New Boots!
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 3:45 am
As some of you know, I have been looking for a new pair of ranger boots for a while. I previously used two different pairs. The first pair I had made back in 2003 or so, which were modified from a pair of old work boots my step-dad gave me. These are obviously not very "period correct" in both style and construction, and furthermore they are painful to wear for long periods at a stretch because my step-dad has a very different gait and foot shape from me, so the soles and insoles were worn in a way that's basically incompatible with my anatomy. Ouch. The second pair I bought off a friend of mine who deals in the buying and reselling of screen-used movie costumes (he used to own the screen-used leather coat Tristan wore in the 2004 King Arthur movie with Clive Owen, and I actually got to wear it, which was pretty rad), and we know those boots came from the production of SOME Middle-Ages themed film, but we aren't sure which. I really dug these, but when I wore them to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival this past May they became completely water-logged (it rained a lot that weekend), and the soles both totally came off. Bummer.
For a while I had been toying with the idea of making my own boots, either from a period turnshoe pattern, or from a pattern of my own devising. In the end, I decided against this, because I know the project would have been a real test to my leatherworking skills, and when it comes to footwear I have learned not to screw around. Instead, I decided to buy a pair of existing boots from a reputable seller and modify them to my needs. I am happy to say that I just finished them two days ago, and the results are everything I had hoped for and more!
The stock boots I used for the basis of my modifications were the "13th Century Men's Boots" from Viking Leathercrafts ( http://www.vikingleathercrafts.com/13th ... boots.html ) with an added vibram sole for better traction and longevity. They accidentally sent me the wrong pair at first, which irritated me somewhat, but they were very apologetic and fixed the mistake quickly. The second time around I got the right ones, and I must say that they are beautiful, well made, and they look extremely durable. After now having carefully examined two of their boot styles I would highly recommend purchasing any of their products (with the caveat that I have yet to see how well these boots hold up over prolonged use).
I nearly forgot to take any pictures to document my project, but here are the first two, after some slight modification (re-shaping the tongue slightly), but still being mostly stock:
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... a.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 1.jpg.html
At this point I started the heavier modifications. First I re-dyed the natural colored boots with some Eco Flo "antique black" gel dye. Even though it says "antique black," it's actually more of a really, really, really dark brown. Incidentally, it's the same color I used for my quiver. This actually went on better than I expected, since the boots appeared to already have some kind of finish on them, despite the "natural" look.
After dying the boots themselves I used some really nice milled oak-tan leather from Tandy, which I had left over from another project, to add longer leg-shafts and tongues. This was also dyed with the same. I decided to use a heavy synthetic braided thread over artificial sinew or waxed linen because I feel it will be a little longer lived, and I used a light color intentionally so that it would contrast nicely with the dark leather:
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 4.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 0.jpg.html
Once the new shafts and tongues were on, I replaced the top straps/ties from the original boots with 1/2" wide leather straps I made from the same material as the new uppers, and after cutting the lacing holes a bit wider to accommodate, added them to the boots to complete the package. The last thing I did was to cut two little strips of soft leather scrap and glue them to the inside of the ankle seam in order to strengthen it, and to ensure that the two ends of the leather would butt up against each other properly without slipping around.
Here are a ton of pictures of the finished boots from different angles, just to give you an idea of what they look like when I'm wearing them. I made the shafts tall enough that, if I wanted, I could turn them down at the tops as well (though I would need to dye the interiors to make this look better):
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 7.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... c.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 6.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 4.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 3.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 6.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... b.jpg.html
Overall, the process went really smoothly, and was surprisingly easy. I'm ridiculously glad I went with this method instead of making boots from scratch though, because I think that would have been a nightmare. The only thing I may still do to these (other than dying the insides to turn them over at the top) is to cut out some lacing slits up the shafts so as to hold the leather straps in place throughout the day, since I'm afraid they may decide to slip down on me over time.
