Shoelaces

[Doug C]

Dang Mark!! Those rickson Chinos in your avatar are working for you already, with the smooches and all..I definately have to get me a pair now. lol . Hey thanks for the auction heads-up, I may just buy that second auction you posted, It's got a good veriety including tan that I was considering too.

Doug C

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Dang Mark!! Those rickson Chinos in your avatar are working for you already, with the smooches and all..

lol lol Why on earth are a pair of expensive, painstakingly reproduced chinos modeled like that? :eusa_doh:


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[Doug C]

I posted a link to a better picture of them over in the Chino thread.

Doug C

 

[Miss Sis]

Speaking of Shoelaces....

Try this link, loungers:

http://www.shoelaceplace.co.uk

They have flat and round shoelaces in quite a number of colours.

 

[MrBern]

not cotton

FYI, http://www.atthefront.com/ has brown nylon WWII laces for $1.00

 

[Talbot]

Waxed Shoelaces

All, did a search but found nothing (mods if this is a duplicate post pls move or delete).

I recently scored a nice pair of vintage black wingtips that were fitted with thin flat shoelaces that are approx 1/8 inch wide and are waxed.

I have never seen this before, and I have to say, what a fantastic idea. They look very shiny and never come undone - a problem I have often.

Can anyone advise me on waxed shoelaces. Origins and how to achieve with regular cloth laces. All advice appreciated.

Talbot

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I really, really loathe waxed shoelaces. They DO come undone unless you double-knot them ... and even then, they tend to get loose!


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[Talbot]

Funny....

thats the exact opposite of my experience Marc.

I would have wondered if it was a climate thing, but Victoria and California are pretty similar in temperature.

I can't keep shopelaces tied, and even my double knots become undone sometimes.

I would have made a lousy boy scout.

Talbot

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I'm going to have to move Down Under! The wax on the shoelaces I've had doesn't bind them -- it makes them slippery. Drives me wacko

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[Talbot]

I can see a 'Why I hate wax shoelaces so much' thread coming up

Having said that, I'll probably trip on them tonight and go sprawling These shoelaces are quite sticky. I find the shiny polished cotton shoelaces absolutely confounding - refuse to stay tied.

Marc, you are welcome down under anytime. I can assure you waxed shoelaces are not available here!

In a former life I was an avionics technician (Learjets etc). Now that I remember it, we would sometimes bind looms in waxed black twine to keep them tidily bundled. It was quite an art. I'll have to look up my notes to see how to apply wax, and if its a special type.

 

[cookie]

Waxed Laces

I disagree with Marc re unravelling FWIW so there!lol

They are available in black and brown at Florsheim stores for like AUD5 a pair.

For vintage shoes either flat laces or those woven cord-like or waxed laces are both appropriate from what I have discovered on the pairs I have bought.

I like the woven tough ones that were popular in the 40s and 50s.

There is a Spanish language brand that is made from cotton (algodon) and poly (poliester) that they sell in Sydney for like AUD2 which are very much like the vintage ones. I bought another pair today from my cobbler.

I will attempt to post pix.

 

[Talbot]

Wow....

Cookie, do you mean laces with actual sticky wax in them, or the polished shiny ones (that I have bought in Florshiem stores before).

Perhaps I'm not using the correct terminology here:eusa_doh:

Talbot

 

[cookie]

The Florsheim say waxed. I have a pair of waxed ones on some old AE Lauderdales that slip (just like Marc's!) they are thin though. The Florsheim one's are thicker but look waxed to me. Maybe I am mistaken.

 

[Talbot]

I think I know what Marc means

If Florshiem refer to these as waxed, I can understand Marc's chagrin.The shoelaces that come with the higher end Florshiem shoes are hard to keep tied.

I'll check the Florshiem store in Melbourne (around the corner from my office) tomorrow. Perhaps there is a process called waxing that does not involve wax[huh]

The shoelaces I have feel like they have been dipped in sticky wax and the residue removed.

They tie beautifully and do not come undone. I love them, sigh.

Be still my fluttering heart.

Talbot

 

[Creeping Past]

There are two sorts of waxed shoelaces, to my knowledge: coated and permeated. The wax-coated ones slip, but the ones permeated with wax don't. The latter are long-lasting and work, the former aren't and don't.

 

[Corky]

The problem could be in the way you tie the knot...

The problem could be in the way you tie the knot.

Many people tie their shoes with a double granny knot. This knot always slips and usually comes untied. Look down at your shoelaces. The double granny knot's top loops wind up at more or less a right angle to your shoe lace eyelets.

The best way to tie one's shoes is the double-slippery square knot. This knot's pair of top loops runs parallel to the shoe lace eyelets. This knot has all the properties of a square knot -- it is easy to tie, holds until you choose to untie it, and is easy to untie.

The shoelace knot or double-slippery square knot:

Note how it is a simple variation of the classic square knot:

Best of luck

 

[Marc Chevalier]

There are two sorts of waxed shoelaces, to my knowledge: coated and permeated. The wax-coated ones slip, but the ones permeated with wax don't. The latter are long-lasting and work, the former aren't and don't.

I'd bet money that the ones I've had were wax-coated.

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[Feraud]

Round waxed laces are horrible.
I am always on the lookout for flat unwaxed laces and buy them when available.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Round waxed laces are horrible.

Those are the kind that I'm talking about.


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[Feraud]

Which reminds me.. years ago my son attended a Montessori school. The owner of the school was a well spoken man. One day after dropping off my son in the yard my wife and I encountered Mr. R- fooling with his shoelaces. He stands up and says, "I'd like to kill the guy who created waxed round shoelaces!"
lol
I never forgot that comment.