Shoes that look better with age...

[fre-co]

Those william lennon boots are good looking. I've been on the edge of buying the cap toe ones a few times. The circa £120 boots are all made in the derbyshire factory using traditional techniques. They are brass screw construction, which is different to what is usually seen around here but good none the less and resoleable. I've spoken to them a couple of times and they are very helpful. Unfortunately though, no half sizes.

[cash]

16-year-old engineers. Debating a resole. Not worth much, so I think I'll skip the double-leather-blah-blah-Cat's-Paw redo. Should I play it safe with a Vib 700 or go full-moon-boot with a white wedge? Are there black wedges out there? That might be cool.

[lostinthesupermarket]

At 16 years surely they have to be worth a lot to you in sentimental terms, at least. I think they look great, myself.

Personally I don't like wedge soles on engineer boots. I would go for the Vibram.

[coleslawyum]

There are black wedges, but I think instead of the 700, a single leather blah, blah, blah with a 705 might look pretty sharp.

It'll be a shame not to give these nice boots a classic sole.

[indigo_junkie]

Blundstone 420. My main motorcycle boot for the past 4 years. Worn the PU sole down to the bottom and now have water seeping in when I walk on puddles. Blunnies are pretty much disposable anyway. I've got a pair of RM Williams Comfort Turnout Craftsman in brown on order and will have them by next week. These will be relegated to garden duty. I'll probably be looking at getting a pair of engineer boots in the future. Thought I'd share some pics before putting them away in the shed.

I'll be posting pics of my RMW when they arrive.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

I love Blundstones.

I wear mine more than makes sense.

Super comfortable and burly.

You aren't going to resole yours?

[The_D]

DDML, can you resole Blundstones? Where? I have a knackered 20-year-old pair that are my all-time favourite boots (against much more expensive competition) and I would love to get them resoled. I'd always assumed they weren't worth bothering with, but I kept them, regardless.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

A lot of places will glue on a new sole

i haven't had it done, myself, so i can't comment on the durability of a resole

but at $65 it is a hell of a lot cheaper than replacing 'em

[The_D]

Nice find, thanks. I'll see if I can send them a pair from the UK for repair.

[cash]

There are black wedges, but I think instead of the 700, a single leather blah, blah, blah with a 705 might look pretty sharp.

It'll be a shame not to give these nice boots a classic sole.

Got around to looking up black wedges and they are ugly, so that is out. I have two hesitation about doing a leather sole and half rubber:

1) Cost. I've certainly got my money's worth out of these boots. However, at $125-$175 for a resole, I start debating a new boot over keeping the wheels on these.

2) I favor the wedge because stylistically I'm not trying to recreate a vintage outfit stitch-for-stitch. I'm looking for a modern interpretation that captures the essence of a bygone era. In this case, the wedge seems more up-to-date and less "dress up" to me. (This is not a criticism of people who obsessively seek out historically accurate clothing, to each there own).

I clearly understand why people dislike the wedge-on-engineer look. It can quickly take on a Napoleon-Dynamite-moon-boot steez.

There's the rub. I'm not really settled any of the options, yet. I will admit that thinking of these old girls with a leather sole with some 705s does get the panties moist.

[edmond]

im selling a couple of pairs of boots on the supermarket hit me up if you want any!

[cash]

A lot of places will glue on a new sole.

I have a buddy with two dramatically different sized feet. For him resoles are a must as finding the proper-fitting shoes often requires buying two pairs. He had a pair of Doc Marten boots resoled the way this place is doing it and they seem to have held up fine. The new rubber is a helluva lot heavier than the original sole, though.

(Nordstrom will sell you two different sized shoes for the standard price, just FYI.)

[Christmas In A Submarine.]

gave my GTs some obenaufs and shine yesterday (waiting about 24 hours in between so the wax could be absorbed) and now they look like this:

(sorry for the two photos, but I couldn't get the color to turn out right. In real life it's somewhere in between the two... you get the idea.)

[indigo_junkie]

A lot of places will glue on a new sole

i haven't had it done, myself, so i can't comment on the durability of a resole

but at $65 it is a hell of a lot cheaper than replacing 'em

Good suggestion, DDML, but there's a reason why no one in Australia resoles Blunnies. I'd pay $65 for a rebuild of leather soled goodyear welted boots, but for a pair of blunnies I picked up at Payless for about $85AUD (US$70)... And that's not even including the shipping to the US.

I'm also looking to see if I can get a pair of Blundstone 062. A bit more expensive than your regular Blunnies. I'm going to be searching around for the perfect replacement boot. Photos of the RMW when they arrive, but in hindsight, I don't want to subject the yearling leather to take the kind of abuse these Blunnies have had.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

yeh, makes sense. i think i paid around 175 for mine in the US about four or so years ago.

[superbeveridge]

Just dumped m motorcycle. Other than a little leather and indigo left behind on the road all is good though. The majority of the this scrape came off easily with a little conditioner.

[Christmas In A Submarine.]

glad they held up... (let's see the jeans too!)

edit: also glad you are (presumably) intact as well.

[superbeveridge]

i am intact, bike is fine, jean pictures in the sexdbs09 thread.

[grouse_allergy]

I have a question about sizing on the gentleman travelers. I was able to try on a pair of the moc toe version in 10.5 and they fit great, so I ordered a pair of the non-moc toe in 10.5 assuming they'd fit the same? Is the width much narrower? Thanks!

[Christmas In A Submarine.]

I don't know as I've never tried on the moc toes. But my guess is that the toebox and forefoot is roomier. The last is (I believe) the same though, so you should be ordering the same size, despite the difference in the uppers.

[xam]

Frye Boots

[Zazamoot]

Ugh, what a bummer. I just discovered a giant crack in the leather sole of one of my Whites. Those soles were just put on in the winter, when I sent them back to Whites for a defect in the goodyear welt that appeared. I wore them pretty hard, but I had expected to get more than one season out of these soles.

It's been a little more than a year since I bought these from Whites, and this will be the third time they've had to go back (first pair exchanged with bad eyelets). I wonder if they'll want to charge me for the resole.

[YoungPunch]

LeatherSoul chocolate suede plaza last cap-toe boots, double leather sole:

http://www.leathersoulhawaii.com/2010/06/15/alden-shoes-chocolate-suede-plaza-cap-toe-boot/

[ah_long]

just did a cleaning and a coat of mink oil on my RW 875

and this is how I know I've got a nice coating on the shoes.. just like a nicely waxed car, water beads on it..

[not too tight]

grouse_allergy i have the gentlemen traveler with the moc toe and round toe both in size 10 and they fit exactly the same. the round toe isn't as narrow as i thought it was going to be.

[Thanatos]

So a quick update on my defective 403's. Alden called me a day after I sent them an e-mail, complete with pictures, explaining my situation. The man I talked to was very kind and apologetic and explained that he believes both pairs probably came from a defective batch. He will, of course, replace it, but there's a two month wait before the next one in my size is ready. I guess by the time I have the defect ones nicely broken in I'll be sending them back. Oh joy.

[ThinFinn]

well done ah_long...+rep.

[grouse_allergy]

thanks, not too tight, relief washes over me in an awesome wave. i'm also surprised how much i had to size down. a full size at least.

[not too tight]

here is some side by side comparisons of my 9014s and 9012s

all of the pictures i have seen on ebay and other retailers make the 9014s look to have a very narrow toe almost like a dress shoe but i was happily surprised they are much more work boot like.

[grouse_allergy]

much appreciated. yeah, stock photos are pretty deceiving i guess. can't wait for my pair to arrive!