Wesco Boots!

[NautOfEarth]

Managed to sell the Maryam engineers.

28 weeks into my wait for my last pair from Wesco which were supposed to be completed by the end of last month.

I've been thinking about getting a russet horsehide Hendrik or Mr. Lou. If I went with the Hendrik, might even do a full brogue on it. It'd be a ways down the line before I'd do it though.

 

[NautOfEarth]

Well, after 32 weeks and much impatience, my horween navy horsehide Mr. Lou-esque boots are in and ......

they're botched. At least aesthetically speaking. Posting here for second opinions but right out of the box, the leather is unreasonably faded and there are numerous examples of what appear to be tooling marks. Am I being unreasonable? Will these brush out?

 

[Jimk4003]

Well, after 32 weeks and much impatience, my horween navy horsehide Mr. Lou-esque boots are in and ......

they're botched. At least aesthetically speaking. Posting here for second opinions but right out of the box, the leather is unreasonably faded and there are numerous examples of what appear to be tooling marks. Am I being unreasonable? Will these brush out?

Have you tried brushing them?

A lot of the 'fading' looks like bloom, which is where oils in the leather come to the surface. It often happens when the leather's been sat for a while, and brushing usually brings the lustre back.

Most of those tooling marks look reasonably okay; the wheeling marks running parallel to the stitching is just the indentations the sewing machine makes as it runs along the leather, and usually fade with time.

The mark on the heel counter doesn't look fantastic though. I mean, it's probably one of the first places to get scuffed up during normal wear, so it's not likely to bother you a year from now, but it's pretty disappointing to see on a factory fresh pair of boots. A bit of Venetian Shoe Cream might help even it out, but it's still not something I'd expect from Wesco.

I certainly wouldn't say they're botched, and a year from now they'll look no different to a pair that came from the factory looking perfect, but I absolutely can see why you'd expect a bit more care after such a long wait.

In short; try brushing the leather to see if the lustre comes back, the wheeling around the stitching is fairly normal and should fade, but you'll have to decide for yourself if you want to live with the scuff on the heel or not.

Just my two cents.

 

[Calvin as in CALVIN]

Well, after 32 weeks and much impatience, my horween navy horsehide Mr. Lou-esque boots are in and ......

they're botched. At least aesthetically speaking. Posting here for second opinions but right out of the box, the leather is unreasonably faded and there are numerous examples of what appear to be tooling marks. Am I being unreasonable? Will these brush out?

Personally that’s nothing to worry about. A good brush up should do the trick. Not sure if you’re planning to keep them pretty but when it comes to engineers you want them beat up over time.

they came out nice though tbh ??

 

[Jimk4003]

Well, after 32 weeks and much impatience, my horween navy horsehide Mr. Lou-esque boots are in and ......

they're botched. At least aesthetically speaking. Posting here for second opinions but right out of the box, the leather is unreasonably faded and there are numerous examples of what appear to be tooling marks. Am I being unreasonable? Will these brush out?

As a quick addition, here's a picture of leather bloom before and after brushing. To me, that looks like what a lot of the marks on your boots are. It's perfectly normal, and many people even use it as an indicator of quality leather.

 

[theofficialhung]

8 months is double the normal lead time for Wesco which they claim is 16 weeks at most. What took so long for the build? Sourcing the leather I'm assuming?

The boots are beautiful but I would be annoyed by the blemishes too, especially after an 8 month wait.

 

[NautOfEarth]

8 months is double the normal lead time for Wesco which they claim is 16 weeks at most. What took so long for the build? Sourcing the leather I'm assuming?

The boots are beautiful but I would be annoyed by the blemishes too, especially after an 8 month wait.

I assume it was sourcing it. My first pair from them using their navy cowhide leather took exactly 15 weeks and that was during the first lockdown early last year.

I just used some VSC and brushed them and they do appear darker now so bloom was the culprit as ya'll pointed out. The marks that remain are much less noticeable now as well. They don't seem to take the instep strap being put on the tightest setting as well as my brown HH Mr. Lou's though. But overall, I do think they turned out well.

Thanks for the advice and input, guys!

 

[Jimk4003]

I assume it was sourcing it. My first pair from them using their navy cowhide leather took exactly 15 weeks and that was during the first lockdown early last year.

I just used some VSC and brushed them and they do appear darker now so bloom was the culprit as ya'll pointed out. The marks that remain are much less noticeable now as well. They don't seem to take the instep strap being put on the tightest setting as well as my brown HH Mr. Lou's though. But overall, I do think they turned out well.

Thanks for the advice and input, guys!

Excellent. They look awesome!

 

[DG123]

Has anybody here worn a pair of the Wesco Chukka boot ?

 

[Bigtophat]

Pre-covid order just landed ?

I’m curious how this leather is holding up? It looks amazing. I don’t recall ever seeing this particular leather used in a pair of boots before. Any down sides.

 

[smartbrother]

I’m curious how this leather is holding up? It looks amazing. I don’t recall ever seeing this particular leather used in a pair of boots before. Any down sides.

Nope. Pretty new offering from Horween as I understand it. It's super thick and waxy. I don't see durability being an issue with this pair.

 

[smartbrother]

? new boot day. It was a pain in the butt to get these made, but I’m glad it’s finally done.

 

[ajd578]

? new boot day. It was a pain in the butt to get these made, but I’m glad it’s finally done.

Another amazing pair man. Was it any trouble to get them to do the single piece heel counter?

 

[smartbrother]

Another amazing pair man. Was it any trouble to get them to do the single piece heel counter?

Thanks! The single piece counter/backstay is only available through Mansway. As I understand it, Mansway paid for those specific dies.

 

[ajd578]

Thanks! The single piece counter/backstay is only available through Mansway. As I understand it, Mansway paid for those specific dies.

Ah I missed the tag - so you got these through Mansway then?