Wesco Boots!

[Kramertron2000]

I already posted on the Baker's Facebook page, but thought I'd wait a few days to show off my new Jobmasters here, but after 9 months they are finally here.

The build is semi-LTT, black tie domaine leather with double midsoles, black edges and eyelets, vibram 100 soles, black stitching around the welt, red light upper stitching and wine heavy upper stitching. I ordered a celastic toe, but they don't appear to have it, and they came with rolled tops and a pull loop which I didn't order. None of these things are a huge deal, although the soft toe is a bit annoying.
The leather is stiff, but supple and pliable, with a waxy feeling that scuffs easily, but the scuffs brush out. At first they were quite painful on my ankles, but after three days of wearing them all day they seem to have pretty much broken in (except of course the midsoles, which are still super stiff). Other than at the ankles though, they feel extremely comfortable - I'm a school teacher, so I'm on my feet most of the day, and it's good to finally have a pair of shoes that have a good amount of arch support and the soles still provide reasonable cushioning. I was a little worried at first that they would look too chunky to wear to work (so I ordered a pair of Nicks officer boots in W&C burgundy for work shoes), so I'd only be able to wear them casually and for hiking/fishing etc, but they don't actually look that much different to the boots I normally would wear when they're on, and I've already got several compliments from my coworkers and students.

Overall I'm pretty satisfied despite the few things that arent what I ordered, and the painfully long wait. They went on their first hike today as well and they were perfect.

 

[Kkibbey23]

new pickup for the patina thunderdome.
S&S and Wesco Knocked it outta the park with these.

can’t wait for Oct 1 to start the contest!!

 

[NautOfEarth]

They look great! You going to sun tan them or just wear them as-is?

 

[Jimk4003]

new pickup for the patina thunderdome.
S&S and Wesco Knocked it outta the park with these.

can’t wait for Oct 1 to start the contest!!

Awesome. I got a pair of those Day Breakers last year; they're absolute patina monsters.

 

[Kkibbey23]

I’ll prob just wear as is. Thinking of sun tanning the kitties to see how they look.

jimk4003- I’d love to see how they look?

 

[Jimk4003]

I’ll prob just wear as is. Thinking of sun tanning the kitties to see how they look.

jimk4003- I’d love to see how they look?

Oh go on, since you asked

Here's a few pics:

Wesco make some of my favourite boots, and these ones just look better with age. Enjoy yours!

 

[Kkibbey23]

Damn! Those are so sweet! Do you wear them daily or just in the rotation? I can’t wait to see how mine turn out

 

[Jimk4003]

Damn! Those are so sweet! Do you wear them daily or just in the rotation? I can’t wait to see how mine turn out

They're in a rotation of a few different pairs, but I like them so much I end up wearing them way more regularly than most of my other boots.

 

[Buellrider]

New boot day. Some MP’s in black tie domain. Wanted to get Boss in HH but the wait was gonna kill me so found these in their discounted boots for much less.

 

[TyrLI]

Does anyone know what kind of finish they apply to the tan domain? I tried touching up the toe of one with tan Lincoln wax and now it looks like this. I am... mildly annoyed...

 

[theofficialhung]

Does anyone know what kind of finish they apply to the tan domain? I tried touching up the toe of one with tan Lincoln wax and now it looks like this. I am... mildly annoyed...

Try letting it dry completely out then the color might even out? If the wax has oils in it causing the discoloration, you could try cleaning with saddle soap then reconditioning with Bick 4 or something neutral that won't change the color of the leather.

Off topic but I have the same boots and although I really like them, the leather seems kind of delicate to me. Almost like a dress leather, definitely not something I'd want to do labor in or use in tough conditions.

 

[TyrLI]

Try letting it dry completely out then the color might even out? If the wax has oils in it causing the discoloration, you could try cleaning with saddle soap then reconditioning with Bick 4 or something neutral that won't change the color of the leather.

Off topic but I have the same boots and although I really like them, the leather seems kind of delicate to me. Almost like a dress leather, definitely not something I'd want to do labor in or use in tough conditions.

I agree, it's definitely too thin to be a work leather. I put bick on them before I tried waxing and this happened. It almost looks like corrected leather that has been painted. For as much as I paid for them I'm really disappointed.

