Dacks and other Canadian shoe brands

[Jiqea]

Cool.

Never new that 2 meant anything.

Best guess: If their stencil stamp was only 4 digits, they wouldn't be able to stamp EEE then, 3E10 would work. Pretty cool.

Comment: You said "in Canada" for the naming of widths, interesting. I know for Military footwear the F, G, H designation was used yes, but otherwise for civilian Canadian footwear, I haven't seen that, of course my exposure is very little.

Why wasn't this one stamped an F then if by your words you say it was a Canadian standard?

Aside: Of course I ate my words today. I said I don't like plain toes, yet bought a florsheim imperial plain toe lol. I decided it was the 3 hole casual feel and bulbous "old dad" toe box that I didn't dig. The Imperials still have some dressiness with the extra lace holes and the sleeker toebox, in this blue collar workers eyes. Sorry.

Certainly Dacks and Hartt used the A,B,C,D,E, F and G extensively, as well as the numerical width designations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7. I don't believe I mentioned a "standard", just that you will see those higher letter designations (F & G) commonly in Canada, rather than the EE and EEE. I haven't made any systematic observation on the variations, but it might prove useful for dating purposes. I am sure there is a pattern if you look hard enough.

Post 1959 McHale was American owned (By Interco through Savage of Cambridge), and Florsheim was an American marque, so perhaps they were following common American notation of Florsheim. So much to learn and so little time....

 

[basstoyourface]

...

In Canada an F ..... a G is like a ....
...

My mistake, I read that as an observed standard, so was curious.

Certainly Dacks and Hartt used the A,B,C,D,E, F and G extensively,

I haven't made any systematic observation on the ....

I should have a gander now, like I said, I have only seen HH Brown use that for military drill boots, none of the McHales or Dacks that I've seen did.

Was it randomly used you think? Of note, This guys plain toes didn't.

Very keen to find some now.

I'm very proud to know that this was used in Canada. It seems very straightforward to me. Surprised others don't.

And then you have RM Williams in Australia do their own bizarre width notation which doesn't help things., lol.

 

[Jiqea]

The thrifting Gods have been good lately. Today I stopped at an east end Value Village and picked up this pair of Hartt Hand-Waxed Finish Bluchers, with thick double soles and in very good shape. Nice quality shoes that should get moved along verily easily. 8.5F

 

[gorebug]

The thrift stores are starting to shake out some shoes for me once again. A few interesting pieces and a few mysteries I've yet to figure out.

McHale Florsheim Imperial 12.5C Monk Strap in what I believe is Kudu Antelope.

Unknown Maker Sealskin loafer. Internal markings in white ink are 10 F 2235 15 next row 2614 71 18

And another pair of Ankle Police boots which seem to pop up on occasion. These are 9.5 and have never even been laced up before. Internal markings are slightly different than others posted previously in the thread and the heel is a "Trojan Super" rather than the usual Biltrights - not sure if that would make these older or newer then those. Paid up for these ($40) so will likely return if there doesn't appear demand online for them - figured some pictures to add to 'the archive' may be enough. Are these made by Dack or did other manufacturers use their sizing convention? Also, any idea of the purpose of the metal rivet (?) in the sole?

 

[Jiqea]

The thrift stores are starting to shake out some shoes for me once again. A few interesting pieces and a few mysteries I've yet to figure out.

McHale Florsheim Imperial 12.5C Monk Strap in what I believe is Kudu Antelope.
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Unknown Maker Sealskin loafer. Internal markings in white ink are 10 F 2235 15 next row 2614 71 18
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And another pair of Ankle Police boots which seem to pop up on occasion. These are 9.5 and have never even been laced up before. Internal markings are slightly different than others posted previously in the thread and the heel is a "Trojan Super" rather than the usual Biltrights - not sure if that would make these older or newer then those. Paid up for these ($40) so will likely return if there doesn't appear demand online for them - figured some pictures to add to 'the archive' may be enough. Are these made by Dack or did other manufacturers use their sizing convention? Also, any idea of the purpose of the metal rivet (?) in the sole?
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The seal loafers are Dacks. I think you will do fine on the Police boots. I typically ask $90 for them. Shipping can be a bit more as they typically weigh more than 2KG. 9.5D is the perfect size too. The average modern foot. All in all a good day.

