Gokey classic boots

[TLW '90]

I was browsing Ebay recently unsuccessfully seeing hoping to turn up a particular pair of boots I have been interested in for a long time, these GOKEY classics popped up and I put them on my watchlist to take a better look at them later.

Well I just got offered a big discount on them at $71 with free shipping and I took the bait, they are definitely worn of course but the soles don't have a lot of wear to them ( cant get that picture to cooperate )

The sides of the toebox don't look too stretched / shaped to the original owners feet or anything.


Typically I'm a lace up or nothing kind of guy because of my skinny ankles, but I think these have a chance of being the pair of pull on boots that I can wear and the price was low enough to take the gamble.
With the low toe of a moccasin construction and the straps I think there's a good chance.
If they don't fit me snugly enough or the insoles prove to be too broken in to the original owners feet I'll just put some insoles in them if necessary.

 

[TLW '90]

Apparently they aren't technically the classic model but actually a Botts Sauvage which I figure is probably what this model was originally called.


They're made in St Paul Minnesota which would make them pre 1992, and they have Gro-Cord King B soles which might make them even older but I have no clue how old.
I sure hope they're not so old that the outsoles are bad, I don't see and discoloration or cracking so I could be lucky.

 

[Trouser Bark]

The Sauvage was (I thought) a snake boot which is usually 16-17” to the top of the shaft.

 

[TLW '90]

The Sauvage was (I thought) a snake boot which is usually 16-17” to the top of the shaft.

That is what I thought looking at their website today, but that's what the label inside the shaft says.

This is an example of the exact label that's inside these boots, the same label but I can't get the exact picture from the boots I have coming to cooperate.

I have seen another similar green label on a 17" pair that included SNAKE PROOF BOOTS as the middle line of text.

 

[Carlos840]

These are cool, i like them a lot.

 

[Trouser Bark]

There's an old goat on FleaBay that sells snakes, mostly older stuff and usually has a few pair of old Gokey boots in the mix. He isn't the most conversational character but he might be able to shed a little light on your pair.

I'm guessing the leather is thick enough that you can imagine it doing a good job against a fat and cranky copperhead?

 

[TLW '90]

There's an old goat on FleaBay that sells snakes, mostly older stuff and usually has a few pair of old Gokey boots in the mix. He isn't the most conversational character but he might be able to shed a little light on your pair.

I'm guessing the leather is thick enough that you can imagine it doing a good job against a fat and cranky copperhead?

I will look into it, thanks.

 

[TLW '90]

Doing some searching, it seems that a lot of different Gokey boots say Botte Sauvage on the label and this wasn't actually the model or style at the time.
Apparently BOTTE SAUVAGE is just a call back to the origin of Gokey boots which has roots in the French region of Canada.

I know these boots are pre '92 because that's when Gokey moved to Missouri and subsequently got bought out by Orvis, but that's all I really know definitively.
I am thinking the boots I've got coming may be from the 80's because I have found this same label ( it's pretty common ) and another very similar label that didn't say St Paul which I figure are pre and post move versions of the same label.
That would really only suggest 1980's if I knew how long it was in use for, so really all I can say is pre '92.

 

[TLW '90]

Doing a little more research on the markings found inside to try and better determine the age , but didn't come up with anything in that regard.
The 3 digits I assumed were the model number are the size actually, and the 1st digit being a 6 seems to suggest an EE.
I sure hope they aren't in fact an extra wide size, because that doesn't bode well for them fitting me.

They are on track to be delivered tomorrow, so I will see when they arrive.

 

[Trouser Bark]

Gokey makes a pretty special boot. Maybe a fatty sock would help cure width? I hope they fit!

 

[TLW '90]

They arrived, and have turned out to be a wide not an extra wide.
I can definitely wear them, but I will have to play with sock and possibly insole combinations so I don't have any problems with instep.

The condition is really pretty good , the leather is very healthy, and I don't feel the original owners footprint.

 

[TLW '90]

With my mid weight fall / winter socks and an in between hole added to the instep straps they are fitting fairly well.
The width seems to be just about right too, a little wider than the Thorogood moc toes I wear at work.
I wouldn't be surprised if these are more of a regular width.

I noticed the leather had that slightly tacky feeling surface that makes your fingers feel dry when you touch it, and there was a definite luster.

Somebody had clearly polished them up and used a bit too much, I ran a heat *** over them for a few seconds then wiped all that excess polish off.

That's way too much.

I'll be conditioning them with some Chamberlain's leather milk which won't darken the leather.
I haven't been using the stuff long enough to know just how effective of a conditioner it is, but it seems to work.

 

[Trouser Bark]

Breathing new life into old boots is oddly rewarding.

 

[TLW '90]

Breathing new life into old boots is oddly rewarding.

I don't think these are dry or anything, but I'd rather condition them to be on the safe side.