Engineer Boots, Harness Boots...

[Edward]

Do Wescos do them without the label stitched on the front? (Not that big a deal, given I wear my boots under my jeans these days.... In my drainpipe days, the bootswent up and over, now my jeans are generally too wide to do that even i I wanted to.... but curious).

I have my eye on some Wescos eventually, but then I'm also very, very tempted by the Lewis Leathers Mechanic Boot A10:

 

[deaner33]

Do Wescos do them without the label stitched on the front? (Not that big a deal, given I wear my boots under my jeans these days.... In my drainpipe days, the bootswent up and over, now my jeans are generally too wide to do that even i I wanted to.... but curious).

I have my eye on some Wescos eventually, but then I'm also very, very tempted by the Lewis Leathers Mechanic Boot A10:

The label stitched on the outside is a limited edition thing.


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[Edward]

The label stitched on the outside is a limited edition thing.


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Ah! Cool. I saw it on a lot of their boots recently, thought they'd rolled it out over the line.

 

[Colin G]

Edward, Wescos will be a stamped logo and you can't omit it either.

I dig those Lewis leathers boots. I have looked at their motorcycle boots for years but never pulled the trigger since the exchange rate is so poor.

 

[Bfd70]

Those Friday vibes

 

[regius]

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[bluesmandan]

You have good eyes, they are hand last & nailed by James the Oregon Bootmaker (JOB). The last is in fact similar to cowboy last.


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Do you have a website for this guy? I can’t seem to find one...


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[Edward]

Edward, Wescos will be a stamped logo and you can't omit it either.

Much subtler than the label, though. ut yeah, it would be preferable to have neither. What I like about the Lewis logos is that a little nail varnish removed will soon sort them if desired.

I dig those Lewis leathers boots. I have looked at their motorcycle boots for years but never pulled the trigger since the exchange rate is so poor.

Is the Canadian dollar down that much? I'd assumed the pound would be as historically weak against that as it is the USD and the Chinese RMB these days...

 

[SimonR]

I have my eye on some Wescos eventually, but then I'm also very, very tempted by the Lewis Leathers Mechanic Boot A10:

Be interested if you go for the Lewis boots as I've heard rightly or wrongly that the shaft is very narrow

 

[Edward]

Be interested if you go for the Lewis boots as I've heard rightly or wrongly that the shaft is very narrow

Not yet tried them on, though I have seen them in person. They're a touch narrower than the average, though they don't look ridiculously narrow. Not close to as snug as the zip-back boots.

 

[Dm101]

Low rise heel? These are pretty darn high 2”. They are the 100th Anniversary edition Wesco with CXL Horsehide


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Hmmm...for some reason my eyes stopped at the reddish portion of the sole.
Indeed they are tall...

 

[handymike]

I'm in love with these Standard and Strange x Wesco "knuckledraggers". This pair is after 10 months of wear...

Here they are when new:

 

[Dm101]

Wow...ten years in 10 months.
Those things have seen some serious action...

 

[Bfd70]

Wiwt

 

[Edward]

Those are interesting. I normally hate side- zips on engineers, but these are chunky enough to make them work, plus, crucially, the strap goes around the zip rather than being rendered irrelevant by it. Can see those being nice for air travel....

 

[deaner33]

Those are interesting. I normally hate side- zips on engineers, but these are chunky enough to make them work, plus, crucially, the strap goes around the zip rather than being rendered irrelevant by it. Can see those being nice for air travel....

Yeah, not a fan of zips on engineers, but if Brian does them I guess they’re ok?[emoji848]


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[Bfd70]

My thought of the function was that perhaps the shaft could be made narrower than is normally possible. I have the calves of a skinny 11 year old. I’d like the boot shaft extra narrow. There is something about that pair (maybe just the zipper) that makes them look like propper moto boots

 

[Edward]

Yeah, not a fan of zips on engineers, but if Brian does them I guess they’re ok?[emoji848]


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Nope.... I'm not in the market for thatg sort of expense on a pair of boots,. so the maker isirrelevant to me. What I dislike intensely is this sort of thing:

Note the zip looks light and flimsy, and it's toned in to try and hide it. Also the straps start to the right of the boot, so they have no effect around the zip. The whole effect to me just lookscheap and nasty. The boots in the previous post I commented on are the first time I've seen a zip in a traditional engineer boot thatdoesn't look bad, or like acheap compromise to the design in favour of convenience (one of the things I hate most in the world, aesthetically speaking, are lace-up boots that also have a side-zip. Total deal breaker to me.). Ultimately, when it comes to engineer boots I still preferf the traditional design, and with zip-up boots I much prefer the Brit style a la Lewis/Aviakit or Gold Top, a neater-fitting boot with the zip running the length of the back end rather than on the side, but these surprised me by being thefirst engineer boot with aside-zip where I actually liked the look of it. Largely academic as I'll never spend that much on a pair of boots (and certainly wouldn't custome order shoes by post with no way to try them on first), but it's been in my mind recently as I've hit travelseason with work, and long-haul flights cetainly make easy on-off footwear a bonus, given the extremities of airport security these days. (At least at the UK end - I don't think I've ever been asked to remove my shoes in Beijing.)

 

[Dm101]

My thought of the function was that perhaps the shaft could be made narrower than is normally possible. I have the calves of a skinny 11 year old. I’d like the boot shaft extra narrow. There is something about that pair (maybe just the zipper) that makes them look like propper moto boots

YES!!
That is the exact reason I'd buy those boots.
The Ariat boots that I wear now are comfortable, but the shaft is so big I look like Puss-in-boots if and when I pull up my pants leg. They have no upper buckle and no side zip...just pure shaft.
Meanwhile, my CK boots with side-zip are just the same size as my shin and fit like a glove. The toebox is a bit narrow as they're pointy boots though, have to get that remedied this summer and let the cobbler expand their mind...lol.
Then they'll be perfect.

 

[Edward]

My thought of the function was that perhaps the shaft could be made narrower than is normally possible. I have the calves of a skinny 11 year old. I’d like the boot shaft extra narrow. There is something about that pair (maybe just the zipper) that makes them look like propper moto boots

I think it is partially aesthetic for med too, tbh. I like that they incorporate the zip into the design, rather than trying to hide it. (The most inexplicable thing to me are those women's fashion boots I haveseen in recent years that have a big, showy, *fake* zip on the outside....... and a real, flimsy and same-colour, designed to tone in actual zip on the inside.)

Thinking about it, what Brian - Role Club? - 's boots do well is that they actually incorporate the zip into the design so that it's a part of the boot, rather than trying to hide it as if it's not there.

YES!!
That is the exact reason I'd buy those boots.
The Ariat boots that I wear now are comfortable, but the shaft is so big I look like Puss-in-boots if and when I pull up my pants leg. They have no upper buckle and no side zip...just pure shaft.
Meanwhile, my CK boots with side-zip are just the same size as my shin and fit like a glove. The toebox is a bit narrow as they're pointy boots though, have to get that remedied this summer and let the cobbler expand their mind...lol.
Then they'll be perfect.

Undoubtedly you can create a better fitting boot if it opens to let your foot in and then does up, with a zip, buckles, velcro, laces, or whatever. I think the trick with a nice-looking engineer boot is getting the shaft just right, so that it's easy on/off, without looking comically wide. That has its challenges - though equally, the grading on a boot like a Lewis Westway is equally tricky, given that you don't want it to end up too tight with the zip.