Custom White's Boots ... Thoughts?

[Legal Eagles]

I do agree, better work has been done, but its also a trade-off situation - great looking caps on these, poor stitching on the side. Alternatively it could be bad looking caps and perfect stitching on the side. Looking down, i'd rather see great caps than know in my heart of hearts that the stitching on the side is spot on. If you're willing to take a gamble, send them back. You'd hear no gruff from me - I've sent back plenty. But know that in return, you could get other issues.

You sound as if you are almost resigned to some form of defect... and it is only a question of chance where it will be. Respectfully this comes across as a bit defeatist.

At this price point I submit one should not have to play Russian Roulette with "guess where the defect will be".

I don't think it is too much to ask for a clean boot with good stitching, and no obvious QC defects at all.

The interview with Eric posted a while back was telling... the question he gets asked most is "Why can't your stitching be as good as Viberg?" Well... why can't it? (Any I know Viberg is not perfect, but they are better... which is why Eric's question was posed that way.)

 

[PACostag]

You sound as if you are almost resigned to some form of defect... and it is only a question of chance where it will be. Respectfully this comes across as a bit defeatist.

At this price point I submit one should not have to play Russian Roulette with "guess where the defect will be".

I don't think it is too much to ask for a clean boot with good stitching, and no obvious QC defects at all.

The interview with Eric posted a while back was telling... the question he gets asked most is "Why can't your stitching be as good as Viberg?" Well... why can't it? (Any I know Viberg is not perfect, but they are better... which is why Eric's question was posed that way.)

perhaps somewhat defeatist, yes. But we all are subjects of our own experience. As someone who works with leather as a hobby, I don't expect machined perfection in handmade goods - some of the nuances of handmade leather goods are desirable to some (at least me) because it reminds you that you're wearing $500+ handmade boots, and not over-priced machine made $500+ boots without issue.

to be clear, glaring imperfections (to my eye, which of course is not the same to everyone) don't work for me. I just feel that it is a gamble to return a pair and expect perfection in return. If anyone has seen a PERFECT pair (that's not part of a modeled boot advert from White's), I'd love to see them.

Buy handmade, be willing to live with some nuances. Just my two cents.

 

[Legal Eagles]

Buy handmade, be willing to live with some nuances. Just my two cents.

Well said... cheers!

 

[Patek]

Well, thankfully mine arrived without such issues. No, the stitching is not as neat as my Japanese boots but it is neat enough.

Happy with this makeup. 8", lace to toe, Cuban heel, natural CXL, and brass.

 

[Patek]

I'm actually surprised on how light these are. Maybe that is due to my sole choice. Without weighing them, the 6" Viberg combat boots I have been wearing all day feel heavier.

 

[chicken1616]

I'm actually surprised on how light these are. Maybe that is due to my sole choice. Without weighing them, the Viberg combat boots I have been wearing all day feel heavier.

View attachment 1400515 View attachment 1400516

The #269 sole IS light. And also sleeker in looks from the side. I really like it a lot.

 

[Rymanocerous]

What about the left cap? That's the one with the rolling/puckering but it's not visible from the photos above, only from the side.

View attachment 1400454

Your top down, the left toe cap appears to have an aggressive slant. The right has a slight one, but it almost straight. They would match in length and pitch.

 

[Patek]

The #269 sole IS light. And also sleeker in looks from the side. I really like it a lot.

It's always iffy when you do a custom order and you end up second guessing your choices. I'm pretty happy with how these turned out though. Maybe the double welt wasn't necessary but it adds some visual interest to the boot. I also like White's take on lace to toe as it doesn't go too far down into monkey boot territory.

I forgot my build on the HH, but I did get an email from Baker's that they are 2-3 weeks out.

 

[wordfool]

I do agree, better work has been done, but its also a trade-off situation - great looking caps on these, poor stitching on the side. Alternatively it could be bad looking caps and perfect stitching on the side. Looking down, i'd rather see great caps than know in my heart of hearts that the stitching on the side is spot on. If you're willing to take a gamble, send them back. You'd hear no gruff from me - I've sent back plenty. But know that in return, you could get other issues.

And therein lies the dilemma -- it seems to be a bit of a lottery. Send them back and the new pair might well have a different issue, worse or better (been there, done that). I'm not convinced a "perfect" pair of White's boots exists TBH, and I kinda new that going in (having read this thread) and am OK with it. I consider it the nature of a handmade boot with workboot heritage, and at least they don't cost Viberg money. It is, however, odd that they managed to screw up what I'd think is one of the easier bits of making a hand-lasted boot.

But now thanks to this last page of discussion I'll likely never un-see that stitching!!

Your top down, the left toe cap appears to have an aggressive slant. The right has a slight one, but it almost straight. They would match in length and pitch.

That must be a trick of the camera. I've put them side by side (instep and out) and the caps line up almost perfectly each side. Just for good measure I also lined them toe-up against a wall and measured distance from wall to center edge of caps (identical) and the edge of the caps on each side (also the same +/- a few mm). Yes, they both hit the midsole at a bit of a slant, but so do toecaps on pretty much all my boots to some extent. TBH I was surprised they were so symmetrical after reading so many toecap QC complaints here!

 

[Woodtroll]

But now thanks to this last page of discussion I'll likely never un-see that stitching!!

Don't worry about the stitching, if it doesn't bother you now. Some wear, creasing, polish, and grease treatments will make it a lot less conspicuous. Photos often make blemishes stand out more than they do in real life, anyway. I think that's a fine pair of boots!

 

[klank74]

It's always iffy when you do a custom order !and you end up second guessing your choices. I'm pretty happy with how these turned out though. Maybe the double welt wasn't necessary but it adds some visual interest to the boot. I also like White's take on lace to toe as it doesn't go too far down into monkey boot territory.

I forgot my build on the HH, but I did get an email from Baker's that they are 2-3 weeks out.

I've always felt the same way about White's lace to toe. To me, it stops at the perfect spot. To my eyes, its between Wesco's lace to toe, and their semi-lace to toe. I'm honestly having a hard time deciding between lace to toe or regular lacing with a toe cap on my first build. I won't know my sizing for certain until Kyle gets my tracings, but I'm guessing I'll be somewhere around a size 13 or 14 and I worry the lace to toe might look a little out of proportion on my feet. i was considering the regular lace style with toe caps to kinda cut down on the "clown shoe" look. Anyways, nice build!?

 

[Patek]

Did my evening walk with my wife in the new boots. It is about a three mile loop. She was wearing her active wear and I'm in boots and 19oz denim in 90 degree heat.

Boots were very comfortable until the last mile when my left big toe started bothering me where the boot bends. I got home and I had developed a blister on the top of the shaft of my left toe. Im sure it will break in, I think the leather is just very stiff.

 

[discomute]

Okay well I couldn't help but check. My main streets I was most worried about as I wear them to work and in formal occasions. They were perfect.

I was less worried about my bounty Hunters and they do have very slight imperfections but you wouldn't notice unless you checked.

This was the worst one

 

[wordfool]

After making peace with my wonky stitching I have found yet another problem that might be a deal breaker. Does anyone else see a problem here?

 

[PACostag]

After making peace with my wonky stitching I have found yet another problem that might be a deal breaker. Does anyone else see a problem here?

okay, you've reached approval standard for a remake imo (not that you need my approval or asked). Shoddy

Man I hope my shell order comes out better...

They should serious hire someone here from Styleforum to do some QC if they intend to play in the "casual/fashion boot" forum