30's~40's Work Boots

[mike]

I posted more pictures of mine here http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?p=731358#post731358

 

[KhalilSheikh]

Red Wing 1913/9013 Featherstones for me.

My favorite pair. I have a hard time NOT wearing these every day.
Stock photo...

Same boots after ~2 months of regular wear. Not the best picture, of course.

 

[LeeB]

I have four pairs of boots that I cycle thru for daily wear. A pair of LL Bean light duty work boots (now discontinued), a pair of 6 inch Work America moc-toe boots, 8-inch Red Wing 899 sport boots ( now only offered by J Crew for twice what I paid a number of years ago) and finally, my favorites, my Red Wing 8147's. These last are now offered thru J Crew as their "Rugged Causual" boots. Fortunately, I was able to obtain mine for a substantially lesser price than what they are asking. All these are of the classic work boot design.
All these boots are the unlined/uninsulated type that are, in my opinion, the most comfortable as the lack of insulation allows the boots to mold to the foot after time. They are almost like wearing mocassins and very comfortable.

 

[lordcharles]

Iron Rangers

Hobson Shoes here in the UK are selling Iron Rangers at £126 a pair. If they come down any more I'll get a pair.

 

[Doug C]

mazeta wrote:

Red Wing 1913/9013 Featherstones for me.

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My favorite pair. I have a hard time NOT wearing these every day.

Same boots after ~2 months of regular wear. Not the best picture, of course.

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Yep those are the ones I will eventually be getting and I understand they'll be available in the states soon. I now have the black cherry version of the same boot and it's great, my only reservation with the 9013 is that the lighter color leather will make them stand out more and accentuate the size of the foot (boot) atleast to the wearer (myself), I know that's probably a non-issue though in reality.
Doug C

 

[CopperNY]

obtuse RedWings question...

(rather than start a new thread)

i've decided that i need a pair of Iron Rangers.

the size label on my 2218's says "10 E2".

please tell me this is the same as "EE".

thanks for the gentle words.

 

[Erik]

With more than a bit of influence from the crowd, I took delivery of a pair of Red Wing 9012s today. (As pictured in post #44, without the 100 year stamp.) Several hours in them, I anticipate their becoming favorites in fairly short order.

 

[Creeping Past]

I tried on a pair of Iron Rangers in American Classics (Endell St, London). I'm a UK 10 and, unfortunately, in that size they were an unusually narrow fit. I've never worn such a narrow pair of boots. I was quite disappointed because in all other respects they're great.

I'm going to try the Featherstone type when they re-stock...

 

[flat-top]

I saw the Red Wing 1952 Irish Setter repros at J Crew yesterday. I like them alot.
Does anybody have a pair?

 

[celtic]

Just bought a pair of deadstock Thorogood work boots with a tall heel from a local shop. They had one pair so I grabbed them. They are too perfect.

The problem?

Too small.

I wore them around the house for a bit, trying to convince myself they would work for me.

I am putting them in the classified section in case anyone is interested.

Size 9 E. Sometimes I can wear a 9E especially in workboots but these are true to size. (I wear a 9.5 D in modern shoes)


http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?p=776852#post776852

 

[eClairvaux]

White's boots: Packers

I got myself a pair of White's 10" Packer boots through eBay, but new and from White's directly (seller name is "whitesriver"). The service was immaculate, shipping fast and fair priced.

So what about the boots?

Let me begin by saying that I own Sanders, Tricker's, two pairs of Alden dress shoes, boots from various local very high quality craftsmen (e.g. Schuh Bertl) and also Red Wing and Lewis Leathers. All very fine footwear, but the White's are simply a world apart.

Granted they are quite heavy and the cowboy heel somewhat limits their versatility (if you don't live in a place where those are more common).

But the fit and feel of those boots is just amazing. The leather is thick, yet supple, the boot is cut high, yet gives support without feeling stiff.
Sure enough the sole is massive (even though I did not get a deep lug vibram), but that's what it should be in a work boot.

The arch is high, thankfully the heel isn't looking like you're wearing platforms, but still it takes some getting used to.

However, if you are looking for some of the best hand made boots that will most likely stand up to anything you can throw at them, these will certainly not disappoint you.

On Sizing: a regular D seems a bit narrow for my feet, that usually don't have any trouble fitting into standard shoe sizes. however, the shoe will mold rather quickly to your feet. Sizing seems to be the same as in Red Wings or most other dress shoes (as opposed to sport shoes which are at least one size off, tending to be smaller than dress shoes of the same size).

highly recommended, if you can adapt to the style!

 

[celtic]

Great review!
Thank you.

 

[mattfink]

Hobson Shoes here in the UK are selling Iron Rangers at £126 a pair. If they come down any more I'll get a pair.

That's only about $183 US...the cheapest I could find Iron Rangers here is $250.

 

[Creeping Past]

Thanks for the White's review, eClairvaux. Having seen the Red Wing gentleman traveller close up, I've decided not to get a pair. I don't like the lace closure.

I'm going to wait until the dollar drops, again, before getting a pair of White's boots. I can't take yet another customs charge this year.

If only they had a UK distributor.

 

[Feraud]

Is anyone else waiting for the Wolverine Heritage Collection due out this fall?
There are good looking boots to be had..

 

[Creeping Past]

I wasn't, but I am now.

Here's a promo/review post with pics on A Continuous Lean .

The colours and the styling look good.

 

[flat-top]

Got these today:

These have the style I've been looking for and they were only $99 at Urban Outfitters. They are actually a "web exclusive" on sale for $169.99, so these must have been a return, as they were the only pair there and I guess they wanted to get rid of them. Luckily they were in my size and color!
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urba...Date&navCount=12&navAction=poppushpush&color=

 

[Elmonteman]

Creeping,
Thanks for bringing those Wolverine boots to my attention. They look great: http://www.wolverine1000mile.com/default.htm I forgot they had such a great tag line, "Wolverine, relentless by nature."

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Got these today:

These have the style I've been looking for and they were only $99 at Urban Outfitters. They are actually a "web exclusive" on sale for $169.99, so these must have been a return, as they were the only pair there and I guess they wanted to get rid of them. Luckily they were in my size and color!
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urba...Date&navCount=12&navAction=poppushpush&color=

Man you lucked out on those!

 

[PADDY]

Gentleman Travellers (by Redwing) nearly a year on...

And just popped off a few photos this morning before going out to work. They are nicely broken in. They do (as has been mentioned) run a tad larger, ie: if you're a size 9, then a size 8 would probably do. I didn't compensate for this folks, but it has worked out okay, as it allowed me that extra room to put in an insole (Sorbathane I swear by from using in Military boots for route marching..etc). So all-in-all pretty positive.
I like the way the outer dye spray has rubbed off in places to show the underlying collar and in so doing has diluted that 'cherry/reddish' colour that they have when spanking new.
For comfort, I like them, I've never had a soft foot when it comes to hard footwear like boots, so I'm lucky that way that my feet are pretty hardened. The internal part leather lining for the toes and heels and sides is nice too and will add to the longetivity.
For the price, (and do shop around as deals are out there) I think they are good bang-for-buck (value!). Don't be thinking in terms of "nice cheap buy!" Think of paying 'that bit more than cheap' but in 10-years-time realising what an economic purchase they actually are (in the longer term)...

And..if you are like me, then change the laces, as the laces change the look of a boot/shoe so simply and easily. Might go for some leather laces next..mmm.