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Cowboy Boots

Bo Riddle's FaceBook page shows an Arcadia, MO address, but the page is a bit stale.

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LuvMyMan

I’ll Lock Up.
Messages
4,558
Location
Michigan
TOO fancy to wear them relief cut tooled boots! No doubt those are works of art, but in some parts where a person lives, a fella wearing them boots would be needing to pack a shooting iron to keep from being whupped as a sissy! No offense, just saying it like it is! HA!
 
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13,669
Location
down south
Those hippos are nice! That grain's got some sure enough character, and I'm impressed they put a toe bug and wrinkles on them. Very nice touch.

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18,188
Did you know he once made boots in Birmingham?

Bo Riddle's FaceBook page shows an Arcadia, MO address, but the page is a bit stale.

Sounds like not much has changed.

Bob, I would agree with BB that those boots were most likely made for someone like Stuart. Bo was first recognized for a pair of American flag boots featured in one of Tyler Beard books. He had his shop in Ozark for a while, in the strip mall in the NW corner of the exit at Hwy 65 & CC.
 
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Messages
13,669
Location
down south
No wonder Marty Stuart wears those skinny jeans tucked into his Bo Riddle boots. Those were made so even the folks in the back row at the opry could see 'em.

Also I did not know Riddle had been involved in the resurrection attempt of Olsen-Stelzer.

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Messages
11,369
Location
Alabama
Those hippos are nice! That grain's got some sure enough character, and I'm impressed they put a toe bug and wrinkles on them. Very nice touch.
The grain on the hippos is so deep, even with a close up, the wrinkles are hardly discernible and the toe bug is all but invisible. I posted a comparison pic to show some grain difference. L-R is elephant ear, elephant and the hippo. The elephant ear grain didn't show up well, it is relatively smooth with a small pebble texture.
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Also I did not know Riddle had been involved in the resurrection attempt of Olsen-Stelzer.
Dale, there have been several revivals over the years. Local Henrietta businessmen bought the rights to the name after the original closing and several times it came back to life. Prior to Hilton and Riddle it was in operation marketing the Mexican brand Montana Boots alongside O-S out of the same building. O-S is back in operation and the have a website but I don't know who is running it.
 
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18,188
Didn't Austin - Hall Boots close up a few yrs ago also? Or did they just leave El Paso for points further south? I have a pair of A - H tall tops that I don't wear often & kind of forget about.
 
Messages
11,369
Location
Alabama
Jack, I think they may have moved south at one time but I'm pretty sure they're no longer in operation. I've kept my eyes open for a decent pair for awhile, but most are asking crazy money for them. Love their Thunderbirds.
 
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13,669
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down south
Allright....here's some reruns, as,promised a little bit back for Hurricane Jack. Tried to get some close ups, to give a feel for the art.

First up, the Don Quijotes from Leone....
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These got the pointiest toe of any I have
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Close up of the inlay. It's padded underneath to give it a sort of 3D effect.
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The inside of the leg and around the top is trimmed out with this braiding instead of the usual piping. These boots are made from a super thick (but soft) waxy leather, comparable to a good pair of red wing work boots more than any other western boots I own. These ones may well be the the most comfortable pair I own, and have taken a real beating but have held up amazingly well.

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13,669
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Next up....Rocketbusters
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Six different colors leather went into these. My first pair of customs, got 'em back in about 91 or 92.

Champion Attitude custom.....
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The camera just doesn't seem to like these colors. The foxing is a very dark shade of olive green.
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This design was inspired by a vintage pair in Tyler Beard's "The Cowboy Boot Book", but I had them made into peewees, because i got a thing for the shortys.
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Detail of the cards and dice inlay.

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Messages
13,669
Location
down south
And finally, a pair of relatively inexpensive, but we'll made (better than any Ariats I've seen for sure) unbranded border specials. Used to could find this kind of stuff in those open air markets in Nuevo Laredo and Piedras Negras but that's been years and years ago.
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The mule ears are curled up on the ends because the go all the way to the ground. At this point, when straightened out, they are longer than the bottom of the heel, which has worn down from wear.
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14" stovepipe tops. This is the tallest pair I own.

Hope no one minded the repeats. I tried to show pics from different angles than before.

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Thanks Dale! I did go back thru several pages but never made it thru the complete thread.

I had a pair of Rocketbusters butterflies once that were similar to yours. The vamps were black calfskin. The foxing & tops were a very dark green. They were from that early 90's timeframe bought off the shelf in CA. At some point a few yrs ago they went the way of a trade.

I remember the pee wee card boots featured in Tyler Beard's boot book. They belonged to a guy who owned a small chain of BBQ restaurants as I recall. He liked pee wee's only.
 

56FordGuy

One of the Regulars
Messages
145
Location
Wyoming
A question for all the boot people here. I'm considering a pair of Paul Bond boots. I've never had a custom pair before, usually trying on two or three styles at a store before finding one that's good enough to work in.

Is it worth going to the store to have them fitted by their staff, or is the measuring/ mail order process pretty good? It's something close to a 14 hour drive from here to there, but I hope to only have to buy a custom pair of boots once, and I want them to be right.

Opinions?
 

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