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Footwear to go with our jackets

Robbie79

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,163
@Marc mndt Thanks! Great review. Actually I've been thinking about buyin Carmina shoes or boots for 5+ years - with your review and the result (I really like the remake with more loden green colour and dark leather soles) I feel more confident to order a pair in the future (when I need new business shoes/boots).
 

Turnip

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,345
Location
Europe
RW Sawmill

full
 

matchankh

One of the Regulars
Messages
123
Received my onderhoud engineer boots yesterday but there is a slight issue. The grain on the left boot is quite a bit looser than the right. Is this grain break or proper loose grain? This is after the first day of wear of approximately eight hours and it is right at the vamp so its really obvious. I think it might get worse with more wear.

Left

IMG_20211103_105122.jpg


Right

IMG_20211103_105111.jpg


The last is nice and comfortable and snitching is neat but honestly I am quite bumped about the leather. I am not too familiar with the level of acceptance of loose grain/grain break by boot makers. Should I contact onderhoud and ask if he is willing to do something about it?
 

jglf

A-List Customer
Messages
431
Location
USA
Received my onderhoud engineer boots yesterday but there is a slight issue. The grain on the left boot is quite a bit looser than the right. Is this grain break or proper loose grain? This is after the first day of wear of approximately eight hours and it is right at the vamp so its really obvious. I think it might get worse with more wear.

Left

View attachment 375355

Right

View attachment 375356

The last is nice and comfortable and snitching is neat but honestly I am quite bumped about the leather. I am not too familiar with the level of acceptance of loose grain/grain break by boot makers. Should I contact onderhoud and ask if he is willing to do something about it?
That’s just grain break. Loose grain is where the layers of leather have separated and you can feel the damage. Your poor grain break is probably due to the left boots leather being clicked further down from the top center of the hide. Some leather is more prone to wrinkling than others and other contributing factors is incorrect size, thickness, and lining. In the end, some makers do a better job than others with choosing the best parts of the hide.
 

matchankh

One of the Regulars
Messages
123
That’s just grain break. Loose grain is where the layers of leather have separated and you can feel the damage. Your poor grain break is probably due to the left boots leather being clicked further down from the top center of the hide. Some leather is more prone to wrinkling than others and other contributing factors is incorrect size, thickness, and lining. In the end, some makers do a better job than others with choosing the best parts of the hide.

That's a bummer . To be fair that really
undermines the value of the brand . This pair of Onderhoud costs me 700usd. Cheaper than say John Lofgren and attractions but not that much cheaper . More premium boot makers from the boots I have handled ( Julian , Attractions and john Lofgren ) will be reluctant to use these parts of the grain for the vamp. Therefore there will be a lot more leather wastage which justifies their price premium given the leather and workmanship are the most expensive part of the boot .
 
Last edited:

Bfd70

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,276
Location
Traverse city
Received my onderhoud engineer boots yesterday but there is a slight issue. The grain on the left boot is quite a bit looser than the right. Is this grain break or proper loose grain? This is after the first day of wear of approximately eight hours and it is right at the vamp so its really obvious. I think it might get worse with more wear.

Left

View attachment 375355

Right

View attachment 375356

The last is nice and comfortable and snitching is neat but honestly I am quite bumped about the leather. I am not too familiar with the level of acceptance of loose grain/grain break by boot makers. Should I contact onderhoud and ask if he is willing to do something about it?
I had the exact same experience with another maker. I reached out to the vendor who then reached out to the maker. The makers reply “I wouldn’t pay $1,000 for those, send them back.” While it won’t effect durability there is no way my OCD could handle that. At the price point the maker needs to exchange imo.
 

matchankh

One of the Regulars
Messages
123
I had the exact same experience with another maker. I reached out to the vendor who then reached out to the maker. The makers reply “I wouldn’t pay $1,000 for those, send them back.” While it won’t effect durability there is no way my OCD could handle that. At the price point the maker needs to exchange imo.

I contacted Onderhoud and he replies maryam horsebutt does that. Not seen as a defect at all. Also I posted on reddit and found this as a common practice. Apparently you need to be lucky to have a pair with tight grain (i.e. CXL lottery).

These pair costs me 700usd. Lesson learnt. Better pay a little bit more for more reputatble brands like attractions and john lofgren which I have had positive experience with.

From what I have handled (Monroe, Onderhoud and a pair of sagara incoming). Indonesian maker are quite overhyped on Instagram.
 

Bfd70

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,276
Location
Traverse city
I contacted Onderhoud and he replies maryam horsebutt does that. Not seen as a defect at all. Also I posted on reddit and found this as a common practice. Apparently you need to be lucky to have a pair with tight grain (i.e. CXL lottery).

These pair costs me 700usd. Lesson learnt. Better pay a little bit more for more reputatble brands like attractions and john lofgren which I have had positive experience with.

From what I have handled (Monroe, Onderhoud and a pair of sagara incoming). Indonesian maker are quite overhyped on Instagram.
My issue was with Lofgren but his response was more favorable.
 

Mich486

One Too Many
Messages
1,690
maybe Role Club or Clinch? :)

Eeheh yeah I get many people would say that and both of those have a more artisanal/handmade feel to them compared to Attractions.

I can’t speak for Role Club but I’ve had 2 pairs of Clinch engineers boots and I take the Attractions any day over them. Better silhouette, lighter weight, sturdier buckles… Personal preference of course ;)
 

jglf

A-List Customer
Messages
431
Location
USA
I contacted Onderhoud and he replies maryam horsebutt does that. Not seen as a defect at all. Also I posted on reddit and found this as a common practice. Apparently you need to be lucky to have a pair with tight grain (i.e. CXL lottery).

These pair costs me 700usd. Lesson learnt. Better pay a little bit more for more reputatble brands like attractions and john lofgren which I have had positive experience with.

From what I have handled (Monroe, Onderhoud and a pair of sagara incoming). Indonesian maker are quite overhyped on Instagram.
My experience with Indo makers is that their bottoming is up there with the best but the upper leathers can be hit or miss. I even had a pair of flame pandas, which are considered some of the best, that had a 2 inch section of loose/broken grain at the top of the shaft where you could feel that it was noticeable thinner and stretchier (you could even see that the texture on the flesh side was noticeable different from the rest and it flexed like the grain was broken even when it was new) than the rest of the boot. I don’t know chances of it ever failing, but it is something that would always bother me.

I notice that the PNW makers always use excellent leather on the vamps but the shafts can be hit or miss.
 

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