Shoes that look better with age...

[edmond]

a little more not much

[Megatron1505]

Wesco Japan do some pretty exclusive tweaks, but you can order a very similar spec in the West.

[tod]

So cool..

 

 

thanks! I have a follow-up, from The Northampton Shoe Museum:

 

Dear William and Deborah

 

Thank you very much for sending me the details of your exciting concealed boot find.

 

We do indeed have a concealed shoe index here at the museum, which was set up by Miss June Swann (author of one of the attached articles) who was the shoe curator here at the museum from 1950 until she retired in 1988. At the moment the index stands at approximately 1,900 entries from all over the U.K and also records concealed shoe finds in North America, Canada, and a number of countries in Europe including France, Spain and Poland.

 

I will certainly add your find to the index in due course.

 

It's what I know as a side elastic boot. Such a boot style with the elastic gussets was patented in 1837 by Mr J Sparkes Hall. It has the cloth boot pulls at the front and back to help pull the boot on. It is typical of a concealed find being very well worn.  The theory is that the good human spirit goes into the shoe and that good spirit will protect the house from evil spirits wanting to harm the house or its occupants. Concealed children’s shoes are popular because their spirit was considered purer and therefore more powerful. It’s an intriguing subject and incredibly popular. It also raises many questions that cannot now and probably never will be answered in full. It’s highly unlikely that the occupants hid the shoe as it is usually builders who through building work, extensions or renovations have exposed the house and so they need to make amends of some sort. I I think your boot is probably 1860s. It’s a great example. Will you be putting it back?

 

Best regards

 

Rebecca

 

The builders had already bricked and plastered up the hole before they showed us the shoe, so it's not easy to put it back at the moment. We're planning to get a glass box for it for the moment, and then maybe next time we have some work done we'll brick it back in- it's certainly not going to leave the house, anyway!

 

[rayw44]

wescos cost more than white's stateside. I think ray was referring to Japanese consumers.

 

 

a little more not much

 

I did mean stateside, and you are both partly right. The base model Boss and Nomad are right around the same price. Doctored up Nomads are cheaper than doctored up Wescos. As of right this moment, I prefer the Wesco Boss to the White's Nomad because of the limited customization offered on the Nomad. Wesco just gives you a chance to make exactly what you want even if you have to pay quite a bit for it.

[erk]

 As of right this moment, I prefer the Wesco Boss to the White's Nomad because of the limited customization offered on the Nomad. Wesco just gives you a chance to make exactly what you want even if you have to pay quite a bit for it.

 

whats with that? they gotta set that thing free. 

[superfuzz]

I did mean stateside, and you are both partly right. The base model Boss and Nomad are right around the same price. Doctored up Nomads are cheaper than doctored up Wescos. As of right this moment, I prefer the Wesco Boss to the White's Nomad because of the limited customization offered on the Nomad. Wesco just gives you a chance to make exactly what you want even if you have to pay quite a bit for it.

I agree. Wesco charges you for every little tweak, I can understand charging more for special leather but for thread color, heel lift, etc that's lame and it can really add up. But you might as well pony up the extra cash to get exactly what you want.

[erk]

also, this happened today. 

 

had no idea it was even close. White's told me it'd be another 3 weeks when I called last week. 

ordered directly through white's so they could accommodate my feet appropriately. I think they nailed it on this one. comfy on the toes right out the box. the soft toe really helps as well. I had to sell my lace to toes because the toe box was so uncomfortable. 

 

*Farmer Rancher - Brown Oil Tan - vibram 430* these are for workin.

Edited March 24, 2015 by erk

[mpukas]

Wow, erk, they look great!!! From you pic it looks like White's did a really nice job on stitching the sole - much better than on mine. 

 

I love the color - what leather/color is it? Just standard brown oil tan? 

 

When you get a chance, please upload more pics. Well done! 

 

side note, kinda unrelated: as much as I love impossibly dark indigo that's so dark it's almost black, I also love impossibly dark brown that so dark it's almost black. 

[bradl]

Wow Erk, really making me regret going with black dress on mine. Echoing mpukas, stitching looks quite clean compared to mine, but really have had no problems because of it (surprise). 

 

Are they 8", and what work do you do in them?

[SoloC]

Just finish clenaing my clark desert boot

Edited March 25, 2015 by SoloC

[aho]

got damn, I've come to the conclusion that the boot I've been looking for all this time is the Farmer Rancher...funny, that that's where I started with White's to begin with! beautiful pair erk!

 

That said, my next pair will be a 6" ala Farmer Rancher style, albeit from Nicks.

[mpukas]

What's the difference between a Farmer Rancher and a Smoke Jumper, besides heel (height), sole (lug vs non-lug) and toe (reinforced or soft)? I've always wondered, but could never figure it out... the shape, construction and details all look the same to me. 

[aho]

^Farmer Rancher = Smoke Jumper last WITHOUT lug sole!

[Max Power]

Those whites look beautiful. I had configured my autumn pair already. Hope the USD is a bit more attractive then, otherwise I could buy Vibergsfrom a european retailer without mch loss.

[superfuzz]

got damn, I've come to the conclusion that the boot I've been looking for all this time is the Farmer Rancher...funny, that that's where I started with White's to begin with! beautiful pair erk!

 

That said, my next pair will be a 6" ala Farmer Rancher style, albeit from Nicks.

 

Aho, is that the Nick's Robert boot?

[erk]

thanks everybody. 

 

for work I take pictures of cars for dealerships. I drive to a few dealerships in town and take pictures of their inventory and put it online. which is surprisingly a full time job. So I do a lot of walking - more than 10 miles a day - and its nice to have a heavier duty boot in the wintertime. plus its fun to wear boots you really think are cool to work.

[Broark]

Those farm ranchers are almost the boot I've been looking for, really nice.

I'd want a lighter brown color personally though, although that color choice is very nice.

I'll likely go Nick's or Wesco, I'm still undecided on which yet.

[Aries]

Beautiful boots Erk, tempted to order myself if I didn't already have too many boots (but I'm in good company here I assume)...!

[NNNN]

I agree. Wesco charges you for every little tweak, I can understand charging more for special leather but for thread color, heel lift, etc that's lame and it can really add up. But you might as well pony up the extra cash to get exactly what you want.

 

Yeah, I think we are spoiled by White's decision not to charge for many customizations, but there are a lot more options with Wesco (leather choices aside), like getting the boot shaft on the Engineer 1" narrower- it's expensive, but I don't think White's will do it at all. 

[edmond]

grizzly boots anyone tried them? used to work for whites..

[mpukas]

grizzly boots... 

clicky? 

[edmond]

http://www.grizzlyboot.com/en/about

[aho]

^Interesting...Looks a bit clunky in my opinion but I'd be interested in seeing more, as well as pricing?

[onehundy]

looks sloppy and rugged. I like it

[erk]

extra pictures as requested. I oiled these with a light coat of obenauf's LP yesterday after work - buffed to a nice low shine

[aho]

Damn beautiful...White's still does it for me the most, aesthetically...

[Megatron1505]

I really like those Grizzly oxfords, just the right kind of rugged and a little different from White's, Wesco, Viberg etc...

[Projectp]

Copped these off Wesco's Factory Second page and I couldn't be more pleased. White's are definitely more comfortable, but the construction of these boots is far superior.

Here's the minor scratch leading to my good fortune.

[superfuzz]

Wow, sweet score! Great boots!

[onehundy]

I wouldn't say far superior..but nice boot