Proper leather shoes

I got these Quoddy duck boot things for mega cheap in the Mr Porter sale, probably because the tobacco suede will get destroyed the second it meets dirt but thought I’d give them a whirl for the winter.

1 Attachment

Haha I ordered those too but as I already have ll bean ones I sent them back.

Couple of lovely pairs of shoes. Really like the redwings in that colour

C&J lindrop ?
Or a Meermin Castoro (cognac) for something a little more casual

If I'm a 41 in 'proper' shoes, a 42 in deck shoes, and a 43 in trainers, than what's a good starting point for trying Clarks wallabees?

I think Clark’s has a mm based size chart on their site

Not sure this is helpful but I just sold some Clarks desert boots and they sized up large - labelled 9.5UK but were at least a 10.5.

Of course they do. Thanks.

You could wax the suede

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P11e6SW_1T8
some interesting info on Alden Indy's...

Huge trashing of that guy on styleforum; the quality of materials and build are well known in the Alden “community” and people defend their value on looks and especially fit, they come in a dizzying array of lasts and widths.
I think he has a point but it’s not new news.

My wife got the RM Williams commando gardener boots and they were lovely but she kept on telling me how comfy they were. As I was the one who had coveted them for a while I was rather jealous.

I did some more research to discover that their sizing is pretty much identical to Trickers and Cheaney and there was a pair available on their website in my size. Ordered ten days ago and they arrived yesterday from Australia. Tried them on with a thin sock and they were roomy, but a more standard thickness sock and they fit perfectly. Usually I am wary of wearing new leather shoes for a day but after the initial try yesterday was confident I could wear them for the day today. The leather is super supple and they have started to become instant friends. V v pleased with the purchase, they are nice but not a full dress boot, which was what I wanted, something a little more rugged and less refined urban than a more conventional Chelsea boot. The one piece construction of the RMW’s along with the chromexcel leather gives me confidence they can be used for days outdoors and be weather resistant.

Just got some 50th anniversary desert trek hi’s - nice

1 Attachment

Didn't realize how much my Redwings had dried out over summer and they cracked badly last week. Should I attempt to glue these or just polish over and accept they're going to die eventually? I've slathered in mink oil to rehydrate now. Just had the soles replaced this year too!

2 Attachments

If they were mine and I didn't want to bin them I'd soak them in water and insert some tight fitting shoe trees with the laces done up tight. They'll shrink as they dry and the deep creases will become shallow. Then put leather filler in the cracks. Quite a tricky job. Has to be done with many thin layers. You tint the filler first so it matches the leather. Then sand it. Put the shoe trees in the boots every night so the shallow creases don't become deep again. It's quite a big ask to expect the filler to stay in. Best to replace the boots with lightly used ones from ebay. Prices are often v. v. low. If you're wary of fungi from the previous owner you can kill them with UV light.

V nice

Nice, brown or black? I’m not too keen on the two tone heel block but I can see they’re very well made. Maybe a bit too casual for what I’m after though.
My wife actually found a relatively cheap (£70) pair of Trickers Henry in my size on the secondhand website Vestiaire which arrived this week, a bit darker than I prefer but for the price they’ll do nicely.

1 Attachment

Mine are the brown version. I was looking for something that could be worn dog walking, driving the tractor or going into town so the commando sole and more chunky shape makes sense.

Your brogue ones are lovely but more dressy/formal than I was looking for. The chromexcel leather of the RMWs and the one piece construction makes them pretty water resistant as evidenced by a dog walk in torrential rain this morning.

Whatever you do, get some shoe trees. When you wear shoes they get slightly damp from sweat. They also crease a little where your toes flex. When you take the shoe off it dries. The drying shrinks the leather uppers. If there are no trees the shrinkage pulls the toes up. This deepens the creases. If the cycle is repeated the creases deepen. And if the creases aren't moisturised they eventually become cracks. If you use trees from new and you moisturise the uppers, the creases will stay shallow for many years.

Yeah just about to pull the trigger on some, just checking with the sellers that they come with those little plastic stretchers as I have weird shaped feet and could do with stretching them out a bit more in a couple of spots even after more than 6 years. Would have saved myself a lot of pain if I'd just bought them with the boots tbh.

Going to strip them back, use 'leather filler' on the cracks and dye. Maybe I'll get flack for that on here but they have seen some abuse and hopefully this will bring them back a bit. Lesson learnt.

I'll be interested to see how you get on with the filler. I'm using it to fill cracks in a coat and holes in a rotting sheepskin jacket. I don't know if that's beyond the scope of an amateur. It's claimed to be good enough for an invisible repair when someone burns a hole in a car seat with a cigarette. Supposed to be strong and flexible enough to sit on. You can stamp a texture on the top coat so it matches the grain of the leather.

I don't know whether cobblers ever use filler on cracked shoes. I doubt it. If they charged a fair rate for their time the bill would be just too high. But it's fun to do things yourself which are not economical for a professional. Very satisfying if you can extend the life of something instead of binning it. My sheepskin jacket is 78 years old and would probably be burned by a professional, but I'm optimistic that I can save it.

When you soak the leather be very careful with the shoes. Wet leather can get so squishy that you can cut a gash in it with your finger nail. Don't use any heat to dry them.

So apparently shoe trees are different to shoe stretchers. Would there be anything to stop me drilling the trees in a couple of specific spots and adding one or two of those plastic nubbins?

I'll just have to get some stretchers too if not, next time I buy a new pair of shoes. My toe tendons are over-developed and as such I have claw-toes. Always takes an age to break in new shoes enough to make space for my big toe.

Deleted

Worst soles in wet weather ever made

But i wouldn't wear them in the wet due to the suedeness :)