Jim Green

[Edward]

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I love the toeshape on these. Very 30s design to my eye - big, round toebox with plenty of room.

Maybe it's unique to the subculture of the working class poor in The USA. Work boots. Without any specific definition as to what kind of work. Any kind of work that may come your way. You needed to have a pair of boots. Whether it was a production plant or warehouse that needed extra labor to fill a big order. Or a large construction job where they needed more hands to do unskilled labor. Maybe the local garage needed a second pair of hands. O a neighborhood bakery needed an extra person who could lift 50 pound sacks of flour. We did all of the work around our own homes, from painting, to tree trimming, to unclogging drain pipes.

At a time it would have been a norm to have "work boots" that could be made to look respectable as they might have been the only footwear the owner had, so had to do double duty for work and home. Or they had a pair 'for best' that would be rotated into daily wear when the current daily pair went beyond repair. (My dad did that with his daily shoes for years, I think still does. One pair to wear day to day, the other pair were worn exclusively to church on a Sunday morning. When the daily pair finally died, the Sunday pair were broken in sufficiently to go to daily wear with no issues. Then a new Sunday pair was bought to continue the cycle.

I see the desert boot style Vellies on Amazon for about £137, which I'm mulling over now...

 

[Fifty150]

I love the toeshape on these. Very 30s design to my eye - big, round toebox with plenty of room.

The JG last is supposed to be a 3E, or triple wide size. Here it is on my Razorback. Not Sub Saharan African Bush. Just a USA DIRT LOT. Some will complain about clown shoes.

I see the desert boot style Vellies on Amazon for about £137, which I'm mulling over now...

The USA dot com net address has a sale section. The USA Amazon site has sales on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day with discounted Jim Green.

Politics. UK prices are higher. USA and South Africa has something called The AGOA Trade Agreement.

UK gets the Razorback and African Ranger in black. But USA gets lower prices. I bought the Numzaan at $149. $100 off the USA list price of $249.

 

[TLW '90]

You can buy a sole press. It won't take up much space. Just put it in the corner of your room.

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Bed Bath & Beyond has a basic hydraulic press. You could build a sole press out of it.

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A modern sole press would take up much more room in my shop than I have to spare for something I'd need so infrequently , and as far as a hydraulic press goes I can get a perfectly suitable example from Harbor freight for half that price if not less to build one out of if I wanted.
I could also build a small sole press for under $150 using a bottle jack if need be.
That's something I might eventually think about doing.
Ultimately I'd much rather just find a vintage screw type sole press, they're bulletproof and much smaller than a modern sole press, but I'm afraid shipping costs would probably be too high.

 

[Fifty150]

big, round toebox with plenty of room

I have Jim Green boots in 3 of their lasts. From left to right, you can compare their equivalent of D width, 2E width, and 3E width. According to Jim Green, the boot on the left, Numzaan, uses an almond shaped toe design to give it a dressier appearance. The boot in the middle is a Steel Toe Cap, or STC last. The boot on the right is the JG last.

This is the information Jim Green has posted online:

 

[Edward]

I have Jim Green boots in 3 of their lasts. From left to right, you can compare their equivalent of D width, 2E width, and 3E width. According to Jim Green, the boot on the left, Numzaan, uses an almond shaped toe design to give it a dressier appearance. The boot in the middle is a Steel Toe Cap, or STC last. The boot on the right is the JG last.

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This is the information Jim Green has posted online:

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That's useful, thank-you. I'd seen the lasts but didn't have a clear idea of how they translated. Interesting the widest one is also snug (presumably lower).

 

[Edward]

The JG last is supposed to be a 3E, or triple wide size. Here it is on my Razorback. Not Sub Saharan African Bush. Just a USA DIRT LOT. Some will complain about clown shoes.




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The USA dot com net address has a sale section. The USA Amazon site has sales on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day with discounted Jim Green.

Politics. UK prices are higher. USA and South Africa has something called The AGOA Trade Agreement.