My only real regret with these boots themselves is that the toe is so pointy. I am NOT a fan of pointy-toed boots, even if they are period for what I do (13th century English, when I'm not doing ranger stuff). If I ever do another project like this I will likely ask to see if Viking Leathercrafts would consider making a pair of these with a slightly more rounded toe. Still, I think the overall effect came out basically EXACTLY like I wanted it to. They look extremely medieval, as well as quite suited to ranger use, and I'm thrilled!
For a while I had been toying with the idea of making my own boots, either from a period turnshoe pattern, or from a pattern of my own devising. In the end, I decided against this, because I know the project would have been a real test to my leatherworking skills, and when it comes to footwear I have learned not to screw around. Instead, I decided to buy a pair of existing boots from a reputable seller and modify them to my needs. I am happy to say that I just finished them two days ago, and the results are everything I had hoped for and more!
The stock boots I used for the basis of my modifications were the "13th Century Men's Boots" from Viking Leathercrafts ( http://www.vikingleathercrafts.com/13th ... boots.html ) with an added vibram sole for better traction and longevity. They accidentally sent me the wrong pair at first, which irritated me somewhat, but they were very apologetic and fixed the mistake quickly. The second time around I got the right ones, and I must say that they are beautiful, well made, and they look extremely durable. After now having carefully examined two of their boot styles I would highly recommend purchasing any of their products (with the caveat that I have yet to see how well these boots hold up over prolonged use).
I nearly forgot to take any pictures to document my project, but here are the first two, after some slight modification (re-shaping the tongue slightly), but still being mostly stock:
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... a.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 1.jpg.html
At this point I started the heavier modifications. First I re-dyed the natural colored boots with some Eco Flo "antique black" gel dye. Even though it says "antique black," it's actually more of a really, really, really dark brown. Incidentally, it's the same color I used for my quiver. This actually went on better than I expected, since the boots appeared to already have some kind of finish on them, despite the "natural" look.
After dying the boots themselves I used some really nice milled oak-tan leather from Tandy, which I had left over from another project, to add longer leg-shafts and tongues. This was also dyed with the same. I decided to use a heavy synthetic braided thread over artificial sinew or waxed linen because I feel it will be a little longer lived, and I used a light color intentionally so that it would contrast nicely with the dark leather:
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 4.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 0.jpg.html
Once the new shafts and tongues were on, I replaced the top straps/ties from the original boots with 1/2" wide leather straps I made from the same material as the new uppers, and after cutting the lacing holes a bit wider to accommodate, added them to the boots to complete the package. The last thing I did was to cut two little strips of soft leather scrap and glue them to the inside of the ankle seam in order to strengthen it, and to ensure that the two ends of the leather would butt up against each other properly without slipping around.
Here are a ton of pictures of the finished boots from different angles, just to give you an idea of what they look like when I'm wearing them. I made the shafts tall enough that, if I wanted, I could turn them down at the tops as well (though I would need to dye the interiors to make this look better):
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 7.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... c.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 6.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 4.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 3.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... 6.jpg.html
http://s39.photobucket.com/user/scyfygy ... b.jpg.html
Overall, the process went really smoothly, and was surprisingly easy. I'm ridiculously glad I went with this method instead of making boots from scratch though, because I think that would have been a nightmare. The only thing I may still do to these (other than dying the insides to turn them over at the top) is to cut out some lacing slits up the shafts so as to hold the leather straps in place throughout the day, since I'm afraid they may decide to slip down on me over time.
My only real regret with these boots themselves is that the toe is so pointy. I am NOT a fan of pointy-toed boots, even if they are period for what I do (13th century English, when I'm not doing ranger stuff). If I ever do another project like this I will likely ask to see if Viking Leathercrafts would consider making a pair of these with a slightly more rounded toe. Still, I think the overall effect came out basically EXACTLY like I wanted it to. They look extremely medieval, as well as quite suited to ranger use, and I'm thrilled!