Carmina Shoes - Definitive Thread (reviews, advice, sizing, etc...) - official thread.

[stevent]



Quote:
I'm guessing "E" is similar to US "D"? Thanks. Shipping is a bit insane, $40. Is this still a great deal at $710 for captoe shells?

How is $40 insane? Pretty standard rate, maybe even cheaper as it's usually $50-55 for most other international retailers

 

[NAMOR]

^ yah, yah, yah, blah, blah, blah, stevent. What are you going to say next? that these people want to make a living wage? thats its already a good deal, better than anything else on the internet, and that we are being cheap, greedy little motherfuckers?

 

[RogerP]

Quote:


I'm guessing "E" is similar to US "D"? Thanks.

Shipping is a bit insane, $40. Is this still a great deal at $710 for captoe shells?

Having shipped a great many parcels from Canada I can tell you that for a box this size and weight ~ $35 would be a ballpark for postal shipping. Cost of a courier is probaly closer to $55-60. I suspect they are losing money on shipping is they are charging you $40 shipped by courier.

 

[Mr. Six]

More pr0n. Cognac shell jumpers from the first GMTO with Skoak.

 

[wklq76a]

^ Those look fantastic, Mr. Six. I'm hoping for a GMTO saddle shell version of those to pop up to jump on.

 

[RogerP]

That's one of the nicer shades of Cognac I have seen. Nice boots!

 

[scrolls]

Hot damn those boots are sexy.

 

[Todd V]

Nice boots. Were these spec'd as "light cognac?"

 

[Leaves]



Nice boots. Were these spec'd as "light cognac?"

This was part of a large GMTO organized by Frankthesheep. It was made up in Cognac Cordovan. The first batch that was delivered came out light, the second a bit darker. According to Horween the lighter version is the standard Cognac, then they have a hue called Dark Cognac.

According to some reports I've had from Carmina we might be looking at a long term Cordovan shortage, I have yet to learn if this will affect the Frankenstitch GMTO. But people should expect longer lead times for Cordovan MTO and GMTO in the next year or so.

 

[Mr. Six]

Thanks, all. It is as Leaves said regarding the spec. Mine were part of the lighter batch. What you see is the result of many applications of Saphir brown cordovan cream and a lot of elbow grease. It will be interesting to see what happens with additional applications.

 

[Journeyman]



New arrival for the impending warm weather

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

No shoe bags included??

 

[dddrees]

This was part of a large GMTO organized by Frankthesheep. It was made up in Cognac Cordovan. The first batch that was delivered came out light, the second a bit darker. According to Horween the lighter version is the standard Cognac, then they have a hue called Dark Cognac.

According to some reports I've had from Carmina we might be looking at a long term Cordovan shortage, I have yet to learn if this will affect the Frankenstitch GMTO. But people should expect longer lead times for Cordovan MTO and GMTO in the next year or so.

Oh, this stinks. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

[agedashidofu]



This was part of a large GMTO organized by Frankthesheep. It was made up in Cognac Cordovan. The first batch that was delivered came out light, the second a bit darker. According to Horween the lighter version is the standard Cognac, then they have a hue called Dark Cognac.

According to some reports I've had from Carmina we might be looking at a long term Cordovan shortage, I have yet to learn if this will affect the Frankenstitch GMTO. But people should expect longer lead times for Cordovan MTO and GMTO in the next year or so.

All the more reason why shoemakers need to find alternative sourcing for shells. I know a tannery in the UK called Joseph Clayton had started producing shells, though I haven't seen them made into shoes yet. Additionally, I feel that the new shells that I had ordered are not as high quality as the ones I had bought a couple of years ago (the older ones look much smoother and colors more consistent from batch to batch.)

 

[Leaves]



All the more reason why shoemakers need to find alternative sourcing for shells. I know a tannery in the UK called Joseph Clayton had started producing shells, though I haven't seen them made into shoes yet. Additionally, I feel that the new shells that I had ordered are not as high quality as the ones I had bought a couple of years ago (the older ones look much smoother and colors more consistent from batch to batch.)

I visited a Swedish tannery called Tärnsjö the other day. Their rep said that they had experimented with shell but with unsatisfactory results. He said the problem is the raw material, the density of the shell is much worse now than a few decades ago. He blamed this primarily on horses being bred up too quickly these days. I'm no expert so I can't comment on that specific statement, maybe someone with more experience of tanning could pitch in.

 

[agedashidofu]

I did a bit of searching on Joseph Clayton shells on this forum and "stole" the below from the non alden shell thread. Again I'm not an expert but thought i'd share my findings below

http://www.reddit.com/r/goodyearwelt/comments/1w67n7/shell_cordovan_shortage/?sort=old

I have handled horween, clayton, and comipel shell. Not japanese/south american though.

First off, horween is more than twice the price of the others, at 180 quid a shell vs 72 for clayton, and 90 or so for comipel. Horween shell is thick, with a kinda oily, glossy finish. It was pretty soft and flexible, but not overly so. One thing I noticed is that there were lot's of marks and scratches on the shell. This might have been because I ordered a dark colour (no 8), but I was expecting a smoother finish.

Comipel shell was slightly thinner than horween, but the finish was absolutely perfect. Like, there was literally not a single mark on any of the shells. It feels really waxy, and firm, and has a more matte colour than horween.

My personal favourite though, was clayton. It is very thin, making it super easy to stitch, though kinda inappropriate for footwear (they offer heavier grades, though I have no experience with those.). It has very little shine, but the surface is really smooth and buttery. I saw a few blemishes, but nothing serious. The depth of colour is fantastic, and there's some really heavy striations in the dye.

Really, I guess my reasoning boils down to price and surface finish. Horween shell is nice (I mean, even crappy shell is a beautiful leather), but it's not that nice. I feel the major price increase is totally unsubstantiated. Also, it seems that due to increased demand, horween is loosening their qc. If comipel and clayton can make sure their shell meets certain standards, horween should too.