RM Williams Boots - Everything You Wanted to Know

[drewzter]

Does anyone know where I can get information on how RMW yearling leather is dyed after its chrome tanning? Is is a semi aniline finish? Apparently only the rum yearling is full aniline. But what of the black and chestnut pairs? It would be cool if the company can provide this info on a $500 shoe.

 

[wurger]

Does anyone know where I can get information on how RMW yearling leather is dyed after its chrome tanning? Is is a semi aniline finish? Apparently only the rum yearling is full aniline. But what of the black and chestnut pairs? It would be cool if the company can provide this info on a $500 shoe.

Contacting their customer service will be a good start.

 

[wurger]

A big thank you to Kenneth at the George St Flag store, my Kingsvale crocodile boots got a new lease of life after recraft! Changed to unstained edge with rubber outsole, kept leather insole.

 

[Fear and Loathing]

Hey, does anybody have the Arnhem boot? I’m intrigued… would love a brief review and perhaps a pic or two on the foot.

Apologies if somebody posted Arnhem stuff earlier here… it’s a giant thread, and I did my best to search it, but found nothing…

 

[wurger]

Hey, does anybody have the Arnhem boot? I’m intrigued… would love a brief review and perhaps a pic or two on the foot.

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Apologies if somebody posted Arnhem stuff earlier here… it’s a giant thread, and I did my best to search it, but found nothing…

Sorry, never seen it in the sydney stores.

 

[MacGuffen]

Anyone have experience with resoling the Comfort Craftsmen? I can ship them to Australia to resole them, but that's pretty expensive. Any viable alternatives? I don't have any means to resole them in my country.

 

[wurger]

Anyone have experience with resoling the Comfort Craftsmen? I can ship them to Australia to resole them, but that's pretty expensive. Any viable alternatives? I don't have any means to resole them in my country.

where are you at? most cobblers can resole with a different rubber sole like dainite etc.

 

[H. E. Pennypacker]

A big thank you to Kenneth at the George St Flag store, my Kingsvale crocodile boots got a new lease of life after recraft! Changed to unstained edge with rubber outsole, kept leather insole.
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Wow! I thought they were new!

 

[godhby]

Hi gents, new to SF, amazed by the content and interaction in this thread. I recently bought this pair of brown CC off eBay and really like the grainy leather look. The date stamp on the insole indicates December 2014, but the old longhorn rmw logo was on the heel, possibly indicate pre-LVMH? I'm curious about the leather type of this pair, wondering if all yearling would age into this grainy look. Thanks.

 

[troika]

Hi gents, new to SF, amazed by the content and interaction in this thread. I recently bought this pair of brown CC off eBay and really like the grainy leather look. The date stamp on the insole indicates December 2014, but the old longhorn rmw logo was on the heel, possibly indicate pre-LVMH? I'm curious about the leather type of this pair, wondering if all yearling would age into this grainy look. Thanks.
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LVMH bought RMW in '14, but iirc design changes didn't take effect for a year or two. Doesn't matter! Still great.

First of all, that leather is looking dry af, make sure to condition asap. Second of all, I'm thinking kangaroo?

 

[emptym]

@godhby, I agree with @troika that it's prob kangaroo. My first thought was buffalo, but I don't know if RMW has used buffalo.

The Badgery kangaroo belts arrived the quickly, they are so light and thin compare to normal belts! The seamless rings on the black belt are smaller than the seamed rings on the tan belt.

That's interesting that your brown one has seamed rings. I got a brown one a few years ago and it has seamless rings. I posted a comparison with the RMW version back then:

For @JohnAAG, @Crafty Cumbrian or anyone else interested in braided kangaroo belts, I ended up getting a Badgery Queenslander and thought I'd do a quick comparison with the RMW version. I've had the RMW one for a few months and the Badgery for just a few days, but I couldn't find anything online comparing the two, so I thought I'd post something.

