Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread - reviews, pictures, sizing, etc...

[New Shoes1]

My patriots have a bit of heel slip. Will they break in?

Are you sure you purchased the right size? I ask because several posters (including myself) get heel slip in most loafers but not in our Patriots. The Patriot is made for a low instep and comes with a sole that seems more pliable than most AE's right out of the box, so I would question size if you are getting significant heel slip.

 

[New Shoes1]

Has anyone ever inquired about requesting a different last for Custom shoe orders?

For ex. Strand or Park Ave. on an 8 last?

Yes I have. Deborah said at one time they experimented with it however it did not work out well at all so they stopped doing it, it is no longer an option.

I believe the Jos A Bank branded AEs are made on different lasts. You might want to do a search.

Can't remember which one, but I think either the JAB Fifth Avenue version or the Park Avenue version is made on the 8 last.

 

[easy_golfing]

My patriots have a bit of heel slip. Will they break in?

Are you sure you purchased the right size?  I ask because several posters (including myself) get heel slip in most loafers but not in our Patriots.  The Patriot is made for a low instep and comes with a sole that seems more pliable than most AE's right out of the box, so I would question size if you are getting significant heel slip.

Well I do have flat feet, wear insoles and have pretty skinny ankles. I'm guessing they won't break in as I would like?

 

[Cold Iron]

Also,member dibadiba provided this metric of tensile strength of different leathers. It appears cordovan is among the lowest in terms of tensile integrity.



I suspect there are mostly shoe "newbies" in this thread, however, I would appreciate any scientific or well-reasoned answer. Cold Iron, you seem to have had a few pairs of cordovan boots for a long time, what are your oldest cordovan boots and how long have they lasted?

As for the tensile strength chart, that actually isn't surprising. Even in the Horween video that you can find on Vimeo about shell production, they mention it's tendency to crack when being stretched over the last if the operator running the machinery isn't very careful. However, tensile strength isn't a crucial factor in shoes after they are made. Shoes don't generally wear out and crack because of stretching. They wear out and crack because of dry rot, creasing constantly, abrasion, pollutants that break down the leather structure, etc. Tensile strength aside, shell is more resistant to all of these other types of wear and tear.
I'm not old enough to give you a picture of a pair of shell shoes that I can personally guarantee have been worn once a week for 30 years. As jaywhyy says below, Macarthur has shoes that are that old, and he is certainly one of the oldest (if not the oldest) member of SF that I know of, but the size of his rotation is unrealistic for gauging wear.
This article (http://howtospendit.ft.com/mens-fashion/6955-plenty-of-horsepower) does mention that there are supposedly more World War I boots that have survived than boots from World War II, the reason being that horsehide was the preferred material during World War I. The author does point out that the source for that statistic is unknown, but it is apparently a recognized fact for what it's worth.
Allen Edmonds has said that they receive models in for recrafting that are 30 years old. However, you can't really say how often the shoes are worn.
I have no reason to doubt that the leather itself can last that long. I think there is enough reputable information available online to give credibility to that, but as I said in my previous post, just because the leather can last that long doesn't mean that the shoe will.

Every time I see or even type MWS I think Money Well Said instead of MoneyWellSpent. And once again, as always, he did say it well.

I agree that tensile strength has little meaning in shoes, that was my first thought when I saw it. It is the wrong metric for shoes and longevity. Abrasion resistance is usually at the top of my list and how the leather recovers to it. Bird hunting from Western NC up through the middle Atlantic States along the Appalachian Mountain backbone shreds boots in just a few years. As does pheasant hunting in the prairies of South and North Dakota. And many other places for that matter.

My oldest pair of shell are my burgundy Leeds although they have ~20 years to go to hit the 30 year mark. My black calf Leeds are older by a few years. They are my first AE calf and shell shoes and I rotated between them for quite a few years before getting into collecting other shoes and boots. I thought those 2 were all I needed for a long time, truth be told you can go a long ways on a pair of black and burgundy shoes. Hard to see the tips of the soles here but they are worn down to almost a knife edge and have plastic taps on them. The soles are fine though and there is a reason so many of us really like the double soles especially J&R, they last! Heels are cheap to replace at ~$20 and you can replace a lot of heels before the sole needs replaced. Then again I hate the run down at the heel look.






