Shoes that look better with age...

[Shorty Long]

Thanks for the knowledge.

The heel on White's boots is probably THE most important and distinguishing feature. The "reality of what these boots are all about" is functional footwear for men who work on their feet all day (e.g. firemen, loggers, construction workers, ranchers). They are designed to more appropriately distribute the weight of the upper body to the weight bearing bones of the legs and improve arch support, per White's patented Arch Ease. I doubt you would describe most of the guys who have been wearing these boots for years as "feminine."

[Aquaphor]

On the subject of Tricker's, I'm after a bit of sizing advice if anyone could help.

How should I go about sizing the Country boots, specifically the Stow? I was going to get a UK 8, as that is the size I have in the Tricker's Henley shoe, but I remember hearing somewhere that the Country shoes and boots are sized a little more generously. Can anyone confirm this?

I would probably size down to UK7.5 for the Stow.

For me, I am a UK8 in the normal fitting lasts, but for the Country boots I am a UK7.5

[edmond]

lovely pair

[edmond]

wowowowo

[Alex3000]

I like how those aren't so clunky like most whites I've seen.

[entropy kid]

I just came across this movie about shoecare:

http://www.edmeier.de/filme/Schuhpflegefilm.html

Sorry it's in german, but a couple of things may be ovious, even if you don't get what he's saying.

The guy doing the presentation is head of one of the oldest shoemaking families in europe (take a look at the shop in the background).

[fattybfat]

I just came across this movie about shoecare:

http://www.edmeier.de/filme/Schuhpflegefilm.html

Sorry it's in german, but a couple of things may be ovious, even if you don't get what he's saying.

The guy doing the presentation is head of one of the oldest shoemaking families in europe (take a look at the shop in the background).

Excellent video! it shows different type of leather and the way to clean it. But what is that he using on the cordovan, it look like piece of bone to me. However,i think the shoe is still way too wet when he applied shoe paste on it. I can no longer rep anyone since it became 4.0.

[fattybfat]

wowowowo

Pic above remind me of this, find it in some hk forum

[twistedtrees]

Been meaning to post these pics for the past month, but have been lazy. Not shoes, but figured you all would appreciate them. This is some little shoe repair place right next to Great Lake Pizza in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago.

[edmond]

can you proxy some cats paw for us??

[eean]

can you proxy some cats paw for us??

ditto!

ps check your pms demonito!

[edmond]

oh i suggest asking that q. here in the thread os the rest of the people wanting to know about lw's can gain knowledge too

[eean]

ahah alright,

ok so my main question/concern about these boots are are they worth the 500-600$ im gonna spend on them? how are they in quality, contruction, materials, and sizing too? how much better is than say a pair of whites/aldens?

i dont really know much aside from me touching them at BiG in nyc a couple months back.

thanks sir!

[jake431]

Been meaning to post these pics for the past month, but have been lazy. Not shoes, but figured you all would appreciate them. This is some little shoe repair place right next to Great Lake Pizza in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago.

What's the address? Definitely want to go check that out.

-Jake

[twistedtrees]

Here's the address: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=shoe+repair&sll=41.979911,-87.667809&sspn=0.009985,0.022724&gl=us&ie=UTF8&ll=41.980358,-87.667465&spn=0.019173,0.045447&z=15&iwloc=A

I haven't been inside to see what kind of stuff they have. To be honest, besides the name Cats Paw and the soles I've seen in this thread, I wouldn't even know what to look for.

[coleslawyum]

ahah alright,

ok so my main question/concern about these boots are are they worth the 500-600$ im gonna spend on them? how are they in quality, contruction, materials, and sizing too? how much better is than say a pair of whites/aldens?

i dont really know much aside from me touching them at BiG in nyc a couple months back.

thanks sir!

Well it's definitely not a dress shoe. If given a choice, in that price range, I would probably opt for a pair of Alden's or White's. Lone Wolf does have great construction, but you can't really compare them with an old school dress shoe company like Alden.

Alden's New England standard is pretty well made. The stitching is finer and the heels and soles are more dressy. I personally think you get more bang for the buck.

Lone Wolf is more work boot like, but its a few notches above Red Wing. Also the construction isn't as rough as a White's or Wesco.

From the few pairs that I have, I would say Toys McCoy has the best quality over Lone Wolf, White's, and Wesco but not by much. I will post some comparison pictures when the sun comes up being that its 4 AM in the morning right now.

I haven't been inside to see what kind of stuff they have. To be honest, besides the name Cats Paw and the soles I've seen in this thread, I wouldn't even know what to look for.

That's more than enough to ask for!!

