Shoes that look better with age...

[julian-wolf 7,964]

No part of the sole is flat, but usually the curve is just front to back: If you wanted to make a sole out of paper, you could bend it a bit to have the toe spring up but still keep it straight along the other axis & get just what you see on most shoes (besides the paper probably wearing down pretty quickly…). What I'm talking about wouldn't be possible with paper. You could bend the [paper] sole front to back, but when you tried to bend it side to side to get the center to bulge out, the front-to-back bend would snap out of place since paper just isn't elastic like that. The center of the outsole bulges outwards, which is to say that no matter what direction you look at it from (even looking head on from the toe of the boot) the center of the sole will be lower down towards the ground than the edges, & the sole will strike the ground at (something like) a single point rather than (something like) a line going all the way across from inside to outside.

It wouldn't do anything to relieve stress on the stitching—getting something like rubber to bulge like this means stretching it pretty actively, and, if anything, it would add extra stress. It may be necessary in order to make room for whatever's going on between the insole and the outsole, but since the apex of the bulge seems to happen so far forward, I doubt it would be anything like a shank. My best guess is that it's just extra cork / leather filling, and that it's put there intentionally—just can't figure why that might be beneficial.

[Duke Mantee 14,752]

Yes, yes - I get all that, but where’s the science you were talking about? Numbers man, I need numbers!

 

 

 

[julian-wolf 7,964]

4 hours ago, Duke Mantee said:

Yes, yes - I get all that, but where’s the science you were talking about? Numbers man, I need numbers!

 

 

 

Fine, fine—I’m used to my outsoles being nice and Euclidian, and the insistence of shoemakers to realize manifolds with positive Gaussian curvature is really throwing me for a loop!

[Duke Mantee 14,752]

Euclidean is so pes planus … 

[Duke Mantee 14,752]

So about that original query; the base curvature is caused by the midsole being made from a hard thick leather which takes time to break in and ease tension on the build, and the sole unit (it’s most noticeable on the the outsole being the thickest part) are cut to ‘splay’ to assist with balance and to avoid rolling your foot.

All this from the guy who rebuilt my Lone Wolf boots

[julian-wolf 7,964]

@Duke Mantee Good info, thanks—so the idea is that after some wear the outsole will flatten out to spec?

[Duke Mantee 14,752]

‘Flatten’ - yes, but clearly there will be a residual (Gaussian) curvature. It’s also possible that the main central section will flatten whilst the edges curl up since there’s no weight applied …

[julian-wolf 7,964]

What’s the deal with Skoob? Any experience with their shoes? Looks like they do production for a few of the brands were used to seeing here

Not a niche I need filled right now, but these seem lovely—spiritually similar to the McCoy’s service boots? https://lua-shop.ocnk.net/phone/product/6877

[Schorsch 12]

On 7/5/2021 at 10:31 AM, diggers said:

John Lofgren?

[Duke Mantee 14,752]

21 minutes ago, Schorsch said:

John Lofgren?

Lofgren only have a single stitch on the welt

[diggers 3,332]

7 hours ago, Schorsch said:

John Lofgren?

Viberg x Iron heart

[Facini 491]

Almost 3 year old Lofgrens now with a full resole by Miyasaka of Brass. Had the pleasure of meeting the man himself in Berlin while travelling. Amazing job that he did.

 These started out in life as a pair of natural CXL pair (there are some photos of them around here…), but I decided to try my hand at dying them. Now ready for many more years.

Edited August 1, 2021 by Facini

[Schorsch 12]

I have a pair of M-43. They fit well, a bit roomy, 1/2 cm left in front of the toes.

I am entertaining the idea to order Engineers, same size as the M-43.

It will be a pain in the §§§ if I have to return them as I would loose tax, shipping, customs clearance fees, ..

Anyone that tried both and can comment on size/fit?

 

Edited July 24, 2021 by Schorsch

[Duke Mantee 14,752]

I have both in 9.5 - I’d say the engineer fits marginally bigger than the m43

[tod 546]

Current boot lineup:

Rolling Dub Trio  /  Chippewa /  White's

5 years old         /  3 years     /  7 years

[The White's got a lot of wear for about 4 or 5 years, but they really are too big for me and I've sort of stopped wearing them very often. RDT got good wear before the Covid, but less since. The Chippewas get lots of wear, including as motorcycle boots.]

