Boots ID, please!

[Monitor]

Can anyone, by any chance identify these boots?

I was about to throw them on eBay under random vintage motorcycle boots but as I was uploading the photos, it just suddenly hit me; They actually look... Army! So WW2, perhaps? I've no clue about any of this stuff so any info would be greatly appreciated.

Aside from the otherworldly quality and construction, everything about them does seem... You know, properly old but then again, could just be reproductions or maybe my initial estimation was right & these simply are some 60's German old biker boots.

Well, in any case... Thanks!

 

[Blackadder]

German Army/police jackboot but not sure era. Judging from last and sole I doubt they are WW2.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

They're German army (Bundeswehr) motorcyle boots, often called < knobelbecher > in German. No idea as to what vintage as they have been using similar boots for decades but the very high stacked leather heels do suggest earlier, possibly no later than the 60s.. If they have the Mondopoint sizing, ( it will be seen as a series of perferated numbers in the the tan lining strip at the top of the boots (for a size 40 that would be 255 I believe) then you can be certain they are no older than the 70s. European size 40 on the midsole & the 6 after it would be the width,
There are plenty for sale on eBay (de) & usually around the 50 (£$€) mark. I have no idea how well they sell though.

 

[Edward]

Agreed. German, West German, I believe - post-war. @Lean'n'mean is right that they're earlier post-War given those soles. I would say pre-1980 for certain.

The giveaway that they are post-war is the buckle to pull them in at the top. The WW2 era jackboots didn't have any such fastener - hence its nickname in some collector circles, the "democracy buckle".

 

[Monitor]

They're German army (Bundeswehr) motorcyle boots, often called < knobelbecher > in German. No idea as to what vintage as they have been using similar boots for decades but the very high stacked leather heels do suggest earlier, possibly no later than the 60s.. If they have the Mondopoint sizing, ( it will be seen as a series of perferated numbers in the the tan lining strip at the top of the boots (for a size 40 that would be 255 I believe) then you can be certain they are no older than the 70s. European size 40 on the midsole & the 6 after it would be the width,
There are plenty for sale on eBay (de) & usually around the 50 (£$€) mark. I have no idea how well they sell though.

Great info! Thank you, I appreciate it.

I was thinking pre-1960's as well as I've had late 1960's or early 1970's German motorcycle boots and these definitely appear - Or rather feel, perhaps - well, older. Somehow.

And I've just checked for the Mondopoint sizing (...and I learned something new today, too!) and indeed, there it is, the tan lining strip with a series of perforated numbers, exactly as you described it. The numbers on each boot read 40 6 41 8.

Gotta note, as common as these may be, I'm still astonished by the quality and how impressively they're built and the strip with the numbers just adds to it.

In any case, thanks again. I got 'em for very cheap for a friend who wanted biker boots but they're too uncomfortable for her so I guess I'll just pass them along. . .

If anyone's interested, drop me a line.

 

[Blackadder]

I don't have the motorcycle ones but bought a pair of NOS Baltes Army lace up. Real solid boots. Hope I can find a pair of NOS motorcycle boots.

 

[Edward]

Great info! Thank you, I appreciate it.

I was thinking pre-1960's as well as I've had late 1960's or early 1970's German motorcycle boots and these definitely appear - Or rather feel, perhaps - well, older. Somehow.

And I've just checked for the Mondopoint sizing (...and I learned something new today, too!) and indeed, there it is, the tan lining strip with a series of perforated numbers, exactly as you described it. The numbers on each boot read 40 6 41 8.

Gotta note, as common as these may be, I'm still astonished by the quality and how impressively they're built and the strip with the numbers just adds to it.

In any case, thanks again. I got 'em for very cheap for a friend who wanted biker boots but they're too uncomfortable for her so I guess I'll just pass them along. . .

If anyone's interested, drop me a line.

They must have been churning them out like nobody's business for some years post war. A lot like those shirts and other bits of West German military gear that still dominated most military surplus shops to this day (though weirdly so many in the UK now have gone over to sell as much camping stuff as they do milspec items, a change from their late eighties / early nineties heyday when they were my wardrobe suppliers of choice).

I've seen three main versions (sole variances not withstanding) - with and without a sherpa-lining (the latter I'm still mulling for the depths of Winter), and with the Winter lining and a zip down the side for ease of donning. Zip version I suspect is much more recent.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

with and without a sherpa-lining (the latter I'm still mulling for the depths of Winter), and with the Winter lining and a zip down the side for ease of donning. Zip version I suspect is much more recent.

The zipped ones are used by the German navy.

 

[Edward]

The zipped ones are used by the German navy.

Ah! Is that used by as in "also used by" or "used by the navy, not the army motorcyclists"? I'd wondered if there was more to the zip than just a timeframe design change.