Shoes that look better with age...

[ang_kangkong]

Just befores, none after getting them broken in.

[kert]

Weird story to share. Have no idea where to put it so here will do.

Headed up to town this afternoon to do a bit of shopping ... I wanted to buy a scarf I'd seen and try on a pair of Redwings so I could order them online with confidence.

Went straight to Liberty to buy the scarf and found it was gone, but saw a YMC cable knit thing that I liked but not enough to shell out what they wanted for it, so I left. I Headed to Covent garden to try the Redwings on and dropped into Another store to ask about denim tailoring. While I was doing that I saw the YMC scarf on the rack for exactly half the price Liberty wanted, so I picked it up. I'm paying for the scarf and the guy serving me asks me what size I am in Redwings. I tell him and he says he's got one pair left in stock that are my size and he wants to shift them. I laugh and ask him what model and he tells me and they're the exact pair I came out with the intention of trying on .. tan leather 877's ... I don't give it away and say yeah I'll try them on, may as well have a look etc, go downstairs, do so, and he gives them to me for a third of the price of what I would have paid online.

Gotta love days like this.

cool. now go get yourself a lotto ticket.

[blake]

the guy at the redwing store told me to put the boots in the bathtub for a half hour and then put them on and let them dry on my feet. he then said i would have to condition them constantly after that so that they would not crack. does anyone know if this can be done with different kinds of boots? could this be done with wesco's? how about the gentlemen traveller?

[Dick Danger]

You could do that with Wesco but be ready for the commitment. It will take a very, very long time for them to dry on your feet, if you don't wear them dry things will go badly.

[blake]

You could do that with Wesco but be ready for the commitment. It will take a very, very long time for them to dry on your feet, if you don't wear them dry things will go badly.

i agree about the wesco's. I was actually thinking more about the gentlemen traveller. they are also way to shiny for me right now. I really want them to be more scuffed up.

[Happy Hooligan]

the guy at the redwing store told me to put the boots in the bathtub for a half hour and then put them on and let them dry on my feet. he then said i would have to condition them constantly after that so that they would not crack. does anyone know if this can be done with different kinds of boots? could this be done with wesco's? how about the gentlemen traveller?

that's what I had to do with my wesco boss custom boots. After a few weeks when I got them they were tearing my shins to pieces. So I soaked them for about 20 minutes. Letting the water run right into them. Then put on the boots with socks and started walking, each painful step until they were nearly dry, or I just couldn't stand it any more.

It would help if you hadn't already tried to break them in as it will beat up your legs.

Now they're great. They bend where they're suppose to bend and fit my feet very nicely!

I didn't do crazy conditioners after though. Maybe I should, but I wanted them to get a little beat up anyway...

[amlai]

I didn't do crazy conditioners after though. Maybe I should, but I wanted them to get a little beat up anyway...

Getting the leather wet like that will wash some of the oils in the leather out and can cause the leather to dry out stiff. I'd probably recommend conditioning them myself.

[skalogre]

Getting the leather wet like that will wash out some of the oils in the leather out and can cause the leather to dry out stiff. I'd probably recommend conditioning them myself.

Definitely. You don't want the leather to actually dry out and crack.

[Happy Hooligan]

what leather conditioners do you recommend?

[blake]

what leather conditioners do you recommend?

what about mink oil? what does everyone know about this stuff? does this also help soften the leather? is there anything i have to be careful of when using it?

[GregNYC]

what about mink oil? what does everyone know about this stuff? does this also help soften the leather? is there anything i have to be careful of when using it?

Mink oil is known to be a little acidic, which can eat into the stitching. For a job like that, I would use a combo of Sno Seal and Pecard's. I always put the thinner, less viscous one on first (Pecard's) so that it soaks into the leather. Follow with the thicker one. Sno Seal is really hard to work with. So if I kept to Pecard's, I'd first use a lotion, and then a dressing/conditioner. And then if it's a shiny leather, a Kiwi polish!!

