Bfd70
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 4,274
- Location
- Traverse city
But i question the designs aping heritage work wear but being made of unicorn. Just make a dress boot.
I’m amazed you were able to get that much mileage out of the wedge soles, I get a year, maybe two tops.View attachment 477388
I’m posting these as a counter point to the notion that boots need to be made of unicorn hide crafted by alien ninja artisans on a secret island. The idea that somehow workwear should be associated with laser straight stitching and zero aesthetic flaws.
Red wing moc toes. 12 years old. Third soles. Spent the first 6 as fashion wear. The past six have seen 100s of miles of hikes, countless construction projects, and a pit bull mix with separation anxiety.
After a while the welt will naturally darken with age, I doubt you’ll notice it in a year or two.A little follow up on my previous post.
After only a couple of wears (office wear so mostly sitting at my desk) a thread popped out.
View attachment 474225
View attachment 474226
I shot the maker an email and they explained that being saddle stitched it wouldn't unravel and that I just had to push the thread back in or burn it.
I fiddled a bit but never managed to push it back in so I got annoyed and burned it, slightly burninshing the edge doing so...
Not a big deal and with some wear I'm sure it will be unnoticeable but right now I'm a bit annoyed.
View attachment 474228
That's impressive, it would probably take me two lifetimes to get to that point.View attachment 477388
I’m posting these as a counter point to the notion that boots need to be made of unicorn hide crafted by alien ninja artisans on a secret island. The idea that somehow workwear should be associated with laser straight stitching and zero aesthetic flaws.
Red wing moc toes. 12 years old. Third soles. Spent the first 6 as fashion wear. The past six have seen 100s of miles of hikes, countless construction projects, and a pit bull mix with separation anxiety.
Can anyone recommend a make for jodhpur style boots? I tried messaging Benzein a few times over the past few months, and they have not opened up new orders. Are there any other boot makers from inodnesia that people here can recommend?
I have a pair of Sagara, Junkard and quickly gave away a pair of Santalum which were just misshaped, and terrible looking.
I still wouldn't go for the domestic Indonesian leather in my opinion. They are not at the same level of quality as the premium leathers on offer. The exceptions being roughout, and also some of the ones on offer by Winson/Midas Bootmaker seem decent. In addition, even if you get a nice premium leather, they aren't really the best with clicking and I feel that's a big downside as it's luck of the draw whether you get nice graining or not.The Indonesian bootmakers were a good deal 2-3 years ago, but as @Damon141 mentioned above, people caught on, and they are less of a value proposition nowadays. Some of their styles in the domestic (Indonesian) leathers are still relatively inexpensive, but you can expect to pay around White's/Nick's level prices for the more desired makeups now.
those were great prices back then, but common sense just tells you they overcharging now, taking advantage if you will, especially when these countries have a very low cost of living.Still, I feel the main players Sagara, Benzein, Onderhoud, etc. all hover around $500-700 with imported quality leather which are decent. Just 2 years ago I paid $385 for Sagara, and $530 for 10" Benzein engineers in Shinki. End of last year was $530 for my Onderhoud derby shoes.
Very happy with my horsehide Benzeins. Yes, I also have some chunky Wescos which are undoubtedly sturdier. But there is no way I would have found a sleek/dressy engineer boot like these that would fit me for less than three times what I paid for these last year.
View attachment 478326
That's true, I really don't trust most of the makers outside of the bigger names like Sagara, Winson, Benzein, Onderhoud. Outside of those, their patterns and lasts aren't as well developed, etc. So with these brands I have no doubt they are well built, outside of these, gets a little iffy.those were great prices back then, but common sense just tells you they overcharging now, taking advantage if you will, especially when these countries have a very low cost of living.
Original Question; might be some bargains out there if you scour instagram.
Durability comes to play also, the pattern and cut of a boot combined with certain materials in various places, panels placed correctly inline with the way the foot bends. Ive seen pictures of the same shell cordovan Junkard Boots I have that have creased as if someone rolled it up like a foil ball, will this happen to mine? IDK, but you know companies like Whites and Wesco and Viberg have a boot worth resoling, they are tried and true. So will the perfectly stitched Sagara last? Time will tell but there is more to boot making than what we see on the outside
It’s not about brands either because not one person has said “are those Viberg? Are those Whites?” Average people rarely know boots, maybe if you live in PNW
This is where Indonesian bootmakers can take advantage and get into untapped market. The only brands I can think of making a nice engineer boot in this price range are the Moto Dress Engineer and maybe some other Japanese makers like Zerrows or Attractions.
My favorite boots.Red Wing Moc Toe boots. I wasn't sure I'd like the Christy Vibram sole but turns out I do like it. Cheers!