Red Wing Shoes
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@tmg:
Best thing is just wear them and beat them to hell, and condition them if they start to look like they need it
What would you think is a good conditioner to go with for the Muleskinners? I also wonder if they need conditioning right away. Production tag in the tongue says 2012, so they've been in the world a while, granted they're brand new to an owner. Red Wing said it shouldn't matter when they were produced as far as their quality now, having just sat in a shoebox for a few years and not been exposed to the elements of the world…
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Best way to treat them if you want to preserve the roughout look/ texture of the leather is to apply RW's Leather Protector. Since it's a spray, it won't flatten and grease up the flesh side of the leather like mink oil would. With daily wear, every 3-6 months should be good enough. I would probably give them a quick treatment now if they've been in the box that long.
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I like the minimalist approach, as it sounds like something a novice like myself could handle easily, but I got a little worried when another person showed me a pic of his 8113's that he'd done the exact same thing with (RW Leather Protector and nothing else) and they appeared to take on a solid brown type of color, like your basic brown suede, straight up (may have been lighting, who knows). They didn't look bad necessarily but I've seen many pics just by google searching something like 'worn muleskinner iron rangers' that appeared to more so take on the look I'd be into. I just have no idea what those fellas did to theirs, because they're usually just random pintrest pics with no explanation. They still maintain some of the lighter beige in there amongst all of the abuse, aka not a solid dark/brown tone. They do also, for the most part, maintain the roughout texture. Sometimes the toe area seem flatter or worn down a bit more. It's a tricky mistress. At some point, I might just have to dive right in an see what happens.
I ordered the Red Wing Suede cleaner kit and the Red Wing Leather Protector, so I'll at least have some tools soon. I'm just hoping I can get it right, and I have myself a nice favorite pair of non-sneaker footwear for some time..
Appreciate all of the help and opinions! Keep em coming. I understand there's not an end all be all correct way to handle it, just need to find what best works for what I'm aiming for.
Something like this, for example doesn't read solid brown suede to me.. Granted, super worn, but you get the idea; a marbley effect. Could depend on what kind of wear and tear I provide them how solid the color appears. I'm just trying to hash it all out. Apologize for the rambling. Thanks again for the input.
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I've used Obenauf's leather oil on my Red Wings with success . Wear them for a decent spell of time and then condition them . If your worried , just do a little spot on the back of them to see the colour change .
Enjoy
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Irrelevant.
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I would just nip that errant piece of leather off with a scissors.
The rough out Muleskinner leather is a lot different than most other shoe leather, as far as conditioning goes there are fewer options. I certainly would not use mink oil on them. I don't own a pair of the rough outs and I don't think I would, but if it were me I would probably use the Red Wing suede brush to spot fix and clean. And a regular shoe brush for general duty and daily cleaning and inspection. I would also consider a light spray of some sort of leather protector/water proofing, Kiwi, Red Wing or otherwise. Very light spritzing, definitely would not soak it in.
But the best advice would be to wear the heck out of them. I think the Muleskinners are supposed to look pretty rough, as part of the appeal.
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my 3140. 3+ years old. treated with chelsea leather food, then coated over with red wing leather protector after it's been absorbed, whenever they are looking a little dry and/or need some scuff cleanup. i use them as work boots, on my feet in them 8 hours a day on concrete floors in the produce department of an organic grocery store. they get a lot of scuffs from pulling metal and plastic stocking carts around, accidentally kicking display tables etc and often have to stand in 1/4-1/2" of standing water when cleaning in the cooler. looking to make them my backups and ordering some 6" nicks soon.
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Just took delivery of these beautiful RW Harvester #2943 boots in Amber Harness. They were hard to track down but they're here now.
A couple notes:
•The Amber Harness leather is a nice burgundy color, of medium thickness, and quite stiff/rigid
•Purchased from ShoeParlor who had a 10% off coupon when I purchased
•For sizing they seem to run about a half size large but I wear thick wool socks with my boots, so I take them TTS
•I've never seen this particular Vibram black rubber sole with lug pattern used before, but it's a nice tradeoff between looks (I like how you can't see the lug from above) and function (good luck in the ice with the Iron Rangers
•Red Wing QA is top notch, as usual. Unlike Alden and Wolverine, I've never had to send a pair of RW's back and I own quite a few different pairs. Stitching and construction is uniformly excellent.
•Eyelets and speed hooks are a nice antiqued brass which fits the retro 1930's style, which is when the original Harvester was released
•Never have cared for the laces that come with most RW's as they look like a generic hiking lace. I prefer waxed cotton laces, so I swapped them out. Note that this 8" boot needs about 63" laces.Pics:
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Let me preface this by saying I probably would never have considered buying these boots. They just looked a little hokey to me. I ended up getting a pair of the heritage super soles from a friend who never wore them and just wanted them gone. I am really surprised that I like them so much. as in i kinda love them. They're super comfortable, lots of cushion with a poron footbed. Now I'm kind of obsessed and want the black pair too. These and my ice cutters are hands down the most comfortable red wings i've ever worn. most of the other ones i've had killed my feet.
Sent from my iPh
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@riffblaster:
Let me preface this by saying I probably would never have considered buying these boots. They just looked a little hokey to me. I ended up getting a pair of the heritage super soles from a friend who never wore them and just wanted them gone. I am really surprised that I like them so much. as in i kinda love them. They're super comfortable, lots of cushion with a poron footbed. Now I'm kind of obsessed and want the black pair too. These and my ice cutters are hands down the most comfortable red wings i've ever worn. most of the other ones i've had killed my feet.
What size are you @riffblaster general? I have an unworn pair of the blacks if you are still interested.
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@steelworker this pair is 9D. I could probably get away with 9.5D
