Boots / shoes to wear with your flight jacket s...

[LV426]

And most of the time when you find them the leather is stiff and dry and they start to brittle trying wearing them !!!

You're right ! Unfortunately it's like a Russian roulette. Like for og jackets but it gets more difficult 'Cause you cannot see some part of the boots that are hidden , like the footbed for example . My 1st pair is no more wearable due to the seams that attached the midsole and the quarter , the leather , also is too much damaged . The 2nd is in better condition but is in restauration at that moment : partial makeover of the outsole! That's not big deal , my Cobbler is one of the best I know , skilled and devoted to his work . The third and last is in very good condition , leather perfect like for outsoles leather . Just had replace the rubber soles and heels ......twice !! I wanted to be as accurate and respectful as I could by using og rubber soles ( 80 years old ) that was a mistake as you can think . I almost ruined a beautiful pair of type 2 by using mink oil on then, I'll never use this type of oil again on any kind of leather! My cobbler saved the boots , again . I have 2 or 3 more similar experiences like that . But each time I learn more ( like Skyranger with his boiled colar ). All that to say that at that stage monet and time have no importance, no more , just the passion . As , too , the member who wants to restaure the flight jacket of his Gd Father by his own I though that I was able to act well just by visiting specialized forum and ask for advises. Now I know that a pro is a pro and a passionate even with good knowledge "never went to war" ( I don't know if the image is correct ) . I cannot pretend to have a comparable knowledge of some of the members on this forum but if I can help on some tricks , I'll be pleased .

 

[flyincowboy]

We all make mistakes Because of that i d rather go for reproduction Boots & jackets ....when you find vintage jackets, " boots" in thrift stores they are most of the times well abused by their previous owner and cost a lot to be in descent wearable condition so i leave the original ones for collectors, they are definitely part of history !. Sometimes you can find a jacket or a pair of boots in pristine condition 98 percent not your size . Obviously too small . Like most of us you like that cool vintage style dare to be different isnit? the only way is to go for affordable reproduction 1st CHINESE &PAKISTANISE goodies and 2ND hand market 3D thanks to the VLJ forum; the top tier makers ! . Guess that i have to sell one of my truck to afford a jacket that worth nearly a month wages! And it will be still a repro.

 

[LV426]

I really like that you are so knowledgeable about WWII boots . This certainly adds a new depth to this forum and opens the door to additional areas of interest. It certainly has peaked my interest in finding a good set of vintage original WWII jump boots. However , like finding original A2’s in a large size 46 .. original jump boots in a size 11 or 12 are equally as difficult to find .

About the sizing of the boots you can add a half or an entire size to yours , due to the Last . What I learned about is that it's very ... relative. For example I wear 4 pairs of type2 - 2 og 1942 , 2 repros , 7 jump boots - 5 "moderns "( 3 1510 -one cutted 8 eyelts and 2 1500 from the 90's + 2 og wearable 1943 - 1 type 1 og 1941 - 1 type 3 captoe og 1943 and finally a pair of type3 from Corcoran ( like for ATF , these one for Doursoux france ) . All of these are from 9.5 ( the smallest , right my size but wied is the repro BR ) to 11.5 EE . All different widht ( better get a narrow widht when the size is large ) from A to EE . That's a quit large range but I'm ok with all of them with the help of a ton of insoles (!!) some thin some thick. So , it's not so important , if you know your exact size and if you can manage larger ones. To find boots in good condition , enogh to be worn then 1st go to specialised sites , I found my last pair on "the quatermaster Raalf Haas" , Ebay of course , and military website ( most French for my part ) and French second-hand sales sites . By now , yes it's very hard to find interesting boots in good condition especially this kind of large sizes like yours but never give up and always keep an eye open . I found these for example ( important : return accepted ) . First , if you don't know one , get in touch with a good cobbler and get some good replacement soles , you already have all the leather products needed and have the knowledge to condition the leather out and in

BEAUTIFUL WW2 JUMP BOOTS CORCORAN IN HUGE SIZE 13! | eBay

<p>Absolutely gorgeous pair of Corcoran jump boots in huge size 13C. 12 eyelets on each side with original leather cord laces. Reinforced ankle. Original U.S. Army stamped soles, heels have been period replaced. </p><br /><p>You will not be disappointed with this pair of boots.</p><br...

www.ebay.com

and these one :
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1766646559...Y+fYOhalwErB7fTIP2Neg4vA==|tkp:Bk9SR8ijibbpZA

 

[pillepalle123]

And most of the time when you find them the leather is stiff and dry and they start to brittle trying wearing them !!!

Well you can just use leather oil on the outside and the inside (insole, behind heel counter, under toe cap), this will get most boots into working order again.
I use a more complicated methode (lickering, pH balancing/fixating tannins, oiling...) but just oiling will get you 90% of the way already most of the time.

