Custom White's Boots ... Thoughts?

[chicagoan2016]

chicagoan2016--

What height did you order for your 695s in black dress? (mulling another order here)

Cheers,

8 inches tall.
I wasn't sure if 6 inches height would have worked with packer heels.

 

[wordfool]

I tired that,. I can't say how good a job I did but I was left with a lighter colored hard spot. I already reached out to Kyle to get some guidance on sending them back if I go that route. I pick them up from the cobbler on Wednesday but i'm not hopeful

maybe use a suede brush or even a steel brush to agitate the solvent-softened blob out of the fibers? I suspect multiple soakings/brushings/wipings would be needed to dilute the glue enough to fully remove it. How big is the spot, and is it something that might eventually fade into the patina?

Let us know if Kyle has any secret tips for glue removal!

 

[iamntbatman]

While you're at it, ask him if he has any secret tips for dry erase marker ink removal!

 

[climbinglife]

Spoke to Kyle twice today. He recommended some sandpaper (which i tried) and also mentioned to me if I wanted to replace the toe caps, they are part of the welt and would need to be in the rebuild category which is 12-16 weeks So i'm gonna see what the cobbler did on Wednesday and go from there. I asked about dubbing the boots with LP to darken them but he wasn't convinced the spot would darken the same way the rest of the leather would. At this point that might be my only shot besides being without them for yet another 4 months.

What a cluster ****...and whats worse is this was my fault for messing with commando sole with super glue.

 

[climbinglife]

maybe use a suede brush or even a steel brush to agitate the solvent-softened blob out of the fibers? I suspect multiple soakings/brushings/wipings would be needed to dilute the glue enough to fully remove it. How big is the spot, and is it something that might eventually fade into the patina?

Let us know if Kyle has any secret tips for glue removal!

The spot is about the size of a pea but its right in front. I tried this in part but didn't let the spot soak. Using acetone I tried dabbing the spot and then using a suede brush and sandpaper to restore the knapp but it didn't work. It basically stayed "flat & hard" and "lighter" in color than the leather.

 

[climbinglife]

Ok so I picked up my boots today.
The question is: To dubb or not to dubb lol

Please let me know what you think honestly but I can say for sure I'm not sending them back to Kyle for a rebuild. I don't think its worth the time or money at this point.

Between what i did and what the cobbler did Its better than it was. i'm wondering if I just wear the **** out of them and see if it blends over time. These are everyday casual wear boots not dress boots mind you.

OR

Take some Obenaufs LP and darken the entire boot and see if that darkens it better.

I took some pics inside and in overcast light.

Thoughts?

 

[Jimk4003]

Ok so I picked up my boots today.
The question is: To dubb or not to dubb lol

Please let me know what you think honestly but I can say for sure I'm not sending them back to Kyle for a rebuild. I don't think its worth the time or money at this point.

Between what i did and what the cobbler did Its better than it was. i'm wondering if I just wear the **** out of them and see if it blends over time.

OR

Take some Obenaufs LP and darken the entire boot and see if that darkens it better.

I took some pics inside and in overcast light.

Thoughts?

View attachment 1680663 View attachment 1680664 View attachment 1680665 View attachment 1680666

Honestly, I think they look fine. They're certainly into the territory of 'it only bothers you because you know it's there', and I reckon after a couple of years of wear on those it'll just blend in.

 

[chicagoan2016]

@climbinglife I think they are fine.
I am not joking but is it the right boot? ( I had to look closely).

 

[climbinglife]

@climbinglife I think they are fine.
I am not joking but is it the right boot? ( I had to look closely).

Yeah, right boot lol.

 

[WJosiah]

Just go to the park and kick rocks around until it has a big family.

 

[ThreeLions]

Ok so I picked up my boots today.
The question is: To dubb or not to dubb lol

Please let me know what you think honestly but I can say for sure I'm not sending them back to Kyle for a rebuild. I don't think its worth the time or money at this point.

Between what i did and what the cobbler did Its better than it was. i'm wondering if I just wear the **** out of them and see if it blends over time. These are everyday casual wear boots not dress boots mind you.

OR

Take some Obenaufs LP and darken the entire boot and see if that darkens it better.

I took some pics inside and in overcast light.

Thoughts?

View attachment 1680663 View attachment 1680664 View attachment 1680665 View attachment 1680666

I wouldn't do anything. Those look fine. You should see my distressed rough out boots after a few years of wearing them for rough work (and putting an axe through the toe).

 

[climbinglife]

Thanks for the advice all. Not doing anything was the way I was leaning.

 

[The Nid Hog]

Ok so I picked up my boots today.
The question is: To dubb or not to dubb lol

Please let me know what you think honestly but I can say for sure I'm not sending them back to Kyle for a rebuild. I don't think its worth the time or money at this point.

Between what i did and what the cobbler did Its better than it was. i'm wondering if I just wear the **** out of them and see if it blends over time. These are everyday casual wear boots not dress boots mind you.

OR

Take some Obenaufs LP and darken the entire boot and see if that darkens it better.

I took some pics inside and in overcast light.

Thoughts?

That's a beautiful pair of boots. I'd just leave them like this and wear them. It might take a little while for the rest of the boots to get the same character, but they will. Enjoy!

 

[Legal Eagles]

It's everywhere. Every industry is having issues with low end labor jobs.

The problem with that is hiring someone to handmake boots is not like hiring someone to run the fryer at McDonald's it takes years to develop these skills... when you have a limited labor pool, and lower your hiring standards, you inevitably wind up with people in positions they are unqualified for, and quality suffers... it is truly a dilemma

We all want our boots fast, but we don't want the guy they hired last Monday building them...

It comes back to the truism, "Good, Fast, or Cheap... pick two..."

I am glad I am not in a labor intensive field like manufacturing... if I were buying handmade boots, I would be looking really closely at the QC on a 6 month lead time boot... it better be perfect!

 

[Jimk4003]

The problem with that is hiring someone to handmake boots is not like hiring someone to run the fryer at McDonald's it takes years to develop these skills... when you have a limited labor pool, and lower your hiring standards, you inevitably wind up with people in positions they are unqualified for, and quality suffers... it is truly a dilemma

We all want our boots fast, but we don't want the guy they hired last Monday building them...

It comes back to the truism, "Good, Fast, or Cheap... pick two..."

I am glad I am not in a labor intensive field like manufacturing... if I were buying handmade boots, I would be looking really closely at the QC on a 6 month lead time boot... it better be perfect!

True, plus I imagine boot making isn't a particularly attractive option, even for people who want to work in manufacturing.

If you're interested in manufacturing, and train as an electrical or mechanical engineering apprentice, you know that experience will help get you a job anywhere in manufacturing where someone needs electrical or mechanical engineers. If you train as an industrial safety specialist, or an instrumentation specialist, regardless of the field of manufacturing you learn those skills in, you know you can transfer into any manufacturing sector that needs safety or instrumentation specialists. If you learn to program control systems at a biscuit factory, for example, those skills can help you get a job as a control systems engineer at a petrochemical plant.

It's the skills that are important, not the specific industry you learned them in; and they're good, transferrable skills with viable career paths.

Learning to make boots allows you to, well, make boots. That's it. It doesn't equip you with skills that transfer into other industries, and it's not a gateway into doing anything else.

Attracting quality staff is hard enough in any manufacturing sector. Attracting quality staff into a discipline that doesn't present any career opportunities beyond a very narrow niche must be even harder.