leather soled C&J

[dandy1]

Hi all i recently bought a pair of C&J seymour double monks recently. They have a single oak bark sole but after 3 or 4 wears the sole still is very hard and not very flexible. Will they soften up with a few more wears or should I give up and have them resoled with a danite sole? Please help! dandy.

Heres a pic of them:

 

[mkarim]



Hi all i recently bought a pair of C&J seymour double monks recently. They have a single oak bark sole but after 3 or 4 wears the sole still is very hard and not very flexible. Will they soften up with a few more wears or should I give up and have them resoled with a danite sole? Please help! dandy. Heres a pic of them:

Those are beautiful. Where did you get those?

 

[Pillars]

Oak bark tanned leather can be quite stiff when it is new. Give it time and they'll ease up and be more flexible than dainite.

 

[dandy1]

Thanks Pillars, much appreciated. Does an oak bark tanned sole take a while to become flexible or will it only take a few more wears (they are rock hard at the moment, almost like wood!), is there a reason they are so stiff when new? From what I had read I was under the impression that oak bark tanned soles are v flexible, I hadnt realised that they dont start out that way.


Thanks mkarim, I bought them from the c&j store in jermyn st two or three weeks ago.

dandy.

 

[Pillars]

Depends on how you wear them really. If you only walk from your house to your car and from your car to your office it may take quite a few wears. They should feel more comfortable every time you wear them though.

I've never owned a pair of C&Js so I couldn't say if they are especially stiff when new. In my experience however good quality soles can be stiffer than their cheaper counterparts initially. I'm only guessing but it may be because the leather is denser, either because it is higher quality or it was compressed more when being produced. The upside to all of this is that it should take a lot longer to wear through them compared to cheaper leather.

 

[Shikar]

Nice nice nice shoos.

Regards.

 

[__PG__]

My C&J Weymouths took about two wears to break in. The sole is much more flexible than my Loake Aldwychs.

 

[meister]



Those are beautiful. Where did you get those?

I knew they were coming but there seems to be no mention of them in the latest cattle dog.

 

[dandy1]

The Weymouth has exactly the same type of sole as my Seymours, I also noticed today that the heel portion rocks as you walk ie the heel does not lie completely flat to the ground, instead as you put the heel down the back of the heel will be flat to the ground then as you walk it will 'rock' onto the front portion of the heel, why do manafacturers do this?

PG did you find the sole softens and becomes more pliable over time, esp the front portion of the sole which in C&J shoes is typically elongated?

 

[dandy1]

HI meister, they are in the catalogue but in the 'handgrade' section and not in the 'monkstrap' section, even though they technically fall into this section as well. The new c&J website has them on there as well, also strangely only in the handgrade section and not in the monkstap section!

only a couple of stores seem to carry them in london, burlington arcade and jermyn st if you want to try them on. you may also be able to take them off my hands fora fair price if i cant get used to the bloody leather sole (i am used to wearing italian shoes with rubber soles .. a SF crime i know and finding the transition to high end english rather difficult!)

dandy

 

[__PG__]



PG did you find the sole softens and becomes more pliable over time, esp the front portion of the sole which in C&J shoes is typically elongated?                                                                                                                                                                                 

Well yes, the sole does become more pliable with time. This is a good thing as still soles with no flexibility create heel-lift and loads of rubbing/soreness in your heels.

I haven't noticed the front portion of the sole becoming softer than the rest of the shoe. I did put rubber taps on the toes of the sole.

 

[chogall]

HI meister, they are in the catalogue but in the 'handgrade' section and not in the 'monkstrap' section, even though they technically fall into this section as well. The new c&J website has them on there as well, also strangely only in the handgrade section and not in the monkstap section!

only a couple of stores seem to carry them in london, burlington arcade and jermyn st if you want to try them on. you may also be able to take them off my hands fora fair price if i cant get used to the bloody leather sole (i am used to wearing italian shoes with rubber soles .. a SF crime i know and finding the transition to high end english rather difficult!)

dandy

Seymour in last 337 was killed. Seymour II is now in last 358.

 

[meister]



Seymour in last 337 was killed.  Seymour II is now in last 358.

pity as the 337 is a good fit for me. The more I wear my 337s the better they get. I have a lot of shoes to rotate so the 337s don't get a lot of regular hard pavement time. What is the 358 difference ? Wider... snugger ...more toe space?

 

[dandy1]

yes on checking the box i have the seymour 2 which is on the 358 last. its more roomy (in the toe box and shoe curves round the small toe) than other c&j such as the Lowndes on the 348 last and while i found a pinch where the higher buckle sits on the lowndes this didnt happen at all on the seymour so i would assume the upper is more roomy too for a higher instep (or shaped to accomodate the widening of the instep).

thanks for all the help guys. although they are beautiful i do wish the sole was soft right from the word go.

not sure i want to go through the process of breaking them in which may compound a knee problem ive had for many years so may be forced to post them on the sales forum and say a sad farewell

dandy.

 

[Joenobody0]



yes on checking the box i have the seymour 2 which is on the 358 last. its more roomy (in the toe box and shoe curves round the small toe) than other c&j such as the Lowndes on the 348 last and while i found a pinch where the higher buckle sits on the lowndes this didnt happen at all on the seymour so i would assume the upper is more roomy too for a higher instep (or shaped to accomodate the widening of the instep).

thanks for all the help guys. although they are beautiful i do wish the sole was soft right from the word go.

not sure i want to go through the process of breaking them in which may compound a knee problem ive had for many years so may be forced to post them on the sales forum and say a sad farewell  

dandy.

Try wearing them an hour a day, every day. It should break them in without ripping up your feet.

I often bring new shoes into my office and wear them for a while every day. I'm sure my coworkers think it's odd, but it works.