The first thing I noticed when I got the Badgery belt is how thin it is. It seems to be about half as thick as the RMW version. The edges are thin to the point of almost being sharp, while the RMW edges are stout and rounded. You can see the difference when they're rolled (Badgery in brown on the left and RMW in black on the right):
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The comparison is a tad unfair, since the RMW one has a bit more space in the center at the bottom. This is caused by how tightly woven the lacing is around the rings. It's so snug, that you can't move the rings much, whereas the Badgery version has enough space to slip a finger between the lacing there. You can see in this pic how the two layers on the Badgery version don't join till outside of the frame, while the RMW version joins right after the rings:
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That pic also shows the relative thinness of the Badgery laces. And this thinness seems intentional since the leather strips that make up the edges seem to have been beveled. They've definitely been run through something that compressed them, as seen most clearly in the line across the top edge in this pic:
View attachment 1167573
Personally, I prefer the thickness of the RMW version, which really is not very thick -- in fact, I'd say it's slightly thinner than a regular dress belt. The Badgery version seems flimsy, but kangaroo is thought to be very strong, and I'm sure some would prefer its thinness. I got this to make a travel belt, and thinness is an advantage for that. It has one strong disadvantage though: The belt can collapse/fold on itself lengthwise, particularly in the back where it may strain against a belt loop or two.

Part of that folding may be due to how loosely the belt is woven. The RMW belt is so tightly woven that pretty much no light shines through it, and you can't pull apart the weave at all. The Badgery, on the other hand, shows tiny points of light at each intersection and can easily be pulled from its regular width of 1.25" to about 1.75". It does return right back to its regular shape once released, and I don't know if/how the looseness would be a disadvantage, other than possibly contributing to the aforementioned folding.

It could be that I just got a particularly thin and loosely woven one though, and maybe @JohnAAG could comment on his.

All of that said, I do like the the Badgery belt. And, other than price, it has one clear advantage for me: the o-rings. First, they're seamless, unlike the RMW version. And they're silver, which I prefer. RMW offers the brown version with brass rings only, and Collier Bristow never got back to me about special ordering a silver version from RMW. If I can get one in the future, I probably will. For now, though, I will definitely get some good use of this Badgery belt.

They've both held up well and my misgivings about the Badgery's thinness haven't proven true. I dyed the suede side of the Badgery belt black to make it a travel belt, and it really could be a OneBelt if one wanted:

I ended up finding a cheap, NOS RMW belt on eBay, so I went ahead and dyed and burnished the back of my Badgery belt. Here are the three for comparison, Badgery in the middle:
First, the Badgery with the brown grain side:
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Badgery with the suede side, dyed black:
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The transition from tongue to the rest of the belts:
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To do it, I used one coat of black Fiebings suede dye, then burnished it with Bick 4, then one coat of leather dye, and burnished again with Bick 4. I think it'll get smoother with another couple burnishing. I covered the grain side with painter's tape when applying the dye to the suede side. It worked pretty well imo, and the Badgery one, being thinner than the other two, now makes an ideal travel belt. I know at least a couple guys (@JohnAAG, @Crafty Cumbrian) have the Badgery belts and recommended them.

 

[Quiet Observer]

Hi gents, new to SF, amazed by the content and interaction in this thread. I recently bought this pair of brown CC off eBay and really like the grainy leather look. The date stamp on the insole indicates December 2014, but the old longhorn rmw logo was on the heel, possibly indicate pre-LVMH? I'm curious about the leather type of this pair, wondering if all yearling would age into this grainy look. Thanks.
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Looks like kangaroo leather to me.

 

[godhby]

@Quiet Observer @emptym @troika Thank you for your thoughtful replies!

 

[troika]

Hi rmw gang, need some help determining the color of these since I'm pretty colorblind and have a bad memory.

I got these two pairs a little while ago, both secondhand, and now can't remember what leather they are. They're both comfort craftsman.

I think this pair is Rum?

I think this pair is chestnut?

Here they are next to each other

I feel the pair on the left (the one I think is Chestnut) is too rich and red to be that, but I don't know what else it can be?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[troika]

Actually, could those be the Burnished Comfort Craftsman in Mahogany?

Mahogany Burnished Comfort Craftman Boots | R.M.Williams Chelsea Boots | R.M.Williams® United States

Add a touch of timeless and iconic and elevate your outfit with Mahogany Burnished Comfort Craftman Boots. Enjoy free shipping on all orders over $150 Australia-wide.

www.rmwilliams.com