 

[bartlebyyphonics 9,831]

hello all

probably should be in a different thread, but couldn't resist...

a grand-daddy of a boot from Walmer Castle, UK... the the Duke's own Wellington...

[note its tiny sole and what looks like a two panel construction...]

plus what looks to an olde caricature of the fellow...

Edited July 30, 2021 by bartlebyyphonics

[MJF9 10,942]

Lofgren brush, clean, nourish, wax and buff day

Included matching CXL belt by Hollows; my other matching belt by ThanksM8 remains sufficiently oiled so didn't need a clean this time

[shredwin_206 7,589]

after 6 months of wear these whites are now trash I guess. 
I sent them in for a re sole and they said they can’t re sole them because the welt is ripped….  
So in fact these are “fashion work” boots. 
not real work boots 

[Duke Mantee 14,752]

… they can’t repair that?

[shredwin_206 7,589]

4 hours ago, Duke Mantee said:

… they can’t repair that?

They state these are not part of the rebuildable boot collection…..      

I’ve asked around and a lot of places want around $200 to sew a new welt and re sole. 
I may just toss them. A new pair of red wing 10877 cost $300 so I’ll prolly just do that….

[nick682 65]

1 hour ago, shredwin_206 said:

They state these are not part of the rebuildable boot collection…..      

I’ve asked around and a lot of places want around $200 to sew a new welt and re sole. 
I may just toss them. A new pair of red wing 10877 cost $300 so I’ll prolly just do that….

That's a damn shame! I can usually get close to 2 years out of Red Wing 4215 boots.  I recently got a pair of the Perry's, but lately I've been working in the office more so I'm hoping they last longer than yours! 

[Duke Mantee 14,752]

2 hours ago, shredwin_206 said:

They state these are not part of the rebuildable boot collection…..      

I’ve asked around and a lot of places want around $200 to sew a new welt and re sole. 
I may just toss them. A new pair of red wing 10877 cost $300 so I’ll prolly just do that….

That’s a shocking reply, and a shit excuse from White’s - that ‘damage’ is 100% repairable, as the others quoting you the $200 or so are confirming.

[julian-wolf 7,964]

That’s really disappointing

For what it’s worth, I’ve gotten the impression that only their stitchdown boots are ever marketed as rebuildable, so the same prob. extends to all the other welted boots & shoes as well…guess that’s part of why they cost $200+ less

[mpukas 2,384]

1 hour ago, julian-wolf said:

That’s really disappointing

For what it’s worth, I’ve gotten the impression that only their stitchdown boots are ever marketed as rebuildable, so the same prob. extends to all the other welted boots & shoes as well…guess that’s part of why they cost $200+ less

^ This ^

@shredwin_206 Honestly, I'm not surprised the boots didn't last you very long, as well as White's response. It always seemed to me that White's made that moc-toe boot at a lower price point to compete with the popularity and price of Redwing. I was always skeptical about the quality/durability compared to their hand lasted stitch down rebuildable made in USA boots. 

[julian-wolf 7,964]

Not that the quality of their stitchdown boots is perfect either—I’ve had constructional stitches pop in two separate places already on my Hikers, and I don’t think I’ve put more than ~30 days of hard wear into them—but at least they’ve been good about fixing stuff as it breaks

[mlwdp 3,777]

They’ve been pushing this White’s model to us bikers now at trade shows now too.  SMH 

[dudewuttheheck 3,682]

That's a pretty poor response from Whites. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by dudewuttheheck

[shredwin_206 7,589]

@mpukas I guess that’s part of my gripe is how whites is sort of marketing this as a way to compete with red wing and thorogood moc toes. 
but I believe those two brands are rebuildable boots? 
either way. Lesson learned. I’m very hard on things but still a bit disappointed. I’ve been a big whites fan for years but I think I may start branching out and trying Nicks or JK next 

[julian-wolf 7,964]

The Red Wings and Thorogoods are probably built the same as White’s—they’re all rebuildable (though I guess not by White’s in-house repair folks), and they’ll all cost $200+ to rebuild if the welt and midsole need replacing

[Maynard Friedman 570,718]

What do you mean by rebuildable? Is that the same as resoleable or something else?