Custom White's Boots ... Thoughts?

[chicagoan2016]

These are the areas that I would be concerned about... how do they feel in these areas when on your foot? If the answer is "tight" then I think you need to go with the EE...
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You, Sir, need to go back to practice Engineering : ).
Those areas feel a bit snug but not uncomfortable in the limited time that I get to wear them. Since these are try-on boots I am only wearing inside or on the patio (I asked Baker and they said it would be okay to wear the try-on boots on the patio).

 

[Woodtroll]

@Woodtroll Sir, what do you think about the latest pics I added?
Thanks

Honestly, the lace width and "overhang" across the welt at the ball of the foot look pretty normal to me. They will lace up a little tighter once they break in, but not a whole lot. I think if you go to EE, without an instep adjustment, those laces may end up pretty close together. That is not a big deal, until you start to wad up tongue material underneath because you're drawing them up so tight. And if you go wider, then you have the extra heel width to deal with, as well. The important part is to get the width on the foot and heel right, so that it fits snug but not too tight, and then they can adjust the instep if needed to get the laces wider or closer.

I think you're going to have a decent fit either way, but as I've said before, I prefer to start with a tight fit and let the boot form to my feet. It's pretty common to have the boots so tight that you can only wear them a few hours at a time, at first, and they can be tough to get on, sort of like Western boots. But with time (another maker says to allow at least 100 hours of dry break-in), they will start to feel like they grew on you. If they don't, then you can try the old stand-by of "fill 'em full of water, pour 'em out, and walk 'em dry"! That should put the final touches on the break-in. I've never seen that it harms the boot at all, but I do give the boot time to break in dry first.

I'm always a little suspicious of the boots that folks claim "feel great right out of the box" - I always wonder how they feel in a year - if they get sloppy or not? But then again, you can just buy thicker socks (to a point). And, they are sometimes talking about a lighter boot or leather than I'm used to. Lots of different experiences and advice here, so your job is to sort out what's useful to you!

 

[chicagoan2016]

Honestly, the lace width and "overhang" across the welt at the ball of the foot look pretty normal to me. They will lace up a little tighter once they break in, but not a whole lot. I think if you go to EE, without an instep adjustment, those laces may end up pretty close together. That is not a big deal, until you start to wad up tongue material underneath because you're drawing them up so tight. And if you go wider, then you have the extra heel width to deal with, as well. The important part is to get the width on the foot and heel right, and then they can adjust the instep if needed to get the laces wider or closer.

I think you're going to have a decent fit either way, but as I've said before, I prefer to start with a tight fit and let the boot form to my feet. It's pretty common to have the boots so tight that you can only wear them a few hours at a time, at first, and they can be tough to get on, sort of like Western boots. But with time (another maker says to allow at least 100 hours of dry break-in), they will start to feel like they grew on you. If they don't, then you can try the old stand-by of "fill 'em full of water, pour 'em out, and walk 'em dry"! That should put the final touches on the break-in. I've never seen that it harms the boot at all, but I do give the boot time to break in dry first.

I'm always a little suspicious of the boots that folks claim "feel great right out of the box" - I always wonder how they feel in a year - if they get sloppy or not? But then again, you can just buy thicker socks (to a point).

We have a wealth of Information on this forum.
The instep adjustment you mentioned was recommended by Baker as well, they want me to have an open instep to accommodate my high instep (I hope, I am not botching the various 'terms' here). Original Baker recommendation was to go EE in ball area and E in the heels.
King regards

 

[Legal Eagles]

We have a wealth of Information on this forum.
The instep adjustment you mentioned was recommended by Baker as well, they want me to have an open instep to accommodate my high instep (I hope, I am not botching the various 'terms' here). Original Baker recommendation was to go EE in ball area and E in the heels.
King regards

So it sounds like we are agreed... EE in the ball, E in the heel, with instep adjustment.

 

[discomute]

In and out seam adjustments can always be requested

Sorry autocorrect got me there, I meant in and out "step" adjustments. Seems the instep has already been recommended. I too have a low volume foot for my size.