When I resole really old boots with rubber soles I even oil the dry leather midsole and use a special product to help adhesion on oiled leather. (Kömmerling Kö-Pur)

 

[LV426]

We all make mistakes Because of that i d rather go for reproduction Boots & jackets ....when you find vintage jackets, " boots" in thrift stores they are most of the times well abused by their previous owner and cost a lot to be in descent wearable condition so i leave the original ones for collectors, they are definitely part of history !. Sometimes you can find a jacket or a pair of boots in pristine condition 98 percent not your size . Obviously too small . Like most of us you like that cool vintage style dare to be different isnit? the only way is to go for affordable reproduction 1st CHINESE &PAKISTANISE goodies and 2ND hand market 3D thanks to the VLJ forum; the top tier makers ! . Guess that i have to sell one of my truck to afford a jacket that worth nearly a month wages! And it will be still a repro.

You're damn right. I have the chance to live with my wife and my cat , no children , no more credits , no car ( I don't have the driver license !!! ahaha at 55...) so I can allow myself some crasy pleasures that I wouldn't have done earlier., by now i'm done with og boots .
To buy repros , jackets or boots is the insurance to get something that really last enough time to get some satisfactions . The second hand is the chance to get a good or top quality at a reasonable price and that what I did since the begining execpt in some 4 or 5 cases. Chinese and Pakistanese brand gets better and better by the time for the jackets and clothes. Repos boots , it's another problem 'cause the good repros goes to the ATF or other sellers and the rest is not quite good. 'm surprised to see the prices getting lower for Corcoran thses times , perhaps the "band of borthers " effect tis over . I see sometimes some Corcos 1510 at $125 or less . i recently bought a beatiful pair of M48 10 D dated 1951 russet jump boots at 160€ ( well have to pay te import from US ) . But , yes , thejackets !!! My god !!! it's another story , and level of price ! some guys go crasy on ebay and other sites and some other are trully reasonable . I go sometimes on a facebook page Flight jacket sales gallery , just to see but all the 44 , 46 and up are very hard to find. I found these repros at afordable price , the black 1500 ( Stoughton ! ) are very interesting imo . And the

Corcoran Vintage Black Cap Toe Jump Boots Mens 10.5 E | eBay

<p>In good used condition. Boots have marks, scuffs, scratches and show heel wear. See photos. Shipping with USPS mail.</p>

www.ebay.com

This one also is interesting , the upper leather seems good , what's bother me is the outsole , but it's not very hard to replace with a good cobbler

Vintage Cocoran Combat Jump Boots Size 10D | eBay

Approximate outsole Length: 12.5", Boot height: 10 3/8".

www.ebay.com

and this one is more recent but good condition . What kills us , European is the shipping price + TVA.

Corcoran Historic Brown Jump Boots Men's Size 10 D Brown Leather | eBay

<p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">Used. In good condition. See pictures for details </p>

www.ebay.com

 

[LV426]

Well you can just use leather oil on the outside and the inside (insole, behind heel counter, under toe cap), this will get most boots into working order again.
I use a more complicated methode (lickering, pH balancing/fixating tannins, oiling...) but just oiling will get you 90% of the way already most of the time.

When I resole really old boots with rubber soles I even oil the dry leather midsole and use a special product to help adhesion on oiled leather. (Kömmerling Kö-Pur)

What sort of oil do you use ? I tried once mink oil and I nearly killed my 1942 Type 2 . Then I use vege grease ( ouraline from saphir )

 

[pillepalle123]

In how far did it nearly kill your boots?

I find that Saphire products work really well but are quite expensive, for the amount of boots and jackets I restore this would be quite the expense.

I use several kinds, I have a special oil for really old leather https://www.lederzentrum.de/altleder-softener-lederol-250-ml.html

In recent times I started testing lickering old leather with water soluble oil+ distilled water (20:80) after a tanner recommended this to me. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Türkischrotöl
Works well and really gets deep into the dry leather. This is done during the original tanning as well.

Then after a day or so I give it a coat of this oil: https://www.kerbl.com/de/product/magicbrush-lederoel-premium/196973/162098

You can use a little vaseline afterwards, it will soften the leather a bit and make it more waterproof (but does not nourish it like the ingredients of the oil do). Despite many claims, this does not destroy leather.
If you do not trust it, a light coat of leather grease will do the same while even nourishing the leather further. But be really careful, too much makes the leather too soft/wobbly.

I cannot give exact numbers for how much too use, less is better most of the time, you can always come back with another coat. Giving the leather some rest between treatments and working it with your fingers/wearing it will get it soft eventually, do not apply treatment until it is really soft without agitation already.

 

[B-Man2]

Does anyone else have a problem with their Red Wing Iron Rangers’ laces being too short to make it to the top ?

