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sterlingindigo

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Leather soles, what and why? I've assumed, and read from all the avant garde fashionista journalists, that double leather soles make shoes last longer. But now I'm being told that double is for comfort and rough terrain, and has no effect on sole lifetime. Also that single leather can last hundreds of miles on concrete. Which someone should tell to my PA, which I only wear sundays and after a few months I've chewed halfway through the tip of the sole (less than 20 miles of concrete walking on em'). I read all this from veteran SF members (not the AE thread), so are they full of it? Because that thread was unanimous about the glories of single leather soles, which I'm beginning to think are distilled medocrity compared to rubber. As a humble college student who tries to dress well, leather soles seem to be the greatest obstacle, but I keep being told they're amazing! Why? And do double soles do anything? ?
Single leather is more formal (think oxford suit shoes) and double leather is less formal (bluchers with trousers and odd jacket). Toe taps are helpful, even if they are the cheap plastic ones. I use a leather sole treatment for water resistance and jump the puddles. Double leather has a firm soft landing that’s not springy. Rubber is casual and for wet weather. Wet leather soles that aren’t allowed to thoroughly dry before using them again will shred them quickly. A good rotation will increase longevity exponentially. JR leather, butyl, and good oak bark tanned leather soles will last longer than deer skin or venetian loafer style soles.
 

audog

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Totally unrelated to shoes, but awesome. Plumber finds cause of clogged drain in Florida Home. He might be wearing HM's?
101353424_10161032538064616_8897917535630917632_n.jpg
 

Count de Monet

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Leather soles, what and why? I've assumed, and read from all the avant garde fashionista journalists, that double leather soles make shoes last longer. But now I'm being told that double is for comfort and rough terrain, and has no effect on sole lifetime. Also that single leather can last hundreds of miles on concrete. Which someone should tell to my PA, which I only wear sundays and after a few months I've chewed halfway through the tip of the sole (less than 20 miles of concrete walking on em'). I read all this from veteran SF members (not the AE thread), so are they full of it? Because that thread was unanimous about the glories of single leather soles, which I'm beginning to think are distilled medocrity compared to rubber. As a humble college student who tries to dress well, leather soles seem to be the greatest obstacle, but I keep being told they're amazing! Why? And do double soles do anything? ?

If I had a pair of plain black stitch caps (actually, I have two pair), especially I did not wear them often, I would certainly go with single sole leather. Those are the epitome of dress shoes, not casual shoes or work boots. That said, some toe caps might be in order for some folks.
 

bluejazzmonkey

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The green olive weave Strand has been brought to you today by God and Kim. My outstanding SA, who at least had the smarts to look into my cancellation. Seems that they made my shoe but it did not get into inventory before the system checked and decided that it was not there. I told my wife that it was Kim that got me my shoes, she raised an eyebrow and said, “where do you think she got the inspiration to find the shoe”? There it is settled. Kim had devine inspiration and found my shoe.
View attachment 1425269


Congrats. Does it look that dark/gray/black in person?
 

Lionel Hutz

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Shoenut

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Congrats. Does it look that dark/gray/black in person?
They are dark in person but so were my Dylan’s. I assume with wear and some shinning they will lighten up over time. I have been trying on with different colored pants. The lighter the pants, the greener they look. With dark navy pants they look closer to black. Today my pants are brown and in real life take on a brownish green hue. They seem to pair well with almost everything. The waitress at lunch asked me what color of brown my shoes are. They definitely seem to change hue with the outfit.
 

rxcats

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My burnished olive Strands (not woven) look like a dark grayish green. They would not be confused with black which was a concern before I saw them. I've don't own any dark navy shoes for that very reason. Never been crazy about black shoes to begin with.
 

madhat

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Congrats. Does it look that dark/gray/black in person?
My burnished olive Strands (not woven) look like a dark grayish green. They would not be confused with black which was a concern before I saw them. I've don't own any dark navy shoes for that very reason. Never been crazy about black shoes to begin with.
Mine come off as a brown with green tones; I'm surprised yall are reading gray out of them.
 

