Shoes that look better with age...

[mpukas]

Chippewa 1901M49 Engineer boots, Cordovan color, resoled my Role Club. Handwelted. Storm welt. Role CLub half soles & heels. Replaced roller buckles with Japanese solid brass. Replaced paperboard footbed with leather. 

 

I was planning on wearing these in the DWC boot division, not I'm not sure. I'm not happy with Brian's work. The are ipeccable on the outside, but on the inside I have issues with comfort of the footbed. The edge of the footbed is raise in the front of the boot where the upper leather is tucked under, and it's irritating. At the heel where the upper leather is tucked under the leather footbed, it raises up the outer edge of the footbed causing a ridge that is also irritating. 

 

I may have them resoled my another shop. This was a waste of money. 

 

http://

 

http://

 

http://

 

http://

 

http://

 

left boot heel pad - outside edge is raised due to edge of footbed being lifted upwards, creating a ridge under my heel; 

http://

 

inside of right fore foot - the outer edge of the leather footbed is raised, creating a ridge all around my toes (f'g photo links won't rotate properly f/ Photobucket); 

http://

[mpukas]

Buttero Tanino dark brown low. 

 

SOOOOO stocked I was able to score a pair of these!!!! They are incredible. Of all the boots and shoes I have ever owned, I think these are probably the most amazing. The leather quality and thickness is on another level from anything else I have. 

 

Their insole is really nice - it's a fine grained leather over a medium density foam - but I took it out because I have a high instep and a high volume foot. They fit much better this way. I'm using a flat Spenco POS insole for now, and I've got some leather and cork insoles on order. 

 

My favorite shoes ATM. Love them! 

 

http://

 

http://

 

 

http://

 

http://

 

http://http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r141/mpukas/Sneakers/Buttero%20Tanino%20dark%20brown%20low/20150410_130245_zpsqrdigymz.jpg

[mpukas]

more Buttero: 

 

http://

 

http://

 

http://

 

http://

 

http://

[superfuzz]

Chippewa 1901M49 Engineer boots, Cordovan color, resoled my Role Club. Handwelted. Storm welt. Role CLub half soles & heels. Replaced roller buckles with Japanese solid brass. Replaced paperboard footbed with leather. 

 

I was planning on wearing these in the DWC boot division, not I'm not sure. I'm not happy with Brian's work. The are ipeccable on the outside, but on the inside I have issues with comfort of the footbed. The edge of the footbed is raise in the front of the boot where the upper leather is tucked under, and it's irritating. At the heel where the upper leather is tucked under the leather footbed, it raises up the outer edge of the footbed causing a ridge that is also irritating. 

 

I may have them resoled my another shop. This was a waste of money. 

 

http://

 

http://

 

http://

 

http://

 

http://

 

left boot heel pad - outside edge is raised due to edge of footbed being lifted upwards, creating a ridge under my heel; 

http://

 

inside of right fore foot - the outer edge of the leather footbed is raised, creating a ridge all around my toes (f'g photo links won't rotate properly f/ Photobucket); 

http://

 

That sucks they they don't feel right after a resole. Do you have enough room to fit a thin insole?

[Megatron1505]

Did you contact Brian? He seems like a solid dude and I'm sure he could help you out or advise you.

[mpukas]

I sized up 1/2 size so I could fit an insole when wearing thin socks and no insole for thicker socks. I'm typically a 9, but I went with 9 1/2 on these. Also with my high arch it makes getting pull-on boots easier on and off. 

 

I've tried 4 different insoles from thin flat to cushioned arch. None of them fix the problems with the raised footbed areas. 

 

Brian has said there're no issues with his work, and any problems are because the boots are too big and my feet are sliding around in them. And my feet are supposed to mold to the shape of the boots. 

Edited April 19, 2015 by mpukas

[superfuzz]

Bummer. They look really good!

[Megatron1505]

Yeh, bad news man. They look great but if they're not comfortable you have to move them on or get them reworked, I faced a similarly difficult decision with a pair of boots that looked incredible but hurt like shit only a few months ago, comfort over style every day.

[Mrpibbs]

On those engineers it looks like the bit of cork that fills the gap between the uppers is missing. It's very evident on your heal shot that something should fill that gap. Can you pull the heal insole and take a shot?

[dylanbooth78]

I recently had my 1000 miles resoled and had a similar problem in the left boot at the outside edge of the toes, I "kneaded" the area with my fingers for a couple of minutes and then wore them for the rest of the day and they were fine! you could give that a go before you give up hope completely.

[unders]

This is what I've been wearing the past few years.

Churchs, my office shoes, around 7 years old. These haven't had the amount of maintenance they've probably deserved. Holding up very well considering how much I wear them.





Belstaff, around 6 years old. These don't have much life left in them.





Red Wings, around 5 years old. Only worn properly for about three as these were a bugger to break in.





 

Edited April 19, 2015 by unders

[mpukas]

Here's a couple pics f/ Brian when he tore apart the original Chippewa 1901M49 boots. 

 

"Chips were made all of synthetic and cardboard". "The brown you see is cardboard imitating leather". 