 

[edgarallanpoe]

These just came today. They were "Out for Delivery" on the 24th, but 2020 decided to give me one more kick in the nuts before she left. lol

Custom White's Semi Dress in Horsehide from Baker's Boots.

Very happy with these, they fit perfectly and these are the first boots I have owned with an arch support like this. Wow, what a difference that makes in comfort. Fit and finish on these is much better than my previous order so I'm very happy with that. I love the look and feel of these...but I do have one issue that's kind of a bummer. Not a deal breaker by any means, just a little disappointing. They are waaaayyyyyy darker than I anticipated. I was expecting more of a lighter brown given the pics on Bakers site and was hoping to get a little bit of wave in the coloring of the horsehide. No such luck, there is no way to achieve that with a color this dark. Bummer. Like I said, still very happy with the boots but expected a lighter shade of brown.

 

[theofficialhung]

These just came today. They were "Out for Delivery" on the 24th, but 2020 decided to give me one more kick in the nuts before she left. lol

Custom White's Semi Dress in Horsehide from Baker's Boots

I personally think the color looks phenomenal. I see what you mean though, the studio lighting in the advertisement causes the leather to appear lighter than under regular lighting conditions like your home indoors.

What's the build on this one? Regular heel 1/4 lowered + mini lug half sole (so comes out to a double midsole since an additional midsole is added)?

 

[wordfool]

Agreed (completely!). You definitely don’t want sideways slip in the heels. And if I understand correctly, that’s what the clamping process does - narrow the heel width slightly. If someone here learns something different, please enlighten us all!

I just spoke to Kyle and got the lowdown on heel clamping. The process basically involves heating the leather heel cup and then literally clamping it around a last that's one width narrower than the boot was built on. The clamp stays on for up to a week and the result is that the leather shrinks and reforms around the narrower last. It's done after the boot has been built, so is something you can have done in theory at any point during ownership, but clearly the better option if you have narrow heels is to have boots built with a split last from the get go (or rebuilt on a split last when you have them resoled/rebuilt). Kyle described heel clamping as more of a band aid solution to heel issues and it sounds like there's the potential for the heel to stretch back out a bit over time, although the thickness of the heel cup structure probably limits that to some extent.

After discussing my heel issues I'm opting to give break in a better chance of working. Apparently 120+ hours of wear (which I interpret as 120+ hours of actual standing/walking, not sitting stationary at a desk) is considered a decent break in period. Between rotating too many pairs of boots/shoes, my lazy pandemic lifestyle, and boot-free summer weather, I've probably not yet hit that target with any of my pairs of White's

 

[edgarallanpoe]

I ordered them so long ago that I can't remember the specifics to tell you the truth. lol It's not that I dislike the color at all it just isn't what I expected.

 

[Woodtroll]

I just spoke to Kyle and got the lowdown on heel clamping. The process basically involves heating the leather heel cup and then literally clamping it around a last that's one width narrower than the boot was built on. The clamp stays on for up to a week and the result is that the leather shrinks and reforms around the narrower last. It's done after the boot has been built, so is something you can have done in theory at any point during ownership, but clearly the better option if you have narrow heels is to have boots built with a split last from the get go (or rebuilt on a split last when you have them resoled/rebuilt). Kyle described heel clamping as more of a band aid solution to heel issues and it sounds like there's the potential for the heel to stretch back out a bit over time, although the thickness of the heel cup structure probably limits that to some extent.

After discussing my heel issues I'm opting to give break in a better chance of working. Apparently 120+ hours of wear (which I interpret as 120+ hours of actual standing/walking, not sitting stationary at a desk) is considered a decent break in period. Between rotating too many pairs of boots/shoes, my lazy pandemic lifestyle, and boot-free summer weather, I've probably not yet hit that target with any of my pairs of White's

Good information, thank you very much for the clarification!

 

[discomute]

These just came today. They were "Out for Delivery" on the 24th, but 2020 decided to give me one more kick in the nuts before she left. lol

Custom White's Semi Dress in Horsehide from Baker's Boots.

