Custom White's Boots ... Thoughts?

[DownUndaBlunda]

Bakers / Whites has natural hh? All the options I've ever seen was black, brown, color 8. I'm trying to avoid buying boots and just enjoy what I have now but I've wanted some natty hh's for a while.

I’m also curious about the natural horsehide. Was told by Kyle in december when I ordered that they had no idea when it would be back, and haven’t seen it on the drop-down since. When did you order?

Its a bit of a story on how i got to the MTO stage.

Once there, I asked for natural horsehide and was told unknown timeframe.

I wasn't too bothered since that specifically was the hide I was after. He was happy to take my money and I was happy to wait as long as it took.
Ordered in March this year.

 

[motojobobo]

Worth the wait…they look amazing. Well done!!

 

[Legal Eagles]

Its a bit of a story on how i got to the MTO stage.

You must be new here (welcome)...this thread is famous for - and thrives on - long stories and discussion!

We have nothing but time... let's hear read it!

 

[krebsy]

Semi Dress in brown dress on double leather soles. And that's how you do that.

 

[klank74]

Semi Dress in brown dress on double leather soles. And that's how you do that.
View attachment 1690551

This maybe a stupid question, but why would one want to go with a leather outsole vs a rubber one. Is it just for aesthetic reasons? I love the look, but I know they aren’t real great for wet or cold weather.

 

[Legal Eagles]

This maybe a stupid question, but why would one want to go with a leather outsole vs a rubber one. Is it just for aesthetic reasons? I love the look, but I know they aren’t real great for wet or cold weather.

I first wrote the below in 2018, and stand by it...

OK, Leather vs. Rubber Soles... My opinion only:

First a little explanation about my situation... I live in Maine, so our seasons are: Winter, Mud, Short Summer, Fall.

I work in an office environment, and will not be using these boots "hard".

I have White's boots with single leather soles, as well as White's with almost every type of rubber sole available. (Short aside on rubber - if you want an uninterrupted heel stack, the new TPU commando rubber is AWESOME... wears like iron and will not mark floors. For Vibram offerings beware the logger sole... it may be great for logging, but in the cold it hardens up and loses its grip and becomes super slick... my favourite Vibram is the 269 Western... plenty durable and the rubber in the heel stack is thinner... but this is about leather, not rubber... now if White's offered cord or neocork soles we would be having another discussion altogether!)

Anyhow... back on track... immutable facts about leather soles:

1) The leather soles White's uses are thicker and better than the leather soles on any of my dress shoes... more "bootish".

2) I never, never, wear any leather sole when it is raining or the ground is wet. In my experience leather wears 2-3x as fast when wet. If the ground is wet, I wear a rubber bottom pair of boots.

3) Leather soles are slippery in winter. Nothing you can do about this, it is just a fact of life... none of my leather soled boots or shoes get worn outside between December and March.

4) You will feel the ground more with leather than rubber, you will feel rocks, and if the ground is cold and you are standing on it, your feet will get cold faster. I don't stand outside in the cold in leather soled boots - see my comments about December-March above - so this is not an issue for me.

I like the look of single leather the best, it is classic and dressy and as sleek as a White's boot gets. Unfortunately being a big guy and walking on asphalt, I tend to wear down the single leather sole fairly quickly. I went with the double leather for greater longevity while still trying to keep a somewhat classic look.

As far as a three season functional shoe, if you can tolerate the shorter life leather is perfectly functional and makes a delightful and surprisingly gratifying crunch when walking on gravel. If I were using these for workboots or outside a lot I would not choose leather, but for keyboard commandos like myself wanting a classic look (no rubber layer to break up the heel stack), single leather is fine, double leather is better... and not that much more bulky in look or feel. I am glad I went that route.

As far as comfort and "ground slap", leather is "harder" than rubber, and with is single leather you do feel it, but it is not unpleasant... with a double leather, especially two layers of what White's uses, I cannot feel the difference although I can hear it.

One final trick... I learned this from an old-school cobbler... YMMV but it works for me. Once you have worn your leather soles for a month or so and worn completely through the surface layer, get some boiled linseed oil from home depot and put enough into two paper plates to just cover the bottom of the plate. Set the plates on a flat surface and set the bottom ball area of each boot onto the plate with the heel of the boot resting on the flat surface outside the plate. Adjust the height of the heel so that as much of the ball area is touching the linseed oil as possible. Leave it there overnight. The leather sole will soak up the linseed oil. Wipe off any excess linseed oil and put the boots away to dry for 72 hours with the soles exposed if you can... a Peet Boot Dryer works great for that... in that 72 hours the linseed oil will cure and crosslink and make the leather sole hard. The first time you wear them after the linseed oil treatment they will be slick so be careful, but after that, they will wear like iron. The above works for me, use at your own risk, but boiled linseed oil is much cheaper than some sole oils sole especially marketed for shoes. If you don't like the idea of leaving your boots soaking in oil, you can use a paintbrush to paint the linseed oil on the soles... it works too... just give it 2-3 good coats and let each coat soak in before applying the next.