 

[coolhandluke]

Just picked up my first pair of Indy's. I know the recent consensus has been that they're over-priced based on the materials used. I'm not hard on my footwear, so I think they'll be perfectly adequate. The fact that they were 20% off at a local menswear shop didn't hurt either.

 

[LV426]

In how far did it nearly kill your boots?

I find that Saphire products work really well but are quite expensive, for the amount of boots and jackets I restore this would be quite the expense.

I use several kinds, I have a special oil for really old leather https://www.lederzentrum.de/altleder-softener-lederol-250-ml.html

In recent times I started testing lickering old leather with water soluble oil+ distilled water (20:80) after a tanner recommended this to me. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Türkischrotöl
Works well and really gets deep into the dry leather. This is done during the original tanning as well.

Then after a day or so I give it a coat of this oil: https://www.kerbl.com/de/product/magicbrush-lederoel-premium/196973/162098

You can use a little vaseline afterwards, it will soften the leather a bit and make it more waterproof (but does not nourish it like the ingredients of the oil do). Despite many claims, this does not destroy leather.
If you do not trust it, a light coat of leather grease will do the same while even nourishing the leather further. But be really careful, too much makes the leather too soft/wobbly.

I cannot give exact numbers for how much too use, less is better most of the time, you can always come back with another coat. Giving the leather some rest between treatments and working it with your fingers/wearing it will get it soft eventually, do not apply treatment until it is really soft without agitation already.

Thank yu for all these advises . In fact I talked about the wrong oil , it was the nestfoot oil that I used on the shoes , a little too much . It's been about 4months I used on them and the leather is still fat.

 

[Chandler]

Does anyone else have a problem with their Red Wing Iron Rangers’ laces being too short to make it to the top ?

I've swapped the laces out many times since new (looking for the right fit), but I just remember the originals being too thin for my taste.

Using an older pair of Danner laces these days,

 

[Chandler]

Just picked up my first pair of Indy's. I know the recent consensus has been that they're over-priced based on the materials used. I'm not hard on my footwear, so I think they'll be perfectly adequate. The fact that they were 20% off at a local menswear shop didn't hurt either.

View attachment 168493

Double-check the inner toes for errant nails.

 

[CK90]

Just picked up my first pair of Indy's. I know the recent consensus has been that they're over-priced based on the materials used. I'm not hard on my footwear, so I think they'll be perfectly adequate. The fact that they were 20% off at a local menswear shop didn't hurt either.

View attachment 168493

Everyone has an opinion CoolHand but for me, nothing beats a nice pair of Alden's, worth every penny. They're an institution!

 

[Chandler]

Updates from Rollin at ATF:

​

Boot Changes & Answers

Late yesterday, I got the prices for the US reproduction boots and it wasn't good. They were double the initial estimate. I spoke to the owner this morning on ways to reduce the expenses so they don't end up costing as much as the USA made boots did 4 years ago.

The biggest single expense is sole and heel tooling. So, in order to get that down, we are reducing the size range which will save thousands in mold costs. That means we will only make sizes 8-13, still both D and EE and half sizes.

I know this isn't going to be well received by those who wear 6's and 14's, but it's just too expensive in proportion to how few of those sizes we sell in a year.

Also, Type 1 service shoes will likely get kicked down the road for a year or more. We'll see how it goes and then decide. Answers to other questions:

The originals are shaped differently! Yes, I know this and even Corcoran didn't quite nail the tapered, formed profile of the originals. This was the main change I requested when I kicked the samples back this week. However, for those expecting these boots to share 100% of their DNA with those made in 1943, get over it. There's fantasy and then there's what's realistically attainable.

Roughout Color: I have always thought the color on the Corcoran made boots was a bit bright and yellow. So, I have opted to have the manufacturer tone it down a bit. The photo above shows a side of leather in the proposed "new" shade compared to an unissued original (left) and an unworn Corcoran boot (right). That's what I'm going for. After a few dubbings and some wear in the woods both will be a very dark greasy brown anyway.

ATF markings: A few have their panties all balled up because "ATF" wasn't around in time to make anything in WWII so having our logo on the heels is insulting their history. We aren't dumb enough to use a trademarked name or logo without permission and we learned our lesson about license agreements and paying royalties. The logo looks better than nothing, it looks period and it's already done. Get over it.

Gotta love the guy.

 

[coolhandluke]

Does anyone else have a problem with their Red Wing Iron Rangers’ laces being too short to make it to the top ?