My grandfather was a cowpoke in his young days in the Dust Bowl and the northwest. I think he was born in like 1901 or so. He told me these stories of going to the general store on payday in the summer and getting new Levis and new cowboy boots. In order to get both to fit, they's always ride their horses home through a river and get totally soaked. And keep riding around till everything dried and became form-fitting.

[coleslawyum]

They also recommend this stuff on their site:

I used the Bee Oil for my boots and they softened up immensely. But its just a really thick oil, so I don't know if its good or bad for the leather.

BTW, awesome story Greg.

[Happy Hooligan]

Thanks for the advice...

And greg..

I'm glad we don't have to do that to get our jeans and new boots just right... I think if I rode through the rivers in LA they would eat away my new jeans and levis...

[amlai]

I usually use either Lexol or Pecard on my boots. I have both the Pecard classic leather dressing and the leather cream. The leather cream is less thick and soaks in faster, but you can overdo it whereas the regular leather dressing you can't. The classic leather dressing takes a long time to soak in though (few days). Pecard can leave a bit of a greasy or tacky feel to the surface. Because of that, I tend to use Lexol on my higher end shoes (which I don't put through as much wear and tear) just to maintain them.

[Chicken]

a little curve ball. went to a cobbler today i found on the internet, planning to get a vibram #705 installed, but they had these, instead:

vintage cat's-paw

my boots have gotten a bit scratched up in the process. must polish soon.

i'm really starting to get excited about these.

[kodou]

^ ^

Amazing. now that's just plain beautiful.

[fattybfat]

chicken:

with the double leather sole and the cat's paw

you have a triple sole now....it is extremely thick:)

dont know it is very heavy or not?

[GregNYC]

a little curve ball. went to a cobbler today i found on the internet, planning to get a vibram #705 installed, but they had these, instead: vintage cat's-paw

That rocks! The Cat's Paws I heard are now owned by Vibram too. I think they are much better than Vibram for these boots, with an all-around more mid-century look. I might consider Cat's Paws for my Indies...

[GregNYC]

Pecard can leave a bit of a greasy or tacky feel to the surface.

I know. Lexol does too, even the non-oily type. So I use Meltionian Leather Lotion afterwards to get the tacky oil off. It's got silicone in it and isn't as good for soaking into the leather as Pecard's, but by the time all the oil and/or wax is into the leather, the Meltonian ain't going in and won't do any harm - it just removes the tack from the surface. I put it on, rub it in, and wait about 30 minutes, then polish off. It leaves kind of a dry, smooth surface on the leather.

[amlai]

I try not to use anything with silicone in it as supposedly it clogs up the pores of the leather. Of course, others swear by it and like you say, it probably doesn't

hurt anything.

[Bill2]

Chicken: Who did the cats paws???? Share the wealth brother!

[Chicken]

you have a triple sole now....it is extremely thick:)

dont know it is very heavy or not?

honestly, they're not any heavier than my other white's (packer and smokejumper). and they feel easier to walk in than the other two too. but it might be a little too early to tell since i haven't really started to break into them. you'll hear updates from me.

That rocks! The Cat's Paws I heard are now owned by Vibram too. I think they are much better than Vibram for these boots, with an all-around more mid-century look. I might consider Cat's Paws for my Indies...

i don't know much about these cat's paws. the guy at the cobbler told me they are vintage, but do you think that's true? or are these the ones vibram are making now? they feel different from the ones that were on lone wolf boots.

Chicken: Who did the cats paws???? Share the wealth brother!

check your pm.

[GregNYC]

i don't know much about these cat's paws. the guy at the cobbler told me they are vintage, but do you think that's true? or are these the ones vibram are making now? they feel different from the ones that were on lone wolf boots.

