Shoes that look better with age...

[mikecch]

@jigsaw Some solvents and oils can do that to plastics / rubber. What does your friend do for a living?

[mikecch]

^ These Tricker's I've worn on and off for the past 5/6 years. Due for a resole soon. Going to bring them to Dr. Sole when I visit Taiwan later this year.

 

^ Plug for Godspeed. McCoy's monkey boots.

 

^ Gold Bond by Sears, from the 60s. Had tried to offload them via Insta, but no interest,

 

 

[JDelage]

In Paris for a few days. Descended upon a Paraboot shoes store for a few items...

Edited August 30, 2017 by JDelage

[mpukas]

@JDelage - I just felt some slight tremors way up here in the Rockies from that small nuke you just dropped  

[Foxy2]

2nded - nice ones!

been eyeing the brand too, trying to find out if they do HH runs or if I just made that up...

[JDelage]

@Foxy2 HH run? Do you mean horsehide? If so, yes they have a few models in cordovan, incl. Chambord IIRC. Not sure they're worth the 300 Euro premium over leather though. If you're ever in Paris, the place to go for cordovan is Carmina, on Avenue de l'Opera.

Paraboot has a long history & reputation in France as no nonsense quality shoes. I have a pair of Chambord I've been wearing for more than 20 yrs.

Edited August 31, 2017 by JDelage

[Foxy2]

yes, HorseHide.

I remember Paraboots from my youth as beeing one of the (very) few decent french shoe brands and saw them gaining popularity in Japan over the past decade(s).

working losely with an importer here in Moscow I'm kind of curious if I should get a pair...

[Dr Feelgood]

TXTURE"Sanity Boots"

In natural vegtan n bundokan last

:beer

[Niro]

Got my Lone wolf carpenter boots black x brown. They are amazing!  That feeling of putting on the boots and thinking "fuck yea" is just awesome.

half size down seems to have good choice, but won't know fully until I break them in.

Edited August 31, 2017 by Niro

[mlwdp]

3 hours ago, Niro said:

Got my Lone wolf carpenter boots black x brown. They are amazing!  That feeling of putting on the boots and thinking "fuck yea" is just awesome.

half size down seems to have good choice, but won't know fully until I break them in.

Before I was considering and doing my White's, these were on my mind heavily.  The sizing, however, turned me away even though Vintage Paradise's prices were very good.  Didn't want to deal with the unfortunate task of having a boot that doesn't fit and having to sell them instead.

[Niro]

Yea I was quite worried about the fit. My fears have eased now, but I won't know for sure until i've worn them for a while.

 

[Dr Feelgood]

Good chop Niro

[propellerbeanie]

I've been looking for a 6" boot that has a toe that will collapse with wear. The Role Club Underdogs look really nice, but it seems like I'd have to wait for years to actually get a pair made. Red Wing Japan's new "Flat Box" boots look like they have a nice shape. 

If you press the play button on the Instagram post I just linked then you'll see how they look after they've been worn-in. Does anyone have any brand suggestions that do the same style (preferably with speed hooks, Goodyear welted, and black)? I do like the look of Vibram 705 soles and 700 heels, but not necessary.

 

[ElTadashi]

48 minutes ago, propellerbeanie said:

I've been looking for a 6" boot that has a toe that will collapse with wear. The Role Club Underdogs look really nice, but it seems like I'd have to wait for years to actually get a pair made. Red Wing Japan's new "Flat Box" boots look like they have a nice shape.

Do you have any interest in Whites smokejumpers? My smokejumpers have an unstructured toe that looked like that pretty much out of the box for me.

[Sympathy-For-The-Denim]

those japan red wings look nice for sure, but what about those, made in england for aero leather:

http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=3346

 

[mlwdp]

6 hours ago, ElTadashi said:

Do you have any interest in Whites smokejumpers? My smokejumpers have an unstructured toe that looked like that pretty much out of the box for me.

Please post your SJ when you get a chance.  I've never seen them with a unstructured toe.  

[mlwdp]

7 hours ago, propellerbeanie said:

I've been looking for a 6" boot that has a toe that will collapse with wear. The Role Club Underdogs look really nice, but it seems like I'd have to wait for years to actually get a pair made. Red Wing Japan's new "Flat Box" boots look like they have a nice shape. 

If you press the play button on the Instagram post I just linked then you'll see how they look after they've been worn-in. Does anyone have any brand suggestions that do the same style (preferably with speed hooks, Goodyear welted, and black)? I do like the look of Vibram 705 soles and 700 heels, but not necessary.

