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Cowboy Boots


Silky Johnston

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1 minute ago, BearSchlong said:

Didn't even read this thread but went to Tecovas in Rice Village on Saturday.  Tried on every possible size combo in the Caiman, both traditional and roper.  Nothing felt right.  The sales manager even admitted that their sizing runs smaller than competitors.

 

you could be lacking 'bro' game 

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10 minutes ago, BearSchlong said:

Didn't even read this thread but went to Tecovas in Rice Village on Saturday.  Tried on every possible size combo in the Caiman, both traditional and roper.  Nothing felt right.  The sales manager even admitted that their sizing runs smaller than competitors.

The way western boots fit, or are supposed to fit, seems to me to require more widths than D and EE.  I have a low-volume foot that historically required B widths in western boots and other shoes.  It's a bit less critical with lace-up shoes and as I age, my foot has spread while Asian manufacture has kind of narrowed what used to be a D width.  Real American shoes, like Aldens and Allen-Edmonds, where D is still D, are too wide for me still.

But with boots, I still need a B or C width for them to fit right, with some manufacture and boot-to-boot variance.

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we're all open to your sharing of comparable quality at a lower price boot brands? lets hear em!
(not being a smart ass legit want to know)

I mean what kind of boot are you after? Are you a square toe guy or a j-toe with an M-heel?

Your first mistake is thinking that Lucchese is a quality boot. Just because it’s at the higher end of the price spectrum doesn’t make something quality. I worked in the boot world for a good while and the only boots that consistently had more cosmetic flaws than Lucchese were Larry Mahan’s. I have Ariat exotics that have held up better construction-wise and also look better than any of my Lucchese’s.

My personal preference is Anderson Bean and Rios, and I have several pair of BlackJack customs as well. Not sure about their prices now, but when I got out of the boot business I could get you a custom fit, custom designed pair of BlackJack for several hundred dollars cheaper than the comparable stock Lucchese model. Hell most of the Justin exotics are a good buy.

The only reason I can see to buying Lucchese other than just wanting to be able to say you have a pair of Lucchese’s is if they are the ones that fit your foot the best. If that is the case, then go get measured and get yourself some custom BlackJacks and save a couple hundred $
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I like the look, but I can't recommend Tecovas Bandera boots if you're going to be on your feet for 8+ hours. I hope breaking them in more will help. I plan on beating the absolute hell out of these boots. 

I will recommend Wrangler 5 Star Premium Performance Jeans. Great pair of jeans for $25. Yes, twenty five dollars. 

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6 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

The way western boots fit, or are supposed to fit, seems to me to require more widths than D and EE.  I have a low-volume foot that historically required B widths in western boots and other shoes.  It's a bit less critical with lace-up shoes and as I age, my foot has spread while Asian manufacture has kind of narrowed what used to be a D width.  Real American shoes, like Aldens and Allen-Edmonds, where D is still D, are too wide for me still.

But with boots, I still need a B or C width for them to fit right, with some manufacture and boot-to-boot variance.

In shoes like AE I'm a D. I buy boots in C width and let them stretch to my feet.  Takes about a week of wearing.  First day or two sometimes sucks, but in the end the fit is so much better. 

I have also bought a B or two, but that's hit or miss.  Works OK with things like deer or elk that really stretch. Don't know about exotics.

The times I have bought a D boot I have generally regretted it.

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5 hours ago, Herbie Hancock said:


Your first mistake is thinking that Lucchese is a quality boot. Just because it’s at the higher end of the price spectrum doesn’t make something quality. I worked in the boot world for a good while and the only boots that consistently had more cosmetic flaws than Lucchese were Larry Mahan’s. I have Ariat exotics that have held up better construction-wise and also look better than any of my Lucchese’s.
 

If you're not buying Classics, Luccheses are kinda not worth it.    My Classics are damn fine boots, though - especially the exotics. I have one pair of Heritage and they're OK, but the store let me rifle through all the pairs in my size and find my favorite L and R to pair up.  The lower end ones (the ones they used to call 2000s or 1883s, etc.) I've tried have been no better than the $200-300 stuff they sell anywhere.

 

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2 hours ago, Liquor and Poker said:

If you're not buying Classics, Luccheses are kinda not worth it.    My Classics are damn fine boots, though - especially the exotics. I have one pair of Heritage and they're OK, but the store let me rifle through all the pairs in my size and find my favorite L and R to pair up.  The lower end ones (the ones they used to call 2000s or 1883s, etc.) I've tried have been no better than the $200-300 stuff they sell anywhere.

