Shoes that look better with age...

[digitaltantra]

so i've resoled my irish setters and slathered on some boot oil. got new laces for them too. excuse the cell phone pics

[Madmax]

Hello all,

I would need some help with the sizing of some Alden Indy's.

My feet are 26,6 cm ( 10,5 inches) long. I usually wear a 42,5 or 43 in Europe. With Redwings I'm comfortable with 9, the 9,5 is just a little bit to big for me.

What size should I choose for Indys? I don't own any Aldens yet.

Thanks in advance,

Heinrich

I have the same size in red wings and indys. I would go with size 9.

[dkatz]

I've got both of these beauties in size 11 for sale ($120) in the supermarket:

http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showthread.php?p=1018493#post1018493

Dark Wood

Hickory

[Calden]

The Tricker's Burford 8 eyelet loggers I ordered from the factory shop arrived today, I couldn't be happier with the results. In case you're wondering Fre$co, the customer service was great. I did everything through the mail too, so going to the factory shop itself could only make the experience that much more enjoyable. If I have some more money this time next year, I'll have to get another pair in brown. Double leather sole by the way. Here are some pics...

[digitaltantra]

those Tricker's are lovely, Calden

[braid]

Yes, Calden, very nice indeed!

[Happy Hooligan]

Just got these in the mail.

trying to find the maker. The only thing that I can still read inside is what looks like Dupont then Cord.. or Copd..

Can I have them resoled with new foot beds inside but keep the cat paw heel?

[Chicken]

^ even if you can't, deadstock cat's paw heels are still out there. the half-soles are more difficult to find, from what i understand.

[fre-co]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm going to C&J to try on some skyes I think and take the decision from there.

Calden, they look good. Were they a fully custom order or an alteration of a stock order? Also, is that a flat welt on them?

Yeah, David is a very nice chap, always willing to go the exta mile for the customer. When I called about custom boots he said "It can take 5 minutes for you to choose the spec, or I can keep you here all morning looking at leather samples!"

[edmond]

you guys should look into this site

http://www.hukurokuju.com/wesco/index.html

they even have this!

http://www.hukurokuju.com/wesco/flash/boots_change.swf

[Calden]

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Calden, they look good. Were they a fully custom order or an alteration of a stock order? Also, is that a flat welt on them?

Fre$sco - The Burford 8 eyelet Loggers are a stock boot that Tricker's makes regularly for the Japanese market. It is a flat welt. The only thing different from stock on my boot, besides finding a last that fit my foot the best, is the sole has a "close trim" around the edges, so it doesn't stick out as far as many other Tricker's country boots. Below are two posts that have pics of different Loggers I thought you might like to see...

http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showpost.php?p=832309&postcount=4764

http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showpost.php?p=841923&postcount=4890

[skalogre]

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.

[fre-co]

Very nice indeed calden, I like the look of that flat welt and close trim, it makes it a lot more elegant than the normal trickers country boots. Those alden calfskins are lovely too. I had my eye on them a while back.

[Happy Hooligan]

dropped off the spectators to get half soles. The previous owner's toes didn't match mine and bugged me when I wore them. Hopefully this will fix them plus I get to keep the cat paws heels...

Should get them back friday.

[Chicken]

a long story.

back in january, i took my indys into a shoe repair store i was referred to from someone trustworthy. i already knew how good eddie's shoe repair was, so i thought this might be a chance to get to know somebody else good in town. but in a nutshell, this asshole really tried to screw me over, and he put dirt on the face of the guy who referred him.

the shoe repair store is called barkev's shoe repair, and the guy's name is rafi(sp?). NEVER go here unless you're planning to throw rotten tomatoes at him or something.

the honey vibrams on my indys were getting pretty worn, so i went in requesting vibram #705s over double-leather-mid-soles. i also brought in my now out-of-print free&easy "hey mr. bootsman" issue for reference of what i wanted done.

rafi gave me a big promise about how he was the best in the business, how he takes care of mariah carey's shoes (this should've been a sign) and that he was going to do amazing things with my boots. he said he needed to do some research so leave my boots and book with him. i warned him the book was already out-of-print, so really handle it with care. he said he'll call back in two days.

well, it took him more than two weeks to finally tell me he got the vibrams in. so i went to talk to him.

he said he could sew on the 705s through one layer of leather mid-sole but it was going to cost $300. in japan, the same procedure costs only half that and they do fantastic jobs. so i told him i can't spend that kind of money on it. so he and i agreed to do it for 200 instead. which was still rather expensive, but if he could do what he said he could, i thought it would be interesting.

