EG Walnut Country Calf or Dark Brown Cordovan

[Lagavulin16]

I am in the process of deciding on a shoe for the Fall and wanted to get some opinions. I have decided to order the following shoe:

http://www.skyvalet1.com/sandringham.aspx

in either a Walnut Country Calf or Dark Brown Cordovan with an extended storm welted double leather sole on the 606 last.

I have a few shoes in cordovan and I have one pair in country calf, a Galway boot, however both are less than a year old and have only been worn about 5 - 6 times. A majority of my shoes are oxfords and so I was really looking for a derby that I could wear with jeans, cords, flannels, moleskin, etc. but as a primary weekend go-to shoe that will stand up to a bit of abuse that my oxfords, slip-ons and other derbies would not be subjected to.

Basically, I was looknig for a well constructed shoe that I could knock around in that would get a lot of wear, possibly even two weekend days in a row (yes, I know) which my other shoes would never see and wanted to know if country calf or cordovan would be more durable for this type of shoe.

One last thing, I am a big fan of the double leather sole on a country shoe, but if someone wants to talk me out of this and wants to suggest a dainite or medway sole, could you please expalin why. I am not opposed to a rubber sole, I just happen to find leather more comfortable in my opinion. Also, last discussions are always welcome.

Thank you all in advance for your insight.

 

[braised]

Lag, couple of issues.

Not sure if Green's works in cordovan and wouldn't do it if they did - go for texture.

Best choice would be Dk Oak Willow grain if they still make it and want a dark brown shoe. Next best would be the coutry calf. I would NOT go for the walnut. I've seen it and its a pretty dead brown. Get the Rosewood and if it comes too light or red for your tastes, it will be the right brown in about 4 months with good application of dark brown polish. The walnut is always a bit dead and will never wake up - I got this tip from Robert in the shop in Jermyn Street.

For knock-abouts, I favor captoes and it's really hard to beat Green's Monmouth - get a heel counter if you want. It's a stud of a shoe. I've got a pair in Dark Oak Willow and other than being a touch darker than I'd like, they are easily may favorite pair of Green's once the year turns past August.

Your call on the dainite vs. double leather. If you're going to do anything wet, like grass or walking in the country, it's hard to beat the rubber sole. The medway is a bit much for a derby.

B

 

[Lagavulin16]

Braised,

Excellent suggestions and thank you very much for the thoughts. I had only recently found out that EG would work with cordovan and that they had the Dark Brown, so it got me interested. I really like the suggestion of the Willow Country Grain and will look up pictures. Very helpful post, thanks again.

 

[Manton]

Shell is far more weatherproof than country calf, if that matters to you.

EG will work in shell, but only through their Top Drawer program, which increases the cost significantly.

 

[braised]

Manton, very true point on shell vs. country calf but the issue only really comes to the fore in the wet and nasty. If the decision is for double leather, I'd go the country calf for the texture knowing that the shoes were never really for the wet. B

 

[Michael Ay329]

Expect a $400 Cordovan upcharge...alone

Six months ago when I was in the market for a Cordovan boot, EG did not require I use their Top Drawer program in order to have Cordovan leather. Perhaps they have changed their procedures

Top Drawer adds about a $400 upchcarge, then add cordovan, another $400...wow thats a total of $800...quite a way to discourage a buyer from acquiring an EG cordovan shoe/boot

I have previously posted that the local Northampton leather agent, who sells Shell Cordovan asks for a bit over 100 pounds per skin to use dark brown cordovan....you'll need 2 skins per pair of shoes, thus a 200 pound (about a U.S. $350) upcharge is the cost of the cordovan leather to EG alone...make it 3 skins for boots

 

[Lagavulin16]

Originally Posted by Manton

Shell is far more weatherproof than country calf, if that matters to you.

EG will work in shell, but only through their Top Drawer program, which increases the cost significantly.

Manton, good point and that was my thinking as well and would be great for when I am back in Chicago, but I think the leather soles are going to make wet weather impractical, although I think cordovan would take the Chicago weather abuse a lot better.

Originally Posted by braised

Manton, very true point on shell vs. country calf but the issue only really comes to the fore in the wet and nasty. If the decision is for double leather, I'd go the country calf for the texture knowing that the shoes were never really for the wet. B

Exactly, the double leather soles I guess are the issue here. Maybe I am wrong, but I just feel that the dainite or ridgeway sole is just going to make the shoe look chunky and for the times I need it I have the Galway boot. I figured that the double leather soles will get me through a majority of my situations and regardless of the rubber sole type, Chicago winter can wreak havoc on anything. Plus, this is not really a winter shoe, I am just looking for an all around good performer year around.

