Cowboy boots
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Hmmm, didn't know they were. Seems those caught in the Amazon basin are, but the fish has been introduced in other areas and is considered an invasive species in some places. Boulet is typically above the boards on where their leathers are sourced, even eliminating their line of elephant as over harvesting has become such an issue. Curious where these are sourced now, will have to look into them further
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Saw some at the Lucchese store; they look a lot like anteater. The guy at the store said the hides are really thin, which isn't a surprise, I guess. Seems like a novelty, especially if they're being over fished and are going to be listed as endangered.
Personally, my preference is for bullhide, shark or simple cowhide. I also like elephant, which is only sourced from national governments that obtain the hides from animals that are naturally deceased or culled in accordance with international conservation practices. Trade is tightly regulated under the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) treaty.
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I like kangaroo. No danger of our runnign out of roos, and a great leather.
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I like all skins mentioned, but a straight oiled shoulder is likely my favorite due to overall durability, ease of maintaining, and how it ages.
I am interested at having a pair built at some point. If I can find a maker that would tackle all of what I would like put in a boot.
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@jdl1279, you might have to leave Michigan, but it'll definitely be possible to get anything you want. Dave Wheeler here in Houston does some astonishingly beautiful work and he's willing to try almost anything. The pair he made for me were fairly straightforward, but we talked about a second pair that would have been much, much more eye catching. Some of the El Paso based companies, like Rocketbuster, will do crazy custom work too. Only limit is your wallet…
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What I'm thinking is something over built like White's or Wesco, but with a truely over the top vamp and shaft. If going this route everything from toe box, to bug,to leather choice, to upper stitching would need to be exactly what I wanted. Never looked much into customs like so, though sure someone is capable
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Yeah, if Wesco could tick all boxes I would certainly consider it. I've not seen upper stitching or toe boxes from them like what I have in mind. I have a list of builds to get into though, and Wesco makes up a couple of them. Priorities first (kids are expensive), but getting into one of them is high ranking
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Digging back a couple of pages, I found my first pics of my Wheeler boots. As I said , pretty simple, but the craftsmanship is just magnificent.
@Chris:Been meaning to post these for a while, but didn't dump the pics into my Photobucket account until today. These are my newest acquisition- custom built by Dave Wheeler, one of the finest bootmakers in business today.
(click on the pictures for larger version)
Hand hammered steel shank arch support in the instep attached with two rows of wood pegs on each side
Varigated stitching done on vintage single needle machine, one row at a time
Lovely shrunken shoulder bullhide
Fully lined with a reinforced heel slide
Really, really happy with them…
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The Travel Channel went to Nogales, AZ. While they were there, they stopped in at Paul Bond Boot Co. Short, but kinda interesting.
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I am interested in getting a pair of boots and thought this is a good reason to resurrect this thread, hope that's ok
It doesn't seem like a good idea to go for a custom when looking to get the first pair, so I was wondering what would you recommend going for.
I have found Heritage Boot in my research which seems like a good bet, but considering the serious knowledge displayed in this thread, I would really appreciate any advice