so, about two weeks later from there, he told me he made some progress. all he did was take the honey vibrams off. so it took about a month to get to this point:

from then on, he kept on giving me all sorts of runarounds every week about why very little was being done to my boots. i spent many hours driving back and forth my apartment and the store (and you know about recent gas prices) hoping for my boots to be done, with many many many disappointments.

so finally, around the beginning of april, i told him i needed my boots and my book back because he kept on blowing me off and had nothing to show for it. he still kept on blowing me off until i finally saw him face-to-face again two weeks ago. he then had the nerve to tell me that i "pissed him off" because of my attitude (when i'm the sucker who actually patiently waited for his service for four months) and that i should pay him $100 if i wanted my boots back.

all he did was glue on one thin layer of leather mid-sole on, and it was definitely not worth $100. on top of it, he said he couldn't find my book and that it was too bad for me. at this point, i demanded my boots back so that i could leave and never deal with him again. for that, he called me a "stupid japanese," proceeded to insult the japanese culture and demanded me to leave his store.

what's truly amazing is that after all the headaches he has already caused me for the past four months, he actually tried to make me the bad guy. and he was the guy holding my boots in hostage and probably stole my free&easy.

well, i left him at that point, ready to contact the better business bureau and maybe even police. but i decided to go back to the guy who referred him first. he's a really decent guy and was appalled when he heard my story. he told me to wait a couple of days because he might be able to get my boots back.

i did wait and he did get my boots back in two days. rafi apparently owes him quite a bit. thank goodness.

here are some photos of the asshole's store and the asshole himself. remember, STAY AWAY:

[arahat]

This may be of some interest to some.

Some factory seconds from the Trickers factory ebay shop.

Tricker's Stow in Cordovan.

http://search.ebay.com.au/trickers_W0QQdfspZ1QQflocZ1QQfromZR40QQfrtsZ50QQfsprZ0QQsaslcZ2

Unfortunately the common sizes and colors have already been snapped up.

[Happy Hooligan]

chicken,

that's an aweful story!

I'm so sorry about your boots and your mag.

I have a really good feeling about the guy I went to on those spectators. I'll let you know how it goes.

One of the good things was all the equipment in the shop was at least 60-100 years old.

[rockon99]

Soo.. i've got a pair of cole haan air gradys in this weird green.. i got them a LONG time ago for some reason - but i've worn them a total of about 8 or 10 times. The leather really seems nice, and they are quite comfortable. My gf says they look like bowling shoes, and i sortof dont like them, but i figure they could grow on me if i forced myself to wear them.

Are they a go? or should i sell them..

[dave023]

That's some awefull story Chicken...and YOU are a real gentleman!

[beatle]

So what - they guy still has the boots ?

[edmond]

hey chicken lets do him a drive by what do you say huh? but did he really showed you he vibram 705's he ordered?

[emmitbrown]

I like how it looks like the dude is about to say "fuck you" in that picture.

Where is this guy located? $300 is outrageous.

[jiomitori]

"While U Wait"

[batorizer]

did someone say drive-by?

[edmond]

chicken your gf's angry

[JayDC7]

"While U Wait"

While you camp outside his store for a month?

[ChattyPuma]

Chicken, have a buddy bring in an old pair of thrift bought boots with sardines stuffed under some cheap insoles. Let him sit on those for a month. I'm serious.

[Chicken]

^ that's a brilliant idea. i would've never thought of that.

thanks for the sympathies guys. hope you never have to deal with people like him.

I like how it looks like the dude is about to say "fuck you" in that picture.

Where is this guy located? $300 is outrageous.

i started taking photos before i left, in case i had to go to the police or something. still thinking about the better business bureau. he's located in hollywood. watch out.

chicken your gf's angry

yes, we were both pretty pissed. she's seen the horror with me.

did someone say drive-by?

bang bang

So what - they guy still has the boots ?

no, so the guy who referred him to me felt really bad, he went and got my boots back for me himself, about a week-and-a-half ago.

so now to the good news: i went back to eddie's with 705s i got slightly used from braidkid. they added few more layers of leather, added the 705 half-soles and put cat's paws orthopedic heels. check it:

chicken's indys evo3.

this was done in two business days. what a difference.

i guess when you keep venturing out, you're bound to run into some good people, as well as really bad people.

[edmond]

hows much is it from eddie's? could i ship him my pair and have him do the shoes over the phone or email?

[fre-co]

Those look good chicken, but I think I would have preferred a single leather midsole on indies. The upper on yours has a wonderful patina now.