Shoes that look better with age...

[big truck]

Odd it is, interesting it is not. Just get wearing them. Its what this thread is about after all

[almostnice]

sigh... it has something to do with the lighning. first pic is overexposed, second looks like direct sunlight. its not easy to catch the true colour. if you are still not sure you have to compare it with another pair.

Also: leather is a natural product and i have seen 9016's in all shades of cigar but never any coming even close to black cherry.

[gregornz]

Odd it is, interesting it is not. Just get wearing them. Its what this thread is about after all

Well, I am wearing them

Don't see how it's not interesting though. Maybe they are Japanese versions or something - perhaps the 9016 is different colours in different places... but I'm sure that's not the case. Maybe it's the way the leather has aged over time in the box... I'm pretty sure they aren't as red as a black cherry.

I'm going to talk to the vendor and I'll report back. Maybe the sheer boredom of reading it will give you a brain aneurysm big_truck

sigh... it has something to do with the lighning. first pic is overexposed, second looks like direct sunlight. its not easy to catch the true colour. if you are still not sure you have to compare it with another pair.

Also: leather is a natural product and i have seen 9016's in all shades of cigar but never any coming even close to black cherry.

Yeah, that must be it. Maybe I'll go compare them to some in a retail store. Thanks!

[big truck]

gregornz - I am not sure that boring someone to death is something for you to be proud of but I look forward to seeing some pictures of the boots with some wear on them.

[riff]

Some nice pairs posted up recently...

My Vibergs are definitely improving with age:

[onehundy]

need help with chippewa roughout sizing. It seems that most come in a width of E. If I am a 9.5D should I get the same size? or go down a 9E in the chippewas..

thanks

[davichan]

Trickers Herman and Eaton

[SLAB]

riff, lovely vibergs; how did u size them? whole size down from dress shoe size (like tate+yoko advise) or different

[CrashTestBrummie]

think it's fair to say that these have broken in by now...tricker's stow, worn since the end of march. wasn't expecting them to age quite so quickly, but they aren't half comfy now!

not sure if they'll prove to be quite a long-lasting as the c&j arran, though

anyone ever used saddle soap to clean rough-out boots? good or no?

[riff]

riff, lovely vibergs; how did u size them? whole size down from dress shoe size (like tate+yoko advise) or different

Hey Slab - I size mine identical to my Trickers. So that would roughly be one size down from my US dress shoe size. Note that Viberg's usual width is "E", which is perfect for me, but if you have narrow feet, go down in width.

[mikedbt5]

Stows look great Ben . Pics of my Tweed , worn periodically since start of May .

Edited June 17, 2012 by mikedbt5

[wgmds]

anyone familiar with rancourt? i'm going to get a pair of their cxl penny loafers (hopefully with their plantation crepe sole) for the summer. anyone familiar with their sizing compared to white's semi dress?

[mike3519]

Red wing iron rangers size 8.5 for sale. New in box! $210 plus shipping... PM me!

[rkusmant]

wgmds

I size down 13D to 13B in Rancourt loafer, but I wear boots socks in White's and sockless in the loafer.

[spidereye]

Finally ..completed resole this oldboot.

Single layer leather sole with half ruber sole .

Before

[PeterParker]

concerned about the leather on my white's being too dry, i hastily treated them with obenauf's lp. i forgot about the darkening effect on the colour and went the full deal. now my boots are dark brown.

will the leather lighten up over time as the oils are drawn back out of the leather?

[zendeen]

my santalum shoes after resole by Santalum team. many thx.

before..

after resole and a little cleaning with renapur.

fitpic

[illumin8em]

concerned about the leather on my white's being too dry, i hastily treated them with obenauf's lp. i forgot about the darkening effect on the colour and went the full deal. now my boots are dark brown.

will the leather lighten up over time as the oils are drawn back out of the leather?

I have not found that it will lighten enough to really notice. If you push it to the point of being dry, then yes, but won't be good for the health of the boots.

[PeterParker]

well, damn.

i suppose the intensity of the darkening from obenauf's depends on how dry the leather is to start. i've seen that chromexcel, which is pretty well oiled, darkens only a little. the distressed smoothed leather was fairly dry. the colour now looks more like white's "brown smooth" leather or brown chromexcel. wish i could bring back the lighter brown somehow.

i employed the brush-on method (using melted obenauf's), so it was a fairly generous coat.

i probably should have used a neutral cream (which i had!) instead to preserve the original colour of the leather.

on the plus side, they're pretty waterproof now.