Rithrin

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General query for other large footed posters:

What do you do on stairs to protect the back of your shoes from scuffing?

I placed my feet diagonally for a number of years when wearing shell and now I generally aim to place the ball of my foot on the edge of the stair to keep my heel from scuffing on the face of the stair (though this technique can lead to disaster if you have a new sole and/or if the metal edge of the stair is slick)

It sucks to have to think about walking down stairs, anyone else got a trick I haven't though of?
Our metal grated stairs up to the mezzanine are especially fun because they aren't was wide as some. The ball of my foot hits the edge of the stair even when I push my foot back, so I just slow down going down.
As far as scuffing, I don't have too much an issue with that. The 360 welt on most of my pairs means generally the edge hits before the uppers, and the edges are easy to redress. Biggest thing I'd say is just to slow down. :p

I swear sometimes it looks like I'm trying to breakdance down stairs, I'll place my feet at a 45 degree angle or even completely sideways to ensure I don't scrape. And avoid doing the ball-of-foot-on-stair-edge maneuver as that ended up in a faceplant once, learned my lesson.

Leather soles, what and why? I've assumed, and read from all the avant garde fashionista journalists, that double leather soles make shoes last longer. But now I'm being told that double is for comfort and rough terrain, and has no effect on sole lifetime. Also that single leather can last hundreds of miles on concrete. Which someone should tell to my PA, which I only wear sundays and after a few months I've chewed halfway through the tip of the sole (less than 20 miles of concrete walking on em'). I read all this from veteran SF members (not the AE thread), so are they full of it? Because that thread was unanimous about the glories of single leather soles, which I'm beginning to think are distilled medocrity compared to rubber. As a humble college student who tries to dress well, leather soles seem to be the greatest obstacle, but I keep being told they're amazing! Why? And do double soles do anything? ?

With sole wear, sometimes its behavior not related to the actual walking that cause the most problems. Back when I got into leather dress shoes, I heard the same things - quality GYW shoes with leather soles will last years before needing resoles, etc. My first pair of Fifth Aves showed alarming toe wear after just a few weeks. After paying extreme attention to what my feet did all day, eventually discovered that I tapped my toes against the floor. A lot. Like the fellow in this photo, but with some tapping. Even did this sitting in my office chair. Some people shake their legs to burn excess energy, I seemed to toe tap.

Man in full suit leaning against wall.png

Anyway, after being mindful about it and preventing myself from doing that, all my shoes suddenly stopped having toe wear issues. Might be worth examining whether you do something similar.


Interesting. A lot my shoes leave me no choice but to have my left pinkie always touching the wall of the upper. My left foot is wider than the right in the ball. I can sometimes size up, but it sometimes messes up the fit of the heel and instep. Most of the time, I prefer to keep my size smaller so that I get a good fit everywhere else, except for the minor issue of the left pinkie. I wore my Leeds 2.0 to Costco this morning and I could feel it a bit. I'm used to it at this point.

I also realized not all masks are created equal. Tried some other brand today and I could barely breathe. Went back to my old mask and felt fine.
Same issue with Leeds here. Fits great all over but left pinky toe. It's a common theme with all but the absolute widest of lasts. That pinky toe seems to jut out slightly compared to everything else.
 

stook1

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Alright gentlemen, one of you should pickup this pair of AE Schautals. I've already made 2 offers on them for $42 and $50 (both denied). The seller claims that he'll take less than he's asking. So that should be a helpful clue. I've decided they are too wide for me. If they were 9.5EE I would buy them. I think they are seconds but they look like a nice pair and good value even at the asking price.

 

smfdoc

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I thought I would share the finishing touches on a watch band made from #8 shell Hanovers. It needs edge dressing and a little clean up.

279F2403-6195-46B9-B075-F54787726B0E.jpeg
31229588-DB85-4D1E-A152-45EF8949A11C.jpeg
8C483E78-6CB9-44E3-B5BA-34B02756D5EA.jpeg
 
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