Shoes that look better with age...

[batorizer]

Thanks Greg and Chicken!

I used neutral up until the last few polishes. Then I polished the whole boot with brown once, and for the last couple I just did the heel and toe with brown.

[GregNYC]

Thanks Greg and Chicken!

I used neutral up until the last few polishes. Then I polished the whole boot with brown once, and for the last couple I just did the heel and toe with brown.

Good job! All that neutral is probably why it still has so much of the Indy brick-red color. Much better than generic brown.

I have two pairs of Indies. On the older pair (on the right) I've been using various shades, a bit of brown but mostly medium tan. And on the newer pair (on the left) only light tan. They're both a year old, and in rotation with lots of other boots!

[aubrgene]

Greg NYC-- they are looking good. How did you manage to prevent denim stains after a year of wear? Also, you don't have Carpe Diem on your shoe collection. Just an observation. Thanks!

[batorizer]

Very interesting color differences. Were they both similar in color when new? I'm kinda new to the polishing game, but it's really neat the different hues one can get from using various polishes.

[GregNYC]

Greg NYC-- they are looking good. How did you manage to prevent denim stains after a year of wear? Also, you don't have Carpe Diem on your shoe collection. Just an observation. Thanks!

I don't seem to get denim stains on polished surfaces. But you should see my Red Wing 875s with the white crepe sole and the oil-tanned leather. I got those at the same time I got my first good denim and they're mega-stained. I'm thinking of getting new 875s and wearing them only with one-wash denim or with the cuffs rolled up. What's Carpe Diem WRT shoes?

Very interesting color differences. Were they both similar in color when new? I'm kinda new to the polishing game, but it's really neat the different hues one can get from using various polishes.

The new ones were a little lighter and I was very careful not to darken them. I particularly care about the natural-colored welt, since it's like the most old-skool part of the boots and I don't want anything dark on that. The older Indies were mostly darkened by me. They have a few coats of brown and dark tan, and one of oxblood. I stained the welt one day by accident simply by getting it wet in the rain. I said What the heck! This will now be my beater pair of Indies, and I'll let myself polish the welt too. You should see Airfrog's Indies - quite brown.

[Happy Hooligan]

i think i have about five extra pairs of indy laces lying around because i go through them very quickly.

.

which replacements do you use? I might need to pick up a few pairs myself

[Chicken]

i use alden's laces, the same exact ones that come with indys. they're only like couple bucks a pair, iirc.

but recently i noticed the laces i have on my semidress are very similar, but feel like they might be tougher. i might try them on my indys at some point.

[Happy Hooligan]

chicken,

do you order direct from Alden? or can we get them in LA?

[Chicken]

i got them when i lived in ny. there were at least two stores there that carried aldens. don't know what to do about them over here. meh.

if you're here, you might want to try to get some semi dress laces from bill at stronghold and see how you like them.

[WhiteShark]

Believe it or not,

Just email the alden factory, and they will ship out laces to you in the mail for free. That's what I've always done. There's a small shipping fee if you live overseas.

Heres my 2 year old Indy's which will be going off to the shoe repair shop this weekend for a set of Vibrams.

[Conie Jeans]

do you really can set up the Vibrams? nice

[GregNYC]

Giving away my 18-month-old Red Wing 875's, size 10E. Includes a fresh, unworn set of heavy-duty Spenco arch support insoles. This model was introduced in 1950. My 875s were purchased when I bought my first good denim. They're now stained by some of the best indigo in the world, LVC, Samurai, 45rpm, SDA and Sugar Cane.

I'd prefer a local NYC pickup, but failing that, if you pay for the shipping, they're yours! Today I bought 2 new pair at Shoe Mania (cheapest place around), they've got a 2nd pair half-off sale. I'm hoping to keep denim stains off these thru various methods. I must say, among all my many boots, none of more comfortable than these.

[Happy Hooligan]

if only they were an 11...

[fre-co]

Loving all the indies on these pages!

875s looking nice Greg. They look very light, I gave mine a coat of brown polish once but I'm sure they were a lot darker and redder than that out the box. They certainly do soak up the indigo!

Over the holidays I was pondering the red wing crepe sole.....

It struck me how quickly I have worn mine down. After just 6 months ownership and probably not more than 3 months wear I have no tread left on the ball of my foot area. Over the holidays I was in west Wales, I took my 875s because of the wet weather and they were utterly traction-free and useless in the mud. I might as well have been wearing leather soles. Only then did I notice how little tread was left.

Weren't these designed for farmers in the first place? Do they not have mud in the farmlands of the USA?

[ThatsMyName]

Can anyone tell me what kind of alden these are?

[fre-co]

I can't remember who it was but some one posted some of those alden a little while back. Maybe 10 pages or so ago....

[amlai]

Looks like an Alden 307 to me. Just a guess though...

http://www.aldenshoe.com/cat_ortho_cdi_306.htm

[dave023]

Can anyone tell me what kind of alden these are?

Those are the Alden 307, leicalad posted about a some time ago

http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showpost.php?p=350819&postcount=1786

[GregNYC]

Loving all the indies on these pages!

My darker pair is getting a Cat's Paw treatment as I write. Photos later!

Over the holidays I was pondering the red wing crepe sole.....

It struck me how quickly I have worn mine down. After just 6 months ownership and probably not more than 3 months wear I have no tread left on the ball of my foot area. Over the holidays I was in west Wales, I took my 875s because of the wet weather and they were utterly traction-free and useless in the mud. I might as well have been wearing leather soles. Only then did I notice how little tread was left.