 

I have to say, as much as I like Chippewa as a brand and I think their styling is some of the best, I'm rather astonished at the low level of quality materials used. They didn't even use a real leather welt - it's just cardboard. And the filler isn't even cork - it looks like ground up carpet padding. The only value I placed on these boots in the first place was the styling appealed to me, and Brian said the upper's leather was a good enough quality that it warranted the cost of a rebuild. At least the fore foot is leather lined. Some of their boots, like the 1901 6" service boot which I also have a pair of, are lined w/ synthetic canvas fabric that they claim is moisture wicking. 

 

Considering Chippewa recently started selling directly on their website and have had a $30-$40 increase in their prices across the board, I think they are vastly over-priced. I'll go so far as to state I now think Redwing makes a better quality boot. 

 

http://

 

http://

[superfuzz]

Mpukas, I had a pair of Alden Indys resoled (not by Brian) and when I first got them back the footbed felt really weird, after a couple of weeks of wearing that went away and now they are fine. So maybe just wear them a while with thick socks and it might get better.

[Iron Horse]

Red Wings, around 5 years old. Only worn properly for about three as these were a bugger to break in.

 

What was so troublesome about the RWs' breaking in?

 

I'm just curious because I'm strongly considering the RW 9268 for my next boots, and the only RWs I've broken in were my 875s (which did take a while to become comfortable).

[unders]

The leather on these started very thick, heavy duty and pretty unforgiving after about 2 hours wear. That plus the steel toe cap make for a heavy boot which is something I wasn't used to. Now the leather is more supple and much more comfortable.

Total breaking in time was probably 3 to 4 months. It just took me 2 years as I mostly wore the more comfortable Belstaffs.

[Iron Horse]

OK, interesting; I was thinking of removing the steel toes from the 9268s when I get them. I guess with everyday wear they might break in at roughly the same speed as the 875s (which I think must have taken me several weeks of everyday, painful wear).

[volvo240thebest]

OK, interesting; I was thinking of removing the steel toes from the 9268s when I get them. I guess with everyday wear they might break in at roughly the same speed as the 875s (which I think must have taken me several weeks of everyday, painful wear).

I'd do the same.. nothing I hate more than steel toes!

[unders]

I don't have much use for them to be honest given I don't ride, don't work in construction and am mostly a pacifist!

[volvo240thebest]

you've sort of wrote down why I don't wear engineer boots myself. I love the construction and the look of it but I think I'm not self confident enought to pull them off in my everyday life. I am still very tempted by some pecos boots designs though, find them a bit more versatile.. I love the simple red wing peco boot which is sold with the same composite sole as the Iron Ranger, sooner or later I'll find an used pair of that model on ebay and I'll get them!

Edited April 20, 2015 by volvo240thebest

[unders]

Volvo, I was exactly the same when I started to wear them and for a long time thought they were too bulky. Now I've gotten used to them and feel that a sleek toe box (like Road Champs) don't look 'proper'. It's all subjective though.

Pecos are quality - they age really well.

Edited April 20, 2015 by unders

[Iron Horse]

you've sort of wrote down why I don't wear engineer boots myself. I love the construction and the look of it but I think I'm not self confident enought to pull them off

I always feel this way when I try something new and bold for myself, style-wise. Each time I stepped up to some new level for me, I felt self-conscious and even had buyer's remorse. Of course, once people started complimenting whatever it is I tried, I quickly forgot about that.

[Cucoo]

Instead of Red Wing Pecos, I'd say just look for simple roundish toe western / roper boots. There's a whole world of variety out there

 

Personally I don't even notice the steel toe in my Red Wing engineers, I have another pair of RW engineers without steel toe and they feel the same when wearing them.

 

 

Oh and Volvo, I really think that you don't need to be that self-conscious about engineer boots - judging by your fit pics I honestly think that they wouldn't stick out at all. Engineers aren't that outlandish, you can pull them off just fine by just putting them on and walking around

Edited April 20, 2015 by Cucoo

[cthip]

Here are some before/afters of my Wolverine 1Ks resoled by Brian the Bootmaker.  The boots have been through a lot and I think they're better now than they were new!

 

 

 

 

[superfuzz]

I love what Brian did with that 430 sole!

[Noodle36]

https://instagram.com/p/1uwBROzUaA/

Just sayin

[aho]

New Nick's videos if you guys don't follow their Newsletter:

 

[Rob060]

nice. i've pretty much decided to get some nicks this summer. there's a place close by where i can check them out and get fitted. will probably do that friday and get all the options sorted.

[Bibil]

cthip, I love the flattened toe box on your 1000 mile boots.  I haven't seen that before, and to be honest, I don't find the box toe on them new very attractive...

 

Good to see you can squash it down over time to a flatter toe.

[cthip]

cthip, I love the flattened toe box on your 1000 mile boots.  I haven't seen that before, and to be honest, I don't find the box toe on them new very attractive...

 

Good to see you can squash it down over time to a flatter toe.

 

Haha thanks!  The toe box on these can look a little "bulbous" at times, but over the years mine have relaxed a lot.  At work there was a door that was a bit "sticky," and I was kicking it open 10+ times per day.  That certainly helped flatten the toe.

 

I know that Brian removes the celastic toe lining and re-lasts a lot of boots to have a flatter profile, so that's another option if you're looking for quicker results.

[Cucoo]

Took some shots of my Sendras for the BWC and figured I'd crosspost. They're still practically new (10-15 wears).