Cowboy Boots

[dh66]

Oh....and you can rest assured, I got NO Ariats in my collection. I also do not own any boots, nor jeans, nor shirts made by Stetson. Only hats. And I might've had some cologne back in high school.

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[Bamaboots]

I'm sure you do have some because I know you have the eye for it. Put up some pics sometime. I own others besides Paul Bonds that I like real well & I'll be posting some of them as I take new pics. Sorry if I sounded preachy but please, no Ariats. Friends don't let friends wear Ariats!

The lines of a boot are no different than the lines of any other well constructed, pleasing to the eye object. It should flow without interruption but have points along the way that highlight the overall aesthetic. Jay Griffith said, and I'm paraphrasing, "a boot should have the shape of a woman's body", similar to that of a Coke bottle.

The boots in Dales collection rival any here on the lounge, at least those that have been posted and as far as Ariats are concerned, I doubt he wears Reeboks either.

 

[dh66]

Chuck Taylors all the way.

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[Phil4]

"Friends don't let friends wear Ariats!"

I can't believe there are China made cowboy boots. That was a shock when I set out to buy a pair after nearly 20 years. Your Paul Bonds really do look elegant. My new Black Jack nubucks have a similar line I should take some pictures. You can certainly tell quality right away.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Here's a quick and crappy flick of some of mine, Jack. If you scroll back through this thread there's better pics of most of mine scattered throughout it. I'll try to put up some better photos this weekend when I've got some daylight to work with. The ol' phone camera can be pretty grainy in low light.

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Of course I recognize the "Don't Tread on Me" Rocketbusters but I like both pair of black & whites. They remind me of the Oldsmobile Rocket 88 boots featured in one of the boot books that were a presentation boot for a longtime employee. Now owned by his son, I really admire those boots. Vintage B&W's are hard to find & keep up. I'd like to see more pics of those sometime.

The butterfly Pee-Wee's are great also.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

"Friends don't let friends wear Ariats!"

I can't believe there are China made cowboy boots. That was a shock when I set out to buy a pair after nearly 20 years. Your Paul Bonds really do look elegant. My new Black Jack nubucks have a similar line I should take some pictures. You can certainly tell quality right away.

Stay away from newer TL's, Nocona's & Justin's as well because they are all made in China since Justin sold to Warren Buffett. Buffett didn't want the boot companies; he wanted Acme Brick but had to take the boot companies to get Acme, so he immediately moved the boots to China.

 

[Bamaboots]

"Friends don't let friends wear Ariats!"

I think they're the largest selling brand of boot out there now. I see those square toed, duck billed atrocities everywhere boots are sold. They're owned by Reebok and they even market these damn things as cowboy boots.

I'm surprised Black Jacks aren't more well known. Really well made boot at a reasonable price. Just hard to find a brick and mortar store east of the Mississippi that carries them.

 

[dh66]

Of course I recognize the "Don't Tread on Me" Rocketbusters but I like both pair of black & whites. They remind me of the Oldsmobile Rocket 88 boots featured in one of the boot books that were a presentation boot for a longtime employee. Now owned by his son, I really admire those boots. Vintage B&W's are hard to find & keep up. I'd like to see more pics of those sometime.

The butterfly Pee-Wee's are great also.

Morning Jack! Those snake boots are actually from Don Quijote bootmakers down in Leone. Cristobal Romero ran that place back in the day. They are every bit as quality a product as any of the American made boots I have. The tall black and white ones came from down south too, but I don't know who made them. And yes, you're right they're a little bit of a b!tch to keep looking decent. The butterfly peewees are Rocketbusters. They're about 25 years old now. I don't think they have that design in their catalog anymore. The other black and white ones were built by Champion Attitude out in El Paso. I think the Sanchez that runs that shop is the son or grandson from the Sanchez family that ran Champion boots back when. They have dice and playing cards inlaid on the shaft. You can't really tell from the crappy pic, but the foxing on the vamp is green. Like money. They're a copy of a pair I saw in the book you mentioned, but I had them made into shortys. The other pair of peewees, with the eagles are either acme or Texas boot co. They belonged to my dad. He was a musician back in the 50s. They're way to small for me and in pretty unwearable shape, but are the one pair I own that I could never part with. Like I said, feel free to scroll back aways thru this thread. They're all here, plus a few more, but I'll try to snap better pics this weekend and get them up.

