** Quintessential Crockett & Jones Thread ** - Page 132

So which shoe trees do you guys use for shoes on the 325 last and 314 last?

Here is a photo of the Westbourne on the 348 last and the C&J for RL Marlow wingtip on the 325 last in the same size, using the same tree. You can clearly see the shoe tree goes deeper into the toe area on the 348 last. It almost feels like the leather on the wingtip is gonna tear with this shoe tree, its too wide in the forepart. The C&J shoe trees is more or less like a perfect fit for the 348 last.

Here is a photo comparing the Marlow wingtip with the penny loafer, still using the same shoe trees. As you can see, the loafer on the 314 last is not as reluctant to embrace the shoe tree as the wingtip on the 325 last, however I still feel the shoe trees are a poor fit for this shoe too.

So which shoetrees do you use for these shoes? Are you able to comfortably fit C&J shoe trees in them, or do you have to resort to other shoe trees?

PS, a quick shot of the welt of the loafer. The shining part looks like metal. On this side of the shoe I can also clearly see the holes in the upper where the welt is attached. Is this purely an esthetic 'defect', or would it also have some impact on the construction/durability of the shoe?

Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexSF 

Do you wear marlow penny and wingtip in the same size?

Yes. I wear a size uk10 in both the 341 and 348 last, while I wear us10.5 in both the wingtip and the penny loafer. They fit me all the same, IMO. The loafer might be a tad snugger than the others, but its still quite new.

What are your thoughts about the picture of the welt of the loafer?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gdot 


I believe C&J offers two different tree configurations. The trees for the 'long lasted' shoes are different than the the trees for the 'short lasted' shoes. I have pairs in 348 and 341 which I purchased in the Jermyn St. store and I was provided different trees at that time. You should get the right tree for your 314 shoes - the tree for the 348 is not appropriate.

Thanks for your input. It was my understanding that they offered two set of trees, one for the handgrade lasts, and one universal.

Below you can see a comparison between the trees I received with my 341 lasted shoes, and the trees I received with my 348 lasted shoes. They appear identical, and they also have the same numbers. I don't consider the 341 last to be a long and narrow one like the 348, and I would think it resembles the 325 more.

Anyway, here are some comparison photos.

Do I have to worry about the upper of the loafer to collapse?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gdot 


I received the natural finish models such as the ones shown in your pics for my shoes on the 341 last. I received the longer ones with the stained finish for all of my 348 lasted shoes. I don't know what their 'official' position is about this - but the ones I have fit my shoes well. I believe they use the same stained longer lasts for the handgrades - but frankly am not sure.

I emailed C&J about this earlier today, and the answer I received was the following:

We offer our classic shoe trees which fit all of our lasts, we also have a new Hand grade shoe tree which is made for the 358 last.

The classic shoe tree fits all.

They seem to be experts at avoiding answering my questions. But it seems like they would use the generic shoe tree on both the 314 and 325 last, therefore I really don't understand why my trees don't fit.. Kinda annoying 

About the loafer, is the visible inseam an issue?

Why do you stick to C&J trees? I have only one that fits my Cliffords and that is it, for every other Crocketts using aftermarket cedar shoe trees, Saphire for example, and having no problems with stretching.