Shoes that look better with age...

[garden gnomes in space]

Not sure about the Desert Boots, but the Thorogoods wont need much care. Just get a horse hair brush and keep them clean and dirt free and let them wear in naturally. You could hit them with a glob of Obenauf's every 3-5 months, let sit overnight and brush in the morning to get a bit of leather preserve and water resistance in there for good measure. Thats what I have been doing with my Red Wings and its kept them in great shape.

these both came in the mail today... excuse the phone pics.

thorogood 6" moc toe american heritage

clarks db beeswax

how should i take care of these to make sure they age well?

edit: i'm wearing the thorogoods right now, and they are definitely the most comfortable shoes i own.

[Noodle36]

My Hondo Mule Hide Cowboy Boots - Not sure how everyone feels about cowboy boots but I love these. One of the most comfortable boots I own.

Sorry about the poor photos - took them on the floor of my bathroom

Build quality on these is superb and this Jack Ass hide is absolutely beautiful.

[onehundy]

don't treat your boots with anything unless it rains and dries up the leather.

[wgmds]

black cxl with about 2.5 months of wear. it was nice outside and i was bored, so here's the result.

[garden gnomes in space]

good stuff. Mine are set to land late next week, early next-next week. Kyle couldnt give me an exact, but thats good enough for me. I had a dream the other night they sent the totally wrong boots, made out of all kinds of fucked up sting ray and bullhide bull shit. woke up freaked out. its getting serious now, haha

[in_limbo]

Not sure about the Desert Boots, but the Thorogoods wont need much care. Just get a horse hair brush and keep them clean and dirt free and let them wear in naturally. You could hit them with a glob of Obenauf's every 3-5 months, let sit overnight and brush in the morning to get a bit of leather preserve and water resistance in there for good measure. Thats what I have been doing with my Red Wings and its kept them in great shape.

sounds good, thanks. i always assumed people must treat their boots somehow to get them to age nicely instead of getting ugly creases and whatnot.

[garden gnomes in space]

nah, those creases will come no matter what. If the leather seems like its drying out, treat it. Dont baby them, wear the shit out of them and they will reward you with comfort and natural patina

[onehundy]

anyone have experience with those zip stevenson santa rosas?

[big truck]

one handy - I have seen and handled the Santa Rosas. They are a very substantial boot. Vintage soles, great leather (I can't remember which one) and the brown version looks really nice. However, the toe box is quite big. IF you are looking for a lower profile toe box then I think they do custom orders (did Ray44 get some?). I was tempted but the toe box put me off.

[marineabilly]

Lofgren's boots are availabe for pre-order and his site was just updated to reflect US sizing.

[big truck]

you on commission from Lofgren marinebilly? (j/k)

[demonator]

whats the diffeence between a farmer rancher and other whites model? are they basically smoke jumpers? or what?

[BrownMetallic]

yes. sjs w/o the lug soles.

[rayw44]

anyone have experience with those zip stevenson santa rosas?

Big truck is right, I do have a pair without any reinforcement in the toe, and they are great boots. There are a few pictures a couple pages back, and I'll have to get some more pics up now that they have some wear.

There's also a lot more info on them around where the pictures are posted, but if you can't find it I'll post the details on the brand again.

[marineabilly]

you on commission from Lofgren marinebilly? (j/k)

Hehe...not at all - just know a good Engineer Boot when I see one.

[big truck]

My RRL engineers, the Julian version. Worn these quite a bit. The sole is pretty stiff but softening up nicely.

[mikedbt5]

First wear of my new Cheaneys' today . I wasnt mad about lighter coloured boots but was bowled over with these . Whilst traditionally styled the slimmer shape , ski hooks and slightly antiqued finish make them a bit more contrived but they look great in my opinion . Some Cheaney veldts to arrive in a few weeks too and thats me finished..... A light coat of brown polish and saphir applied .

Edited May 17, 2012 by mikedbt5

[CrashTestBrummie]

nice boots, mike...i liked the feel of the cheaney brogue boots i handled when i was up in sunny doncaster at richard's shop...

