Crockett & jones hand grade shoes

[A Harris]

Do any of you own Crockett & Jones Hand-Grade shoes? If so do they have a covered sole (where the sole is covered by a thin sheet of leather so you can't see the welt stitching) like Lobb and Edward Green? The new Ralph Lauren Blue Label shoes are made by Crockett & Jones and they have the covered sole. Also I was looking at some C&J's on a French website and they too had the covered sole. I was wondering if these models are both examples of the hand-grade line or if they are perhaps a bit nicer still.

 

[bengal-stripe]

Crockett and Jones' handgrade range has "channelled" soles, where the stitching is not visible from the underside. The other method is called "stitched aloft", there you see the stitching in a grove. C & J's ordinary ranges are stitched aloft. The channelled sole is the sign of a top class shoe and manufacturers like C & J, Tricker's and Alfred Sargent (but not Church's) use it in their top ranges. With wear there will be little difference, as the thin covering ( which is not a separate sheet, but a **** - a section is folded back, stitched and then turned back again) but will wear off first and the stitching becomes exposed.

 

[bengal-stripe]

I forgot: Grenson as well does a channelled sole on their "Masterpieces".

 

[A Harris]

Now that is really interesting. I never would have guessed that they just peeled back the edge and then glued it back down. Some of my older shoes have the edges peeling so I just assumed it was a sheet. Thanks for that info.