Show us your boots
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The forum has inspired a couple posts from me today. This one, and a (G inspired) WAYWT. I had typed up a nice long story about how I came to these, but alas a 3 year old will ruin that for you. I highly recommend checking this company out. No one produces a boot for the money that compares, trust me I have owned something in the brand for over a dozen years and put them through hardships most boots only have nightmares about. Don't let my cowboy love sway you either, they have something for everyone, and at a starting price of around $200 USD. One warning, these are Canadian and sizing runs a bit off. My typical 11D US is a 10.5E in this make, my step-dads 9.5E US is a 9EE, and so on. Without further ado, easily my favorite boot company….
Boulet Boots
http://www.bouletboots.com/index.php?page=46&MainCategoryID=1
I have had 4 pair of these in a dozen years (2 sold, 1 ate by dog) these are my current. If anyone has questions about other models, how they're made, what I have put other pairs through etc, feel free. If you over look this brand you really missing out...
Aztec oiled shoulder vamp, brushed kid leather uppers, army midsole, double stitched welt, reinforced roughstock heel, as pretty as they are they mean business.
The deep and wide heel base make these super comfortable without ever having to worry about footing.
A view of the incredible spur shelf
Those double stitches prevent the leather sole from peeling
Leather lined and a sewn in insole
A vanity shot sure, but I love that toe box.
For those looking for non western:
Motorcycle
http://www.bouletboots.com/index.php?page=57&MCatID=1&CatID=8
Work
http://www.bouletboots.com/index.php?page=57&MCatID=1&CatID=20
and institutional (worn by RCMP)
http://www.bouletboots.com/index.php?page=57&MCatID=5&CatID=35
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Nice, I love cowboy boots.
I haven't worn my Mister Freedom Road Champs since snow started falling. They have Takeshi's triple soles, which I wanted to protect. But because they have triple soles, they can handle a little snow. So I broke down and Obenauf'd the soles. It feels so good to wear these things again, I missed them so much.
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Mclain,
Me too, was a sad day when I realized I couldn't live in a pair anymore. Until a few years ago I had 13 pair that got rotated through, one for about every need. Since my back won't allow it anymore, I sold all but two pair. It gave me a reason to buy a few more pair of shoes though, as I really didn't have any to speak of. I like your Wellingtons too, can't say I have anything like it anymore. If you worry that much about the soles though, doubt you will ever wear them out.
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Thanks much, these are actually Engineer boots, version 1 of this http://www.misterfreedom.com/road-champs.html that have been resoled to a triple leather sole by this guy: http://hukurokuju.com/blog/ The resole changed the shape of the toe a bit.
I do have some black cowboy boots by Nocona that I love.
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Did someone mention cowboy boots? I like cowboy boots.
I'm wearing these today-
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Not a bad guess, but they're from Dave Wheeler, an extraordinary bootmaker who just happens to be a 15 minute drive from my house.
There are some additional pics over in the Cowboy Boots thread.
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Thanks much, these are actually Engineer boots, version 1 of this http://www.misterfreedom.com/road-champs.html that have been resoled to a triple leather sole by this guy: http://hukurokuju.com/blog/ The resole changed the shape of the toe a bit.
Would you post some better pics of highlighting the Hukurokuju resole?
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Gladly, Takeshi is a genius and I am proud to show his work. You'd think a triple sole wouldn't flex but these are insanely comfy. They were originally 10D and I'm a 9.5D, but the resole makes them glove like in their fit. Custom boots wouldn't have anything on these, I'm quite fortunate.
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Really nice, I'd also go for a triple when I resole - if I stick with leather. And I see they went from single to double stitched. Did you wear them awhile before the resole, or jump right on it?
Mine are breaking in nicely, but I worry the original soles are going to deteriorate prematurely. I think these boots are just amazing.
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John over at VEB told me that he was the first person to take RCs to Takeshi and ask for a triple sole. He said he had to talk him into it, he was worried about his machinery being able to accomplish the feat without breakage. Once the proof of concept happened, a few others occurred, and that's where mine came from.
http://vintageengineerboots.blogspot.jp/2011/11/mister-freedom-american-sportswear-part.html
Hopefully you can tell from the pics that Takeshi-san added a whole extra layer of leather to the entire sole on mine. He didn't add a leather half-sole to the existing double sole (which is epic on its own).
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Really nice, I'd also go for a triple when I resole - if I stick with leather. And I see they went from single to double stitched. Did you wear them awhile before the resole, or jump right on it?
Mine are breaking in nicely, but I worry the original soles are going to deteriorate prematurely. I think these boots are just amazing.
Thanks. Wow, yours are looking fine my man. Such great boots, these are tough to beat.
I actually picked these up on the secondary market for a very fair price, so they were already well-broken in. I'm not sure if I'm the second owner or further down the line, but Nerkg sold them to me.
You're right that he went to a double stitched sole. The exterior stitch goes through all three soles (!?) and the interior does not.
Here's what I think he did:
1: I think he re-lasted the uppers to make more room on the sole (see how there's plenty of room for the two rows of stitching, and how this 10D fits me perfectly as a 9.5D).
2: Then I think he took the sole apart and pulled out the stitching, removed the heel
3: Then I think he added the third layer of leather
4: He must have done whatever cobblers do to make the three layers as one
5: Then, I think he re-stitched all the way through all 3 soles once the third sole was glued on (you can see the outer stitching all the way through to the outsole). I believe he would have to have used the same holes on the top two soles to do this, which seems difficult.
6: Finally, I think he added the inner stitching when he welted the re-lasted upper back on. Tacked the heel back on. Probably ground and polished the thing and otherwise finished it. The stitching parts of 5 and 6 may have happened at the same time.I would love it if one of the talented bootmakers or someone who just knows a lot about boots could sanity check my theory on what Takeshi did. He may have just built the outsole from scratch and ditched the original sole.