Very happy with these, they fit perfectly and these are the first boots I have owned with an arch support like this. Wow, what a difference that makes in comfort. Fit and finish on these is much better than my previous order so I'm very happy with that. I love the look and feel of these...but I do have one issue that's kind of a bummer. Not a deal breaker by any means, just a little disappointing. They are waaaayyyyyy darker than I anticipated. I was expecting more of a lighter brown given the pics on Bakers site and was hoping to get a little bit of wave in the coloring of the horsehide. No such luck, there is no way to achieve that with a color this dark. Bummer. Like I said, still very happy with the boots but expected a lighter shade of brown.

The "wave" of colouring will develop over time. I see what you mean (notice the colour of the black sole in the baker's pic) and I also share a disappointment that all of White's brown is dark brown or very dark brown. It also must be said that there are plenty of HH pictures in this forum, I think a lot of new posters should learn the search function of this forum (which is really useful). I spent a lot of time of my phone pouring over photos via keywords and taking screenshots

 

[chicagoan2016]

The "wave" of colouring will develop over time. I see what you mean (notice the colour of the black sole in the baker's pic) and I also share a disappointment that all of White's brown is dark brown or very dark brown. It also must be said that there are plenty of HH pictures in this forum, I think a lot of new posters should learn the search function of this forum (which is really useful). I spent a lot of time of my phone pouring over photos via keywords and taking screenshots

Share some tips about the search function : ). When I go to the 'Advanced Search' I don't have much luck. One day I got so frustrated I was going to write a 'web crawler' in C# lol

 

[redbaron1980]

Got my stimulus today so I decided to stimulate the economy a bit and buy some boots. This might be it for me for a very long while.

I decided to give the 5050 last a try with some MPs. I kinda have a love/hate relationship with the pair of MPs I already have, loving the way they look, but kinda hating that I got them in CXL and getting them in a width that was possibly too narrow.

I took advantage of the W&C special at Bakers and got a pair in the Latigo leather they're offering. I absolutely love the color of that leather on every picture I've seen it in. I got a basic build, brass eyes and hooks, 4 row stiched toe cap and a commando sole.

I also decided I needed a dressier boot, and didn't want to wait until the Stevens was offered in more leather options, so I got a pair of MPs in black dress, black eyelets, medallion toe cap and dainite sole. Should look swanky.

Now to wait half a year to get them

 

[discomute]

Share some tips about the search function : ). When I go to the 'Advanced Search' I don't have much luck. One day I got so frustrated I was going to write a 'web crawler' in C# lol

It's important to search by "this thread"

Then think about your search term, e.g. HH or horsehide or "horse hide"

Searching by poster can be useful too. For example the other day I remembered legal eagle giving a post about various saphir products so "this thread" "legal eagles" and with the word "renovateur"

Mostly it's this thread and whatever you're interested in,e.g. welt or 430 or brown dress

 

[chicagoan2016]

Got my stimulus today so I decided to stimulate the economy a bit and buy some boots. This might be it for me for a very long while.

I decided to give the 5050 last a try with some MPs. I kinda have a love/hate relationship with the pair of MPs I already have, loving the way they look, but kinda hating that I got them in CXL and getting them in a width that was possibly too narrow.

I took advantage of the W&C special at Bakers and got a pair in the Latigo leather they're offering. I absolutely love the color of that leather on every picture I've seen it in. I got a basic build, brass eyes and hooks, 4 row stiched toe cap and a commando sole.

I also decided I needed a dressier boot, and didn't want to wait until the Stevens was offered in more leather options, so I got a pair of MPs in black dress, black eyelets, medallion toe cap and dainite sole. Should look swanky.

Now to wait half a year to get them

That Latigo leather looks really creamy rich, I am sure you would love it. I love the natural veg tan but I will probably never buy one, I am too clumsy for such a 'delicate' color leather.
Edit: What kind of soles did you order on the 'Latigo' boots?