Dacks and other Canadian shoe brands

[khanh010112]

Thanks a lot.
It seem like the number 5 is quite a great deal considering what they offer.
What is your view on wearing leather sole during Canadian winter?
I am really tempting to put aside dainite and go with JR now.

 

[suitforcourt]

Thanks a lot.
It seem like the number 5 is quite a great deal considering what they offer.
What is your view on wearing leather sole during Canadian winter?
I am really tempting to put aside dainite and go with JR now.

If you go with Ronald or Patrick Nijdam, ask for them specifically to do the work. They have a shop with many cobblers of various levels of skill.

I don't wear my dress shoes outside during winters. I wear rubber overshoes, or rubber overboots to protect them. Or I wear my Kamik boots and swap out my shoes when I arrive at destination.

You can find high quality (Canadian or American made) rubber overshoes/overboots at thrift stores. For super cheap. Most of them are in unworn condition. Even try kijiji! The Canadian made overboots were designated for the military so very durable and well made.

For slushy or wet days, I use the overshoes. Overboots are called into service for snow days.

If it's just rain in the summer or fall, I wear my rubber soled shoes. Or, I have a few pairs that are leather sole, with a topy over it. Just as effective and maintains comfort of leather soles.

Leather soles vs. Dainite (or other rubber soles)? All a matter of preference. I have enough of both to confidently say they feel same to me after a while.

 

[khanh010112]

Great advice.
Thank you a lot.

 

[goatamous]

In the spirit of saving money: Canada Post has free shipping Tuesday all of October, so if you're going to jump on this now, you'll be able to send the pair out for free

 

[suitforcourt]

In the spirit of saving money: Canada Post has free shipping Tuesday all of October, so if you're going to jump on this now, you'll be able to send the pair out for free

Only for small businesses?

 

[goatamous]

Ah yes. Important distinction.
My fault

 

[khanh010112]

I wonder,
Have anyone encountered a pair of 2 eyelets derby or a pair of chukka from Dack and/or McHale?

 

[lbgradwell]

I've never seen a chukka from either.

 

[Jiqea]

I've never seen a chukka from either.

Here are a pair of Dacks Custom Grade Chukkas. The only pair that I have seen.

 

[lbgradwell]

Sweet! They're very nice!

 

[mariusscott]

You wouldnt see them by Mchale, even older hartt shoes would be more along the line of something worn and or made by the RCMP. I would not have posted these if not for the fact they were not a size 9.5D

 

[suitforcourt]

What brand of Neatsfoot oil does everyone use? Can only seem to find Fiebings in Canada. And where do you buy it? Mostly equestrian related stores carry it in Ottawa or the Prairies.

 

[dadjeans]

I wonder,
Have anyone encountered a pair of 2 eyelets derby or a pair of chukka from Dack and/or McHale?

I have a pair of ankle-height Dack's Canadian Adventure Series shoes/boots but the toe box is probably a little short and rounded to be considered a proper chukka. I'll try and grab some pictures tomorrow regardless.

I also have a Dack's 2-eyelet derby in black that I purchased (I believe from Marius) on ebay a few years back as a beater pair. My goodness are they ever comfortable.

 

[lbgradwell]

What brand of Neatsfoot oil does everyone use? Can only seem to find Fiebings in Canada. And where do you buy it? Mostly equestrian related stores carry it in Ottawa or the Prairies.

I have Lexol, Ken. It was what they carried at the local equestrian shop.

 

[Jiqea]

One of these day if I can find the energy I am going to write an opus on Dack's history, styles and dating. But on this sunny October Saturday, with a Leafs/Habs tilt in the offing for the evening, I thought I would just pull together the little that we know concerning the Diamond and Flag Dacks tags that show up on the interior left side of the right shoe on older quality pairs. Finding one of these tags in a thrifted shoe is always exciting, as it almost always means you have stumbled upon a keeper, and at least for me, it can be an inducement to buy if seen in shoes listed online. From the early 50's on these tags were exclusively used in the S.E Dacks, Bespoke Quality and Custom Built shoes, and it is reasonable to conclude that they were a mark of quality earlier as well, although data is lacking.

The earliest tag that I have found is this "Black Diamond", with the "Made in Toronto" appellation. Dacks stopped using "Made in Toronto" in their advertisements around 1923 when they opened stores in Winnipeg and Montreal. S.E Dack had just taken control of the Company from his father Robert a few years earlier and the expansion of the firm from coast to coast was underway. I believe this black diamond tag predates 1923, and suggest the use of the diamond tag might even stretch back into the 19th century. You will also notice this tag employs the old narrow script logo.

Dacks shoes dating from the 20's to through the 40's are rare birds indeed. You will sometime see pairs of Dacks advertised as being from the 40's, but a quick examination will show the use of the modern thick script logo, which as we know was adopted in late 1949 shortly after the purchase of Dacks by the Marston group in 1948. At some point between 1923 and 1949 Dacks must have replaced the black diamond "Made in Toronto" tag with the red diamond tag with the "Made in Canada" appellation, although when exactly this happened is unknown. The only narrow script red diamond tag I have seen is on a pair of shoes that have the modern thick logo on their shoe-liner and soles, and which I believe are a transitional pair from late 1949. It is reasonable to assume that the tags on the shoes between 1923 and 1949 looked like the one pictured below, although it is possible that that in the early part of this date range the tags may have been black.

We do know with certainty that Diamond tag was in use in the 1930's and 40's, as it shows up occasionally in advertisement artwork. This example is from November 1940, and interestingly shows the tag on the right side of the left shoe. It is possible that in the early years there was a tag in each shoe, or this could be an example of artistic license on the part of the illustrator.. Unfortunately the black and white illustrations do not help answer the question of whether the tags were red or black.

By the early 50's Dacks had obtained a supply of tags using the modern thick script logo. This is the tag that we most often see, and it seems to have been used without modification through the 50's and 60's, and I suspect into the early 1970's (illustrated below).. Later shoes from the 70's and 80's, even of Bespoke Quality, no longer exhibit a tag, which was likely eliminated as a cost savings measure.

Curiously Dacks also occasionally used what I term as the "Flag Tag". The first of these tags can be found on shoes manufactured in the early years of the 1950's, and thus far has only been associated with shoes using the shoe-liner pictured below. The use of this "flag", which proclaims "For over a Century" rather than "Made in Canada", was contemporaneous with the modern red diamond tag, as both are found associated with this early 50's shoe liner.

The second of the "Flag Tags", shown below, can very rarely be found on "Bespoke Quality" shoes. "Bespoke Quality" replaced S.E. Dack as Dack's top quality offering in the very early 60's. The latest ad for a S.E. Dack shoe that I have seen is from 1962. Old S.E. retired in 1958, and is was shortly after this that the "Bespoke Quality" offerings show up in the advertisements, so there appears to have been some overlap. This tag, which I call the "Faux Diamant" is quite rare, and might represent an attempt to simulate the effect of the red diamond, while eliminating the production step of cutting the diamond shape in the leather. If this is the case then the "Fake Diamond" tag might represent the end of the line for the once proud mark of quality.

If any forum members have other examples of Dacks flags or tags I would be very pleased to see them. As with all my posts, I can only take credit for that which is correct and useful, while all else is attributable to @Paul902 .