Shoes that look better with age...

[julian-wolf]

[mlwdp]

Sent my Wesco Boss back to get silver buckles and widened to D width.  Took some inspiration from Zerrow boots.

 

Black Chromexcel

[persco_]

54 minutes ago, julian-wolf said:

 

Must be the Flame Panda Shinki horsebutt? Those are sweeeeeeeeet....

Edited July 7, 2021 by persco_

[mpukas]

13 hours ago, julian-wolf said:

DAYUM!!! Love them. Congrats! Fit pics and impressions when you get a chance, pls. 

[diggers]

 + Red Wing 2268 +
Been wearing the Boots since Aug 2018 for office work, Rig Site and Port

[shredwin_206]

boot care day. They were thirsty 

[HGS]

 

 

Edited July 10, 2021 by HGS

[julian-wolf]

What’s the deal with some shoes being built such that the outsole bulges outwards towards the center? What’s the reasoning for shoemakers doing this? Does the outsole flatten out with time & wear, or does it remain curved? To be clear, I’m not talking about toe spring, but about the center of the outsole bulging out beyond the edges (see photos).

I’ve noticed this on my boots from Fracap and Flame Panda, and I’m not sure how to feel about it. It’s also evident on most (new) boots that I’ve seen from Brass Tokyo, so I doubt that it’s an accident or a mark of poor quality—but I’ve never had the opportunity to see, in person, what effects it has after extended wear.

Do folks know what I’m talking about? Any insight?

[Duke Mantee]

Is it to accommodate the different bend radii of the sole components?

[julian-wolf]

While I’m at it, some initial shots of the Flame Panda #206

 

Breaking these in is gonna be rough. The leather is thick and very stiff. It has a great sheen to it, though, & I’m really looking forward to seeing how it ages.

Peng shipped them with two pairs of waxed cotton laces (one flat & one round), but given how chunky the boots turned out I think they’ll be a good fit for these black raw hide laces from White’s.

The construction is very clean. All of the stitching is at very consistent intervals, and coincident seems line up with corner perfectly. The edges at the bottoms of the quarters aren’t burnished super straight, but that’s the only plausible imperfection I can come up with. Overall, they really are immaculate.

Edited July 11, 2021 by julian-wolf

[julian-wolf]

8 minutes ago, Duke Mantee said:

Is it to accommodate the different bend radii of the sole components?

Maybe, but seems like probably not. Framing it in terms of bend radii is tricky, since mounting the soles like this actually requires deflecting them along two axes / actually stretching out the center of the outsole onto a curved manifold. (Sorry if I’m not making much sense; I’m not used to talking about this sort of thing without using physics / math words.)

[Duke Mantee]

1 hour ago, julian-wolf said:

Maybe, but seems like probably not. Framing it in terms of bend radii is tricky, since mounting the soles like this actually requires deflecting them along two axes / actually stretching out the center of the outsole onto a curved manifold. (Sorry if I’m not making much sense; I’m not used to talking about this sort of thing without using physics / math words.)

I think you might be overthinking it, no part of the sole is flat but I guess the cobbler isn’t doing anything other than cutting a little bigger to relieve some stress on the stitching. But that’s just some wild theory on my part … so if you’ve got some numbers/calculations to expand on your thoughts throw them up here, I think I’ll cope 

[julian-wolf]

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]

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

 

 

 

[julian-wolf]

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]

Euclidean is so pes planus … 

[Duke Mantee]

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]

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

[Duke Mantee]

‘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]

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]

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

John Lofgren?

[Duke Mantee]

21 minutes ago, Schorsch said:

John Lofgren?

Lofgren only have a single stitch on the welt

[diggers]

7 hours ago, Schorsch said:

John Lofgren?

Viberg x Iron heart

[Facini]

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]

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]

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

[tod]

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]

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]

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]

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