Custom White's Boots ... Thoughts?

[Legal Eagles]

Drum Roll...........
SD's from Thanksgiving Friday order finally arrived today.
QC-wise they are perfect, except for one obvious issue.
They fit like gloves and oh, what a difference having the right width heel makes in the comfort.

These are SD's with all eyes, double leather soles (@ Leagle Eagles), medallion cap, standard everything else. They are comfortable right out of the box. I expect they will be like gloves & slippers once they are broken in. View attachment 1630264

The bonus with these boots is the Burgandy Shell. I originally ordered these as Burgandy HH. The order went in and then sat with Whites for weeks with no progress. They had run out of HH but did not inform Bakers. When I called to check on the delivery Kyle offered a free upgrade to Shell as Whites had that in stock.

That is outstanding customer service on Kyles part. I am looking forward to getting them broken in. I will contact Kyle about the QC issue and see if I can resolve it without returning the boots. View attachment 1630264 View attachment 1630269 View attachment 1630270 View attachment 1630271 View attachment 1630272 View attachment 1630273 View attachment 1630274 View attachment 1630275 View attachment 1630276 View attachment 1630277 View attachment 1630278 View attachment 1630279 View attachment 1630280 View attachment 1630281 View attachment 1630282

Love the double leather sole and uninterrupted heel stack!

As far as QC, it's the light toe cap on the left boot is it not?

White's sometimes has problem with "patchwork" shell...

Funny, a guy named Gary Tree just got a pair almost exactly like yours, and posted on Facebook... his has the same light toe cap as yours... what are the odds?

Serious question, did they use a different leather for the tongues? HH or Bovine? CXL? Did you request that?

If they fit and the construction is good, do not under any circumstances send those boots back... there is not telling what might happen to them outside your presence.

 

[Luscombe]

Love the double leather sole and uninterrupted heel stack!

As far as QC, it's the light toe cap on the left boot is it not?

White's sometimes has problem with "patchwork" shell...

View attachment 1630321
Funny, a guy named Gary Tree just got a pair almost exactly like yours, and posted on Facebook... his has the same light toe cap as yours... what are the odds?

Serious question, did they use a different leather for the tongues? HH or Bovine? CXL? Did you request that?

If they fit and the construction is good, do not under any circumstances send those boots back... there is not telling what might happen to them outside your presence.

I know that Guy!!!
He is a fine fellow.

 

[Luscombe]

Yeah,
These fit great. I am not sending them anywhere.

One of the reasons for the second delay was one boot split while they were building it. My guess is they had to go back to the pile for some more burgundy shell and it was not exactly the same.
No matter, the only ones who will ever know they are different are the Engineers.

I will say that every other thing about the shoes is perfect. Not a stitch out of place or a miss alignment.
Huge shout out to Kyle for the way he deals with his customers.

Regarding the tounges, I think they are CXL. I did not specify them. Next time I will ask for full thickness of the same leather.

 

[theofficialhung]

Drum Roll...........
SD's from Thanksgiving Friday order finally arrived today.
QC-wise they are perfect, except for one obvious issue.
They fit like gloves and oh, what a difference having the right width heel makes in the comfort.

These are SD's with all eyes, double leather soles (@ Leagle Eagles), medallion cap, standard everything else. They are comfortable right out of the box. I expect they will be like gloves & slippers once they are broken in. View attachment 1630264

The bonus with these boots is the Burgandy Shell. I originally ordered these as Burgandy HH. The order went in and then sat with Whites for weeks with no progress. They had run out of HH but did not inform Bakers. When I called to check on the delivery Kyle offered a free upgrade to Shell as Whites had that in stock.

That is outstanding customer service on Kyles part. I am looking forward to getting them broken in. I will contact Kyle about the QC issue and see if I can resolve it without returning the boots. View attachment 1630264 View attachment 1630269 View attachment 1630270 View attachment 1630271 View attachment 1630272 View attachment 1630273 View attachment 1630274 View attachment 1630275 View attachment 1630276 View attachment 1630277 View attachment 1630278 View attachment 1630279 View attachment 1630280 View attachment 1630281 View attachment 1630282

Holy smokes you got shell for a horsehide price tag? Yeah that's phenomenal customer service, I'll take a delay for that upgrade all day. QC is amazing probably because the leather is so expensive that only the most experienced/most talented hands on staff are allowed to work on those boots.

Those are some mighty fine grail boots, congrats!

 

[Luscombe]

Holy smokes you got shell for a horsehide price tag? Yeah that's phenomenal customer service, I'll take a delay for that upgrade all day. QC is amazing probably because the leather is so expensive that only the most experienced/most talented hands on staff are allowed to work on those boots.

