Shoes that look better with age...

[morse9443]

:)thanks riff. Those are some of the burliest boots I've seen. Beautiful.

[superhero]

These i purchased close to 8 months ago and they are in regular rotation with my other shoes, i think i wear them around 3 days a week.

fresh out of the box

after 2 weeks

...and how they look now

Damn Mitch these are just beautiful? Can you tell me a bit about where you got them and how much?

[the_ming]

dude, those are slick as all hell, and have me kicking myself for not going with rough out when i got mine (i even knew about how nice it is, having seen a pair in the past.)

would love to see what they look like now with some wear.

can't rep you, must spread more around.

Mich, I have that on some of my shoes as well... Hasn't seemed to have affected them (yet!)

This one is for Morse - my smokejumpers. Nowhere near as much character as the pair Denim Phenom posted. These are pics from when I first got them, which I think I might have posted before.

The roughout seems bombproof - I just wait until mud, dirt, etc dries, then brush it off.

[coleslawyum]

…on some catspawses.

Damn, some sick boots the last few pages!

I think that the rolling of the heel when you walk would put some stress on the glue and nails holding the heel together. However, the glue used to bond the heel stack together is pretty strong. You might have just got a little moisture in the heel to make it come apart. If it really bothers you, you can just do a re-heel and ask the cobbler to put in more nails.

Usually, when that happens on my shoes, it gives me an excuse to mess with a new heel!

[edmond]

god damn it spence can you spare me some of those cats paw heels and half soles???

[tahonng]

:eek:

Where'd you get those from coles ?!

[mad_dye]

great boots riff...

makes me wanna get smoke jumpers myself...

[Denim Phenom]

I don't see how people can wear those boots for something other than there intended purpose. What urban environment necessitates boots that extreme?

I'm sure White's doesn't mind. Before their only clients were firefighters and people using them for their job. Now Average Joe Citizen buys them for casual city wear.

[mad_dye]

^ I intend to use them for riding my motorcycle off-road.

Similar boots have been used before....

I bet they will hold up pretty well.

[riff]

Thanks for the nice comments & reps, guys!

I don't see how people can wear those boots for something other than there intended purpose. What urban environment necessitates boots that extreme?

I'm sure White's doesn't mind. Before their only clients were firefighters and people using them for their job. Now Average Joe Citizen buys them for casual city wear.

I'd say that White's will thrive regardless of what fashion dictates - and that's a good thing!

I thrashed my first pair of "imitation" White's, over three summers of planting trees, as a high school student.

Now, we have a cottage on three acres of heavily forested land in the Laurentians, and the property/land needs constant maintenance. And I could afford to finally buy the real thing.

Having said that, I am now wearing these more often in the city, just because they are so darned comfortable, and I plain like them. A well made pair of boots (or anything else, for that matter) can & should be worn wherever you want!

Besides... They go really well with the expensive Japanese jeans & workshirts that I don't work in....

[Happy Hooligan]

I don't see how people can wear those boots for something other than there intended purpose. What urban environment necessitates boots that extreme?

I'm sure White's doesn't mind. Before their only clients were firefighters and people using them for their job. Now Average Joe Citizen buys them for casual city wear.

what's next... Urban guys driving Hummers?

[Denim Phenom]

No, that will never happen. I believe that the pink and white hummers I see driving around are just huge working micro-machines.

[Freshdave]

I got the Blackbird Esquivel Hobo shoes in the mail today.

I'm gonna try to wear them everyday in 2010, so I started a blog (my first, yawn):

http://fleshfoot.blogspot.com/

[mad_dye]

Wesco Narrow Engineers

I remember someone mentioning that these are Japan only. Too bad.

[rodeo bill]

Thanks for the input coleslawyum, can't rep.

I'm going to have to investigate good cobblers in London, I don't trust my local guy. What's more he's an arsehole.

I think I'll pm rodeobill, see if he has someone he trusts with his Aldens.

replied to your pm- sorry I don;t really know anyone good in london, but I agree with Coleslaw- I don;t think it should be a big deal to fix. I have exactly the same situation as Mich on 2 out my 3 Aldens and they don;t seem to be getting any worse after quite a while of ignoring it. I have some stuff called 'shoe glue' which is just rubbery glue like bathroom sealer- I've used it for similar problems on cheap shoes before, not sure if I'd want to risk it on expensive ones though...

[Mich]

Thanks Riff, Cole and Rodeo Bill, you guys have taken my worries away, i feared my pair was defective but it seems to be a normal phenomenon i guess.

Riff those look awesome btw! can't rep

Damn Mitch these are just beautiful? Can you tell me a bit about where you got them and how much?

They are the AF43 and can be purchased through Alden of Carmel (link)

Ask for Adam, his dedication and service is second to none!

[Vampyrvargfesten]

Wesco Narrow Engineers

I remember someone mentioning that these are Japan only. Too bad.

steep price too

i know the cheap alternative would be RW but damn are those sexy

[Supawiwi]

Cheaper alternative for the exact same boots would be custom wesco boss on the patrol toe. The exact same boots for 500 to 600.

[tmadd]

I don't see how people can wear those boots for something other than there intended purpose. What urban environment necessitates boots that extreme?

