Best posts made by Ross

Realised I haven't done one of these in a while..

IHSB-WJ
IHSH-297-BLK
IH-NO-LOT
IHWE-ALEX-BLK

IHM-35-ODG
IHSH-316-YEL
IH-666-UHR
Wescos

@ARNC ask and you shall receive ..

IHP-FILTHY - Filthy Mike Tribute Patch

In January 2023, the Iron Heart community lost our dear friend, Mike Ogurchak, affectionately known as “Filthy”. More than just a loyal customer, Mike was a beloved forum personality, touching the hearts of the many friends he made worldwide through his kindness and extraordinary generosity. In memory of Filthy, we’ve released these special tribute patches, designed in collaboration with fellow forum user, Endo. Available in two unique designs, all proceeds from the sale of these patches will be added to the fund established to provide ongoing support for Mike’s mother, whom he lived with and cared for.

USD20

IHSH-289-RED
IHT-1610L-GRY
IH-634S-PD
IHWE-ALEX-BLK

IHSH-290-BLK
IHV-30-BLK
IH-666SBR-14
NB numerics

Well, after what feels like an age of training, trying and testing I finally got my full A1 bike license and bought my first 'big' bike...it's literally like being a kid at Christmas all over again

(Apologies for my crap pics, my phone camera is terrible)

IHM-41
IHSH-314-RED
IH-666-UHR
Wescos

Since we're on the IHSH-399-ORA hype...

Please Welcome our two new guys in the Logistics / Customer Service department: @JamesB and @Travis

JAMES BARRY

DOB: 04/12/1985

Job/Role: Logistics / Customer Service

Join date: May 2024

Bio: A former head chef from Gosport who took an interest in Iron Heart due to living close enough to see the daily activity (and awesome jeans) - this was enough to make me curious! I am a keen football fan, player and coach. I follow Portsmouth, and coach an U14's side in Gosport. Outside of football, I love retro gaming and of course, Pokemon. Looking forward to working with the team and speaking to you all!

QUICK FIRE Q’s
Denim: 14oz
Jeans: 666
Shirt: IHSH-388-BLU
Non-IH Brand: Pokemon
Food to have in the office: Jammie Dodgers

TRAVIS MITCHELL

DOB: 01/08/1996

Job/Role: Logistic / Customer Service

Join date: May 2024

Bio: Travis comes to us by chance after having moved around the country a fair bit in the last few years trying to find the right place and opportunity; finding it here at IHUK. He enjoys drumming in his spare time and his a keen interest in off-road driving and 90s cars (good man!). Travis is keen to dive into the rabbit hole and learn all there is to know about Iron Heart

QUICK FIRE Q’s
Denim: 25oz
Jeans: 555
Shirt: UHF
Non-IH Brand: Project-X
Food to have in the office: Sherbert Lemons

@Oaktavia I typed out a long ramble about leather care and then realised it'd take you 10 mins to get the answer you wanted . So, for brevity: yes, you can use obenaufs - it's what I use here to keep the oil in the sample pair Ben wears, alongside a once over with some natural polish once the obenaufs has soaked in to help keep the oils in and the water out

If you want the long winded ramble:

Leather is probably the most use materials for footwear in all of human history, it's tough, durable and dependable and maintenance is surprisingly easy..

If you search the interwebs you'll find dozens if not hundreds of different 'the right way to maintain your leather' posts, sites and videos. It's not that there's no right answer, in my experience it's the opposite. There's dozens or indeed hundreds of correct answers.

Leather is animal hide at the end of the day, it's skin, and just like your skin it's strength is in its natural oils. If you've ever had your hands become extremely dry before you know the skin cracks and splits. Leather is the same, only unlike your skin which is attached to a living thing, it won't naturally replace it's own oils - so we have to do it.

The big enemy is water, if water gets into leather it'll displace those natural oils (oil floats on water) then evaporates, leaving your leather dry. So we want to get natural oils in and keep water out!

So for tougher leathers I use obenaufs, it's a liquid oil that's going to permeate into a thicker boot leather, other people may swear by Mustang paste or bee oil or any one of the thousands of products out there but the most important thing is you use a natural oil - beyond that it's down to preference, will it tint your boots (if they're a lighter colour)? Will it absolutely stink? How easy is it to apply? - all factors on that personal choice.

As for keeping the water out I've always sworn by a natural kiwi boot polish, my grandfather was in the royal logistics corps and insisted on teaching me how to polish boots and the necessity of it when I was about 12, been doing it ever since and never had a pair of shoes or boots die on me. The waxy nature of the polish will give you boots that extra shield against water penetration and massively slow down the 'drying-out' that comes from it.

As for how often to do it: I know lots of people have a schedule of every 3/6/12 months ect but really i don't find life to be so predictable, at least not here in the UK with our weather. So I just keep and eye on them and do them whenever they're starting to feel a little dry, keeping a closer eye on them during the wet seasons. If they ever get completely saturated (as in 'i jumped in a puddle that was deeper than i though it was and now my feet are wet') i'll let them dry fully then give them a once over to stay on the safe side but really even heavy rain should pose no problem to a well maintained pair of boots

Long winded ramble complete....for now....

EDIT: Edited for extra ramble

IHJ-69
Trophy tee
666-UHR
NB numerics

IHSH-290-BLK
IHPT
IH-666SBR-24
IHSN-01-BRN

Update on progress after ~18 months wear in rotation