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Man-of-Mystery · May 29, 2010

Originally Posted by lacunae123

Eagerly awaiting more photos of ol' Bob.

The man's a total barm pot.

Big Muscle · May 30, 2010

Originally Posted by youngScholar

I had the same problem with my cheapie Chinese 1460s. Creasing is inevitable, but open cracking is not acceptable. I would expect this not to be an issue with the MiE docs.
If I take a closer look at the leather, it looks dried with miniature cracks (not whole boot, only sides of front part where boots bend) although I polish it regularly. At the beginning when the first cracks started to appear, I was using DM Wonder Balsam but it doesn't do shine and never dries, so I went to KIWI.

Also it's tearing in the place where side part meets the front part.

Next time, I will try that 1490 Made in England with Quilon leather.

youngScholar · May 31, 2010

Originally Posted by Big Muscle

If I take a closer look at the leather, it looks dried with miniature cracks (not whole boot, only sides of front part where boots bend) although I polish it regularly. At the beginning when the first cracks started to appear, I was using DM Wonder Balsam but it doesn't do shine and never dries, so I went to KIWI.

Also it's tearing in the place where side part meets the front part.

Next time, I will try that 1490 Made in England with Quilon leather.

I polished mine regularly as well (Kiwi). The thing is there's no real way to condition and moisturize the leather; the last time I tried Lexol it did little more than dry into a film.

Also, how necessary are Doc Martens to the traditional skinhead look? I take it not just any work boot will do, but how much leeway does one have?

Man-of-Mystery · Jun 1, 2010

Originally Posted by youngScholar

I polished mine regularly as well (Kiwi). Also, how necessary are Doc Martens to the traditional skinhead look? I take it not just any work boot will do, but how much leeway does one have?

"Back in the day", when the tail end of the mods were morphing into the first of the skinheads* the DM was not obligatory. I had other boots before a pair of DMs and did not throw them away when I got my first pair. I saw some "hard mods" wearing "grand-dad boots" with suits; I had a pair of monkey boots like these:

only with brown stitching and brown laces, and I had a pair of taller brown boots the make of which I can't remember. Both pairs were actually more comfortable than DMs. I'm not sure, but I think the boots I'm wearing in a pic in an earlier post (colour pic, with sheepskin) are NOT DMs.

*Don't forget, the word "skinhead" was originally a term of abuse, usually shouted by a "greaser", and one of the regular crowd of "totters" would have reacted with a frown or even a punch or two.

Get Smart · Jun 1, 2010

nice to see this thread still alive and kicking

great photos MoM!

Get Smart · Jun 1, 2010

Originally Posted by Man-of-Mystery

"Back in the day", when the tail end of the mods were morphing into the first of the skinheads* the DM was not obligatory. I had other boots before a pair of DMs and did not throw them away when I got my first pair. I saw some "hard mods" wearing "grand-dad boots" with suits; I had a pair of monkey boots like these:

only with brown stitching and brown laces, and I had a pair of taller brown boots the make of which I can't remember. Both pairs were actually more comfortable than DMs. I'm not sure, but I think the boots I'm wearing in a pic in an earlier post (colour pic, with sheepskin) are NOT DMs.

monkey boots always have a stigma that they are "girls" boots or kids boots before he can fit into a pair of DMs....that said, I dont care for them myself but dont see them as girl boots either.

Lot of DM-style boots back then that werent actually Dr Marten. The Hawkins 'astronauts' are probably one of the more famous ones, recently a **** load of vintage ones have been on ebay selling for ridiculous money, considering they are old/worn boots.

Get Smart · Jun 1, 2010

Originally Posted by sambarock

What other brands were around?

Jon Wood and Arnold Palmer made shirts that were worn by skinheads. The current Mikkel Rude shirts look very much like the kind of checks I've seen Jon Wood shirts made of.

Get Smart · Jun 1, 2010

Originally Posted by youngScholar

Cracking seems to be more of a leather quality issue.

The current MIE docs are uneven in quality. Some are fine and will age and patina well with care and polishing. Others from a different batch but still MIE will have poor results over time and crack or flake. no way to tell when they are new unfortunately. That is why I think Solovair is a better boot/shoe for the money since their quality level is a bit more even these days

mlyngard · Jun 1, 2010

The Kraken reappears, breathes fire and skulks back to lair?

Would love worn pics of Solovair if you own any. Was considering them. Was also curious how their oxblood finish compares to DM's.

Also, what's the dealy-o with the DM 'Capper' model. I don't know much about the counterculture history of this, though it's clearly one of the original work boots.

Man-of-Mystery · Jun 1, 2010

Originally Posted by Get Smart

monkey boots always have a stigma that they are "girls" boots or kids boots before he can fit into a pair of DMs...

Not in my day, GS, and not in S E London to my recollection. What was occurring at that time was, as you'd expect, a shift in the youth population - older brothers marrying and settling down, younger brothers getting old enough for the "look", and those of us who fell in between just carrying on with a few changes. Happens in any "scene".

More pictures shortly, when Boots (the chemist) get my tansparencies sorted out.

Get Smart · Jun 1, 2010

Originally Posted by mlyngard

The Kraken reappears, breathes fire and skulks back to lair?

Would love worn pics of Solovair if you own any. Was considering them. Was also curious how their oxblood finish compares to DM's.

Also, what's the dealy-o with the DM 'Capper' model. I don't know much about the counterculture history of this, though it's clearly one of the original work boots.

I'm like a drive by....BAM then gone!

seriously tho....the normal Solovair oxblood is a darker more true burgundy than DM's oxblood/cherry red. imo a better color. The Solovair boots that Jump the Gun sell (8 eyelet) is a different color to Solovair's usual burgundy, and more similar to DM's oxblood, tho slightly more "cherry red". The JtG monkey boot's oxblood is their standard one that I imagine the Mikkel Rude boots use (which are a remake of the Hawkins Astronaut boot, the last is slightly sleeker and there are some minor cosmetic differences to a regular DM boot)

the Capper model was an 80s boot so it does have some history, tho I'd never seen it before until the reissue. I did see pics from a guy that had a pair he'd owned since the 80s and it's pretty much exactly the same now as then.

Man-of-Mystery · Jun 1, 2010

GS, I can remember lads using black polish on red boots to get a kind of faux ox-blood finish. No kidding.

Get Smart · Jun 1, 2010

Originally Posted by Man-of-Mystery

Not in my day, GS, and not in S E London to my recollection. What was occurring at that time was, as you'd expect, a shift in the youth population - older brothers marrying and settling down, younger brothers getting old enough for the "look", and those of us who fell in between just carrying on with a few changes. Happens in any "scene".

makes sense, it seems that skinhead style really had a bit of variety from region to region, with different sorts of clobber being deemed "acceptable" at the time

Having gotten into it in the mid 80s, "we" had the luxury of being able to take from all the different incarnations (including the "new breed" 70s/80s revival) into a look that is still clearly defined as being "skinhead", if that matters anymore.

Get Smart · Jun 1, 2010

Originally Posted by Man-of-Mystery

GS, I can remember lads using black polish on red boots to get a kind of faux ox-blood finish. No kidding.

yea that was how I was first taught to polish cherry reds, with black polish to get that antique effect and I think it works great. After a few months of proper polish you get a very nice patina. These days I like alternating *************** polishing and then oxblood and repeat (I use Cherry Blossom oxblood polish from UK which I think is the best for this sort of thing)

AntiHero84 · Jun 1, 2010

I'm a bit curious about these "grand-dad boots". What are they exactly, Man-of-Mystery?

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