The Shell Cordovan, non-Alden Shoe and Boot Thread

[broiler]

I see very little difference between my slightly older whiskey shoes/boots and whiskey boots purchased more recently. I took quick photos of my whiskey and bourbon pairs and as you can see they're all very similar in hue.

The first photo shows my four whiskey pairs arranged by age left to right - whiskey blucher 3 years old (could be older, bought new from ebay seller), Lindrick 2.5 yrs, Harlech 2 yrs, Galway ~ 6 months old

The second photo shows my two bourbon pairs sandwiched between two whiskey pairs (my most translucent and lightest whiskey).

I'll also add most of these have seen very little wear, so the leather hasn't had a chance to age and patina. The NST boot and Cardiff (blucher) have seen the most wear (20-25 wears). Next are the loafer (~15 wears), Harlech (~10) and Lindrick (~5). Haven't had a chance to wear the Galway yet.


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Your Harlech and Lindrick in that first pic is some of the nicest whiskey color I've seen. I hate you. From online pics, a lot of whiskey seems to take an orange patina over time that I don't care for, although I don't own any whiskey. Doesn't seem to be the case with yours, although maybe they're still too new. Definitely happened with my Carmina saddle shell, which have darkened to a little more burnt orange than your loafers in the 2nd pic.

I'm also a fan of the C&J double sole. The sole on my C&J Marlow looks great and is indestructible - whatever sole leather they use seems to be even more durable than JR.

 

[jischwar]

Your Harlech and Lindrick in that first pic is some of the nicest whiskey color I've seen. I hate you. From online pics, a lot of whiskey seems to take an orange patina over time that I don't care for, although I don't own any whiskey. Doesn't seem to be the case with yours, although maybe they're still too new. Definitely happened with my Carmina saddle shell, which have darkened to a little more burnt orange than your loafers in the 2nd pic.

I'm also a fan of the C&J double sole. The sole on my C&J Marlow looks great and is indestructible - whatever sole leather they use seems to be more durable than JR.

Yes, agreed. CJ double leather soles last a long time. I just sent a pair back for a recraft after a decade of wear

 

[flylikeneagle]

Your Harlech and Lindrick in that first pic is some of the nicest whiskey color I've seen. I hate you. From online pics, a lot of whiskey seems to take an orange patina over time that I don't care for, although I don't own any whiskey. Doesn't seem to be the case with yours, although maybe they're still too new. Definitely happened with my Carmina saddle shell, which have darkened to a little more burnt orange than your loafers in the 2nd pic.

I'm also a fan of the C&J double sole. The sole on my C&J Marlow looks great and is indestructible - whatever sole leather they use seems to be even more durable than JR.

Oh they'll definitely darken with more wear - can't fight nature. Applying whiskey (fawn) cordovan cream may help preserve the color, but I'll probably let these age naturally and end up with 6 pairs of mid-brown shell footwear LOL

And completely agree about C&J leather soles. I'll also add I like Alden double leather soles the best. They appear equally robust and in my experience require zero break-in time.

 

[broiler]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but I’ve been going through the colors of shell and still haven’t bought black yet. I love how shell ages/patinas. Does black get amazing with age too? If so, anyone have a picture of well aged black shell to the encourage me to join in?

For context, here's my office wear shell rotation (business casual with occasional suit + tie) as it was pre-WFM.

From top: Carmina saddle 2-eyelet blucher (6 years old), Alden black plaza monk (10 years old, one re-sole), Alden black cap-toe (1-year old), Alden #8 full-strap (bought used but wouldn't do so again - used never fits quite right).

Re. patina on black shell: the answer is yes and no. Although black shell doesn't develop the patina and color change from different angles and lighting as brown Horween shell shades do, it does acquire the same luster and character around the rolls as seen below. That said, anyone would be hard pressed to identify which black shoe in the 1st pic is older. My shell monks pretty much looked like this at the 1-year mark (with heavy wear) and haven't changed much since.

