Feet Up! The Work Boot Thread

[Blackadder]

cushman logger

 

[Bushman]

They're not vintage, but this is what I lace up when I need to get down and dirty at work:

 

[Sheepdog149]

Red Wing IR Muleskinners today.

 

[casechopper]

Not sure that these would really be called work boots but here are a pair of Black Jack hippo hide boots that I picked up from Lando in the classifieds recently. The hippo leather is really cool. It's a flat black color with a grainy suede-like texture.

 

[casechopper]

Here are some elephant hide Black Jack boots as well. The elephant leather is much stiffer than the hippo. I really like the sole on these as it's soft, thick and light. It's very nice for standing and walking on concrete which is something I spend a lot of time doing.

 

[Sheepdog149]

Here are some elephant hide Black Jack boots as well. The elephant leather is much stiffer than the hippo. I really like the sole on these as it's soft, thick and light. It's very nice for standing and walking on concrete which is something I spend a lot of time doing.

Wow! Awesome boots sir.

 

[Sheepdog149]

Not sure that these would really be called work boots but here are a pair of Black Jack hippo hide boots that I picked up from Lando in the classifieds recently. The hippo leather is really cool. It's a flat black color with a grainy suede-like texture.

Beautiful boots!

 

[dudewuttheheck]

wow, casechopper! Both of those boots are EPIC!

 

[IXL]

While I think the hippo boots are okay, those elephants are WOWZERS!!!! Double WOWZERS, even!

 

[Sloan1874]

Without sounding too lilly-livered, I couldn't have the heart to wear elephant skin anything. Too endangered, for a start, though I'm sure those are ecologically sound, so to speak. I'd just feel as if I was wearing Dumbo or something. [huh]

 

[casechopper]

Thanks Sheepdog, dudewuttheheck and IXL.

Without sounding too lilly-livered, I couldn't have the heart to wear elephant skin anything. Too endangered, for a start, though I'm sure those are ecologically sound, so to speak. I'd just feel as if I was wearing Dumbo or something. [huh]

This is something many seem to feel. Elephant hide comes from population control culling at the national parks. Without culling the elephants would become overpopulated for the space available to them. There are areas and types of elephants that are in danger but the kind of elephant hide used by American boot makers is very strictly controlled.

 

[Bunyip]

Here are some elephant hide Black Jack boots as well. The elephant leather is much stiffer than the hippo. I really like the sole on these as it's soft, thick and light. It's very nice for standing and walking on concrete which is something I spend a lot of time doing.

If I were the same size as Lando, I would be packing up and moving to be near him. He has some great, very creative custom stuff, and he unloads at fantastic prices. I hope you send him a XMAS hamper....the boots are very cool.

 

[andy b.]

I'll chime in as well. Those elephant boots are beauties!!!

How durable is the leather? Would it work as an actual work boot leather, or is it not as durable as one would think?

 

[casechopper]

It's supposed to be very durable. All of my info is second hand but I read one person say that they'd resoled their elephant hide cowboy boots 7 times and in the end only stopped wearing them because the cowhide upper leather was falling apart. The elephant vamp and lower were still in fine condition. It would probably work fine for a work boot though the leather is rare enough that I'd feel a bit strange doing anything to harsh in them.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

I couldn't have the heart to wear elephant skin anything. Too endangered, for a start

Agreed. How do you source elephant or hippo hides? Where do you get them? Is it legal to sell elephant hides? Maybe Southeast Asia?

 

[casechopper]

Elephant and hippo hides are completely legal to buy and sell in the USA and most of the world within the very strict limits imposed by CITES. The leather comes from culling that keeps the populations in check. Poaching is a real danger for these animals but poached hides are not what are used in legitimate American bootmaking.

If you look for elephant boots on ebay or google you'll find that there are many American bootmakers using elephant. Elephants are definitely in danger but not from controlled hunting and culling.

 

[Don Tomaso]

Who is wearing such kind of shoes - and what for ?

http://www.trabert-schuhe.de/index.php/produkte/lederstiefel/item/14-knobelbecher-marone.html

These "Knobelbecher" have been work- and hunting-boots for the upper-class-people in the German countryside of old. Extremely sturdy and protecting the wearer from the elements, from the mud and manure and ****. You could imagine old Bismarck wearing these when inspecting his estates east of the Elbe before he became "Rechskanzler" and iron and so.

PS: He great, I just noticed you have automated removal of swear-words, how crazy is that! Loving it!!!

 

[zebulon]

These "Knobelbecher" have been work- and hunting-boots for the upper-class-people in the German countryside of old. Extremely sturdy and protecting the wearer from the elements, from the mud and manure and ****. You could imagine old Bismarck wearing these when inspecting his estates east of the Elbe before he became "Rechskanzler" and iron and so.

Wonderfull explanation :eusa_clap

PS: He great, I just noticed you have automated removal of swear-words, how crazy is that! Loving it!!!

What ? What are you talking about (ich soll so eine Art "Automtische Schimpfwortentfernung" installiert haben - geile Sache, wußte ich noch gar nichts von - aber das lasseich mir dann wohl patentieren. Im Ernst, kannst du mir - bitte auf Deutsch - mal erklären wovon du da redest ?) ?

 

[Sheepdog149]

Elephant and hippo hides are completely legal to buy and sell in the USA and most of the world within the very strict limits imposed by CITES. The leather comes from culling that keeps the populations in check. Poaching is a real danger for these animals but poached hides are not what are used in legitimate American bootmaking.

If you look for elephant boots on ebay or google you'll find that there are many American bootmakers using elephant. Elephants are definitely in danger but not from controlled hunting and culling.

Yep, the makers who carry elephant are licensed to purchase it from legitimate sources. I love elephant hide. My wallet & off-duty holster/belt are made from black elephant trunk leather. Here's a pic of my bifold, which I carry often:

 

[frussell]

Without sounding too lilly-livered, I couldn't have the heart to wear elephant skin anything. Too endangered, for a start, though I'm sure those are ecologically sound, so to speak. I'd just feel as if I was wearing Dumbo or something. [huh]

This seems odd for a guy who wears "Black Beauty" and his friends regularly. I get where you're coming from, elephants are some of my favorite animals, and I think poachers and ivory traders should be covered in peanuts and thrown in a pit full of hungry elephants. Having said that, I've had horses that were like family members, owned some of them for over 20 years, and still feel okay wearing FQHH. Long as it's ethically harvested, I'll wear it. Frank