Burt, mine were a bit short as well. I replaced them with these waxed flat laces.

https://www.amazon.com/Cobblers-Choice-Flat-Cotton-Brown/dp/B0161MIACA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nC90wFGzE0JPQTP81QIOO-sO5xlZ__IT5GS-byE9sFqtsZp4z_xGg6_gRw6aBCsdLdwiyLRHxsu2TSMOohr2BA6OsZC_b6skWXPZ2elb0Gsr5Qv1RCJ6gRoL6r8pCtbHRaCJrHRapqNxQHOTEq_THpy_8Z2mp3NlPElKoUXu3LSUMHGQqvTeU2dgZ-0IjsqNl6WRSH8_k_DpS1LBA0p1MqKaT0n58-m1m9A-mjxXkzaQDErQ0u6BhE3SJlImhlUHA-ZUKpi4goYPC1rHCJsxr2spQooWw6LTX2VntDuR21w.dOM-YTPzLjTKrjtG_EdsIQMxplPyCloU3IAcMKi-1ms&dib_tag=se&keywords=flat%2Bwaxed%2Bboot%2Blaces&qid=1732229881&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1&th=1

 

[B-Man2]

Burt, mine were a bit short as well. I replaced them with these waxed flat laces.

https://www.amazon.com/Cobblers-Choice-Flat-Cotton-Brown/dp/B0161MIACA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nC90wFGzE0JPQTP81QIOO-sO5xlZ__IT5GS-byE9sFqtsZp4z_xGg6_gRw6aBCsdLdwiyLRHxsu2TSMOohr2BA6OsZC_b6skWXPZ2elb0Gsr5Qv1RCJ6gRoL6r8pCtbHRaCJrHRapqNxQHOTEq_THpy_8Z2mp3NlPElKoUXu3LSUMHGQqvTeU2dgZ-0IjsqNl6WRSH8_k_DpS1LBA0p1MqKaT0n58-m1m9A-mjxXkzaQDErQ0u6BhE3SJlImhlUHA-ZUKpi4goYPC1rHCJsxr2spQooWw6LTX2VntDuR21w.dOM-YTPzLjTKrjtG_EdsIQMxplPyCloU3IAcMKi-1ms&dib_tag=se&keywords=flat%2Bwaxed%2Bboot%2Blaces&qid=1732229881&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1&th=1

Thanks Luke
Appreciate the info …

 

[pillepalle123]

Thank yu for all these advises . In fact I talked about the wrong oil , it was the nestfoot oil that I used on the shoes , a little too much . It's been about 4months I used on them and the leather is still fat.

You mean like they attract dirt like crazy because the surface is fatty? Or did the leather get wobbly/lost its abilty to stand up?

As a last resort (really last resort!) you can scrub them with dish washing soap. Depending on the finish you could just wipe them with a rag dipped in alcohol to get of surface fats.
Or apply a layer of starch (or this oil removal stuff which looks similar from your local home improvement store) on them, it will "suck out" some of the excess oils.

 

[LV426]

Hi ! For those who could be intyerested , I'm about to replace a pair of heels on one of my Type 2 . I wanted to buy some Dr Sole but the one I wanted are sold out , so I went on ETSY ( yes !!! ) and found a nice heels : cat's Paw and Biltrite . Vintage look . Pics to show who it's gonna look on the service shoes and the ETSY link . I must say that the shipping price was far lower than Dr Sole that makes the difference sometimes.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1747481531/cats-paw-heel-rubber-heel-20mm?click_key=8a87913530260947fc14fdb921e10979036248b4%3A1747481531&click_sum=63c0dd7a&ref=shop_home_recs_2&sts=1

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1754396981/biltrite-imperial-heel-20mm-shoemaking?click_key=71899496ba2e698a4183df5666cb7b7ee5c23024%3A1754396981&click_sum=d2a7d359&ref=shop_home_recs_1&crt=1&sts=1

 

[stanier]

Hi ! For those who could be intyerested , I'm about to replace a pair of heels on one of my Type 2 . I wanted to buy some Dr Sole but the one I wanted are sold out , so I went on ETSY ( yes !!! ) and found a nice heels : cat's Paw and Biltrite . Vintage look . Pics to show who it's gonna look on the service shoes and the ETSY link . I must say that the shipping price was far lower than Dr Sole that makes the difference sometimes.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1747481531/cats-paw-heel-rubber-heel-20mm?click_key=8a87913530260947fc14fdb921e10979036248b4%3A1747481531&click_sum=63c0dd7a&ref=shop_home_recs_2&sts=1

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1754396981/biltrite-imperial-heel-20mm-shoemaking?click_key=71899496ba2e698a4183df5666cb7b7ee5c23024%3A1754396981&click_sum=d2a7d359&ref=shop_home_recs_1&crt=1&sts=1

View attachment 169091
View attachment 169093

They look really good but it says the size is 12 / 13 which is huge for me - I'm a UK 8.5 which in a US size seems to be anywhere between 8.5 and 9.5. Should I worry or will these heel units fit. And regarding soles, I'm assuming Dr. Sole will restock? Then I have to find a cobbler who can do the work...