===They are kind of hard to find info on via the internet, but I do think they are vintage or at least NOS. I went to a cobbler here in NYC last year (not Minas) who had stacks of these Cat's Paws collecting dust. I expressed interest in them, and he said, "Oh, get these vibrams, they are so much better." I'm gonna try to find this same cobbler, it's around my office in midtown. I have a vague impression that Cat's Paws were something used in the 40s, 50s and 60s before mega-deep waffle soles became popular. People wanted a non-slip, non-leather sole. Those white circles on the heel gave the impression that here is something we're putting on to help slow down the wear on the high-tread area. Is it possible that the Cat's Paws on Lone Wolfs might be a huge NOS reserve, or maybe repros, or locally licensed....

[Chicken]

at least on their ads, lone wolf basically gives an impression they're a huge NOS reserve. the ones i got, the store owner told me they're vintage. and they could be -- they feel a little stiff.

would be really interesting to see how these handle the elements and how they wear out over time.

[amlai]

What are you considering to be the difference between New Old Stock and vintage? To me, they seem to be the same thing. :confused:

[datasupa]

the guy at the redwing store told me to put the boots in the bathtub for a half hour and then put them on and let them dry on my feet. he then said i would have to condition them constantly after that so that they would not crack. does anyone know if this can be done with different kinds of boots? could this be done with wesco's? how about the gentlemen traveller?

i read somewhere on here that some of the gurus at trickers 'unofficially' suggest a similar method to quickly break in boots-- fill them with hot water, empty out then wear until dry.

i tried this method with both whites semi-dress and trickers stow. it definitely accelerates the breaking in process and makes them a lot more comfortable right away. in terms of water resistance, the whites seemed impervious to this treatment and basically shrugged it off. the trickers however became a bit dry and required more conditioning afterwards.

[GregNYC]

What are you considering to be the difference between New Old Stock and vintage? To me, they seem to be the same thing. :confused:

Good question. They overlap.

NOS (new-old-stock) is something that is still in stock or maintained as such. It can be as new as last year's discontinued item that a dealer still has available. It has to be in new condition, non-2nd hand, still in its packaging perhaps, but it just hasn't been sold or used yet.

Vintage doesn't have to be in new, un-used condition. It is usually some kind of age or criterion defined by collectors. For bicycles, it's pre-1983. For wristwatches, it's pre-sapphire crystal. For denim, it's what?, maybe desireable selvage not made as repro, or something dating back to the ??ies?

[moykky]

i read somewhere on here that some of the gurus at trickers 'unofficially' suggest a similar method to quickly break in boots-- fill them with hot water, empty out then wear until dry.

i tried this method with both whites semi-dress and trickers stow. it definitely accelerates the breaking in process and makes them a lot more comfortable right away. in terms of water resistance, the whites seemed impervious to this treatment and basically shrugged it off. the trickers however became a bit dry and required more conditioning afterwards.

Thats what you need to do in army when you're issued your new boots. I've heard several stories how to soften your boots with urea also...

[fre-co]

Datasupa: thats what I posted. The guy at the trickers factory shop told me about the method. I didn't try it with my Trickers wetherbys because they were pretty easy to break in. These damn Stows on the other hand...... are putting up a real fight.

Thanks to the recent pictures of Whites. I now officially want a pair of semi-dress.

My question to the experts is this:

Is there a difference between buying off the self, from sayhttp://www.bakershoe.com/whites-boots-catalog/whites-semi-dress.html

or ordering direct from White's? Or indeed ordering through Bill.

When ordering direct you send in your foot measurements but I assume they just make you a shoe in the nearest size to your foot measurements. If you just want a standard single leather sole in standard colour, then you can buy off the shelf, right?

[GregNYC]

My Semi-Dress came from Whites, and they said they make them precisely to the measurements you give. They explain that the boots might carry a marking of a close size, but that the leather is cut to match your measurements. Mine certainly feel like they're custom fitted - my feet tend towards wide duck feet, and many boots such as Indies and many Red Wings are hard to fit. The White's are just right.