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Cowboy Boots

Stringmaster

One of the Regulars
Messages
248
Reporting back after my road trip to Paul Bond's--First off I'm really glad I made the trip--had some fun sightseeing/relaxing in addition to visiting Bond's, and didn't mind all the driving in the end.
I got to meet Art, Diana, and Mike--all that knew me by name. Mike actually built the last for my 1st pair 13 years ago! He left for a while and came back part time more recently--he ended up relasting my second pair a couple of years ago (I've never been real happy with the fit on these, while the 1st ones were perfect). He measured me up this trip for my new order and after seeing the fit of the aforementioned second pair he wanted me to leave them so he could relast them again. He's going to personally do the last for my new pair.

My head has been spinning with all of the options--it's my personality to agonize over such things, especially given the expense. I have been collecting pics on my iPad of boots I like--all I knew was that I wanted something kind of vintage looking. I figured when I got to the shop I could look boots there as well as all of the leather samples. My head continued spinning as Mike was measuring me. I really have a preference for tall buckaroo boots, but I've already got 3 pair of them. I've been contemplating a 40's style PeeWee boot too. Unfortunately there wasn't much to look at at the shop in PeeWees. After getting measured I thumbed through my iPad photos with Diana who was working on my order and showed her some of the boots I'd been thinking about. She kind of swayed me to a pair of PeeWee's since I already have tall boots. One of my favorites that I'd been pondering is a pair from Tyler Beard's Cowboy Boot Book (kind of wish there were more pics of them--like a view straight down vs just side views)--she went upstairs asked the bootmaker if he could build them, to which he said yes (they did make it clear that they don't do "replicas" and that there might be some variation). So I had Diana price them out--of course they were over my budget, but I went for it. This is the boot (if anyone knows the maker I'd love to know):


I figured I'd spend hours agonizing over the leather choices. I knew that I wanted brown as I have several pair of black boots already, and I wanted a two tone scheme with a somewhat subtle contrast, and in a darker leather than the pair in the book. She showed me a dark brown calf and I was immediately smitten with it--such a beautiful leather. She then went upstairs and brought down a leather that she recommended for the lighter color--perfect! These are the hides:


I didn't look at the leathers for the inlay colors--just specified that I wanted essentially the same colors--green, red, pale yellow as the boot in the book, and we thought a cream would be best for the collar vs stark white. There going to be 10" tall--which is quite a departure from my 17 inchers, but that's appears to be the norm for a 40's style boot which is what I'm after. Gonna have a fairly narrow square toe, and an 1 3/4" heel that will give an underslung look, but still be comfortable to walk/stand in--which should look similar to the boot in the book. All that stitching on the vamp will likely be done in a couple shades of gold/tan--I didn't specify. Diana asked if I was going to tuck in my pants with them--I said probably not--I'm ok doing it with a tall boot at times, and she said--you should go for it! I'm going to be searching for pics of musicians/cowboys in the 40's wearing PeeWee's with their pants tucked--I know many wore pleated slacks and tucked--but it seems jeans were mostly cuffed--send pics if you got 'em.

It's also my personality to second guess my choice and have some remorse--and I'm going though that a bit now--they're just so different from anything I have, and there are so many other choices that I love--many saved on my iPad!! They are going to relast my other boots first for me to try,--to make sure things are nailed down before beginning on the new ones. I know this is long winded, but it was an exiting trip and I wanted to share. Oh and they rewaxed and cleaned up my work boots while I was there:


And I took this parting shot as I left:
Ok folks following up as I received the aforementioned boots today! Overall I'm pretty happy with them--especially given that all we were working off was one picture from a cowboy boot book--I'm still unsure of the original maker but I assume they are late 40's early 50's--so I was after that vibe. It's my first pair of PeeWees! The fit is great and they won't take much break in at all as the premium calfskin is quite supple. Anyway here's a pic of the original model:

And my new boots!







 
Last edited:
Messages
13,669
Location
down south
Ok folks following up as I received the aforementioned boots today! Overall I'm pretty happy with them--especially given that all we were working off was one picture from a cowboy boot book--I'm still unsure of the original maker but I assume they are late 40's early 50's--so I was after that vibe. It's my first pair of PeeWees! The fit is great and they won't take much break in at all as the premium calfskin is quite supple. Anyway here's a pic of the original model:

And my new boots!







Daaaaaaaaaaamn..........

I'd say those turned out great. They look fantastic. Real classics. Congrats!!