 

[Jimk4003]

I agree, it's definitely too thin to be a work leather. I put bick on them before I tried waxing and this happened. It almost looks like corrected leather that has been painted. For as much as I paid for them I'm really disappointed.

There's a couple of resources on Domain leather that might help.

The first is this interview with Seidel's tannery (who make Domain leather). From their description, Domain is a teacore-style leather where the flesh side of the leather is left natural, and the top grain is dyed. Basically, it's a natural leather with a dyed topcoat (bit like Chromexcel).

The other resource is a Reddit AMA with Chris at Wesco, where he describes the properties of Domain leather:

"Our regular leathers are oil tanned. Our Domain leathers are waxed, They are cared for differently. The domain are a little lighter in weight, and break in a little quicker. They have a pull up effect so they distress and age amazingly. The oil tanned are what we would use on our basic work boots. They are a little thicker, but don't feel as soft as the waxed. They seem to be the "tougher" of the two leathers."

So by the sounds of it, Domain leathers are thinner leathers with softer finished designed to 'distress and age amazingly', and aren't meant to be work leathers.

I'd start with trying to get whatever you've put on there off. If saddle soap doesn't do it, try a mix of lemon juice and cream of tartar. You can get both from the ingredients aisle of the supermarket. Mix them together into a thick paste, apply it to the affected area, let it sit for 15 minutes, wipe off the boot, let dry, and then check. You may need to repeat a few times, and test on an inconspicuous area of the boot first to avoid any further unwanted discoloration.

The other option is just to wear the boots, and accept the wabi-sabi nature of a leather that's meant to patina and look distressed. Personally, I'd avoid putting Lincoln wax on them, and when they need conditioning, use something ultra light like Saphir Nappa cream.

Good luck!

 

[TyrLI]

There's a couple of resources on Domain leather that might help.

The first is this interview with Seidel's tannery (who make Domain leather). From their description, Domain is a teacore-style leather where the flesh side of the leather is left natural, and the top grain is dyed. Basically, it's a natural leather with a dyed topcoat (bit like Chromexcel).

The other resource is a Reddit AMA with Chris at Wesco, where he describes the properties of Domain leather:

"Our regular leathers are oil tanned. Our Domain leathers are waxed, They are cared for differently. The domain are a little lighter in weight, and break in a little quicker. They have a pull up effect so they distress and age amazingly. The oil tanned are what we would use on our basic work boots. They are a little thicker, but don't feel as soft as the waxed. They seem to be the "tougher" of the two leathers."

So by the sounds of it, Domain leathers are thinner leathers with softer finished designed to 'distress and age amazingly', and aren't meant to be work leathers.

I'd start with trying to get whatever you've put on there off. If saddle soap doesn't do it, try a mix of lemon juice and cream of tartar. You can get both from the ingredients aisle of the supermarket. Mix them together into a thick paste, apply it to the affected area, let it sit for 15 minutes, wipe off the boot, let dry, and then check. You may need to repeat a few times, and test on an inconspicuous area of the boot first to avoid any further unwanted discoloration.

The other option is just to wear the boots, and accept the wabi-sabi nature of a leather that's meant to patina and look distressed. Personally, I'd avoid putting Lincoln wax on them, and when they need conditioning, use something ultra light like Saphir Nappa cream.

Good luck!

Thank you for the response. I ordered some saphir last night. In the meantime, I'm going to bring it to my local shoe repair and see what they can do. I can handle distressing, but they look stupid as is.

 

[Jimk4003]

Thank you for the response. I ordered some saphir last night. In the meantime, I'm going to bring it to my local shoe repair and see what they can do. I can handle distressing, but they look stupid as is.

Excellent. Which Saphir product have you gone for?

Whilst I've never had issues with any of them, there are a couple of blog post (like this one) from people who own dyed crust leather (which sounds similar to Domain, based on Seidel's description from the earlier link) where they found Renovateur gave a splotchy and inconsistent finish.

The mildest Saphir conditioner is their Nappa cream, which is designed for delicate leathers. I've found it really good for when I don't want to change the appearance of the leather at all (literally not at all, it's actually hard to see which parts of the boot you've been over already, it's so light).

Nappa cream is probably the lowest risk conditioner available from a discoloration point of view, but you may find yourself needing to apply it a bit more frequently, and it's no use from a waterproofing or scuff removal perspective.