Briselblack Boots: What do you think?

[TartuWolf]

@Nine Inch Males
Crazy color on those boots, looks almost like stained wood.
Care to show us the other pairs as well? I'm very curious.

 

[Nine Inch Males]

@TartuWolf
That is a great description. The are some parts with black dots and markings that look like knotting in wood and of course the heavy shinki hide marbling pattern adds to the look of woodgrain or bark even more. I love it on these. In some lights you can start to see the natural color peaking through on the vamp rolls. I'm excited to see it show up more. The hand dying is really beautiful and I've only really seen something similar with Unsung's natural house-made walnut (i think) dye they do on their engineers. I love those too, but those also command double the price of these Benzeins.

And sure I can post some pictures, I'm flattered you care to see. I have those Keeper Type 2's, a 9 inch captoe service boot in black shinki teacore hb (Ben from Stitchdown recommended Benzein to me as I was looking to make my first Indonesian custom boot order.) I find myself reaching for other boots over these because I think the makeup is a little bland for where my taste has gone to.

And last, which I just received in the mail earlier today, lol, the Kai Jodphur boot in natural Maryam HB overdyed black. These are also stunning. I got them on the tombak last (slimmer slightly squared toe more chiseled last) over there Ben 01 round toe last that they usually use for the Kai. These look amazing, but I'm a little worried the fit is so dead on and hugs my foot so perfectly it might not have room to develop rolls as much as I was hoping.

Here are some pics of the service boots and I will take some of the Kai's tomorrow when the sun is up. I was meaning to take some to post on my insta and the Patina Project app anyways.

 

[TartuWolf]

@Nine Inch Males
Thanks for the extra write up and photos.
I can definitely see why one would almost always go for the engineers over these service boots.
And yes I've seen the "Unsung's natural house-made walnut" as well, that is gorgeous too.

Looking forward to seeing the Jodphur boots. From Briselblack I'd got for tankers.

Do you know which of their lasts has the widest toe box?

My personal grail boots are "Leather Things Motor" (such a strange brand name) engineers. They also do incredible hand over-dyes.

https://imgur.com/a/57RjQ5I

 

[bootsonatrain]

just ask them, they are responsive

these Indonesian makers are essentially small scale cottage industries that can't afford machinery so most if not all of the work are hand made. Over the last 5-10 years they kept this constraint and are now seriously upping their game on lasts and styles that cater to the repro/vintage enthusiast. Great value for $ and really great products.

 

[Will Zach]

Clinch boots are just a meme at this point; expensive because of name cachet and hype by various clothing stores. Based on what @dudewuttheheck recently posted on his blog/YouTube (can't remember which one), it seems the quality has gone downhill to keep up with production demands. Don't worry though, those prices aren't going anywhere but up!

I don't know if it's because I'm getting more cynical with age, but I'm growing progressively more weary of this type of extreme exclusive hyped up marketing nonsense in the "heritage" menswear world, the irony being that the brands with the least actual heritage seem to command the highest prices. I'll wear my "inferior" Whites, thanks.

I agree. I just picked up a pair of mint pre-owned White's Semi Dress boots for $275. It is EXACTLY what a pair of good boots is worth to me.

 

[TartuWolf]

@Will Zach Pictures please! I dream of getting a pair of Nicks or Whites someday, even for the full price.

 

[Will Zach]

@Will Zach Pictures please! I dream of getting a pair of Nicks or Whites someday, even for the full price.

Sure, but next week when I am back in town. Set up an ebay search, they do show up, at very reasonable prices for smaller sizes for sometimes mint boots (mine was a US 7.5 in Whites), which corresponds to about US 8.5 in sneaker sizing.

 

[Nine Inch Males]

@TartuWolf

 

[morrison2951]

Wesco Engineer for the win!

 

[TheBigEraser]

Also, it's kind of silly to send over $1.3k to China to have them make a pair of American style boots.

I don't get it Marc, why is it silly to send money to have other country's makers to make American style clothing?

Then probably at least half of the lounge members over here are silly - because they send money to Japan/UK/Scotland to make American style jacket.

 

[yeager8]

I just purchased a ready to wear pair (from website) of Briselblack Shrunken Horsebutt veg tanned (non overdyed) Myriam all black engineer boots from Adi at Briselblack.
They are gorgeous !
Good communication,
Fast shipping. They definitely have the same profile as my Clinch engineers. Which is what I wanted. Very high quality !

 

[TartuWolf]

@yeager8
Pics or didn't happen.

