Edward Green Appreciation: Pictures, Info, and Where to Buy

Hmmmm. Suede or grain??? Decisions...



Axelman 17 said:

Berry is too loud for me. Check out clove suede. Perusing the EG swatch book today at Leffot and noticed it. More of a cinnamon/red rust.

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Barry is loud, yes I think the same but another combination to look at may be Walnut country calf with Berry suede or shearling on the top if one wants to add a bit of colour, this may work as EG walnut is quite a dark dull colour. Being a country boot if you are making them on the 64 last I think it should not be too bright.



Farhad19620 said:

Barry is loud, yes I think the same but another combination to look at may be Walnut country calf with Berry suede or shearling on the top if one wants to add a bit of colour, this may work as EG walnut is quite a dark dull colour. Being a country boot if you are making them on the 64 last I think it should not be too bright.

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I'd personally not worry too much about the colour of country footwear, more about the suitability of the chosen materials when dealing with the local conditions.

Just as a diversion, I've taken a few pics of a pair of WW2 Lotus veldtschoen boots which are very much the forerunner of the original Galway as it was Lotus who first made and patented the construction method.

The boots are made from zug grain and have been recently resoled. Look at the similarities with the Galway, with both being a unlined wholecut derby boot made of robust leather. Note also the full bellows tongue as opposed to the Galway's half-bellows one. These were rewaxed yesterday as I still use them, along with another pair from WW2 which I own:







The boots were often used a private purchase field boots as British Empire commissioned officers, and they were noted to be costly in their day.

Off to church with record snow totals for the month...dainite (and commando) sole has gotten a lot of use. I ended up using the TZ 120cm unwaxed 2-3mm laces as replacements.



tifosi said:

I've been thinking of stepping up my boot game. I have been obsessing over the Galway. I read through about half of this thread and see some familiar faces from the Alden forum. I have 6 pairs of Alden shell boots, but now I think I might go for quality over quantity from here on out. Am I looking at the right boot?

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The Galway is a great boot. I have it in dark oak antique/mink suede with HAF sole on the 82 and in bronze antique/black country calf with Dainite on the 82. I wear uk9e. I am 9d on Alden's Barrie.

Bronze antique gets little discussion on this thread; however, it might be my favorite EG color. Having said that, I do own more dark oak than bronze. A guy can never go wrong with dark oak either.

CTBrummie said:

I'd personally not worry too much about the colour of country footwear, more about the suitability of the chosen materials when dealing with the local conditions.

Just as a diversion, I've taken a few pics of a pair of WW2 Lotus veldtschoen boots which are very much the forerunner of the original Galway as it was Lotus who first made and patented the construction method.

The boots are made from zug grain and have been recently resoled. Look at the similarities with the Galway, with both being a unlined wholecut derby boot made of robust leather. Note also the full bellows tongue as opposed to the Galway's half-bellows one. These were rewaxed yesterday as I still use them, along with another pair from WW2 which I own:








The boots were often used a private purchase field boots as British Empire commissioned officers, and they were noted to be costly in their day.

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Wow, I'm extremely impressed by how nice the leather is holding up! The last doubts I've had regarding the zug/heather gorse are gone. How do you treat zug? Snow seal? Also, the sole appears to be a double leather (please correct me if I'm wrong) – is there any specific reason you have chosen to keep the leather sole instead of having them replaced by for example ridgeway?

Cheers,
SKM



S K M said:

Wow, I'm extremely impressed by how nice the leather is holding up! The last doubts I've had regarding the zug/heather gorse are gone. How do you treat zug? Snow seal? Also, the sole appears to be a double leather (please correct me if I'm wrong) – is there any specific reason you have chosen to keep the leather sole instead of having them replaced by for example ridgeway?

Cheers,
SKM

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Zug is almost indestructible, the other pair are in better condition despite also being around 70 years old. The zug on the other pair is much redder and the boots are actually more substantial than the pair shown above.

I got them resoled with a leather sole in keeping with their original incarnation - most of these had hobnails in the sole too which didn't appeal! I wanted to keep the low profile so they looked as they would always have. This is likely their last resole before nothing more can be done so I had cover soles added to stave off the inevitable. The original soles split horizontally, if that makes sense, and the Shoe Healer said it was a tricky resole because the sole edge had been ground down to right by the veldtschoen stitching where the leather was turned out.

The other pair I own still have their original soles.

As with any outdoor boots, any kind of dubbin would help water resistance although zug grain is actually a waxy leather that is great in the wet as it comes.

^^Marvelous, I'm extremely impressed. That's yet another reason we need to do the rough out Galway in heather gorse/suede – so we something to enjoy for the rest of our lives and eventually pass on to our sons, ha!

Anyway, once you get a chance I'd be very curious to see your other vintage pair in zug.

All the best,
SKM

What is Zug, exactly? Is it something other than simple pebble grain leather?



RogerP said:

What is Zug, exactly?  Is it something other than simple pebble grain leather?

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It's a heavy duty embossed waxy gorse calf, not often seen these days.



CTBrummie said:

I'd personally not worry too much about the colour of country footwear, more about the suitability of the chosen materials when dealing with the local conditions.

Just as a diversion, I've taken a few pics of a pair of WW2 Lotus veldtschoen boots which are very much the forerunner of the original Galway as it was Lotus who first made and patented the construction method.

The boots are made from zug grain and have been recently resoled. Look at the similarities with the Galway, with both being a unlined wholecut derby boot made of robust leather. Note also the full bellows tongue as opposed to the Galway's half-bellows one. These were rewaxed yesterday as I still use them, along with another pair from WW2 which I own:

The boots were often used a private purchase field boots as British Empire commissioned officers, and they were noted to be costly in their day.

Click to expand...

These are great boots although quite similar to the Galway boots I do like the full bellows tongue .

CTBrummie said:

It's a heavy duty embossed waxy gorse calf, not often seen these days.

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Thanks.



RogerP said:

What is Zug, exactly?  Is it something other than simple pebble grain leather?

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Zug leather was developed in the Swiss town of Zug.

Die difference between Zug leather and any old grain leather, was the fact that the thrifty Swiss introduced some waste product of the Swiss chocolate industry (cocoa molasses, or whatever it was) into the tanning or finishing process. So traditionally Zug leather had a nice chocolate smell.

Whether modern Zug leather still comes from Switzerland and uses chocolate in it's formula, I doubt somehow.

Is anyone producing rtw offerings using zug and veldt construction? I saw a trickers boot however it was not veldt.

bespoken pa said:

Is anyone producing rtw offerings using zug and veldt construction? I saw a trickers boot however it was not veldt.

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I don'n think so, but CTBrummie can no doubt be of help here. We're trying to have a Galway made up in zug (or as EG refers to it: heather gorse) and suede, with Veldtschoen, ridgeway and shearling lining. PM if you're interested.