 

Agreed. Although love me some ABs.  The last few pairs of lucchese I’ve had have all been less quality than the ones before.  Don’t think there will be a next pair unless I can get them cheap from the paso. But I’m hard on them, exotics included. 

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17 hours ago, Herbie Hancock said:


I mean what kind of boot are you after? Are you a square toe guy or a j-toe with an M-heel?

Your first mistake is thinking that Lucchese is a quality boot. Just because it’s at the higher end of the price spectrum doesn’t make something quality. I worked in the boot world for a good while and the only boots that consistently had more cosmetic flaws than Lucchese were Larry Mahan’s. I have Ariat exotics that have held up better construction-wise and also look better than any of my Lucchese’s.

My personal preference is Anderson Bean and Rios, and I have several pair of BlackJack customs as well. Not sure about their prices now, but when I got out of the boot business I could get you a custom fit, custom designed pair of BlackJack for several hundred dollars cheaper than the comparable stock Lucchese model. Hell most of the Justin exotics are a good buy.

The only reason I can see to buying Lucchese other than just wanting to be able to say you have a pair of Lucchese’s is if they are the ones that fit your foot the best. If that is the case, then go get measured and get yourself some custom BlackJacks and save a couple hundred $

thanks man, seriously. great info here and i appreciate it!

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9 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

find the best fit and then through in super soles. my biggest deal is I only like roper style. 

are you talking about superfeet insoles?  i've been wondering about them.  i have a pair of custom orthotics for my lucchese ostriches (love them) and am looking to buy another pair of calf or goat for everyday wear so need another pair of insoles.  

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9 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Agreed. Although love me some ABs.  The last few pairs of lucchese I’ve had have all been less quality than the ones before.  Don’t think there will be a next pair unless I can get them cheap from the paso. But I’m hard on them, exotics included. 

Were they Classics?

The Lucchese classics I have handled within the last few years seem to be pretty high quality.  But you can't be completely sure without cutting them up or seeing how they wear.

Long ago, the "handcrafted" boots, Justin, Tony Lama, Dan Post, Nocona, original Larry Mahans, were all of pretty consistent high quality and Luccheses were just a bit "extra nice."  The crummy boots were Acme and Durango and they were obviously cheaper with plastic soles, vinyl and canvas lining, and coarse stitching.

Now there's a whole raft of intermediate quality boots that are mostly leather (leather soles, no vinyl or canvas linings) but the stitching is coarse and fairly obviously done by machine like the old Acmes and they have subtle departures from the old signs of quality like cushioned insoles, the sole/welt stitching extends into the arch, the arch isn't "skived" or thinned like it used to be, no nails or pegs, or obviously machine inserted pegs, and heel blocks made of plastic or some synthetic shit.  Tecovas seem to fall into this category.

I guess it's nice to have options.  Particularly so since the price of entry for a fairly standard cowhide or calf boot made the old way seems to be about $400-500, when it used to be more like $100-200 in the 80s and into the 90s.  In the 80s, the going price for an all leather Justin Roper was $69.95.  I don't think they even make a Roper of that quality anymore.

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2 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Were they Classics?

The Lucchese classics I have handled within the last few years seem to be pretty high quality.  But you can't be completely sure without cutting them up or seeing how they wear.

Long ago, the "handcrafted" boots, Justin, Tony Lama, Dan Post, Nocona, original Larry Mahans, were all of pretty consistent high quality and Luccheses were just a bit "extra nice."  The crummy boots were Acme and Durango and they were obviously cheaper with plastic soles, vinyl and canvas lining, and coarse stitching.

Now there's a whole raft of intermediate quality boots that are mostly leather (leather soles, no vinyl or canvas linings) but the stitching is coarse and fairly obviously done by machine like the old Acmes and they have subtle departures from the old signs of quality like cushioned insoles, the sole/welt stitching extends into the arch, the arch isn't "skived" or thinned like it used to be, no nails or pegs, or obviously machine inserted pegs, and heel blocks made of plastic or some synthetic shit.  Tecovas seem to fall into this category.

I guess it's nice to have options.

