Boot/ Shoe Care (Products, Methods, and Suggestions)
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For your friend, I'd go with something designed to waterproof fabric- so Barbour thornproof wax, Fjallraven Greenland wax, Otter wax, or something like that. One of those might work for your boots, too. As I recall, Finn waxed a pair of suede Vibergs and they turned out pretty well. Can't remember what he used, though.
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Thx guys. I think hes gonna go with some Otter wax. Im gonna do a lil more reading before i decide to tackle my vibergs
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Ok, so the 'talk to a decent cobbler about a possible harder-wearing rubber heel piece' strategy didn't work with my IH x Viberg service boots.
@Cutlasshound hooked me up with his guy, but the heel has lasted less time than the original Cat's Paw (I think it was thinner, at 6mm).
Any recommendations for a decent, no-worse-than-average wearing 8mm+ heel? So I can just walk in to a cobbler and say, "hello guv, stick a couple of XXXX on these for me please"…
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White's uses Quabaug heels. They seem to work pretty well. I don't know if they're easily available, but maybe your local cobbler can try them.
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Love the Quabaug heels. Any idea where I could buy them in bulk like 10-15 pieces. None of the cobblers here stock them..
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Ok, so the 'talk to a decent cobbler about a possible harder-wearing rubber heel piece' strategy didn't work with my IH x Viberg service boots.
@Cutlasshound hooked me up with his guy, but the heel has lasted less time than the original Cat's Paw (I think it was thinner, at 6mm).
Any recommendations for a decent, no-worse-than-average wearing 8mm+ heel? So I can just walk in to a cobbler and say, "hello guv, stick a couple of XXXX on these for me please"…
Shiiiiiiit sorry it didn't work out bro! How have you been?
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Shiiiiiiit sorry it didn't work out bro! How have you been?
Neil, mate, nothing to do with you or your fine cobbler - just a combo of my crap gait and heel pieces that were probably too thin for the job!
All well with me, hope all good with you and the family. Beers soon
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@Chris - thanks for the Quahaug recommendation, will look into it.
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Just had a pair of my Vibergs resoled at Shoehealer in Doncaster UK.
The guys did a fantastic job, I dropped them off and collected them 2 hours later. I had a standard Kainite heel installed, the original cats paw heel was very soft and wore through quickly so they needed re-heeling before the leather heel stack started to be worn.
I paid the princely sum of £20 for the work and can not fault the workmanship. If you are UK based and have some nice footwear that you need a quality heel repair on then check out Shoehealer in Doncaster.
The shop will do postal return for an extra £10.
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Two posts back you will see my re-heeled Black colour rough out Viberg service boots.
Question for you all:
The rough out on these boots has started to gain a green hue when viewed in certain light. I think this is part of the roughout wear characteristic as the boots gets used. I prefer the original black colour and would like to try and regain this black colour finish
I am wondering if there are any products out there that can be applied to the roughout to return it to its original black colour?
I have seen a roughout / suede dye called Fiebing. Has anyone used this product or have any feedback regarding it's use? I guess it would also dye the white thread that secures the upper to the sole round unless it was applied very carefully?
http://www.fiebing.com/catalogue/pro-cobbler-classics/?product=297
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Yep, I think you're right on all counts. Some colors of leather tend to get a greenish tint as they age, and it shows more on the roughout than the smooth side. Gray is especially bad for color change. I've never used that particular one, but Feibings is good stuff, and everyone I know uses their dyes. If you put some painter's tape on the welt to cover the stitching, that will help prevent the stitching from getting dyed. I'd also recommend using a small paintbrush for the smaller, more problematic areas. Those wool daubers that come with the bottle are crap.
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Chris
thanks for the info, I too had thought about using a more detailed brush for the trickier areas of the boot. I will let you know how I get on once I have got hold of some of the Fiebings. Cheers!
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Winter boot clean and protect day….
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X-post from the Wesco thread, just to cast a wider net, any help and advice appreciated:
The double midsoles on my custom boss have developed a split, one on each boot. I'm guessing it's a result of road salt etc drying the leather out (I'm otherwise careful to dry them at normal cellar temp and remove mud etc). I feel I should try to seal the cracks to prevent more water coming in. Any advice?
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I've asked @Chris at Wesco to chime in, but I would stuff the soles and heels full of oil to a) encourage the leather to expand and "self heal" and b) to retard water penetration….
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I've asked @Chris at Wesco to chime in, but I would stuff the soles and heels full of oil to a) encourage the leather to expand and "self heal" and b) to retard water penetration….
Thanks very much G… He's on the other thread already. They need stuffing with oil regardless, so that'll be the first step.
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Just gave my 3 years old RW 1907 with Saphir Renovateur.
The Renovateur took off the previous treatments that I've done to the boot, and the results is amazing!. In which my surprise, the Renovateur can be used on oiled tanned leather like CRaT kinda type (other factory might call it Crazyhorse leather) without ruining the texture of the leather.
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great great pair right there 
