Red Wing Shoes
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The collection, some of these are close to 15 years old now and have seen some heavy use
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@Denman-John honestly, if you can get your foot in the boot, a soak would probably make it fit like a sock. There are certain obvious risks to the method, but if the only other options are going to cost you money and you’re not going to wear them otherwise, it’s worth it.
Couple more notes: my leather felt a hint dry afterwards for a day, but the oils from the tannery won that battle and it feels soft and oily again without me doing anything. The insides took days to fully dry, so beware of mildew. Out of caution I did wipe the insides with some fancy vinegar (they don’t stink) and left them in the sun during the day and in front of a fan at night. It kinda sucks wearing soaked boots for a day, and it’s pretty silly for the first hour. Change socks after a while and let the feet dry out a bit. Thick wool socks! The method is probably not for everyone, and there’s no guarantee it’ll work, but I like the results."The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today...The whole future lies in uncertainty: Live immediately."
-Seneca -
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@NickD those look great man. How is the ridgeway sole?
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@WhiskeySandwich Thanks for the quick reply. I’m thinking of giving them to my son as his feet are a bit smaller than mine. If he doesn’t want them then I’ll probably give them the WhiskeySandwich hot water treatment. Yeah, I can get my feet into them no problem, they are just tight - mainly the right as that foot is a little bigger than my left. The left boot feels ok so the right doesn’t have to stretch all that much.
@NickD The only local cobbler is mid at best. I don’t really trust him after he messed up a resole he did for me and put on a different colour sole than I asked for. It’s a one man shop and he’s always swamped with repairs. The next cobbler is over 60kms away and don’t know what he’s like quality wise.
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@ZackB I've had Ridgeway soles before and they are one of my favourites, a good compromise between grip and hard wearing. I like the profile better than Dainite, and definitely better than the cork soles that were on there.
@Denman-John I'm lucky that my local cobbler is Shoehealer who have a great reputation globally, not just here in the UK. Really good cobblers are hard to find.
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