UK gets the Razorback and African Ranger in black. But USA gets lower prices. I bought the Numzaan at $149. $100 off the USA list price of $249.









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Useful to know. I'll keep an eye on Amazon.com; they seem to do the best when it comes to shipping and taxes covered up front. Thanks.

 

[Fifty150]

I'm wearing them right now. On the JG last, my toes have plenty of wiggle room. They don't feel snug on my feet.

That's useful, thank-you. I'd seen the lasts but didn't have a clear idea of how they translated. Interesting the widest one is also snug (presumably lower).

 

[Fifty150]

The outsole is incredibly soft. Unlined. Only 1 layer of leather. Only 1 layer of poly-woven synthetic lasting boards serves as the insole and midsole. This shoe was not stiff, very light, and required no "break in". The collar is padded, and uses the same Veg ReTan leather on the inside of the collar. On the Razorback, the inside of the collar is a soft, flexible, cheaper leather. As I laced it, this was not comfortable. Two layers of the veg tan with stuffing was not comfortable when strapped down to the ankles. The collar will require a period of breaking in. Perhaps the models with the softer nubuck leather would be more comfortable out of the box.




Overall, it's not a bad shoe. I think it will work for me.

 

[TLW '90]

I'm wearing them right now. On the JG last, my toes have plenty of wiggle room. They don't feel snug on my feet.

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If you go down 1/2 size they will fit your feet more snugly, but you're still going to have the toe wiggle room from the wide toe box of this last.

I got my typical size in the 1st pair of vellies I bought, plenty of toe room and I can wear them with thick wool socks out in my workshop during the winter. With cotton socks in the summer I need to snug them up quite a bit though.

I went down 1/2 size in my custom shop vellies , in them I have just the right amount of toe wiggle room with cotton socks on and don't need to snug the laces very much.
I can also get away with medium thickness wool socks in the early spring.

 

[TLW '90]

I love the toeshape on these. Very 30s design to my eye - big, round toebox with plenty of room.



At a time it would have been a norm to have "work boots" that could be made to look respectable as they might have been the only footwear the owner had, so had to do double duty for work and home. Or they had a pair 'for best' that would be rotated into daily wear when the current daily pair went beyond repair. (My dad did that with his daily shoes for years, I think still does. One pair to wear day to day, the other pair were worn exclusively to church on a Sunday morning. When the daily pair finally died, the Sunday pair were broken in sufficiently to go to daily wear with no issues. Then a new Sunday pair was bought to continue the cycle.

I see the desert boot style Vellies on Amazon for about £137, which I'm mulling over now...

Their rough out classic Vellies are amazing.
For me they are a general purpose beater and I heavily dubbed mine, but they clean up well when I'm done in the shop and I wouldn't hesitate to wear them out to lunch and or a movie with my pops if need be.
They looked a bit more " nice " originally, but I just couldncouldn't keep them " nice " looking while now I can pretty much keep them looking the same all the time.

 

[Fifty150]

go down 1/2 size they will fit your feet more snugly

I like wearing my Brannock size, where my toes have a little space before the end of the shoe. The few times I tried going down a half size, I didn't like it. I didn't like the snug fit. Although it really should not make much difference since a half size in a shoe is only 1/16" or 1/8". But with shoes, just like gloves, it makes a difference. My size L hands can't get into a size M glove. Ask OJ.

Their rough out classic Vellies are amazing.

I'm glad that you like wearing them. Vellies, chukkas, and desert boots are similar in construction. Some might say that they are exactly the same. For me, they are comfortable. Like wearing slippers. The reason I don't wear them is that they are just like slippers. I want a boot that can lace up and provide more support and protection in case I have to run, climb a wall, go up a ladder, or scramble down a hillside. I like them enough that I do wear them for going to lunch, watching a movie, or flying. Really good for flying, as you can easily slip them on and off while you're in your seat for hours.

 

[TLW '90]

I wouldn't wear Vellies for work because I most prefer an 8" boot for that, but I love them in the summer and as a workshop shoe.
I have been fine doing some minor ladder climbing in them, but not much.