Weren't these designed for farmers in the first place? Do they not have mud in the farmlands of the USA?

Yeah, for farmers, that's what RW's publicity says. And the soles are white so that the farmers' wives can visually check when their hubbies' boots are clean before letting them trample all over the farmhouse floor.

And the crepe do wear very quickly - mine wear in the heels because of NYC walking. About tread and traction - I've been looking at photos of boots from the 40s, 50s and 60s. Other than firefighters' boots, I don't really see any deep tread of the type we would consider grip-worthy today. I remember being amazed and fascinated seeing Vibram "waffle soles" (as we called them in the Army) for the first time back in the 70s.

[moykky]

^^ I remember seeing this document in museum about year ago where they were building this huge arch in Saint Louis back in the day (Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, thats why I was watching it). The workers were using Redwing shoes and they mentioned that the sole was special with no heel so it wouldn't get caught in anything -when they were asked about working in such difficult places. After that I bought my first Redwings!

Very nice shoes in these last pages.

[fre-co]

I guess I read the same RW publicity blurb as you. Then the construction workers building the empire state building etc liked them because of the sole not having a heel to trip them up.

So is the commando sole a new(ish) invention then, or it was just reserved for people who really needed it? I've seen several old pairs of English boots with hobnails, but I guess they would be a nightmare on city streets.

I slipped over (almost) twice in my 875s in welsh mud last week. But I suppose the English pointer dragging me downhill didn't help.....

Can't wait to see the cats paws on your indies. I haven't ordered my semi-dress yet, I think I will get it done in the next couple of weeks though. My trip to New york is booked for the 31st of March so I need to call Alden NY ahead of that to make sure they have a few pairs around my estimated size.

[hawkeye]

I'm thinking about picking up a pair of old boots on ebay, only thing that's holding my finger off of the bid button is the Cuban Heel, I'm not a huge fan. Is it possible to have the Cuban heel replaced with a regular style? Is this hard for a cobbler or expensive to have done?

[jubei]

not that I'm an expert or anything, but isn't re-heeling a pretty standard practice at most cobblers? I'd imagine that it's definitely possible, just not sure how much it would cost...

[GregNYC]

I guess I read the same RW publicity blurb as you. Then the construction workers building the empire state building etc liked them because of the sole not having a heel to trip them up.

So is the commando sole a new(ish) invention then, or it was just reserved for people who really needed it? I've seen several old pairs of English boots with hobnails, but I guess they would be a nightmare on city streets.

The commando type sole's history - an interesting question. Sure is hard to gather info on it merely from browsing the internet!

BTW, here is one of the fuller statements of RW's publicity on the 875 crepe soles: On a reseller site:

"Red Wing Shoe originally developed the Classic boots with the legendary White Crepe sole for some very practical purposes. The Oro-iginal leather is supple, rich and created to be barnyard acid-resistant. The color was inspired by the bark of the mighty redwood trees. The sole was designed so that it would not pick up debris, such as manure, in fields and barns. And the white sole allowed a farmer’s wife to see his boots were clean when entering the house. In addition, the shallow lug sole was perfect for upland hunting, a favorite activity among farmers. The sole also made this boot a favorite of construction workers walking on high steel to build America’s skyscrapers –good grip with nothing to catch and cause a trip."

Can't wait to see the cats paws on your indies.

They'll no longer have the brick-colored composition sole, but leather underneath the Cat's Paw soles and heels. So from a distance they'll look like the soles of RW 1911s or the Lone Wolf boots. I can't wait myself!

[Chicken]

I'm thinking about picking up a pair of old boots on ebay, only thing that's holding my finger off of the bid button is the Cuban Heel, I'm not a huge fan. Is it possible to have the Cuban heel replaced with a regular style? Is this hard for a cobbler or expensive to have done?

not that I'm an expert or anything, but isn't re-heeling a pretty standard practice at most cobblers? I'd imagine that it's definitely possible, just not sure how much it would cost...

yeah, i believe it's pretty standard stuff. the only reason i can think why some people might be hesitant in doing so, is because the white's are supposed to be ergonomically designed with the cuban heel as an integral part of the fit.

but especially if you can land a used pair of boots for cheap, i say you could get a lot of fun out of them by customizations.

and make sure to post pics.

[kenthenoob]

i ordered a pair of the 1911s in size 11 off zappos last year and they arrived yesterday. to my surprise, they fit a size larger than, so i returned them

[GregNYC]

i ordered a pair of the 1911s in size 11 off zappos last year and they arrived yesterday. to my surprise, they fit a size larger than, so i returned them

Yeah, that seems to be the common feeling about the Gentleman Traveler line. I'm wondering whether it is not just the 1911s but the entire range of made-for-Europe+Japan boots that Red Wing is selling overseas. No width options (only D), and lengths longer than U.S. domestic RWs.

[coleslawyum]

They'll no longer have the brick-colored composition sole, but leather underneath the Cat's Paw soles and heels. So from a distance they'll look like the soles of RW 1911s or the Lone Wolf boots. I can't wait myself!

I can't wait either. I'm thinking of doing the double leather option myself.

[Happy Hooligan]

i ordered a pair of the 1911s in size 11 off zappos last year and they arrived yesterday. to my surprise, they fit a size larger than, so i returned them

what size do you normally wear?

I'm trying to figure out what size I am in them...

[GregNYC]

what size do you normally wear?

I'm trying to figure out what size I am in them...

Many people say, size down 1 size on those...