 

[basstoyourface]

I think these were Sisman 1957 or something crazy like that. Hadn't seen parade boots this old in awhile. Almost not that sure they're CF issue (rather civilian service boots), but at this shine - nobody would question the soldier wearing them...least of all any officer.

Finally found my perfect sizes in the HH Brown generation; 10E & 10.5D, but if anyone ever finds a perfect one in an old year (pre '80), msg me, I'll buy it off ya to keep, as it has a special place in my heart.

As you can see I cleaned these up and they're now with a member of the CF.

 

[Jiqea]

In preparation for winter I bought these Acton Rubber Co. boots to wear while shovelling our steeply slopped driveway. The Acton Rubber Co dates back to 1928, and was located in Acton Vale Quebec (east of Montreal and south of the St. Lawrence River). I believe that they bought the assets of the Eastern Rubber Co., which dates back to the late 19th century. Acton still makes all sorts of rubberized footwear, including sports shoes, military boots, and hunting boots. I bought this pair as they strongly remind me of the boots my dad would wear in the late 60's and early 1970's. I think they date back to at least the 70's, but that is a guess. It is funny they are marked as a 7, but fit as a 10.5. Perhaps they would fit as a 7 with a felt liner.

 

[suitforcourt]

In preparation for winter I bought these Acton Rubber Co. boots to wear while shovelling our steeply slopped driveway. The Acton Rubber Co dates back to 1928, and was located in Acton Vale Quebec (east of Montreal and south of the St. Lawrence River). I believe that they bought the assets of the Eastern Rubber Co., which dates back to the late 19th century. Acton still makes all sorts of rubberized footwear, including sports shoes, military boots, and hunting boots. I bought this pair as they strongly remind me of the boots my dad would wear in the late 60's and early 1970's. I think they date back to at least the 70's, but that is a guess. It is funny they are marked as a 7, but fit as a 10.5. Perhaps they would fit as a 7 with a felt liner.

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I love their overboots. I seem to have great luck finding them in thrift stores.

 

[Jiqea]

I found this pair of John McHale Bombers online this morning in very lightly worn condition and in my perfect size, 10E. I managed to strike a deal with the vendor and they are on their way. I now have this shoe in 10D, 10E and in NOS 10.5D, so I have pretty much covered the range of what I can comfortably wear. I scour the internet everyday looking for shoes like this and it is pretty exciting to find a pair.

They are a post 1959 shoe as they have the Florsheim era sock-liner, but I think they may be pretty early in the 60's, as shoes from that era tend to be a lighter darker than later shoes which can be pretty bright. Once I get them in hand I may be able to make a better temporal assignation.

 

[Jiqea]

I picked up a cool pair of Brown of Canada Bluchers last week. Brown of Canada was a subsidiary of Brown of St. Louis. In 1959 Brown bought the Perth Shoe Company, which was located in Southeastern Ontario, southwest of Ottawa. Brown of Canada manufactured a wide range of shoes, with men's safety shoes and military footwear being the most commonly encountered. However when you do find a pair of dress shoes, they tend to be pretty nice.

 

[Jiqea]

I normally don't search online for H.H. Brown, as by the time you pay shipping plus the purchase price, there is not much left if you are planning on flipping them. But last night I was bored so I did a Canada-wide on Kijiji. One decent pair showed up. When I checked the location map I saw they were close to me. When the vendor sent me her address today it turned out they were 27 houses down the street. I just walked down and picked them up. Go figure.

 

[dadjeans]

Dack's chelseas. 8.5E. Well worn but, for once, the owner took great care of them! I'm assuming they're calf and not kangaroo but as you know, I'm rubbish at sorting these things out.

 

[Jiqea]

My 10E John McHales arrived this afternoon. With a bit of Bicks and some Collonil Creme du Luxe they look almost like new. I am stoked. It is shoes like this that keep me looking. Wooo!

 

[Jiqea]

I just picked up six pairs of Anniversary NOS Dacks in their box, two with shoe trees. All 9C or 9D. Why do I do these things. The boots are Kangaroo. All were owned by a former airline pilot.

 

[mariusscott]

I just picked up six pairs of Anniversary NOS Dacks in their box, two with shoe trees. All 9C or 9D. Why do I do these things. The boots are Kangaroo. All were owned by a former airline pilot.

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I was also looking into these but knew you were likely the other party, I’m sure you will be able to move them in no time