Edited June 19, 2012 by PeterParker

[CrashTestBrummie]

just a heads-up to anyone who might be interested in an alfred sargent group mto buy - i'm currently speaking to richard of shoehealer fame about the possibility of doing a classic veldt boot in shell (or a shell/scotch grain combination), but on a sleeker last than most veldt boots.

he's at sargent's factory tomorrow and will be making the appropriate enquiries, and i'm off to see him at the weekend to have a look at some of the boots made on the different lasts.

i'll post more information, price-wise and spec-wise, as soon as we know where we stand but am looking at an elegant boot that's more than suitable for crap weather and hard wear...

and just a little shoe porn, a pair of cc41-stamped derbys that definitely look good for their age, considering that they're at least 60 years old:

[garden gnomes in space]

concerned about the leather on my white's being too dry, i hastily treated them with obenauf's lp. i forgot about the darkening effect on the colour and went the full deal. now my boots are dark brown.

will the leather lighten up over time as the oils are drawn back out of the leather?

Everytime I have used Obenauf's, it has not permanently discolored my leather. I have used it on pull up leather and bridle leather. Since your bboots are the distressed leather, yo most likely will notice a significant change right away, but over time, it should return to the original color, or pretty damn close at least

[devilish]

I'm 90% in on the shell alfred sargent group buy. More like 99% but have to make sure the budget will stretch when needed. Thanks CTB for doing the leg work on this and richard from shoehealer for dealing with the factory.

[rungo]

think it's fair to say that these have broken in by now...tricker's stow, worn since the end of march. wasn't expecting them to age quite so quickly, but they aren't half comfy now!

not sure if they'll prove to be quite a long-lasting as the c&j arran, though

anyone ever used saddle soap to clean rough-out boots? good or no?

Saddle soap does work to clean rough out, but you need a few extra supplies compared with regular leather.

Firstly I find I need a few extra cloths around, as it tends to need more soap/water than regular, secondly, I like using a soft scrub brush to work the nap of the rough out, helps to clean the surface and kind of makes the nap stand up.

After drying, definitely would recommend some conditioning/re-dubbing, although I have not done this process on boots that were not for 'rugged' purposes/covered in mud/what-have-you.

[mothball]

just a heads-up to anyone who might be interested in an alfred sargent group mto buy - i'm currently speaking to richard of shoehealer fame about the possibility of doing a classic veldt boot in shell (or a shell/scotch grain combination), but on a sleeker last than most veldt boots.

he's at sargent's factory tomorrow and will be making the appropriate enquiries, and i'm off to see him at the weekend to have a look at some of the boots made on the different lasts.

i'll post more information, price-wise and spec-wise, as soon as we know where we stand but am looking at an elegant boot that's more than suitable for crap weather and hard wear...

I would likely be interested in this as well.

[SetsunaFSeiei]

My SD`s. Surprised at how shiny I got it to be just from brushing after I greased it up with Obenauf`s LP.

[CrashTestBrummie]

After drying, definitely would recommend some conditioning/re-dubbing, although I have not done this process on boots that were not for 'rugged' purposes/covered in mud/what-have-you.

cheers for the advice, I'll give them a clean at the weekend and see how they turn out!

I would likely be interested in this as well.

watch this space for further info...

[ranonranonarat]

will definitely be watching this space for further info. thanks for doing this.

[dr.house]

Shameless plug, check this:

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Edited June 21, 2012 by dr.house

[PeterParker]

anyone with white's use an insole for comfort?

after standing on concrete all day, my feet definitely feel it. even with the vibram composition sole and an anti-fatigue mat it's still pretty savage. not that i could fit much of an insole in my boots anyway, the fit doesn't really allow for one.

[BrownMetallic]

i usually use insoles on my boots, but my SJs fit snugly that i dint need them.

you're just prolly not used to it yet. when sized right, the "Arch Ease" actually works_ unless you got low arches.

also, i just recently observed on my Baker's MTO SDs, that the Arch Ease does not function well if you fcuk around with the heels.

it somehow messes up the foot bed or the last itself or both.

i had mine lowered by 1/4 on block heels w/ Vibram half-soles.

so, now i'm using insoles