I'm sure White's doesn't mind. Before their only clients were firefighters and people using them for their job. Now Average Joe Citizen buys them for casual city wear.

Because sometimes boots are really fucking good for things that aren't "there [sic] intended purpose". It's also worth nothing that unless you carry changes of shoes around with you so that you can have a pair of shoes that is intended for each activity you might do in a day, you are wise to wear a pair of shoes that can handle anything your day might throw at it. Trying to question the legitimacy of someone wearing a pair of smokejumpers even though they don't actually fight fires, is a slightly less extreme example of the logic that would have finding fault with someone who wears khaki trousers even though they aren't actually colonizing India. Great boots are great boots, and a lot of guys who don't fight fires, or work on cattle ranches, or work in the logging industry wear them on a daily basis for the same reasons that a lot of guys who do those jobs wear them even when they aren't on the job.

[tmadd]

Cheaper alternative for the exact same boots would be custom wesco boss on the patrol toe. The exact same boots for 500 to 600.

Stop giving away all of Japans secrets. What's more fun that paying a premium, plus shipping from japan for an off the rack shoe when you can have a custom pair made for yourself for 2/3 the price? Seriously though...good looking out, and one of my favorite available engineer boots.

[Fiddy]

I got the Blackbird Esquivel Hobo shoes in the mail today.

I'm gonna try to wear them everyday in 2010, so I started a blog (my first, yawn):

http://fleshfoot.blogspot.com/

Can't wait to see how these evolve. Subscribed.

[the_ming]

I don't see how people can wear those boots for something other than there intended purpose. What urban environment necessitates boots that extreme?

I'm sure White's doesn't mind. Before their only clients were firefighters and people using them for their job. Now Average Joe Citizen buys them for casual city wear.

what urban environment necessitates boots that extreme???

new york motherfuckin' city! the subway can be downright hazardous with all the hootchie mamas in stiletto heels, and 400lb+ tourists stepping on your toes, not to mention the icy sludge puddles at every intersection after it snows. plus you never know when you have to give someone a good old fashioned curb-stomp for looking at you the wrong way or wearing the logo of the wrong sports team.

and that's all just on the *way* to work. my server room is a jungle, dammit! never know when those rubber soles are going to save me from getting a shock, plus research science in a university is a pretty cut throat field, have to have eyes in the back of your head, and good boots on your feet to survive!

[rnrswitch]

^^^^^ ummmm. Your joking right? You totally intended to put a (10) at the end of that right?

[rnrswitch]

Because sometimes boots are really fucking good for things that aren't "there [sic] intended purpose". It's also worth nothing that unless you carry changes of shoes around with you so that you can have a pair of shoes that is intended for each activity you might do in a day, you are wise to wear a pair of shoes that can handle anything your day might throw at it. Trying to question the legitimacy of someone wearing a pair of smokejumpers even though they don't actually fight fires, is a slightly less extreme example of the logic that would have finding fault with someone who wears khaki trousers even though they aren't actually colonizing India. Great boots are great boots, and a lot of guys who don't fight fires, or work on cattle ranches, or work in the logging industry wear them on a daily basis for the same reasons that a lot of guys who do those jobs wear them even when they aren't on the job.

Come on. Just admit that wearing these boots is being fashion conscious and not utilitarian. I don't wear smoke jumpers walking around LA in the off chance that I might need to scale a building or save a baby from a fire, just like I don't drive a tank in the off chance that I might run into some mortar fire.

[mad_dye]

Cheaper alternative for the exact same boots would be custom wesco boss on the patrol toe. The exact same boots for 500 to 600.

Will wesco replicate the different stitching pattern like on the Narrow Engineers if you custom order ?

[Alex3000]

I don't drive a tank in the off chance that I might run into some mortar fire.

That how I spend my sundays.

[Denim Phenom]

Come on. Just admit that wearing these boots is being fashion conscious and not utilitarian. I don't wear smoke jumpers walking around LA in the off chance that I might need to scale a building or save a baby from a fire, just like I don't drive a tank in the off chance that I might run into some mortar fire.

You must spread more rep before giving it to rnrswitch again.

[Happy Hooligan]

Will wesco replicate the different stitching pattern like on the Narrow Engineers if you custom order ?

as far as I know, Wesco will do what ever you tell them to do. Call them and ask them... then let us know

[tmadd]

Come on. Just admit that wearing these boots is being fashion conscious and not utilitarian. I don't wear smoke jumpers walking around LA in the off chance that I might need to scale a building or save a baby from a fire, just like I don't drive a tank in the off chance that I might run into some mortar fire.

It is absolutely utilitarian...whether or not it is also a fashion conscious move, which I never said it wasn't. Whites are also the most comfortable boot I have worn, and even though don't work with industrial machinery, I am on my feet on concrete for the entirety of my work day, so that's an important factor too. I'm sure you know I wasn't arguing that anyone needs a pair of smokejumpers for city living, and that I was just taking issue with the fucking ridiculous logic and obnoxious tone of denim phenom's post, but I understand it's been awhile since you've had a chance to tell people what is and isn't legitimate for them to wear, and I know how much that means to you.

[akuma no uta]

http://threewood.jp/SHOP/RED-WING-2269.html

very very prettyy.. no chance of a US store having these?