[mikedbt5]

Thanks Ben . These were an impulse buy , though i got them from richard not in belfast. As I mentioned in an earler post , I have been critical of Cheaneys' contemporary styles but these and the dealer boot version were a pleasant surprise ..Sturdy enough though not as much as my AS MONTROSE (TANKS )

I assume sunny doncaster is like sunny belfast...there's f**k all sun ! lol .

[evansrc]

Hi all.

If anyone knows the answer to what these are and who made them, I imagine it would be here.

Bought from Cordings about 10+ years ago.

I've enquired there, and they have no idea.

Now owned by Eric Clapton, seems much changed and only really do wellies now, including pink ones.

Don't look dissimilar to me to the Edward Green Galway, but bought a pair of Edward Green Banbury around the same time and remember these costing rather less.

Got a pair of Cheaney Veldtschoen, but no idea if these are Veldtschoens or not.

The sole is a Medway.

Idle curiosity, and will need resoling soon and I'd rather they went back to the maker.

Thanks in advance,

Rich

[CrashTestBrummie]

nice veldt boots, rich, any marking inside of note?

[evansrc]

Thanks!

They did go back to Cordings a few years after getting them to have a couple of hooks replaced and some wear on inner heels patched.

Not sure if the bottom heel bit was replaced then, but on it (rubbed now) pretty sure it reads "hand benched hand finished by craftsmen" in gold caps.

In ankle area "8387 74" and "k88712" and in arch area stamped 8 above 6.

[CrashTestBrummie]

i'd guess crockett & jones from what you've said but the 'look' of the stamp itself would give me a better clue. the speed hooks made me think that too, as all my c&j boots have them, although not sure if that's a more recent development.

the 'hand benched...' liner is a standard one used by a lot of cobblers in the UK.

what else is lurking in the background of your pic?

[evansrc]

You may well be absolutely right.

What I didn't mention is that though Cordings don't sell anything like this anymore, they wondered about C&J, and did pull a C&J catalogue out of a drawer.

So, does seem to be some kind of relationship between the companies.

Did try asking at C&J in Burlington Arcade, but no one there had been around long enough to know.

Background is Cheaney Veldtschoens, Church Graftons, Edward Green Banbury.

All pretty old, lasted well.

The Cheaneys must be 15-20 years old, did try to get Lotus because that's what my father wore, but couldn't even get them even back then.

[CrashTestBrummie]

i'd still say crockett & jones but could be worth dropping them a line in northampton to see if they can shed any further light - i know that they've done similar boots in the past and the shape of those is similar to their snowdon model. cheaney and sargent tend to have the last number on the inside (cheaney have always used the 4436 last, if i remember rightly, and sargent used the 88 last for at least their most recent veldt models).

dunno about cordings, but c&j have made boots for purdey and holland & holland in the past (and still do). edward green have also done so but don't think they do at present (and the markings would be hand-written, whether they were 'old', pre-80s greens or not).

if they're not c&j then i'm sure people on here will have recommendations for a good cobbler who can resole them for you.

and the occasional pair of lotus pops up in this thread, as you probably know already...

[evansrc]

Thanks Paul, yep I'll contact C&J.

Poor quality pics of aforementioned.

And nice pair of bi-colour boots from Jil Sander.

And for want of shoes that don't get better with age thread, my only pair of bespoke.

From Jason Amesbury, nice bloke, but defeating the object of the exercise they didn't fit, were too tight an ended up splitting along the upper by the sole.

Yes, the Cheaney are nice but will be keeping my eye out for a pair of Lotus, got the itch again to get a pair.

Thanks for your help.

[rkusmant]

Snosealing my Natty Indy and Mt. Light

[CrashTestBrummie]

Yes, the Cheaney are nice but will be keeping my eye out for a pair of Lotus, got the itch again to get a pair.

Thanks for your help.

just to whet your appetite...

lotus for church's?

and lastly, possibly the funniest ebay listing i've seen for some time...

"looks like it might have been used a couple of times" - fucking lol

[Rob060]

rw3140. breaking these in was pretty brutal on the left foot, but it was well worth it. i've only had these ~3 weeks, put chelsea leather food on a few times, so they're just starting to take shape.

Edited May 20, 2012 by Rob060

[garden gnomes in space]

Nice. I had a hell of a break in with my 3141's also. Throw some leather laces on those bad boys.