Custom White's Boots ... Thoughts?

[Legal Eagles]

So I’m getting ready to place another order with Bakers. I sent an email to Brandon asking if a 7” SD is possible, or if that’s exclusive to the Division Road colab. If it’s not possible, I’m weighing some other options. Does anyone know if Wesco has a last available that would be similar to Whites 38 swing last? And can they do combo lasts with a heel narrower than the rest of the last?

I have tried them all... based on my experience no one has anything quite like the 38 Swing for people with duck feet.

The second best last I have found is the Munson last which some manufacturers still use (think combat boots), third best is the Alden Trubalance, fourth best is White's own 55 last, and fifth best for me is the Viberg 310 in E width. Alden Barrie and Redwing 8 and White's 461 are all second tier for fit on my particular foot shape... OK to good but not great.

If forced to pick a Wesco last, the 9109 bump toe last works in a "pinch" for my wide feet (pun intended).

 

[klank74]

I have tried them all... based on my experience no one has anything quite like the 38 Swing for people with duck feet.

The second best last I have found is the Munson last which some manufacturers still use (think combat boots), third best is the Alden Trubalance, fourth best is White's own 55 last, and fifth best for me is the Viberg 310 in E width. Alden Barrie and Redwing 8 and White's 461 are all second tier for fit on my particular foot shape... OK to good but not great.

If forced to pick a Wesco last, the 9109 bump toe last works in a "pinch" for my wide feet (pun intended).

Thanks. Looks like a pair of Wescos aren’t in the future for me then.

 

[PACostag]

Are brown edges more like an "antique" or are they solid brown?

 

[chicagoan2016]

I have tried them all... based on my experience no one has anything quite like the 38 Swing for people with duck feet.

The second best last I have found is the Munson last which some manufacturers still use (think combat boots), third best is the Alden Trubalance, fourth best is White's own 55 last, and fifth best for me is the Viberg 310 in E width. Alden Barrie and Redwing 8 and White's 461 are all second tier for fit on my particular foot shape... OK to good but not great.

If forced to pick a Wesco last, the 9109 bump toe last works in a "pinch" for my wide feet (pun intended).

White's built my boots with different widths in heels and ball areas (55 last) , I wonder if that would work for @klank74 ?

 

[Legal Eagles]

White's built my boots with different widths in heels and ball areas (55 last) , I wonder if that would work for @klank74 ?

I think he was asking if Wesco could do that... I do not know the answer to that question.

 

[klank74]

White's built my boots with different widths in heels and ball areas (55 last) , I wonder if that would work for @klank74 ?

I had my latest pair of Whites built that way. I’ve always wanted to try a pair of Wesco’s and wondered if they would do the same.

 

[Mghart]

Are brown edges more like an "antique" or are they solid brown?

I'd say its sort of a middle brown if that makes any sense. Its not super dark, but obvious much darker than say natural edges. In comparison to say Aldens 'antique' edges, Aldens have a lot more of a reddish hue to them, whereas Whites reads more of a medium brown to me.

 

[Jimk4003]

I had my latest pair of Whites built that way. I’ve always wanted to try a pair of Wesco’s and wondered if they would do the same.

Wesco featured on a Stitchdown article where they go into quite a bit of detail on the sizing and last modifications they can do.

They don't mention split lasts specifically, but they go into detail about how they'll build-up and modify lasts specifically for each customer, so I'd imagine having a different width front and back wouldn't be an issue.

 

[wordfool]

Are brown edges more like an "antique" or are they solid brown?

They're sort of semi-gloss, semi-transparent, so look more dye-like than paint-like. Shade wise, they're a mid brown and only slightly darker than natural edges (although the natty edges of my SDs in the photo below do seem to be on the dark end of the scale).

I will say that whatever edge dressing White's uses is easily worn off. My new brown edge BHs have already lost a bunch of the edge color on the heel after a few walks in the snow and some black-edged SDs lose some edge color whenever I wipe the mud off with a damp sponge. Maybe that's to be expected, but it seems pretty poor performance.

 

[theofficialhung]

7" BH in distressed rough out with unstructured regular/2 row cap toe on 700 vibram. The recent batch of distressed RO White's is working with is darker so this almost looks like regular brown RO, not sure how I feel about that yet until I have the boots in hand. I am getting the lowered block heel switched out for the standard logger heel. I want the boots so bad I was tempted to just take them with the lowered block heel but I've already waited this long so it won't kill me to go another 1-2 weeks for exactly what I want.

 

[klank74]

They're sort of semi-gloss, semi-transparent, so look more dye-like than paint-like. Shade wise, they're a mid brown and only slightly darker than natural edges (although the natty edges of my SDs in the photo below do seem to be on the dark end of the scale).

I will say that whatever edge dressing White's uses is easily worn off. My new brown edge BHs have already lost a bunch of the edge color on the heel after a few walks in the snow and some black-edged SDs lose some edge color whenever I wipe the mud off with a damp sponge. Maybe that's to be expected, but it seems pretty poor performance.

View attachment 1567228

That seems to be the nature of Whites edge dressing. Must be some sort of water soluble ink. Try some of Fiebing’s acrylic Resolene. Holds up much better.

 

[klugtrane]

Do you remember what last were those built on? My 55-last SDs with commando half sole definitely have a double layer midsole, so maybe it has indeed changed over the years. Interestingly, if you look at the "classic dress boot" on the Baker's site, it looks like yours with a single midsole. The "Standard Semi-Dress" has the double midsole like mine.

They were a standard 55 last ordered directly from White's. The commando sole oxfords I bought a couple of years ago were double midsole.

 

[klank74]

Well I heard back from Brandon at Bakers. Sadly, it’s as we suspected... 7” SD’s are exclusive to the Division Road colab?

 

[wordfool]

My final pair of White's for a while (yeah, right!) and my hope for some real character in the leather was certainly met. Bison leather is a strange beast -- thick but not very dense at all. It'll be interesting to see how it wears and patinas.

Semi Dress in brown bison leather, black lining, commando half sole, standard-height block heel, antique hardware, natural edge:

(yes, the eagle-eyed will have spotted the slightly different lacing patterns on each boot... was trying different patterns out and forgot to lace them both the same before taking the pics)

 

[chicagoan2016]

Well I heard back from Brandon at Bakers. Sadly, it’s as we suspected... 7” SD’s are exclusive to the Division Road colab?

I say don't sweat it and get the Bounty Hunters!!