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 

Desert dog

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,291
Location
California
Ok folks following up as I received the aforementioned boots today! Overall I'm pretty happy with them--especially given that all we were working off was one picture from a cowboy boot book--I'm still unsure of the original maker but I assume they are late 40's early 50's--so I was after that vibe. It's my first pair of PeeWees! The fit is great and they won't take much break in at all as the premium calfskin is quite supple. Anyway here's a pic of the original model:

And my new boots!







Wow! Those are beautiful. I enjoyed your account of selecting a pair of custom boots, and your visit to Bonds. It is amazing how they did such a great job from a picture. Those tops are too pretty to hide!

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Messages
11,369
Location
Alabama
Ok folks following up as I received the aforementioned boots today! Overall I'm pretty happy with them--especially given that all we were working off was one picture from a cowboy boot book--I'm still unsure of the original maker but I assume they are late 40's early 50's--so I was after that vibe. It's my first pair of PeeWees! The fit is great and they won't take much break in at all as the premium calfskin is quite supple. Anyway here's a pic of the original model:

And my new boots!








Speechless, unless I use a lot of expletives.
 
Messages
11,369
Location
Alabama
Hippo and calf
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Messages
11,369
Location
Alabama
That is some very pretty leather! I have never seen hippo leather, I would have mistaken them for elephant. The colors and grain are beautiful !

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Thanks, Dd. Very similar to elephant though the grain seems to run a bit deeper and has a more pebbled texture than my elephants. You couldn't scuff these with a #2 ba***rd file.
 
Messages
10,839
Location
vancouver, canada
I will post pics later. Picked up my treasure trove of Ebay boots. A TL lizard, a Dan Post lizard, a Lucchese goat and a Cold River ostrich. Mostly as described, the two lizard skins a bit dry but a few applications of Saphir Reptan revived them. But no cracks or tears or gouges in the leather so they shined up really nice so I now have an instant collection of boots. All are 10EE and fit great except for the Lucchese. I have a high arch and while not a problem on any other boot the Lucceses are so tight I cannot get them on my foot. They are now at the shoe repair guy for a stretch.
 

Desert dog

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,291
Location
California

56FordGuy

One of the Regulars
Messages
145
Location
Wyoming
Hello all! Haven’t been by in a while, thought I should say hi. Hope everyone is doing well, had a ton of crazy stuff happen lately around here.

My Paul Bonds are about to be put away for the pac boots, thinking hard about signing on with a different outfit down in Colorado this year. They’re not my usual flavor, they’re a dude operation and trail rides with no cattle but it might be alright. Maybe.

Anyway, I’ll try to be around more now.
 
Messages
11,369
Location
Alabama
Hello all! Haven’t been by in a while, thought I should say hi. Hope everyone is doing well, had a ton of crazy stuff happen lately around here.

My Paul Bonds are about to be put away for the pac boots, thinking hard about signing on with a different outfit down in Colorado this year. They’re not my usual flavor, they’re a dude operation and trail rides with no cattle but it might be alright. Maybe.

Anyway, I’ll try to be around more now.

Good to hear from you. Keep us posted. There's a new TV show that started this week, http://www.rfdtv.com/story/36151913/debbe-dunnings-dude-ranch-roundup, maybe we'll see you on the air.
 

56FordGuy

One of the Regulars
Messages
145
Location
Wyoming
Good to hear from you. Keep us posted. There's a new TV show that started this week, http://www.rfdtv.com/story/36151913/debbe-dunnings-dude-ranch-roundup, maybe we'll see you on the air.

I don’t know if I’ll take it or not, my buddy wants me to come down and pack with him again this year. May just do that, I know what I’m dealing with and it isn’t a bunch of college kids and dude riders. My patience has gotten pretty short lately, but going through divorce can do that to a guy. [emoji38]

“If you don’t understand him and he don’t die young, he’ll probably just ride away...” [emoji52][emoji51]

In any case, our cows are still on summer pasture for a couple more weeks so I’m not doing anything until we push them down for winter. We should start calving in February so I have a couple of months to fill. I could just stay around here, but things slow down and there’s not much to do aside from feeding. The guy I work with can handle that without me, so I typically take off and go work in the mountains. Thought about going up toward Sheridan, do some work in the Big Horns this year but I can’t be sure. I’ve worked with my buddy in Colorado packing for a couple years, we know each other and most of the customers are returns so they know us. That would be the smart choice, I just can’t decide if I want reliable or a change of scenery. Kind of itching for a change I think.
 

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