The Ultimate "HARDCORE" Shoe Appreciation Thread (Bespoke only)

[luk-cha]



I'm thinking about next bespoke project, now a seamless wholecut with or without medallion.
What do you guys think about impala leather for a wholecut?
I was impressed by the structure of it, what about durability, maintenance?
Or I better stick to calf?

as per bengals advise i dont think imparla would be doable for a seamless wholecut, my advise is stick to calf - and i have both shoes and skins

 

[sdolina]

Many thanks. For sure I'll discuss this with shoemaker, just want independent opinion.
Actually I was impressed by impala shoes in the nutcracker's thread. But if calf is better then i'll stick to calf.

Luk-cha, may I ask you to post a pic of your impala leather shooz?

 

[DWFII]

I have to preface this with the disclaimer that I've never seen nor handled impala. But I have done a lot of "blocking" in my time and have actually blocked leather for seamless wholecuts.

Leather manufacturing quality changes over time...seldom for the better if history is any indication. And the tannage is not the only factor in the quality of the leather--the way the animal lived and its diet ,etc., make a significant difference.

I have worked with antelope and deer and elk and all kinds of wild animal skins. I've never been impressed with leathers from small herbivores such as deer or antelope. That may be a function of expectations in this culture and the way those leathers are tanned but most of them end up being too soft and spongy to make good shoes without additional processes like shrinking the leather. And the smaller, more vulnerable the animal the less likely the leather will be firm or dense.

If the leather is heavily textured because it has been shrunk...like "bullhide"...the texture will not hold during any kind of deliberate stretching, such as over the toe or when blocking for a wholecut. At first glance, that can be good if you're trying to stretch it in four different dimensions at once. It means that there is surplus substance to move and conform to the contours of the last. Depending on the tannage however, the shape may not hold very well when it is made into a shoe.

If the texture is both pronounced and natural and the leather is firm as opposed to spongy, it will make blocking the leather over a last difficult, maybe impossible...again depending on tannage.

And of course all of this is predicated on the assumption that this "impala" really is African Antelope.

--

 

[sdolina]

Thanks again, this knowledge is exactly what you can expect from a shoemaker.
What leather would you advise if I prefer lightly structured leather like impala - hatch grain or raindeer comes to my mind, both hardly available by Maftei.

 

[DWFII]



Thanks again, this knowledge is exactly what you can expect from a shoemaker.
What leather would you advise if I prefer lightly structured leather like impala - hatch grain or raindeer comes to my mind, both hardly available by Maftei.

Well again it depends on the tannage but a nice chrome or veg calf would probably be best. Veg tanned leather will hold its shape a bit better than chrome tannages.

That said, I've had good luck with a veg retan water buffalo calf. It has a random hatching and texture and some of that again allows the leather to move.

I would think that hatch grain or the raindeer might work...again, I'm a little leery of the raindeer, but I have seen some that appeared to be veg tan coming out of Sweden--Morjärvs Skinn--that I liked real well.

I'm not saying that the impala won't work...back to the old refrain "depends on the tannage," and the way it has been "curried" and finished off. Again, I've never worked with impala.

I'm just saying there are good reasons to know what you're getting into and to be informed.

--

 

[luk-cha]



Many thanks. For sure I'll discuss this with shoemaker, just want independent opinion.
Actually I was impressed by impala shoes in the nutcracker's thread. But if calf is better then i'll stick to calf.

Luk-cha, may I ask you to post a pic of your impala leather shooz?

here you go!

http://www.styleforum.net/t/236162/...shoo-Appreciation-theard/4660_20#post_5694848

 

[jerrybrowne]



here you go!

http://www.styleforum.net/t/236162/...shoo-Appreciation-theard/4660_20#post_5694848

Nice. How have they aged?

 

[luk-cha]



Nice. How have they aged?

very well, thro they are not getting much action since my retirement

 

[Winot]



Personally I think natural grain/textured hides looks way better than artificially textured calfskin...

I agree with this - in fact I was in Cleverley today for a fitting of a pair of pigskin double monk ankle boots. I chose pigskin over pebble grain calf because I preferred the nature texture (although I have had pebble grain shoes/boots made before).

I also bit the bullet and ordered some midnight blue stingray wholecuts (ouch on the price but I'm confident they will look amazing).

Next commission is likely to be a pair of full brogues in the Horween cross-hatch cordovan, or maybe something based on the Cleverley Devon design (their website shows a crocodile/tobacco suede combination but might go for Russian reindeer/tan calf). Would also love a pair of chukkas made from hippo. So many possibilities - it's a good job for the bank balance that they can only make one pair at a time.

 

[DWFII]

FAIK, hatch-grain is not natural. Especially not for the products mentioned. Shell is not naturally hatch-grain--it is a muscle sheath. Most, if not all of of the "russia calf" type hatch grain is created by folding and creasing, and tumbling (like shirts in a clothes dryer).

Any texture that pulls out...over the toe, over the heel stiffener...during lasting is almost certain to be induced / artificial.

 

[luk-cha]



AFAIK, hatch-grain is not natural. Especially not for the products mentioned. Shell is not naturally hatch-grain--it is a muscle sheath. Most, if not all of of the "russia calf" type hatch grain is created by folding and creasing, and tumbling (like shirts in a clothes dryer).

Any texture that pulls out...over the toe, over the heel stiffener...during lasting is almost certain to be induced / artificial.

agree, but the hatch grain is the nicest IMO of all the man made textures

 

[DWFII]



agree, but the hatch grain is the nicest IMO of all the man made textures

Yes, indeed. I like it myownself.

 

[Winot]



AFAIK, hatch-grain is not natural. Especially not for the products mentioned. Shell is not naturally hatch-grain--it is a muscle sheath. Most, if not all of of the "russia calf" type hatch grain is created by folding and creasing, and tumbling (like shirts in a clothes dryer).

Any texture that pulls out...over the toe, over the heel stiffener...during lasting is almost certain to be induced / artificial.

Yes, I realise that horses don't have naturally cross-hatched behinds! Apparently Horween will add cross-hatching to any cordovan you want, although it can take up to a year. Cleverley said that they had some midnight blue cordovan in stock (not sure if cross-hatched or natural) and could get other colours e.g. green.

 

[dopey]

Bespoke paddock boots, bought while on my post-wedding trip in Seville. Like me, they too are now a bit long in the tooth.

 

[beaur]

Don't have too many words for these. Did anyone else see these? Hopefully the story will come out because I would be fascinated to know the back story.


http://saintcrispinsblessing.tumblr.com/post/71850183083/john-lobb-paris-bespoke-18k-gold-sole