[edmond]

i cannot compare these to white's

basically its like comparing samurai jeans to a levi's vintage clothing( not sure) ... get what i mean?

[tmadd]

My take on Whites vs Lone Wolf based on owning a pair of Whites and putting my hands on more than a few other pairs, and trying on and touching only a couple pairs of Lone Wolfs:

Lone Wolfs are great boots, and if you are after the look that they are going for, there isn't anything as good being made in America. They look like NOS vintage boots to the last detail, especially due to the shapes of the lasts and the materials they use. I would say they are a little more rugged than an Alden boot, but with craftmanship that is at least as fine, if not slightly better. I think they are great boots, and I would definitely consider buying a pair, especially because their mechanic boots are almost exactly the look I am after for a pair of boots.

That said, considering that they are roughly 33% more expensive than Whites here in the US, I think they lose on a strict value per dollar basis, and here is why:

You are limited to the models and colors in their small line, Whites is full custom.

You are limited to off the peg sizing and details (Whites will do custom sizing, and will also do things like cutting a boot to have a smaller ankle)

If you make the right leather, hardware, and sole selections, Whites are significantly more rugged.

You can have your Whites rebuilt to spec by either Whites, or Nicks.

Lone Wolfs have been designed with "vintage correct" in mind where the Whites were designed with "orthopedically correct" as the guiding philosophy.

Lone Wolfs look like classic American made boots from yesteryear, Whites actually are.

Though it seems like I am exhibiting total fan-boy status for Whites, I think in all honesty, Edmond is pretty much right, and Whites, Aldens, Lone Wolfs are all different things and trying to compare them straight across the table is an excercise built for failure. What you should buy comes down to which you will enjoy the most, and what will work best with what you wear. No point in making the purchase that makes sense money-wise and then being completely unhappy with what you get.

[erk]

I wouldn't fool around with the lone wolfs. You get so much more from white's then you ever will from lone wolf. like tmadd said, custom sizing, custom building, rebuilding, orthopedic, and an authentic boot with heritage. you have to ask yourself, what do you get with the Lone Wolf's?

[eean]

i was only really concerned with if the (significantly higher) price of a pair lone wolf and wanted to know if it was really worth it or if it was more of a style over substance situation or japansese imported thing.

thanks for the all the info tho guys!

[entropy kid]

Excellent video! it shows different type of leather and the way to clean it. But what is that he using on the cordovan, it look like piece of bone to me. However,i think the shoe is still way too wet when he applied shoe paste on it. I can no longer rep anyone since it became 4.0.

This is a piece of bone (deer bone to be exact, something to do with natural fats present in the bone).

As far as I know, using these was also a popular way of getting a worn-in look faster for normal leather; a bit like working with different tones of shoe paste.

[Guest jbone45]

My Rough Out's have currently been on a break the past few days so I wore my Flyers the whole weekend.

Boots I'm wearing today:

[Happy Hooligan]

nice Flyers!

[rnrswitch]

I used to wear chucks all the time, but I have recently moved over to flyers. They have a much more vintage feel to them. I wish I could have picked up the 1940s Chucks when those were released a few years back, but I missed out. Those things were badass.

I like the insole of the flyers. It looks right out of the 50s.

[coleslawyum]

I was planning on photographing the following for comparison purposes:

- Lone Wolf Farmer boots

- Toys McCoy Railman boots

- Wesco Jobmasters boots

- White's Dress Packer boots

The more I compared them side by side, the more it becomes apparent that you really can't compare them. I totally agree with tmadd and ed. I am most likely going to buy boots based on aesthetic and fit, price being the last issue. I rather pay more for a boot that is comfortable then a cheaper boot that feels like shit.

That being said, I still find the Toys McCoy's quality, the best (except for the shitty laces.)

Lone Wolf

Toys McCoy

Wesco

White's

Also threw in the Indy.

[fre-co]

Can't rep coleslaw.

Beautiful collection. Those toys McCoys look superb. You can see the difference in the level of finishing compared to whites/indy. I noticed that before on pictures where you can see the end of the welt.

[M4TM]

can't rep either, but damn, those toys do look good!

[erk]

the saga continues with my rough out boots... and I must say wwii impressions has provided less than satisfactory customer service through this ordeal.

jbone: we have very similar taste in shoes. I've got the same exact pair of pf flyers. they're my second pair. I got them to replace my leather pair that are wearing out. I've been wearing them since may and they really do look better with age. like any white sneaker i suppose.

[beatle]

The Alden's are growing on me every time I see them..nice collection, coleslaw

[jacob_davis]

since we are talking about pf flyers. just picked these up. the black ones.