I have really old pair of Justin gators that were handmade in Ft Worth.  Then again, they cost me an entire weekend’s Vegas winnings (and it was a good weekend).  Both of those ideas seem hard to fathom today.  

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I shared it before under my old handle in this thread or the boot thread on the TOS for sure, but go see David at The Colony Cobbler.

Multiple people in this thread heeded my advice and were extremely satisfied. David is one of the most talented I’ve ever been around and an all around good dude. He has saved boots that I would have bet my life were destined for the garbage. He is truly a master of his craft. It’s 143 miles round trip from my house to his shop and I’ve never considered trying to find someone closer. Never.

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1 hour ago, Fondren & Main said:

What’s a good place to have boots re-soled and re-heeled near uptown Dallas?

Not uptown but Roma's boots at NWH and Midway is great and well-priced.  I also have a pair of custom boots from there that they did a good job on.

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7 minutes ago, Teebox said:

Not uptown but Roma's boots at NWH and Midway is great and well-priced.  I also have a pair of custom boots from there that they did a good job on.

Interdasting.  Thats pretty near me and I don't think I've ever heard of them.  That center with the Pancake House etc?

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6 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Were they Classics?

The Lucchese classics I have handled within the last few years seem to be pretty high quality.  But you can't be completely sure without cutting them up or seeing how they wear.

No, the $700-ish range 1883s. But the 1883’s 10 years ago weren’t bad, they were $550 then.  

 

6 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

when it used to be more like $100-200 in the 80s and into the 90s. 

So 30 to 40 years ago they were 1/2 as much?  A diesel truck cost nearly 3x what it did since 2000...  don’t even get me started on boats but you couldn’t even get one for 100k, much less 200k 15 years ago.   Boots sound like a steal. 

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3 hours ago, Herbie Hancock said:

I shared it before under my old handle in this thread or the boot thread on the TOS for sure, but go see David at The Colony Cobbler.

Multiple people in this thread heeded my advice and were extremely satisfied. David is one of the most talented I’ve ever been around and an all around good dude. He has saved boots that I would have bet my life were destined for the garbage. He is truly a master of his craft. It’s 143 miles round trip from my house to his shop and I’ve never considered trying to find someone closer. Never.

Absolutely.  David does great work. He fixed the teju boots that another bootmaker had basically ruined.  I thought they were a lost cause. They looked new when he gave them back. 
 

Since you mentioned Uptown- Avoid that place on mockingbird and 75 like another plague. I shared pics on the other site of what those guys did to my shoes and boots. I wouldn’t let them lace a pair of vans.  

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1 hour ago, fattyflattie said:

No, the $700-ish range 1883s. But the 1883’s 10 years ago weren’t bad, they were $550 then.  

 

So 30 to 40 years ago they were 1/2 as much?  A diesel truck cost nearly 3x what it did since 2000...  don’t even get me started on boats but you couldn’t even get one for 100k, much less 200k 15 years ago.   Boots sound like a steal. 

Meant to say *Bay boats.  

Carry on.   

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8 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

are you talking about superfeet insoles?  i've been wondering about them.  i have a pair of custom orthotics for my lucchese ostriches (love them) and am looking to buy another pair of calf or goat for everyday wear so need another pair of insoles.  

I have geeen super feet (regular) or the grey carbon (thinner sole) in all my boots. Well worth the $50 but figure out if you need regular or the thinner sole 

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Any recommendations for a good custom boot maker in Austin or anywhere within a few hours?  I'm not married to custom, but I'm ready for something a notch or two up.  I'm a big fan of Lucchese.  I have a pair of 1883s and a pair of Classics.  Both nice.  Both very traditional.  Ariat is my go-to daily boot.  I need rubber soles for daily use.  Looking to spend $1,500 - $2,000.  Don't really care about exotic leather.  I just want a really, really nice boot that I can keep forever.

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21 hours ago, BearSchlong said:

Just bought some Dan Post full quill ostrich in the traditional style. Very comfortable.

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Dan Post is pretty underrated. I like Tecovas for more traditional exotics and calf skins, but DP makes a damned good boot. I love my DP brown python, caiman back, eel, shark, and ostrich leg boots. 

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What's the thread's ruling on cowboy hats? Minimum number of X's? Style? Brand? Color?

I have a black and a silver belly Justin hats that I put a tooled leather hatband on. Both look damned nice for cheap hats. I recently picked up a Cavender's Rodeo Collection in granite grey and it's a good hat for the price. I have my eye on a tan Stetson beaver felt for more formal occasions. 

