kangaroo...not for the faint of heart

[DWFII]

To dispel the notion that kangaroo is suitable only for football boots, I offer the following. All of these are dress boots which crease and shine as well as calf. (sorry for the poor quality of some photos)

 

[MetroStyles]

For the Cowboy down under.

 

[DWFII]

Originally Posted by MetroStyles

For the Cowboy down under.
Maybe. But all of these were made for customers right here in the USA. The first pair was made for a very wealthy Virginian (DC suburbanite?)...one of about nine pairs...who is also a devotee of Lobbs St. James and a world traveler. The second pair was made for the wife of a very successful stockbroker, in LA as I recall. But I have a similar pair I am making now...with a navy alligator foot and bone and navy kangaroo filigree tops...for an architect who remodels and restores old castles in Brussels. The third for the wife of a wealthy venture capitalist from Canada. And the last pair was made by my wife for herself.

 

[AndrewRogers]

Kangaroo is very tasty.

 

[Wrigglez]

when cooked right, kangroo is amazing.

 

[AndrewRogers]

Originally Posted by Wrigglez

when cooked right, kangroo is amazing.

Yep and it seems the hide, when prepared right, makes amazing boots.

DWFII, you say that it 'creases like calf' or something to that effect. May I ask, does kangaroo have a reputation for being too soft a leather and creasing very easily and not holding its shape well?

 

[jacnyr]

I've been told that kangaroo is a VERY comfortable leather.

 

[well-kept]

DWF,
How do you rate the advantages of kangaroo over more common upper leathers?

 

[voxsartoria]

My old cycling shoes were made from kangaroo.

(DW, I have been tardy getting back to you...my apologies. Time as flown by.)


- B

 

[DWFII]

Originally Posted by AndrewRogers

Yep and it seems the hide, when prepared right, makes amazing boots. DWFII, you say that it 'creases like calf' or something to that effect. May I ask, does kangaroo have a reputation for being too soft a leather and creasing very easily and not holding its shape well?
Reputations are relative--one guy buys a shoe/boot made of a kangaroo tannage that is soft...deliberately so...and that's what he thinks all kangaroo is like. I've seen Italian tanned/aniline finished kangaroo that would put the best calf to shame. And it was no softer nor firmer than calf. I've seen some veg 'roo that was very firm...sometimes we use a naked veg roo for linings. And I've seen some kangaroo...in that case it was Aussie tanned...that was a little too stretchy for my tastes. The Italian kangaroo mentioned above held its shape extremely well...as does the veg roo.

 

[DWFII]

Originally Posted by well-kept

DWF, How do you rate the advantages of kangaroo over more common upper leathers?
I like working with 'roo. It is ounce for ounce (leather is graded for thickness in ounces), the strongest leather with regard to tensile strength (tear resistance) known to man. That said, it is thin. A three ounce roo...1.19mm...would be on the heavy side of average. Part of its appeal, as far as comfort is concerned, is that it is lightweight. One other thing about 'roo...it tends to have a very dense corium--grainside. Virtually no hair follicles at all. I noticed a pair of boots in another thread that looked like goat to me--presumably they were calf (I can't imagine a top shelf man's boot being made of goat)...but the pores were really evident--like an old woman with too much pancake on her face. Roo is dead smooth. As a maker the only downside is that roos are not farmed and in the wild they fight so sometimes you get scars that have to be cut around or even whole hides that are unusable because the prime leather is scarred.

 

[DWFII]

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

My old cycling shoes were made from kangaroo. (DW, I have been tardy getting back to you...my apologies. Time as flown by.) - B
No problem.

 

[well-kept]

Neglected to add... your examples look to be of amazing quality in design and construction.

 

[DWFII]

Originally Posted by well-kept

Neglected to add... your examples look to be of amazing quality in design and construction.
Thanks. I know boots don't get a lot of love here but the main point was about kangaroo's suitability for dress footwear, not styling. If the workmanship and design sensibilities that we have developed over the last 4 decades comes through, well, that's a bonus.

 

[Yika]

Originally Posted by Wrigglez

when cooked right, kangroo is amazing.


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