Personally I like black shell and it's a nice change from other colors. Even rare shell gets boring if worn every day. If you want/need to wear black shoes, shell looks nicer than calf IMHO and is easier to maintain a shine. I think every man could use a pair of black cap-toe bals to go with suit or jacket (or business casual) when the occasion calls.

 

[flylikeneagle]

Carmina Amaretto shell boots for Starbucks run. These are built like tanks and don't get babied.

 

[jet-stream]

Yesterday: AE Higgins Mills ...

 

[jet-stream]

Today: Carmina jumpers in the older version of cognac.

 

[stook1]

Santoni

 

[marlinspike]

Coffee brown Maftei bespokes. I was surprised to see a one piece heel with shell.

 

[broiler]

Coffee brown Maftei bespokes. I was surprised to see a one piece heel with shell. View attachment 1596542 View attachment 1596543

Very nice! Is that double or triple goyser?

Last year I was semi-obsessed with finding a pair of brown shell chukkas with 360 goyser. But it's not a standard make-up from anyone and after hours of online research I only found a handful of brands that even do goyser.

The look I wanted is the Vass goyser with reverse welt, but after inquiring at three Vass storefronts including the Vass cipo website, they were unresponsive to custom make-ups.

I also reached out to Carmina and Enzo Bonafe and they confirmed they don't offer goyser - although EB does offer "chained norvegese" which looks different and not what I was going for.

So I reached out to the other Hungarian makers Buday and Rozsnyai and the latter was the only one that said they could do what I wanted (although they stocked comipel shell, they agreed to special order Horween for an upcharge at cost). So I did the custom chukkas below in Horween Armagnac with them, and have been blown away by the build quality. Maftei was the only other brand I found online that could do such a make-up.

Joe Schmo on the street wouldn't notice the difference but to a shoe nut, the contrast goyser just looks so damn cool. Rozsnyai was easy to work with (though unnecessarily anal in their sizing assessment IMO) and it's probably just a matter of time before I spring for a pair of shell budapesters like these (not mine):

 

[marlinspike]

Honestly, I don't know my Goyser from my Norvegese (I thought it was the same), but it's a double. I would expect he could do a triple, but I don't know - that said, he's doing some smoking deals considering bespoke shell, and will do a by mail fitting in the covid era.

 

[jischwar]

Honestly, I don't know my Goyser from my Norvegese (I thought it was the same), but it's a double. I would expect he could do a triple, but I don't know - that said, he's doing some smoking deals considering bespoke shell, and will do a by mail fitting in the covid era.

Did you work directly with him or go through a retailer?

 

[marlinspike]

Did you work directly with him or go through a retailer?

I work directly with him, but I was in Austria 2 years ago for my first measuring He has an English speaking assistant, but I would say it pays to be clear, though I think the new order form solves that issue (so long as you don't first write something wrong in it).

 

[broiler]

Honestly, I don't know my Goyser from my Norvegese (I thought it was the same), but it's a double. I would expect he could do a triple, but I don't know - that said, he's doing some smoking deals considering bespoke shell, and will do a by mail fitting in the covid era.

Some makers use the terms "goyser" and "chained norvegese" interchangeably but they have different looks.

They appear to have simplified their online storefront but when I was looking last year, IIRC Maftei offered something like 6 different welt options: blake, english welt (regular goodyear stitch), double goyser, triple goyser, chained norvegese and some others that I can't recall.

I'm no expert either but goyser looks like this:

Vass goyser:

Rozsnyai goyser:

Chained norvegese (what EB offers):

EB can do this on top of a reverse welt like Vass and Rozsnyai do with their goyser, but it's a different looking stitch pattern. I understand true goyser stitching is very labor and skill intensive and requires the cordwainer to artfully stitch through the upper, insole and outsole with the three stitches and for that reason, seems to be a specialty of Austro-Hungarian makers.

Years ago it probably granted more durability and/or water resistance but these days obviously just comes down to fashion.

 

[marlinspike]

I wouldn't worry about something not being on the website, he'll make whatever. He's working on a pair of actual work boots for me (i.e. not work boot inspired boots but boots for doing construction) at the moment.