Edited by billfromlaketravis
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1 hour ago, fattyflattie said:

I have moved onto Silverbelly only. As many XXXX's as you can afford, and have Stetson and some customs.  Will probably be custom from here on out I'd guess.  I've probably only got 1-2 more in my lifetime.

Thank you for the sincere answer. Is there an dramatic difference in quality between the 10X and 100X?

The 1000X are the same price as some cars, and have diamond hatbands. I’m not sure who that’s for.  

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1 hour ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Thank you for the sincere answer. Is there an dramatic difference in quality between the 10X and 100X?

The 1000X are the same price as some cars, and have diamond hatbands. I’m not sure who that’s for.  

There is an absolute difference.  I say that to say the extreme upper end is more than you "need" and there is plenty of quality that can be had for less.  Like everything else in the world; find the spot where you are getting something quality for the budget you have, then get a bit more if possible.  Once you get into that 75% range, it's hard for me to tell the difference of the extreme high end stuff, personally.   Completely depends on how often you wear, and how you take care of them as well.   You can screw up a really nice hat, really quickly. 

eta: you can read up on it like crazy, but what they use, which parts, and how much changes throughout the xxx's as you go up.   

Edited by fattyflattie
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One thing to keep in mind, there is no consistency between manufacturers on what the xxx's mean. One company's 50X could be 50% beaver, while another could be 5%. Or the same company's 100X could be 100%, while a 1000X could be extra fine 100%. The best thing to do is to compare based on body and feel. And obviously fit. Or you could go custom, where they will generally be more open about the content of their hat blanks. There is only one company that makes felt hat blanks for custom makers in the US, so they all pretty much have the same stuff.

So, cool story, last year for Valentine's Day I got my wife a gift certificate to Johnny's Custom Hatters in Longview. It was the base, 10X I think for like $200. When she went in to pick out everything, he pulled out some blanks that were seconds, and she got the hat she wanted in 50X instead without any upcharge. Never figured out what the flaw was.

So that got me thinking, and I decided to do some experimenting with an old Cavender's Rodeo King hat I had. It had long since been delegated to mainly work wear, being somewhat misshapen because my head is more of an extra long oval etc.

So I took a piece of posterboard and cut an oval out of it that was a bit bigger than my head. I also cut out a bunch of small rectangular pieces of posterboard. I took the band and liner out of the hat and then taped the band back together and put it on my head where I wanted my hat to sit. I held the piece with the oval cut out over my head even with the hat band and then had my wife start taping the rectangular pieces to it so they just touched my head. I had her kind of do a pattern like you might do if you were torquing bolts on a flange, eventually filling in all the gaps until I had a relatively smooth cross section of the shape of my head. I then traced the inside on another piece of poster board and smoothed it out more. 

After cutting that one out with an exacto knife, I traced the outline onto a board several times and cut them all out (staying outside the lines a bit). I glued them up into a single block, and then shaped it with rasps and files, filling in low spots and gouges with leather glued on and then saturated with super glue, until I had the shape of the crown I was after, which was kind of a boss of the plains shape, but with more squared of corners at the top. Sanded it. Wet sanded it, etc. Until it was pretty smooth.

I then roughed out a hat making tool called a puller downer, soaked it in warm water, and then coaxed it down onto my hat block. Then there was a lot of ironing involved. Probably not enough, but I didn't have the time to fab up a bunch of other specialty tools for a one off project. Anyhow, once I was satisfied enough with how the hat had taken to the block and the flatness of the brim I let it dry and pulled the block out. I made a new hat band out of some leather from my stockpile, and the end result was a hat that fit my head perfectly without any excessive pressure on the front and back or any gaps on the side. It was a lot of work, and the hat still has some vestiges of its former shape (not as flat accross the top of the crown as I'd hoped), but it fits like it was made for me because it was. If you have a local hatter and like to tinker you can probably get a blank from them and make one for yourself that will fit even better than anything they can make. Or you could just make the hat block and have them finish the rest, which would honestly be more cost effective.

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Thank you for the sincere answer. Is there an dramatic difference in quality between the 10X and 100X?
The 1000X are the same price as some cars, and have diamond hatbands. I’m not sure who that’s for.  