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[Hurricane Jack]

Dale, I'm familiar with some of the bootmakers of Leone & find the lines & styling as well as the quality of boots made on the border & points south can run the gamut just like they do here in the states. It just depends on the bootmaker. In general if the boots are not made to measure I do think that standard sizes on Mexican lasts tend to run a bit wider than US sizes. I have a pair of Steve Osuna's shark skins bought off the shelf that I love but they are what I would call a wide D width. But a good pair of boot socks takes care of that.

 

[Phil4]

"I'm surprised Black Jacks aren't more well known. Really well made boot at a reasonable price. Just hard to find a brick and mortar store east of the Mississippi that carries them."

It may be that they don't offer as good a margin, or that customers usually have to wait weeks for them?

I was attracted to the designs initially. They're creative, with a hand-made aspect to them. When I got the first pair the quality was immediately apparent, so of course now I have three pair. Good thing you can find them lightly used on Ebay; that's how I got the alligator ones.

 

[Bamaboots]

It may be that they don't offer as good a margin, or that customers usually have to wait weeks for them?

They operate similarly to what Lucchese does with their Classics line, in that stores carry a limited number of models and sizes. Buyers order either the floor model in their size or a model from the catalog and wait about six weeks for their boots.

 

[dh66]

I think they're the largest selling brand of boot out there now. I see those square toed, duck billed atrocities everywhere boots are sold. They're owned by Reebok and they even market these damn things as cowboy boots.
View attachment 46963

I'm surprised Black Jacks aren't more well known. Really well made boot at a reasonable price. Just hard to find a brick and mortar store east of the Mississippi that carries them.

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[Hurricane Jack]

My lighting isn't the best today but here are my Sharkskins made by Steve Osuna. Sharkskin vamps with 14" tops; 6 row stitching in Orange & Cream. 2-1/2" cowboy heel with 4D toe. The sharkskin overlays on the boot pulls are a nice touch. Steve does nice work.

 

[dh66]

Sharp as razors, Jack. I'm a big fan of sharkskin, as far as exotics go. I'd like to have a black pair with a good pointy toe like those. The stitching is top shelf!

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[Hurricane Jack]

Thanks Dale. I like sharkskin also but Paul Bond's shop & Steve Osuna are about the only bootmakers who will work with it anymore, other than maybe for a heel counter or something. I guess sharkskin is pretty tough to work with. I still have some older boots but I don't care about any exotics.

I have one other pair by yet another bootmaker that I might post, then I'll stop. I won't post more of the same. Hopefully you can see the similarity in lines of the boots that I like.

 

[Bamaboots]

Olsen-Stelzer's in Hippo with six rows stitching. 15" tall.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

BB, what era at O-S? Never owned any hippo but imagine they are just as tough as elephant.

 

[Bamaboots]

Jack, I picked these up second hand and my best guess would be they are from the 2006-2009 iteration of Olsen-Stelzer, when Bo Riddle and Ben Hilton revived the brand, before Hilton cut a trail with the city of Henrietta, TX money. He was indicted in 2010.

The hippo is very much like elephant in that it is water resistant, (go figure) deeply grained and you can't scuff them with your pocket knife. The biggest differences are the veins/grooves in the surface are much deeper than my elephants and the surface is really finely pebbled. These actually have wrinkles and a toe bug sewn. Did you spot that? My photos weren't the best.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I had forgotten about those two. I wonder if Riddle ever made good on the orders from his shop in Springfield, MO (Ozark, actually)? I guess he has never made it as a singer/songwriter either.

PS: almost forgot. No I did not spot the wrinkles & bug.

 

[Bamaboots]

They both were known for making fine boots, Hilton for his classic styles and construction and Riddle for some fine inlay/overlay work. Last I heard, Riddle was back in MO, but I don't know. Did you know he once made boots in Birmingham?

The history of Olsen-Stelzer is pretty unique, in as much as keeping the name alive. OS and Montana boots were once made under the same umbrella.