Those are some mighty fine grail boots, congrats!

Thank you!
Yes indeed, these have always been my Grail Boots.

So thankful to Kyle for offering the upgrade. He felt poorly about the long delay from Whites and about my re-crafting taking 6 months and he stepped up to do this. First-class customer service.

They have been on my feet all day and I am beginning to see what all the hype is about the arch support. I did go ahead and order a pair of 7" BH in British Tan, the same size as these except on the 5050 last. Now that I know my best-fitting size, I will be getting another pair or two in the future.

I must say the @Leagle Eagles was the inspiration for this build. I studied his SD HH photos and reread the posts before ordering.

Feeling pretty blessed today.

 

[Legal Eagles]

They have been on my feet all day and I am beginning to see what all the hype is about the arch support.... Now that I know my best-fitting size, I will be getting another pair or two in the future.

Once you precisely dial in your last, length, and width, the world is your oyster... and you become wary of deviating. A good fitting pair of PNW boots is something that truly must be experienced.

To paraphrase Thomas Aquinas, "To one who has experienced a good pair of PNW boots, no explanation is necessary. To one who has not, no explanation is possible.”

 

[discomute]

Holy smokes you got shell for a horsehide price tag? Yeah that's phenomenal customer service, I'll take a delay for that upgrade all day. QC is amazing probably because the leather is so expensive that only the most experienced/most talented hands on staff are allowed to work on those boots.

Those are some mighty fine grail boots, congrats!

Shell is not just expensive but also hard to work with. White's (and a few other manufacturers) have previously "quit" using it.

 

[Luscombe]

Once you precisely dial in your last, length, and width, the world is your oyster... and you become wary of deviating. A good fitting pair of PNW boots is something that truly must be experienced.

To paraphrase Thomas Aquinas, "To one who has experienced a good pair of PNW boots, no explanation is necessary. To one who has not, no explanation is possible.”

Ok,
I'm calling you on that quote.While I do not disagree with the comment, I'm pretty sure Thomas is referring to some sandals he picked up in Rome..

 

[Reiver]

Shell is not just expensive but also hard to work with. White's (and a few other manufacturers) have previously "quit" using it.

That’s what I’ve heard. It must be quite daunting to work with, as any major mishap means an expensive shell can be wasted.

 

[Reiver]

Once you precisely dial in your last, length, and width, the world is your oyster... and you become wary of deviating. A good fitting pair of PNW boots is something that truly must be experienced.

To paraphrase Thomas Aquinas, "To one who has experienced a good pair of PNW boots, no explanation is necessary. To one who has not, no explanation is possible.”

I hope to experience this in the near future.

 

[iamntbatman]

That different colored toe cap is pretty glaringly obvious to me. That said: 1) the color will probably even out pretty well over time as they patina, 2) some Saphir burgundy cordovan creme might really help even it out a bit even more, and 3) I personally find the slightly mismatched panels sort of appealing in a way?

In any case I find those to be exceedingly beautiful boots. Color 8 shell always looks nice but on really chunky workboots it just has a certain magic about it. Very lucky customer!

 

[Luscombe]

That different colored toe cap is pretty glaringly obvious to me. That said: 1) the color will probably even out pretty well over time as they patina, 2) some Saphir burgundy cordovan creme might really help even it out a bit even more, and 3) I personally find the slightly mismatched panels sort of appealing in a way?

In any case I find those to be exceedingly beautiful boots. Color 8 shell always looks nice but on really chunky workboots it just has a certain magic about it. Very lucky customer!

The color variation does not concern me. I do have some Saphir cordovan cremes I will apply to mute the difference a bit. Now I am afraid to wear these outdoors as I do not want to scuff them.
It is finally raining here today so I won't be able to wear them.
These are by far the nicest boots/shoe I have ever had and am pretty excited about them.

 

[Reiver]

The color variation does not concern me. I do have some Saphir cordovan cremes I will apply to mute the difference a bit. Now I am afraid to wear these outdoors as I do not want to scuff them.
It is finally raining here today so I won't be able to wear them.
These are by far the nicest boots/shoe I have ever had and am pretty excited about them.

I’m sure you’ll be able to darken the toe cap to match closer.

At least you can get them broken in a bit more indoors.

They’ll only look better once they’ve had a few scuffs and a bit of wear. The first scuff is always hard though

 

[Fueco]

Spotted on a helitack crewman in Baker, CA. For those who think boots can’t be worn in hot weather, it’s 108 here right now.

 

[chicagoan2016]

Spotted on a helitack crewman in Baker, CA. For those who think boots can’t be worn in hot weather, it’s 108 here right now.

View attachment 1630882

I wear boots pretty much every day but I work in an office environment so... ?