Shoes that look better with age...

[edmond]

spenco insoles like what chicken said

[edmond]

thumb tacking the denims to the shoes??....i see this a lot in the hispanic community. so you can have that massive baggy sag stack and not scrape the hems up. i think in the front you tie the denims into the laces.

are you serious? jeezz

[Denim Phenom]

hmmm, what size?

8 1/2 D. Black, copper eyelets to the top.

[fattybfat]

Just find this on the japan yahoo...and the sole seems to be different than the regular tricker's, it looks very nice with the two tone between the sole and upper.

[Brienneoftarth]

maybe this is the place to ask. I am looking for red wing deck shoes in navy blue. They were a Euro release last year and have since been discontinued. can any one help here?

[MiniW]

hi everyone, I know this isn't the marketplace but I wanted to give the ppl interested in this thread first shot at this item.

I just got a pair of vintage Florsheim shell cordovan wingtips and they are just a 1/2 size too small for me (the shoes are a size 7.5 C). If this is your size and you are looking for the perfect dress shoes, check out my auction on ebay. Here are a few sneak peaks:

here is the auction link with 10+ pictures:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320252413270

cheers and thanks for looking

[edmond]

Just find this on the japan yahoo...and the sole seems to be different than the regular tricker's, it looks very nice with the two tone between the sole and upper.

im sure this pair has been resoled and refurbishes at hokurokujo japans greatest cobbler with half soles.. prolly vibram 705's

[riff]

8 1/2 D. Black, copper eyelets to the top.

Hmm. My size! What sole do you have on them?

[Denim Phenom]

Hmm. My size! What sole do you have on them?

Single leather. I bought these from stronghold so I had to pay way more for them than I should have. I know I won't be able to recoup the price I paid but I'd like to get some of it back.

[coleslawyum]

Hmm. My size! What sole do you have on them?

Shit, that's my size too! Post some pics.

My Chippewa engineer boots just came back from Edmond's favorite cobbler. I know that a lot of people aren't feeling the platform shoe thing, but I think it looks great on some motorcycle boots. It does look ridiculous on work boots and dress boots, but here it looks alright. BTW, the craftmanship is impeccable. I can't say that he's the best cobbler in Japan, because there are so many shoe artisans working there. Let's just say he's good.

[Chicken]

^ that's exactly what i wanted done on my boots and i can't find it anywhere in the states, so far.

i guess i just have to bring a bunch of boots back to japan next time i'm there.

meh.

looking amazing. are they still surprisingly comfortable too?

[coleslawyum]

Thanks chicken! I think bringing boots back to Japan is probably the easiest thing to do. Plus you don't have to pay shipping. I just think that the leather shoe culture there is just more fanatical than the States, so its easier to find a cobbler that understands you. Europe has a similar fascination. When I was in Italy and England, the amount of footwear there made me dizzy.

Surprisingly, its more comfortable than when I first bought them. Then again I hooked up a somewhat cheap boots into a very nice pair of boots. It's like those tuners that try to turn a honda civic into a sports car. By the time you're finished, the additions cost more than the original price!

[GregNYC]

Nice job, Coleslaw! I like it because the waist is still leather. I bet B. Nelson could do it. There are two issues in that job that make it extremely difficult to do for many cobblers, if not impossible (1) sewing through all that thickness. The machines that do this are over $20,000. (2) doing the loop-de-loop, which I am 90% sure is freehand. It's one more way to affix the half-sole to the leather midsole. But you can't mess up!

Chicken, don't you think Eddie's could do that job?

And I agree, there is something about engineer boots that make them look good with thick soles. There's a cobbler here in NYC who used to make 6, 8- and 10-inch platforms on engineer boots for the club kids. I myself had some 6-inchers in my wilder days. I actually had some 6-inch Chuck Taylors too. But they didn't stitch through all those layers!

[edmond]

hey CLY those from hokurokujo? how much did it run you?? wow!! i love them! great job buddy! was planning to send my semi dress to them to turn it into the same soles!

[Chicken]

greg, unfortunately you're right on. nobody i've asked has machines to sew through half-soles to leather soles, especially if we're asking for double mid-soles.

some people could do it by hand, but it will take much longer and cost way more.

that's why coleslaw's right on too, about the fact that people are more fanatical about things like work boots in places like japan. the work seems better and cheaper there.

i would love to find out if b. nelson could do it, and for how much.

[GregNYC]

Yeah, Japan - the world's best place for old-skool Americana! :-) Even the very old cobbler shops in NYC, who *used* to do things like that back in the day, haven't done it in decades. There's no market for it. Not to mention the new staff, who aren't shoe nuts like us, and have never even seen the old work.

Chicken, I'll send Nick at B. Nelson some photos to see if they can do that stitching job - I'll let you know!

[edmond]

Coleslaw more info on those chippewas please.. them china made? or the old og chips? good shit.. triple midsole and vibram half soles are very very nice!

[riff]

Coleslawyum -- very nice!

I'm going to be in Tokyo on biz in a couple of weeks - any cobbler recommendations? And would it be reasonable to expect that they can turn it around during the week that I am there?

Thanks in advance for any info!