Even regular leather shoes and boots will last more than 30 years, I have a pair of steel toed Naval Engineering boots that are older than that (cowhide) made by the cheapest bidder. I wore them every other day for the first 10 years and exposed them on a regular basis to saltwater, hydraulic fluid, oil, jet fuel, diesel fuel marine, fighting fires and fire suppression chemicals. I only used Kiwi polish on them and once in awhile shaving cream to strip them. When there isn't a shoe store for hundreds of miles around you do what you have to do. The last 20 years they haven't seen a lot of use but I could put them back into duty right now if I wanted to. They are rotting from the inside out because they were so filled with sweat after a 16-20 hour day in the tropics that I had to pour the sweat out before heading to the showers. They are the tall ones in between my 2 Bayfields.






Couple of years ago I gave away a pair of Herman Survivors that I purchased in the mid 70's, I was tired of looking at them to be honest. I treated them for years using mink oil heating them in the oven which now they say will destroy leather. I guess the boots never found out about that as they still looked new when I gave them away. I didn't wear them near as much as my Vasque Sundowners which were my main boots for many years. Until Red Wing moved production to China about 10 years ago and ruined them, my last pair was made in China and the soles delaminated in just a few months. Which sent me on a quest to find better boots and I have.

As to shell durability you don't have to look any further than Wolverine boot company in Mi. They were the largest producer of shell in the US for many, many years. By the late 30's they had sold more than 2 million pairs of shell boots IIRC. A bit more expensive than cowhide but they lasted longer for harsh work like farming and industrial work. Now AE makes shell boots for Wolverine when they do decide to make a run.

 

[David Copeland]

Has anyone ever inquired about requesting a different last for Custom shoe orders?

For ex. Strand or Park Ave. on an 8 last?

My aching feet would sure like a 7-last on may of the styles currently in 5-Last or others. LOL

 

[David Copeland]

Proof of what AE did to me at one point, all are not pictured.
Have since scaled down and incorporated some different brands but kept my favorite AE's
Shell MacNeil, Mora, Dalton, Hillcrest and white Players Suede





Best to not get bitten by the bug

If you're maintaining around 20 pair (or upwards or $10,000), perhaps you can consider investing in a quality "show case" to keep them exhibited well . . . such as:

 

[masernaut]

Question about Allen Edmonds Italy line. Who makes these shoes? Also, how's the fit on the Verona? And how versatile would one consider it for casual wear?

EDIT: One more question regarding the Verona. Black or brown?

 

[wurger]



Every time I see or even type MWS I think Money Well Said instead of MoneyWellSpent. And once again, as always, he did say it well. 

+1, MWS' posts are always informative and easy to read

 

[wurger]



Hey guys just got my Park Aves and Strands today in the mail. I have a quick question, I noticed these dark areas on the Strands, is this just a part of the leather or should I exchange them? Sorry if I'm just being paranoid, wanted to make sure everything was perfect!

Seriously, those are good, enjoy wearing them.

 

[shartmann]

Those are AMAZING!! I have tried every combination of sizes in the Clifton but in the end decided the 8 last just isn't going to fit my foot. But for those I'd be tempted to make them fit LOL.

You did an outstanding job cleaning them up, soon they will be glowing in the dark I don't think any more Renomat will help the light mark on the left shoe, and it will eventually start to dull your finish. On shell if I am going to use Renomat I only ever use 1 coat and never let it sit. I agree that it looks like something that was done in the final finishing stages. And think that if you sent them back to AE they will fix it for you. But I also understand your reluctance to return them. For walnut shell that I need to use damage control on I use Saphir cognac polish mixed with Saphir tan which is almost yellow in color. I use a toothpick to blend them adding more of one or the other until it matches the shade of the shoe or boot I'm working on. It doesn't take much and I haven't had to use it often. When applying it I only use a very small amount, about the same as just touching a can of Kiwi paste wax in the final stages of a spit polish if you know what I mean. It may be worth a try if you don't want to return them but think it would be worth contacting AE about having them sent back through finishing again. Good luck and what an outstanding shoe, very jealous!

