Shoes that look better with age...

[kss447]

New: (not my picture)

 

 

~8 months wear:

 

[garden gnomes in space]

what are those?  I like them, a bit different

[kss447]

Eastland MiM (by Rancourt) Wildwoods. They're a discontinued style, sadly. Rancourt won't make handsewn boots over 5" anymore.

[Max Power]

Received my White's Oxfords today. Couldn't be happier with the fast shipping and Service provided by Kyle. 10,5E seems to fit perfect from the quick try-on. Will post proper pics later.

 

Edited March 11, 2015 by Max Power

[Max Power]

Sorry, somehow I can't edit my post right now.

[Megatron1505]

Very nice Flo, I loved mine. Super comfortable.

[Max Power]

I'm very curious to actually wear them. They are really heavy, easily heavier than for example my RW 877. The leather is a nice oil tan, but the distressed outside has some "less hairy" spots. Hard to describe, it Looks like the leather has seen some wear and gotten a sheen. Might be the distressed characteristic. Doesn't bother me, but makes them look less over the top like my Vibergs. The rest ist awesome and I can't wait to wear them.

Now I just have to decide, wether I'll put these into the Boot Championship or the Vibergs Black Waxed Flesh...

[mpukas]

Nice looking shoes, Max. I'm usually not a fan of white wedge soles, but I kinda dig those. I like that there're not too wedgy with a really high heel. I bet they will be super comfy to walk in for long distances. 

 

Re: weight - it's not surprising they are heavier than your RW's. As you know, this is other level. 

 

When you get to it, can you post a close-up pic of the welt. One of the things that bugs me about my re-build SJ's is how bulbous the stitch-down welt is. It looks terrible, IMO. 

[Max Power]

Thank you. Will give it a thought. Here are better pictures. The left one fits perfect, the right one has a bit heel slip. But I'm sure they'll get awesome over time.








 

[Max Power]

 

One tongue looks brighter than the other....but that's no issue and will probably settle with wear (and is not visible anyway). But might be a flaw to some.

Edited March 11, 2015 by Max Power

[Blue Nemo]

as I said it every time we talked about these, they are awesome! and they work very well with your jeans.

hope the heel slip will fix. i have the exact same problem with every pair of mine but so far I never lost a shoe

 

are you using custom insoles? from what I can see the ones inside the Whites' look already darkened.

[fre-co]

Nice!!!

[Max Power]

Thank you! I might use insoles if the slip won't go away. I'll try to swing by at the store this weekend @blue_nemo. Or aren't you working?

[garden gnomes in space]

give me 45 minutes and Ill show you what 3 years of wear on those will look like...

here you go

Edited March 11, 2015 by garden gnomes in space

[bradl]

Sorry,must have missed, but that's the red dog rough out? Looks amazing, New and worn. High contenders for casual boots when I cop a pair.

[garden gnomes in space]

yes red dog rough out.  Its pretty inconsistent in terms of how hairy or smooth they are. 

[Sigur Rós]

My knackered Redwings

[Rob060]

that's a vibram sole on those white's right max? think that's the sole version i was looking at possibly putting on my redwing 3140s when they needed it. i'm on my feet all day in them for work and i'm interested in your thoughts on the comfort and durability of the sole after some wear. the default red wing sole is really durable but the cushioning is pretty firm, so i was thinking of looking for something a little more plush, but i don't want to sacrifice too much durability. i tried the christy sole on some other boots and it seemed to be wearing out way too fast.

Edited March 12, 2015 by Rob060

[Max Power]

The Vibram Sole feels definitely more plush than the RW crepe sole. Comfy as it can be, almost to the Point where it might feel a bit unstable (like I said, almost). But from other's I heard it should wear off pretty fast, so in Terms of durability the crepe sole should be the better Option.

[summ3rhays]

Those oxfords look pretty sweet Max! I really dig the color of the rough out! Congrats

[Bobbo]

Dam nice oxfords Gnomes and Max! Made my fingers itch, haha. 

[aho]

Wranglerstar did a factory tour of Nick's....really great stuff!

 

Part two is where we get into the meat of it...Hand welt, etc.

Edited March 14, 2015 by aho

[mpukas]

great find, Aho!!! 

 

I'm saying it here, first - this is the year Nick's blows up. Get 'em while they're still reasonable... 

[itsbenhere]

Is there a conclusion in whats "better" re whites vs nicks?  i feel like the answer at this point really is just that theyre all fucking good enough.

[onehundy]

Nicks better. Took whites and improved quality control. 

[onehundy]

Anyone own a pair of white kloud boots?  

[Max Power]

Before:

 

After (quick cleanse):

[Broark]

Great videos on the Nick's boots aho, making me want a pair.

I keep meaning to buy some boots and then I just end up buying more denim!

I guess my only issue is most of the photos on their website, makes every model look like they have a very high heel.

Maybe that's accurate and they do have a higher heel which isn't something I'm into personally.

I've got a couple pairs of Aldens and I want something a bit more rugged, so I've been thinking about Wesco or Nick's.

[superfuzz]

Broark, on their Instagram page Nick's posted some pics of a new low heel model, looks a bit like Viberg service boot to me. I think you might dig it. I really want to get a pair of Nick's oxfords, just don't have any extra money right now.

[rodeo bill]

apologies if this is kind of off-topic... we're having our chimney lined for a wood-burning stove, and it ended up being more complicated than planned, with holes knocked through into the wall cavities. Basically a massive pain, but out of one of the holes came this:

 

At first we figured it's just an old shoe, and it's got elastic on the side so I assumed it wasn't that old, but we've been looking at it a bit closer and it has some really cool details.

Scalloped panel copying the design of a button boot's placket:

 

Galosh cut with full leather counters:

 

Heavily nailed heel:

 

Really nicely welted sole:

 

coloured striped tabs, and full canvas lining:

 

Wikipedia tells me that chelsea boots were patented in 1851 by Queen Victoria's shoemaker J. Sparkes-Hall. Our house was built in about 1870, and my guess is these have been in there since then. The guy installing our stove told us that shoes were often buried in walls around the chimney stack to ward off evil spirits, which this article backs up.

 

I think I'm going to contact the Northampton Museum Index of Concealed Shoes