 

Glad Hand and All American Boot Mfg make a pretty nice boot

 

[mikecch]

@propellerbeanie A combination of unstructured toe and a leather than is not too stiff will give this effect over time. Most MTO brands can do this for you I think.

Speaking of the Flat Box, I'll see if I can find them in Taiwan when I visit later this year. Might snatch a pair in the black Klondik leather if available.

[propellerbeanie]

Thanks for the suggestions, y'all. If I am to go MTO, I'll have to do a bit of research to see what's best for me - I think "the paradox of choice" is what usually deters me. I am, however, trying to venture into other brands, so that might be a good way to do it.

Since I'm quite the leather novice, to go for the Flat Box might be the easier option because there isn't really anything that I dislike about it. Probably the only minor thing would be the opening of the boot... Does anyone know if that rolled piece of leather that goes around the circumference of the opening has a proper name? What I'm referring to might not be clear, but as an example, the same thing can be found on their Moc Toe, but not on the IRs.

[Iron Horse]

If you're into roughout, there's also the new Lofgren M-43s (pics courtesy of VEB):

 

Toe deflating with wear:

Edited September 2, 2017 by Iron Horse

[propellerbeanie]

@Iron Horse

Yeah, those are hot. I've been eyeing those for a little while, but unsure of the best place to pick them up. I know Speedway has them in my size (US 9.5), and Standard & Strange is out of stock. S&S seem to have a better price, so fingers crossed they eventually do a restock... Not sure where else to look.

[mikecch]

@propellerbeanie It's called a rolled top.

Not essential really, but many work boots have them. 

 

Red Wing boots are fine, but their mid and insoles are much thinner than true bench made American boots like White's, etc. 

 

Definitely at some point try one of the main Pacific Northwestern makers - give Nick's a miss for now, as quality is a bit unstable. White's and Wesco are safe bets. If you go through the right channels they're not too much more expensive compared to Oak Street, Rancourt or Red Wing's better boots, but definitely much higher quality. 

 

Viberg's are sleeker, but the price hike over the years have been huge. I certainly wouldn't go with them if value for money is important, but otherwise they're nice boots too. 

 

There are other smaller American makers of course, but I'd start with the more established makers. 

Edited September 2, 2017 by mikecch

[JDelage]

@Niro - is there a name for those boots on which the laces go down to the toes?

[Niro]

1 hour ago, JDelage said:

@Niro - is there a name for those boots on which the laces go down to the toes?

The lonewolf ones which go right down to the toe are called 'wireman'

[Iron Horse]

3 hours ago, propellerbeanie said:

@Iron Horse

Yeah, those are hot. I've been eyeing those for a little while, but unsure of the best place to pick them up. I know Speedway has them in my size (US 9.5), and Standard & Strange is out of stock. S&S seem to have a better price, so fingers crossed they eventually do a restock... Not sure where else to look.

I'd shoot S&S a message about a possible restock, because I don't know of anyone else besides them and Speedway that is going to stock the M-43. The latter is a breeze to order through though, and they do returns/exchanges too.

[volvo240thebest]

those Lofgren boondockers are amazing!

just grabbed a new pair of kicks. Got bored with either Vans (rubber unglued and broke in  several places after one summer of wear) and Chucks (vamp inside pad disintegrated after about 4 months of wear).. These are Excelsior shoes, made in Korea, sold in Eu by Allbluesco in Leeds. They feel and look terrific. The amount of rubber used for this pair is perhaps twice a pair of bog standard chucks, perhaps more... love the look of white canvas and natural leather. For 90 quids shipped and paypaled they're a fine deal I reckon.

[ElTadashi]

22 hours ago, mlwdp said:

Please post your SJ when you get a chance.  I've never seen them with a unstructured toe.  

The build is the following:

10" Smoke jumper

Brown CXL

Vibram 705 sole

[dudewuttheheck]

Some shots of my first pair of Clinch boots after being used for a lot of actual work. The latigo leather is super heavy duty. I know this is probably not true, but it feels tougher than even the cordovan that I've handled.

There is a reason I now have two more pairs of Clinch. These are incredible boots.

[mlwdp]

20 hours ago, JDelage said:

@Niro - is there a name for those boots on which the laces go down to the toes?

LTT-lace to toe.

[Dr Feelgood]

Fitpic

Compare with Sanity 2tone roughout