Dude you can get your feelings hurt all you want but that was not my intention. It was an honest and evidently too blunt statement. A good quality hat is going to run you significantly more than what you paid for your cheap boots. You’ve made mention of buying multiple pairs of those boots, so why would I suggest a nice, high quality hat when you won’t even buy a quality boot?

If you’re wanting to step your game up and start buying quality, either buy an American Hat Co felt or just have one made. Resistol/Stetson are crap and have been for the better part of the last 15 years. A 20x Resistol Black Gold will run you in the $450’s and a 40x American Hat Co will be a little north of $500. 7x American should be around $300 and a 6x Resistol/Stetson will be $230’s. Go feel the difference and you’ll see why
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9 minutes ago, Herbie Hancock said:


Dude you can get your feelings hurt all you want but that was not my intention. It was an honest and evidently too blunt statement. A good quality hat is going to run you significantly more than what you paid for your cheap boots. You’ve made mention of buying multiple pairs of those boots, so why would I suggest a nice, high quality hat when you won’t even buy a quality boot?

If you’re wanting to step your game up and start buying quality, either buy an American Hat Co felt or just have one made. Resistol/Stetson are crap and have been for the better part of the last 15 years. A 20x Resistol Black Gold will run you in the $450’s and a 40x American Hat Co will be a little north of $500. 7x American should be around $300 and a 6x Resistol/Stetson will be $230’s. Go feel the difference and you’ll see why

Thanks I'll look for American Hat Co. I like that they actually make their hats in Texas. 

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Thanks I'll look for American Hat Co. I like that they actually make their hats in Texas. 

They are vastly superior IMO. Their 10x feels better than any 20x Resistol/Stetson hat I’ve ever felt. Resistol/Stetson are made in Garland by Hatco. I’ve literally been shipped hats with a Stetson sweatband, Resistol liner and in a Stetson box. QC at their factory is shit and the quality of X you are getting from them can’t hold a candle to American. If you go to a western store they will probably try and sell you a 20x Rodeo King for $150. Politely tell them to get fucked. You don’t want a muskrat pelt hat made in fucking New Jersey.
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5 minutes ago, Herbie Hancock said:


They are vastly superior IMO. Their 10x feels better than any 20x Resistol/Stetson hat I’ve ever felt. Resistol/Stetson are made in Garland by Hatco. I’ve literally been shipped hats with a Stetson sweatband, Resistol liner and in a Stetson box. QC at their factory is shit and the quality of X you are getting from them can’t hold a candle to American. If you go to a western store they will probably try and sell you a 20x Rodeo King for $150. Politely tell them to get fucked. You don’t want a muskrat pelt hat made in fucking New Jersey.

Yeah I've heard about Stetson and Resistol swapping parts. Suboptimal. 

I went ahead and bought this coat because King Ranch Saddle Shop discontinued the color as of 2020. Link: https://www.krsaddleshop.com/Mens-Tan-Kineno-Brush-Jacket

Their Kineno jackets are unlined and every bit as rough as Carhartt canvas, but they look pretty sharp. 

 

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7 minutes ago, Masshole Horn said:

I hate the back pockets on Wranglers... makes me feel like I'm wearing a costume.

The look or the fact that they're high up?  I wore em so long, Levis back pockets feel like rear thigh pockets on fatigues to me.

That said, the only jeans I have anymore are Levis.  I had a pair of Wrangler "Rugged Wear" in twill or whatever you call the diagonal weave denim.  Cut pretty similar to CC13MWZ but maybe with some extra ball room.  Very comfortable in terms of feeling loose without looking loose.  Didn't wear as well as CC, though.  I'm not sure I can find the same ones, or I would get some more.

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4 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

The look or the fact that they're high up?  I wore em so long, Levis back pockets feel like rear thigh pockets on fatigues to me.

That said, the only jeans I have anymore are Levis.  I had a pair of Wrangler "Rugged Wear" in twill or whatever you call the diagonal weave denim.  Cut pretty similar to CC13MWZ but maybe with some extra ball room.  Very comfortable in terms of feeling loose without looking loose.  Didn't wear as well as CC, though.  I'm not sure I can find the same ones, or I would get some more.

Mainly the look, but thinking about it, I like a lower rise in my jeans as well.  I'm pretty much all Levis 513 or 527... I have a couple other random pairs tossed in, but those 2 are my go-to.

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