[GregNYC]

tmadd - I hope they can continue to do stitching. What I especially like is the nails!! Jim's here in NYC can do stitching, and so can Alex. Maybe not through *double* leather soles w/ Cat's Paws, but single leather no problem. Jim said he didn't want to do nails, because they would "squeak."

I recently discovered another ultra high-end cobbler's in NYC. Been around almost a century. They can do anything to the uppers or soles, and have the best German leather soles. They're one of the few places that can repair cracks and scratches in the uppers, and they can do nails no prob. They don't have Cat's Paws, but heck, I'm gonna take my new Indies there for something cool....... More info later!!!