Japanese Boot / Shoe Appreciation Thread (White Cloud, Rolling Dub Trio, John Lofgren, Clinch, etc.

[Goliath123]

To the JL M43 guy. It's loose grain (Not bad by the looks) but not acceptable on JL price tag I would say. You should have no trouble getting an exchange for that as it would most likely get worse with wear

 

[JibranK]

To the JL M43 guy. It's loose grain (Not bad by the looks) but not acceptable on JL price tag I would say. You should have no trouble getting an exchange for that as it would most likely get worse with wear

If this is the same guy who posted on another forum, Lofgren (through the store) told him his complaint just meant that he doesn’t understand vintage artisanal techniques or some other nonsense. Both the store and JL need to be put on blast until they fix it, if that‘s true.

 

[peachfuzzmcgee]

If this is the same guy who posted on another forum, Lofgren (through the store) told him his complaint just meant that he doesn’t understand vintage artisanal techniques or some other nonsense. Both the store and JL need to be put on blast until they fix it, if that‘s true.

Ooo where is that juicy drama?

 

[JibranK]

Ooo where is that juicy drama?

Fedora Lounge post about faulty Lofgrens:

Nobody at John Lofgren responded to my email. The dealer I bought from was able to get ahold of them… and apparently I’m out of luck.

The first response from someone at John Lofgren stated that the split in the welt was fine. I hadn’t mentioned the welt at all, but rather given the same description of the mismatched leather panel as I did in my post here. When the dealer reiterated to Lofgren customer service that I wasn’t concerned about the welt, but the piece of loose grain leather above it, the reply was:

“Judging by that picture it's absolutely not a flaw. It's the character of the leather."

Dealer said that response was from John Lofgren himself.

I expect Lofgren/the dealer expected this to work because there's a lot of Kool Aid going around with some of these MiJ workwear products, unfortunately. There's a tendency to handwave actual manufacturing flaws as being purposeful, knowing a good chunk of the customer base is so invested in the image of "Japanese reproductions" that they'll buy it. (I saw this happen with a friend of mine.)

 

[Gonzogonzo]

Does anyone here have any advice on waterproofing the CXL engineer boots? I only use Bick 4 to condition the boots because I don't want to ruin the natural CXL patina that develops over time. Today after shoveling the snow on my sidewalk -while it rained- my boots looked "wet" -visible rain droplets and such. Should I waterproof them with some silicon spray or leave them as is?

Thanks!

 

[justsayno]

getting boots wet and subsequently getting stains are part of the patina process

 

[JibranK]

Does anyone here have any advice on waterproofing the CXL engineer boots?

CXL is stuffed with oils and waxes. It's waterproof. Those water droplets aren't permanent. (It's a pull up leather anyway.)

 

[Drextech]

Does anyone here have any advice on waterproofing the CXL engineer boots? I only use Bick 4 to condition the boots because I don't want to ruin the natural CXL patina that develops over time. Today after shoveling the snow on my sidewalk -while it rained- my boots looked "wet" -visible rain droplets and such. Should I waterproof them with some silicon spray or leave them as is?

Thanks!

You can use Alden Leather Defender to protect from rain. It’s made for shell cordovan. Works great on shell but have no experience with cxl.

 

[JibranK]

I would not apply a waterproofer to CXL. It’s a very different leather to shell.

 

[peachfuzzmcgee]

CXL and all these boots are 100 percent not water proof and most are only marginally water resistant. Putting a bunch of stuff to try and water proof them doesn't make much sense since water will still come on from the bottom, through the welts, through the relative porous leather, or just from the top itself.

If you want water proof boots, there are plenty however most are either some combo of synthetic materials. You'll never catch me wearing leather on rain or snow.

 

[Numbernine]

I wore leather boots, day in and day out, on construction sites for 30 years. They have their limits sure but in 99% of those severe conditions they are fine. The old Red Wing uppers were so tough I used to resole them once. The new ones not so much.
.

 

[Gonzogonzo]

CXL and all these boots are 100 percent not water proof and most are only marginally water resistant. Putting a bunch of stuff to try and water proof them doesn't make much sense since water will still come on from the bottom, through the welts, through the relative porous leather, or just from the top itself.

If you want water proof boots, there are plenty however most are either some combo of synthetic materials. You'll never catch me wearing leather on rain or snow.

Whenever I am about to pull the trigger on one of those synthetic boots I always ***** out -they feel too disposable. The recent Gore-Tex moc toe by red wing piqued my interest but in the end I wasn't sure how good they would be in the summer.

 

[Gonzogonzo]

I wore leather boots, day in and day out, on construction sites for 30 years. They have their limits sure but in 99% of those severe conditions they are fine. The old Red Wing uppers were so tough I used to resole them once. The new ones not so much.
.

Yeah I hear ya. I remember reading an interview with Lofgren where he talks about a guy who rode throughout a European country in all conditions with his engineer boots. They apparently kept his feet fry the entire time.

 

[peachfuzzmcgee]

Whenever I am about to pull the trigger on one of those synthetic boots I always ***** out -they feel too disposable. The recent Gore-Tex moc toe by red wing piqued my interest but in the end I wasn't sure how good they would be in the summer.

Synthetics are not all bad, there are many great hiking boots that are waterproof and breath relatively well. Plus Goretex bean boots, danners, and red wings would be good on the heritage side of things. However any waterproof boot will be **** for summer, if you live in a place with below zero temps in the winter and above 30 temps in the summer. You are never going to be able to find the one boot that does it all.

 

[JibranK]

Treated leather, whether hot stuffed like CXL or rubbed with dubbin like WWII roughout boots or indeed something like Sno-Seal or Nikwax is waterproof for all intents and purposes. I am still wearing leather boots I have worn in all kinds of wet conditions for many years, several over a decade.

The weak point is the welt, not the leather, but if it’s something like a storm welt, you’re fine. And even that is only an issue in extremely heavy rain.