[GregNYC]

Here's what B. Nelson said, basically no:

1. This particular Vibram half-sole is not available in the U.S.

2. They can't do the loop through all the layers. Their stitching machines can't replicate the looping pattern in the middle of the sole or across the waist becuae they use guides to follow the edges of the sole only.

Here's one thing I would add - make sure that the looped stitch goes all the way through the leather and not just the rubber. There are cobbler jobs done where the stitching is merely cosmetic, and goes through the rubber of the half-sole only, before it is attached to the mid-sole. Maybe you can tell by looking inside the boot. If that's the way it is, then many cobblers could do that.

[coleslawyum]

Thanks guys!

Anyway some info on the Chippewas.

$130 made in the USA. The quality is okay for a engineer boot under 200 dollars, but the leather is kinda rubbish and so is the hardware. The next level up would be a pair of Red Wings (which, for some strange reason you can't get here) or a pair of Frye's.I would get a pair of Wesco's next, just because the quality is much better than the rest.

The two stores that I see in magazines a lot are Fukurokuju and Union Works. I'm sure there are a lot of other shoe repair shops out there. Try LAST magazine, they might list a couple more. Riff you might want to send your shoes ahead of time so that by the time you get there, you can pick them up and pay for them, but I would contact the store first.

Speaking of Fukurokuju, if anyone has the Lightining Denim Style Book 2, there's a profile on Okuyama-san on page 16. The sole replacement cost a bit under $200, but with shipping, made it a even $200 (again, more than the shoe.)

Greg, thanks for the info on B. Nelson. I had them fix my Alden's a few months ago, and they did a great job. I'm was hoping that they had the capability to do this sort of thing. Oh well, the search continues…

You know, I'm looking at the sole and I can't figure what is machine and what is hand stitched. The stitching on top of the welt looks hand done, but underneath the sole it looks like a machine did it. He kept the original welt intact and stitched through the old holes. I don't have a clue about the loop de loop.

From the Hey Mr. Bootsman 1 F&E issue. It shows how Okuyama-san changes a sole. Maybe someone can translate it and tell us how he does it.

[dave023]

Once again... I just love this thread!!

[GregNYC]

The loop looks at least as though it was guided by hand; it doesn't look like a machine-made loop. As to whether the loop's needle was driven through by a machine, or pushed through by hand, I can't say....

[Chicken]

^ i'm determined to find out about that, if the inside stitchings are going through the leathers.

[GregNYC]

If I were a gamblin' man, I'd bet they do....

[matrix7583]

Where could I possibly cope that Alden in the pic?

Thanks guys!

Anyway some info on the Chippewas.

$130 made in the USA. The quality is okay for a engineer boot under 200 dollars, but the leather is kinda rubbish and so is the hardware. The next level up would be a pair of Red Wings (which, for some strange reason you can't get here) or a pair of Frye's.I would get a pair of Wesco's next, just because the quality is much better than the rest.

The two stores that I see in magazines a lot are Fukurokuju and Union Works. I'm sure there are a lot of other shoe repair shops out there. Try LAST magazine, they might list a couple more. Riff you might want to send your shoes ahead of time so that by the time you get there, you can pick them up and pay for them, but I would contact the store first.

Speaking of Fukurokuju, if anyone has the Lightining Denim Style Book 2, there's a profile on Okuyama-san on page 16. The sole replacement cost a bit under $200, but with shipping, made it a even $200 (again, more than the shoe.)

Greg, thanks for the info on B. Nelson. I had them fix my Alden's a few months ago, and they did a great job. I'm was hoping that they had the capability to do this sort of thing. Oh well, the search continues…

You know, I'm looking at the sole and I can't figure what is machine and what is hand stitched. The stitching on top of the welt looks hand done, but underneath the sole it looks like a machine did it. He kept the original welt intact and stitched through the old holes. I don't have a clue about the loop de loop.

From the Hey Mr. Bootsman 1 F&E issue. It shows how Okuyama-san changes a sole. Maybe someone can translate it and tell us how he does it.

[beatle]

Crazy boot there....really like the sole...and the worn in leather....beautiful

[SLAB]

is this the new black Indy boot? doesnt seem to have the same stitching ? love the shoe though; unfortunately not my size

http://cgi.ebay.com/350-Mens-ALDEN-Black-Indy-Full-Grain-Plain-Toe-Boots-9_W0QQitemZ120261101202QQihZ002QQcategoryZ63850QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[GregNYC]

^I don't think so. He's not calling it an Indy either. Looks like the Barrie last, not TruBalance. Straight heel instead of the Foot Balance orthopedic heel.

[amlai]

Those boots are a bit of a mystery. They're leather lined for one, which seems to be different than any of the Alden foot balance line that I've heard of. The boxes seem to imply Alden New England, but I've never seen a pair with the neoprene soles. My guess is that they're a special makeup shoe.

[amlai]

Where could I possibly cope that Alden in the pic?

The boot pictured there appears to be an Alden 306:

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

I assume that you'd be able to get it from any Alden dealer as I believe it is part of the standard line. If not, you'd at least be able to get it from any Alden orthopedic dealer.