Thanks Cold Iron. I have the Clifton in black calf, size 12D, and it's just slightly on the snug side. Working with Allison from AE, I tried on several pairs of adjacent sizes but ultimately stuck with 12D. This was a good choice, as the shell pair fits a bit larger than the calf pair and therefore is just about perfect for me. The entire MTO process was a lot of fun. Allison was great and very helpful. I'm sure this MTO offer has taken up a lot of their time, but I know for me it has been very much worth it. I will send her some photos of the scuff mark and see what she says. And I'll try to apply some polish as you suggest to see if this blemish can be covered up. But overall I'm very pleased with how these turned out. The RenoMat was essential in taken off the darker colored cream, and I would never had the stomach to try it if I had not seen your results. So thanks for that. The process for me went like this:

1. Apply some RenoMat. Shoes are now really dull, and don't look very good at all.
2. Apply Renovateur and brush. No real improvement. Start to panic just a bit. Did I ruin my new shoes before wearing them?
3. Repeat #2. See a small amount of improvement. Wonder if I should have just left them alone.
4. Repeat again. Starting to look pretty good. Brush and buff for a while and then they looked like what's in the pictures.

I agree that those look stunning. The wheeling along the welt was an especially nice touch.

Thanks MoneyWellSpent. The wheeling was a recommendation by SF member MacktasticGDogg. He had just received his MTO walnut shell Kenilworths when I was about to place my order. I PM'd him to ask a few details, and he mentioned that was something he wished he would have added. I agree it looks pretty nice and I specified the same on my (yet to receive) cappuccino Strands.

 

[shartmann]

Every time I see or even type MWS I think Money Well Said instead of MoneyWellSpent. And once again, as always, he did say it well.

Yes, the last few days have been like a Master's class. Thanks for sharing MWS.

 

[YoungSweet]

Here is an excellent video, of which the first part is titled PRE-MAINTENANCE (which can ne used with Saphir Products):



Enjoy,

David

This is excellent David. My shoe care products from AE just arrived so it's perfect timing for caring for my newly acquired Strands

 

[shartmann]

My oldest pair of shell are my burgundy Leeds although they have ~20 years to go to hit the 30 year mark. My black calf Leeds are older by a few years. They are my first AE calf and shell shoes and I rotated between them for quite a few years before getting into collecting other shoes and boots. I thought those 2 were all I needed for a long time, truth be told you can go a long ways on a pair of black and burgundy shoes. Hard to see the tips of the soles here but they are worn down to almost a knife edge and have plastic taps on them. The soles are fine though and there is a reason so many of us really like the double soles especially J&R, they last! Heels are cheap to replace at ~$20 and you can replace a lot of heels before the sole needs replaced. Then again I hate the run down at the heel look.

Wow, I would not have guessed your Leeds were 10 years old. They look excellent!

 

[bl@ster]

Woah, new McTavish leather option available. Dark Brown Crackle leather -- I like the rough collection stuff but this may be a bit too "rough" for me.

 

[JubeiSpiegel]



Can't remember which one, but I think either the JAB Fifth Avenue version or the Park Avenue version is made on the 8 last.

After some research, evidently their Fifth Ave. is on the 8 last, their Park Ave. is on the 7 last.

Question about Allen Edmonds Italy line. Who makes these shoes? Also, how's the fit on the Verona? And how versatile would one consider it for casual wear?

EDIT: One more question regarding the Verona. Black or brown? 

I have both, love them. Sizing is pretty TTS, note that the new Verona 2 feels a half size bigger in comparable sizes...