TL/DR: Unless you are wearing them in the cold or wet or snow, leather soles are perfectly functional, double leather is even better and more durable. Neither is as durable as rubber, but everything is a tradeoff and IMHO leather soles look much better.

 

[chicagoan2016]

@Legal Eagles What is TPU commando sole?
Thanks

 

[Legal Eagles]

@Legal Eagles What is TPU commando sole?
Thanks

Thermoplastic polyurethane... the old commando rubber was soft, wore easily and marked floors... the "new" (now 4 years old) sole @sambam sourced was much better.

 

[krebsy]

This maybe a stupid question, but why would one want to go with a leather outsole vs a rubber one. Is it just for aesthetic reasons? I love the look, but I know they aren’t real great for wet or cold weather.

Pretty much what Legal Eagles said. Or in other words, I just like leather soles in certain situations.

 

[Legal Eagles]

Pretty much what Legal Eagles said. Or in other words, I just like leather soles in certain situations.

Yep... you are paying good money for handmade heritage boots, get a heritage sole... it looks better, and stays true to the "soul" (pun intended) of the boot... unless you need something else for functionality (like your actual vocation is a logger or smokejumper or farmer or rancher or bounty hunter), IMHO a leather sole is as good as it gets in these boots.

@krebsy 's pair above - again IMHO - is just about perfect in every detail (I might add a toe cap and wide double stitch welt, but hey, different strokes...)

Tell me honestly... would these look better with a Vibram or (gasp) crepe sole? I think not...

 

[chicagoan2016]

Yep... you are paying good money for handmade heritage boots, get a heritage sole... it looks better, and stays true to the "soul" (pun intended) of the boot... unless you need something else for functionality (like your actual vocation is a logger or smokejumper or farmer or rancher or bounty hunter), IMHO a leather sole is as good as it gets in these boots.

@krebsy 's pair above - again IMHO - is just about perfect in every detail (I might add a toe cap and wide double stitch welt, but hey, different strokes...)

Tell me honestly... would these look better with a Vibram or (gasp) crepe sole? I think not...
View attachment 1690733

Speaking of toe caps, I am configuring a pair of White's and I thought of adding a "MP" style toe cap to have something different than the medallion dress toe caps I currently own. I think I still prefer the look of medallion toe caps.
IIRC all of your boots have medallion toe caps?

 

[krebsy]

6" Bounty Hunter
Distressed rough out, perfed toe cap, cream lining
No celastic
Nickel eyes and hooks
Double row stitch
Natural edge
Standard heel shape and height
Compo half sole

And now the wait...

These arrived yesterday. Order placed 6/17. Some wonky stitching here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary for White's. I couldn't capture the color accurately with indoor lighting and a phone camera. They aren't nearly this yellow/orange. Hopefully the Father's Day orders will be coming in soon for those who are still waiting.

 

[wordfool]

These arrived yesterday. Order placed 6/17. Some wonky stitching here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary for White's. I couldn't capture the color accurately with indoor lighting and a phone camera. They aren't nearly this yellow/orange. Hopefully the Father's Day orders will be coming in soon for those who are still waiting.
View attachment 1692845

Nice. What roughout is that? Distressed?

My Father’s Day sale order will arrive on Monday. BH in distressed RO that I’m hoping is still from the “darker” batch some people were griping about earlier this year

 

[krebsy]

Nice. What roughout is that? Distressed?

My Father’s Day sale order will arrive on Monday. BH in distressed RO that I’m hoping is still from the “darker” batch some people were griping about earlier this year

Yes, these are distressed. I also wondered what shade I would end up with. It's darker than the photos suggest, but not as dark as what seemed to be coming out for awhile. It would be really interesting if yours are the dark stuff!

 

[iambretton]

Just ordered my 3rd pair of White's. I don't go through Bakers like most, I design the custom boot on paper and then go through Carter's Boots out of Bozeman. Here is what is arriving in 3 months:

White's Smoke Jumper
-Size 9D
-55 last
-Height 10”
-Soft toe
-Sole: Half lug commando sole
-Packer shaped heel
-Leather lined
-Leather: Brown chromexcel + Black Chromexcel for backstay only
-No Pull Loop
-No hooks, all eyelets (antique color)
-Brown edge

Can't wait to share with y'all, these things will be beasts.