Originally Posted by Michael Ay329

Expect a $400 Cordovan upcharge...alone

Six months ago when I was in the market for a Cordovan boot, EG did not require I use their Top Drawer program in order to have Cordovan leather. Perhaps they have changed their procedures

Top Drawer adds about a $400 upchcarge, then add cordovan, another $400...wow thats a total of $800...quite a way to discourage a buyer from acquiring an EG cordovan shoe/boot

I have previously posted that the local Northampton leather agent, who sells Shell Cordovan asks for a bit over 100 pounds per skin to use dark brown cordovan....you'll need 2 skins per pair of shoes, thus a 200 pound (about a U.S. $350) upcharge is the cost of the cordovan leather to EG alone...make it 3 skins for boots

Michael, thank you for the information. Last time I was in the EG store in London was when I found out that EG would make me a pair of shoes in cordovan and you are right they are expensive, but my logic was that I do not have a lot of shoes that transcend over to a casual look as well and that are going to stand up against a bit of a beating. I am very familiar with EG oxfords and just figured that spending the money on a good derby that I really liked would pay dividends in years to come as spending the money on a good quality shoe will pay for itself. For me, it really just came down to durability, ease of maintenance and wear between country calf and cordovan.

 

[Lagavulin16]

Thank you all for voting and thank you for the comments.

I had a chance to sleep on this last night and also to do a bit of research and read some past posts. I want a country shoe for Fall, but I am also moving back home from Spain, a fairly dry climate to Chicago, a more severe climate. This got me thinking that maybe I am not being very prudent here, so would I be better served with a country shoe that can double as a weekend, beat about shoe and a wet weather shoe. If so, I thought that cordovan and a rubber sole would suit the climate better. Thoughts?

If cordovan, would you suggest a dainite sole or ridgeway sole with this shoe? I really have no expereince with a rubber soled country shoe, so any insight is appreciated.

One last thing, I prefer the country calf, but from what I have read, and from Manton´s experience, it seems that the country calf is not ideal for wet weather. If anyone has a differeing opinion on this I would love to hear your thuoghts.

Thanks again.

 

[well-kept]

Among my most versatile shoes are a pair of Peal chukkas in the same leather EG calls country calf, with Dainite soles. I can't speak of them highly enough. I always take them when I travel. You can hike in them all day, then buff them a bit and wear them to a decent restaurant. And apart from the suitability of Dainite for rocks, sand, pavement, steep inclines, I find calf more suitable in bad weather than shell. I own many pair of shell cordovan shoes and boots, and while the material is water resistant, some of them - the lighter colors - develop water stains that do not diminish much over time. Calf gets wet but it eventually dries. My reasoned vote, for what it's worth.

 

[fritzl]

Originally Posted by Lagavulin16

If cordovan, would you suggest a dainite sole or ridgeway sole with this shoe? I really have no expereince with a rubber soled country shoe, so any insight is appreciated.

ridgeway all the way

 

[888style]

The EG store on Jeremy Street talked me out of going the Cordovan route.

 

[Lagavulin16]

Originally Posted by 888style

The EG store on Jeremy Street talked me out of going the Cordovan route.

888style, can you please elaborate more on this? Was it price, availability, harder to work with, something else? I would assume durability of cordovan for a country shoe would be sought after from their clientele.

 

[888style]

I had seen this and wanted a similar pair. While visiting Sir Max in Amsterdam (Shoe Store) and in conversation mentioned EG and Cordovan in one sentence, they advised against it. They mentioned availability of the Cordovan, the difficulty of working with the material, and something about wet stretching vs dry stretching. Apparently Alden does wet stretching and EG dry stretching or visa verse. No expert here, but the guys from Sir Max advised strongly against EG and Cordovan. Stubborn as I am, I visited the EG store on Jeremy Street to order the Asquith in Cordovan. Have multiple other pair of EG and thought this would make a nice addition. The older gentleman in the EG store said they didn't do Cordovan (anymore) due to issues with the quality of the Cordovan they were able to order. I mentioned the internet article and he told me this information was not correct. I ended up ordering a pair of Asquith in black calf. This was 2008 and they might have changed their stance in the mean time.

 

[Lagavulin16]

Thank you for the explanation. I had a similar experience with EG a few years ago as well, where they flat out told me that they do not work with cordovan. However, a few months ago I picked up a couple pairs of oxfords and I was talking to EG and they told me that they had cordovan in stock and would work with me to create a shoe. At the time I was not in the market so I passed, but it stuck with me and so now I am intrigued by the cordovan offering for the potentail Sandringham.

I think it really is going to come down to me deciding how I am going to really use this shoe. I should not be thinking about this too hard, but find that I am.

Thanks again.

 

[Lagavulin16]

Thank you everyone for your votes, comments and suggestions. I wanted to update you all on what I finally decided on after much internal strife.

I decided on the EG Sandringham on the 606 last in Whiskey Crup (cordovan) with a bit of antiquing on a double leather sole with storm welting.

I debated a great deal between dainite and the double leather sole, but in the end I just love the feel of the the leather sole. In all honesty, I was thinking originally that this would be a shoe for inclement weather, but I decided against that and instead as a departing gift to myself from Madrid I will be purchasing a Carmina cordovan boot for the Chicago winter. Hence, problem solved and I get two pairs of shoes instead of one.



Thanks to all that helped.