Morjas shoes

[Zerase]

I believe @j ingevaldsson wrote somewhere that their calf shoes are from corrected grain leather and not full grain leather. In other words, get their suede shoes if you ever think of buying Morjas

Frankly I think their calf shoes look pretty bad. I’d save up to go with a pricier brand. The difference is easy to tell even when they are new.

 

[j ingevaldsson]

I believe @j ingevaldsson wrote somewhere that their calf shoes are from corrected grain leather and not full grain leather. In other words, get their suede shoes if you ever think of buying Morjas

Yes, the smooth calf is corrected grain leather for sure. Heard from some folks that Morjas themselves say that it's not, but it's wrong, don't know why they state that, if they don't know themselves or what's the case. But yeah, opt for embossed grain or suede models from them.

 

[j ingevaldsson]

They did tell me it was full-grain, but it's quite obvious it isn't. It's a bit disappointing to see so many menswear "celebs" like Andreas Weinas endorse this.
Why do you think embossed grain is better though? As far as I know, embossed is corrected grain too, only with an embossed pattern.


Not really, but I've worn them a couple of times only since.

Very weird they claim it's full grain leather, quite problematic if customers who don't know the difference are misinformed by them themselves.

Embossed grain is a type of corrected grain yes, since the grain surface is changed with the embossing, but it's a very different thing to the type of corrected grain we are talking about here, where the surface is covered with a type of plastic coating (another example is nubuck where you also change the grain surface by sanding it, but it's also not comparable to plastic coating). To add something, especially when it's synthetic as with plastic coated corrected grain/hi-shine leathers, ruins all the natural properties of the leather, embossing or sanding it doesn't in the same way. One have to separate those things.

 

[Jamesbond1]

Thanks for the heads up! They really do look lovely from the photos with the price tag at 50% OFF from the one CJ is going for .. Goodyear welted as well and suede looks to be of a good quality. I am eyeing that suede oxford. Might be worth the shot. It appears they raised the prices from their 195 EUR price point, but still affordable. Shoe trees are quite cheap.

Crockett & Jones should not be mentioned with these. They are not at all comparable in terms of build quality and cost.

 

[j ingevaldsson]

Ah I thought that kind of corrected-grain calf was just smoothed out by sanding, not that it necessarily had a plastic coating, which makes it even more puzzling that nobody has brought this up before.

Where do you think Morjas stands in comparison with Skolyx? (I know you're biased...)

Sanded first for the coating to stick, then sprayed with new even plastic/synthetic surface. What this means is that the leather doesn't breath well or at all (same as synthetic leathers), it doesn't stretch the same untreated leather, it's often stiffer, you can't polish it since there's no pores to stuff with creams and wax and nothing that can absorb anything (not needing care either, more below), you can't cover marks with shoe cream in the same way, it will crack and then can't be fixed anymore, etc.

The pros (at least in the eyes of those who like it, like a bunch of British folks) is that it doesn't require any maintenance other than wiping it off occasionally, it looks smooth and glossy (at least before it cracks and gets scratches etc), and it's relatively waterproof.

Skolyx has IMO some pros over many of the competitors in the same price range, like solid making with few flaws, quite good (for the price) full grain smooth leathers etc., but is quite similar in many other regards, and quite simply made with no extra fuzz etc. if one are into that. But as you say I'm biased, best is to hear others opinions or gather your own.

 

[Jamesbond1]

They did tell me it was full-grain, but it's quite obvious it isn't. It's a bit disappointing to see so many menswear "celebs" like Andreas Weinas endorse this.
Why do you think embossed grain is better though? As far as I know, embossed is corrected grain too, only with an embossed pattern.


Not really, but I've worn them a couple of times only since.

People endorse anything or everything as they get those items for free. The only opinion that matters is your own selves purchasing a product paying retail. All that glitter is not Gold!

 

[EUtroll]

It's a small "community" in Stockholm and a general disregard for relevant marketing legislation among the Swedish insta crowd.

 

[Jamesbond1]

Maybe, but I don't think people like Andreas Weinas or Luca Rubinacci need free shoes from Morjas when they keep flaunting their Edward Greens or bespoke stuff. I find all that borderline dishonest.

They don’t need them but they are many that do write to promote items they do receive for free. I was speaking in general not mentioning anyone in particular. You do know Luca is Rubinacci so his bespoke clothes are not paid for as well ??
And morjas are not Edward Greens.

 

[4r36]

I was told it was full grain leather too. Well, I haven't worn them more than 15-20 times (fit is good):

 

[Substanceoverstyle]

That looks quite poor. Can't expect top quality material at that price point, but if the bar is that low then its not good money spent.

 

[j ingevaldsson]

Just a quick question, Jesper: wouldn't you say that, as a general rule, grained leather is of lower quality than smooth calf? Also, are there any leathers that are naturally grained? Thanks.

Both yes and no. There are many different kinds of embossed grain leathers out there. We have the worst ones where one use hides of lower quality in all aspects where it gets synthetic surface treatment and then have the print embossed. We have grain leathers where the hides are of lower quality in all aspects where it's only buffed a bit and then have the embossed grain pattern. And then we have grain leathers who use hides of good quality apart from various cosmetics issues (scars, blemishes etc) which makes them not suitable to use for a smooth full grain leather, which have the embossing done to cover these. But the latter are more or less as good in quality as good smooth full grain calf, apart from the cosmetic parts. So it varies a lot, in the same way as the quality of smooth calf leathers varies a lot.

It's not that common with natural grain leathers nowadays, but you have some. It's often called "shrunken calf" or similar.

 

[Noblekostas]

I was told it was full grain leather too. Well, I haven't worn them more than 15-20 times (fit is good):

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This is shocking. To me at least for such little wear.

 

[j ingevaldsson]

Thanks, Jesper. Very briefly, how is shrunken leather made? Is some kind of treatment applied to it to shrink it?

It's specific tanning agents used in the water during the tanning of the hides, which causes the hides to shrink. There's both natural and synthetic tanning agents used for this, the challenge is to get a good even "shrinkage" of the whole hides, so that the whole hide is relatively uniform in pattern depth and thickness.

 

[M.Olsson]

I was told it was full grain leather too. Well, I haven't worn them more than 15-20 times (fit is good):

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I wouldn't be happy if my shoes looked like that, after so little wear.

 

[Zerase]

I was told it was full grain leather too. Well, I haven't worn them more than 15-20 times (fit is good):

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I'm sorry, but these look worse than some beat up shoes I find at thrift shops. This more or less is the last nail in the Morjas coffin. I Will most certainly not buy anything from them.