Small questions thread

[franz]

^
I had the same problem as you when I got mine (In cordovan too).
All I did was force the zip up (Or do it gradually each day) and now it fits perfect

Same issue too on the left foot, but with bison leather. Due to the thickness & rigidity, I am not even sure it stretched 1mm since I got them, but I don't really mind (since I don't tuck my pants in my boots).

Beware professional stretching, cordovan is very resistant, but I heard stretching could be dangerous (it's very sturdy, but due to high tensile strength, I think it may damage the leather instead of stretching like donkey or kangaroo for example). Plus, of course, when you apply pressure on the shaft, you may also be applying pressure on the zipper, which is probably less resistant than the leather itself.

[lowrey]

they should stretch. the zipper will give in before the leather, but a cobbler should be able to carefully stretch them.

[uL7iMa]

anyone know if the attachment j-shaped jeans are comfortable, especially around the calf area where the bulk of the stacking occurs?

I've had a j-shaped pair of pants in a non-stretchy material, and it can get quite uncomfortable around the calf due to the stacking.

[Ochre]

Thanks guys.

Today I've also found that the left shoe squeaks when I walk. My derbies don't do this. What could be the cause of it?

[kunk75]

i'm selling side-zip rick combat boots for a bit more if you want as well

I overlooked the ones Kunk was selling, cheers. And thanks for the name dropping.
I definitely take the military surplus as a very viable option Patroklus, would most likely save me much money as well.

[Czx]

I doubt I'll be able to squeeze out any more money but if some would come my way I'll hit you up.

[lowrey]

Today I've also found that the left shoe squeaks when I walk. My derbies don't do this. What could be the cause of it?

usually its the insole moving that causes squeaks and screaks

[Ochre]

Hm.. it still happens even when I'm not wearing it with insoles at all or when I try them with different ones.

Could it have anything to do with the metal bracket on the sole of the shoe? That is my only other guess. It's quite maddening because until I fix this probably they're unwearable due to the loudness of the squeak! haha

[theaddict]

it can be the insole, but with CCP it seems mostly the problem that the heel layers are not attached tight enough and therefore the heel keeps constantly moving up and down and thereby squeaking. The firm guys hammered a nail into the heel and the squeaking stopped immediately. They told me that the heel was attached quite unthoroughly...well i guess CCPs are not John Lobbs...hahahaha

[Ochre]

Funny enough, I just dropped the boots off to Firm. They were playing around with the heel trying to get it to squeak and couldn't. Then they suggested to me it was the leather itself along the back of the boot which was rubbing and making it squeak. They told me in a week or two of wear that would die down but I'm finding that to be a pretty unsatisfactory answer. Has anyone else had this issue with their cordovan (or any other leather for that matter)?

On the plus side they told me they could stretch them and put in new vibran soles by end of day today so I can have them when I go away this weekend. Love those guys.

[Ochre]

Ok, now I'm incredible frustrated.

I just spent an hour at Firm with the head guy as he tried to troubleshoot the squeaking issue. He tried with/without insoles to tighten it, hammering additional nails into the sole, rubbing some kind of solution on the interior of the leather to soften it, and still nothing. Not only did the squeak not go away but the sound wasn't altered at all during any of these attempts which leads us to believe it is still something completely different.

His next two suggestions are very drastic. The first is that he wants to remove the metal shank to see if that rubbing along the leather is what is causing the squeak. Peculiarly, the left heel (boot with the issue) is markedly tighter than the right heel which is loose and produces no squeak.

His other suggestion is to remove the entire leather sole and put a new one. He thinks there might be a gap in the interior of the sole which is creating an air pocket.

Obviously I'm extremely hesitant to authorize either of these moves as there is no guarantee it'd fix the problem and it might just fuck up the boot even more and definitely decrease its value.

At this point I want to get in touch with CCP's atelier and raise this issue with them to see what kind of solutions they could offer. I love CCP and his work and I understand that artisan processes can lead to unforeseen issues at times, but this is unacceptable given the cost of these boots. And I'm hoping they can find a satisfactory solution to this.

PS. If anyone does have contact information for anyone at CCP, I would be incredibly appreciative if you could PM me.

[Ochre]

Ok after doing a very careful test of my own, I'm confident the issue is the metal shank rubbing against the leather.

Would there be any negative side effects to having Firm remove it beyond the decrease in value of the boot?

edit: Removed the metal shank, problem solved.

[lowrey]

I was about to guess that it sounds like it might be the metal, as I've personally never heard of such squeaking that doesn't come from the insole or a loose heel. good to hear its sorted.

[theaddict]

wait, ou removed the metal thingy? how? is it the older version where the metal is standing out?

[Ochre]

Yes, they're 09. The ones where the shank sticks out into the sole from the heel.