 

[WatchesandBoots1125]

I just placed an MTO order with them and the initial communication was great. I put my deposit down and made a change which they confirmed right away. I came back with one quick question after that and no response for 3 days on whats app.

I know its the holidays and my boots won't be ready for 4-6 months so its not a rush obviously. Should I expect delays for a few days when talking to their CS? Just seeing whats normal for them.

 

[Nykwil]

I just placed an MTO order with them and the initial communication was great. I put my deposit down and made a change which they confirmed right away. I came back with on quick question after that and no response for 3 days on whats app.

I know its the holidays and my boots won't be ready for 4-6 months so its not a rush obviously. Should I expect delays for a few days when talking to their CS? Just seeing whats normal for them.

I have the same communication issue with Jakkrabbits, another Indonesian boot maker. I just shoot out a message on WhatsApp and give it a week for them to respond before nudging em again.

Currently waiting on service boots from them. It’s been about 11-12 weeks since I’ve placed an order.

They just sent me vids of the competed product:

Service boot
Hornady last
Veldtschoen construction
Black shiniki horsehide
Tan stitching
Brass hardware
Unstructured toes
Dr. Sole outsoles.

$479 -cheaper than vibergs and I get to choose what I want.

https://imgur.com/a/XAhvXZv

That said, who knows how they’ll fit until I get em, which seems to be the biggest complaint. I sent them everything they asked for.

For comparison in pricing: my custom whites mp in waxed flesh was $550 in 2020
My vibergs ~$700

 

[Nine Inch Males]

I just placed an MTO order with them and the initial communication was great. I put my deposit down and made a change which they confirmed right away. I came back with one quick question after that and no response for 3 days on whats app.

I know its the holidays and my boots won't be ready for 4-6 months so its not a rush obviously. Should I expect delays for a few days when talking to their CS? Just seeing whats normal for them.

I think your communication expectations should be dialed back a bit in this instance. I would not consider this a delay. He got your order and even confirmed a change with you, both immediately. I think these artisans deserve more grace than a lot of American customers give them.

Consider what his scope of work looks like on a daily basis. Keep in mind with the Indonesian brands, the guy you are talking to is usually the owner who is often still actually stitching boots daily, managing the workshop and all his employees, coordinating supply and leather deliveries, caring for children, and responding to tons of dms over numerous platforms in a non native language to them. They are usually super busy and stretched under normal circumstances, especially a brand as popular as Briselblack. And add to all of that that this is between Christmas and New Years, a time when he is probably very busy with his family AND getting the most orders and inquiries he gets all year.

If you are interested you can get more insight into this listening to a few of the interviews with Indonesian bootmakers on the Stitchdown boot podcast. It's really crazy and admirable how much work and moving parts some of these guys have to manage. Most don't have a dedicated customer service person (let alone a team) communicating with customers. Usually it's the owner that has learned to speak a little english and all the communication falls on them.

I agree with Nykwil, I would give at least a week (or in this case a few days after new years) before sending a follow up message. He will always get back to you and is an incredibly kind and helpful guy, he is just dealing with tons of moving parts he needs to oversee and deserves some understanding and patience.

 

[WatchesandBoots1125]

I think your communication expectations should be dialed back a bit in this instance. I would not consider this a delay. He got your order and even confirmed a change with you, both immediately. I think these artisans deserve more grace than a lot of American customers give them.

Consider what his scope of work looks like on a daily basis. Keep in mind with the Indonesian brands, the guy you are talking to is usually the owner who is often still actually stitching boots daily, managing the workshop and all his employees, coordinating supply and leather deliveries, caring for children, and responding to tons of dms over numerous platforms in a non native language to them. They are usually super busy and stretched under normal circumstances, especially a brand as popular as Briselblack. And add to all of that that this is between Christmas and New Years, a time when he is probably very busy with his family AND getting the most orders and inquiries he gets all year.

If you are interested you can get more insight into this listening to a few of the interviews with Indonesian bootmakers on the Stitchdown boot podcast. It's really crazy and admirable how much work and moving parts some of these guys have to manage. Most don't have a dedicated customer service person (let alone a team) communicating with customers. Usually it's the owner that has learned to speak a little english and all the communication falls on them.

I agree with Nykwil, I would give at least a week (or in this case a few days after new years) before sending a follow up message. He will always get back to you and is an incredibly kind and helpful guy, he is just dealing with tons of moving parts he needs to oversee and deserves some understanding and patience.

Everything you’re saying is fair and I agree with it. Just wanted to set my expectations since it’s my first time dealing with an Indonesian brand. Looking forward to the final product as well!