Engineer Boots, Harness Boots...

[bn1966]

Basically just forget the whole "my heel shouldn't move" that you would want in laced shoes! If your heel wasn't able to move in slip on boots, you would not be able to slip them on.
On a new pair of boots, I want to be able to move my foot back and forth a little bit, maybe a bit less than 1/2" (if i push my foot forward as far as it goes i want around a finger between heel and heel cup), and i want to be able to lift my heel 1" inside the boot when holding the back of the sole to the ground with the arch of my other foot.

The real break in for a boot is IMO the sole. New boots have rigid flat soles, which will cause your heel to move all over the place.
As the boots break in the sole will round and soften and the boot will start to follow your foot and stay on your heel. Heel lift will mostly disappear with wear.


If you go too small, and try to have no heel movement from the start you are setting yourself up for blisters and pain.




Those are the RedWing Chukka boots, they come in many combination of leathers and soles. Just FYI from experience Red Wing shoes size 1/2 smaller than red wing boots.

Thanks Carlos, really useful...appreciate you taking the time to explain

 

[Monitor]

Basically just forget the whole "my heel shouldn't move" that you would want in laced shoes! If your heel wasn't able to move in slip on boots, you would not be able to slip them on.
On a new pair of boots, I want to be able to move my foot back and forth a little bit, maybe a bit less than 1/2" (if i push my foot forward as far as it goes i want around a finger between heel and heel cup), and i want to be able to lift my heel 1" inside the boot when holding the back of the sole to the ground with the arch of my other foot.

The real break in for a boot is IMO the sole. New boots have rigid flat soles, which will cause your heel to move all over the place.
As the boots break in the sole will round and soften and the boot will start to follow your foot and stay on your heel. Heel lift will mostly disappear with wear.


If you go too small, and try to have no heel movement from the start you are setting yourself up for blisters and pain.

Huh, I may have been going the wrong way about it the whole time... 'cause that's exactly what everyone ever would tell me when I was buying 'em, how they shouldn't be "too big" and fit nice and tight so that they would "break in" properly. Which in all honesty I did suspect to be wrong but haven't really had a chance to put my theories to a test as I didn't felt like experimenting with something that costs so much. So I'd always listen to the "experts". I never even got a chance to break any of these things in as I would ruin them way before they started looking like those cool boots on the photos online. Like, they'd literally start falling apart, even the premium ones. And I always took great care of them.

I definitely do prefer a larger shoe of any kind but... I don't know. I'll gonna try with one more pair, I guess. I really love those boots but you know something's not right when at the end of the day, all you're thinking about is taking the damn things off.

Thanks for this, Carlos! I really appreciate the advice!

 

[Americanaaa Mark]

Got these

 

[strokes1251]

Got these

love them and I saw that you were trying to reach Brian about some boots you sent him. I hope by now you were able to get him if not try Instagram. I just messaged him last week and he responded within a day.

 

[Americanaaa Mark]

Is the little metal bits they sent me for the toes?

 

[Americanaaa Mark]

They have screws

 

[regius]

Perfect engineer weather, today

View attachment 67868

Upper Row from left:
Craftrite Japan
SantaRosa Boots

Lower Row from left:
Irregular
Irregular

how do you like your Craftrite engineer? they look nice in the pic, the toes look flatter than mine, although i sold them prematurely.

 

[Rick Blaine]

NOS 9o's Pa. Prison Inmate Boots

 

[Americanaaa Mark]

Interesting...

I wonder if there are any NOS of prison boots from the 30s-50s lying around somewhere.

 

[Blackadder]

Is the little metal bits they sent me for the toes?

Yes, they are for you to use as toe plates if you want. While those plates are traditionally used as heel plates (back when even the bottom heels are leather in stead of rubber), more and more ppl are using them as toe plates.

 

[Americanaaa Mark]

cleaned them, dyed the edges some with brown edge dressing and put on a glossy leather finish.

 

[handymike]

Are those the same Phigvels? They look fantastic now!!!!!

 

[Blackadder]

Are those the same Phigvels? They look fantastic now!!!!!

Think those are Lofgrens with the storm welt.

 

[Americanaaa Mark]

Are those the same Phigvels? They look fantastic now!!!!!

Nope.

Blackadder is right. They're Lofgrens but under the ELMC label (exact same boot except the label inside)

 

[handymike]

Ahhhh, that explains it.
So nice!

 

[Americanaaa Mark]

Where can i buy ready to wear clinch brass online? Usa or international shop

 

[BowsTrading]

Where can i buy ready to wear clinch brass online? Usa or international shop

pancho and lefty seems to usually have pairs in stock. i beleive they're in sweden

 

[58panheadfan]

how do you like your Craftrite engineer? they look nice in the pic, the toes look flatter than mine, although i sold them prematurely.

My all time favs when it comes to Engineer Boots...

 

[Americanaaa Mark]

What is that line down the middle of some new engineer boots?

 

[Dav]

What is that line down the middle of some new engineer boots?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCCSrwdIEU5/?taken-by=brianthebootmaker