A worthwhile endeavor. Hoping to make many more pairs.

When choosing what style to make for my second pair it was easy because LTT boots have fascinated me for a long time. I wanted to make a pair of boots that I can wear in any situation like the office but also for the (often rainy) commute by bike in Copenhagen, when traveling or doing light chores around the house and garden. Last: I decided to go for a slimmer toe shape as I’m not a fan of bulbous toes and it’s a bit more fitting for the office. I modeled the lasts with a somewhat conservative 22mm heel. Leather: after a visit to a wonderful leather dealer in Vienna that’s specialized in shoemaking leathers it was clear that this was the only choice as it was vegetable tanned, robust and had lots of character. And I like that it comes from cows that spend their summers on high alpine meadows in Austria. Sole: buying interesting soles as an amateur with a business account turns out to be very challenging. I deliberated between white and green Dr Soles Supergrip full soles and heels that I’ve ordered from Taiwan and ultimately went for white. Construction: There’s extremely little information to be found on the pattern of LTT boots and my best clue was two screenshots I took from a video of a production tour at White’s. That’s why my quarters go all the way to from the centerline at the Achilles heel to the toe and are then covered by the vamp which I glued together. That might explain why there’re almost no collapsing of the toebox. The heel has a very sturdy 3,5mm heel stiffener made from JR’s oak bark tanned leather and there’s parts around the heels where there’s four layers of leather for a combined 10mm thickness. The boots are completely unlined. Stitchdown construction and midsole and outsole are saddle stitched. Hardware: details matter greatly so I’ve ordered this specific type of speed hooks (that I believe the PNW makers use) from the US but unfortunately the die setter (with imperial threads) did not fit into my metric press so I had to improvise and set them by hand (and did not do the best job)! I decided on brass over silver eyelets and speed hooks early on as it compliments the leather imho. Details: the rolled edge on the top is very fun to make and adds a lot of comfort and a bit of refinement. To make it feel like a real boot from a “real maker” I made a quick logo (and chose a canoe and heart as I’m tired of all the overly aggressive axe/beard/bear/skull-logos. The logo stamp was also 3D-printed and can be seen on the ankles. I’ve since ordered a machined stamp in brass. The heart also appears again as a stitched detail on the heel stay. I chose a relatively thick (to match the robust leather) cream colored thread (size 20 in Europe) which forced me to try my best in sewing accurately. The sock liner features my initials, again made with a 3D printed stamp. On the insole the layered lines from the 3D printed lasts are still visible.

For my first pair of shoes I’ve ordered custom made wooden lasts but due to miscommunication they turned out unusable. After modifying them and making my first pair I knew that I need to start from scratch and used a wonky iPhone 3D-scan as a base to CAD-model my last. My feet are fairly large, flat and wide with a low instep and volume and narrow heel. My big toe is very large and straight which made it challenging to find a compromise that was comfortable and visually acceptable.

Not applicable. Self-made.

I’ve worn these boots almost exclusively and almost every day. I wanted to wear them as if they were my only pair which means do all task while wearing them but also take good care of them This included a lot of rainy bike commutes (because Denmark…) to the office but also when doing smaller tasks around the house and garden. I like that the leather is easy to clean and easy to give a gentle shine. There’s been a few situations in which they got very wet or once completely soaked in mud but were always easy to clean up again. The right boot has suffered more because my bike has studded tires in winter and when in a rush they got scratched. I’ve also spent 10 days in our cabin in the middle of the woods in Norway over New Year’s in very cold (-25°C/-13°F) conditions and hip-deep snow. That was not planned as I was sure I had some Red Wing ice cutters stored there which was incorrect. Soles performed terribly in the snow as they became very hard and offered zero grip and provided virtually no insulation. Next year I’ll choose some mini lug soles as a minimum.

Absolutely excellent. As the fit was fairly good from the beginning I was able to wear them for full days straight away. They leather was very firm and had become much softer but I’m sure they will only be truly broken in after another 6 months due to the double layer toebox. Care: They were brushed about every two weeks and I treated them with Saphir’s clear shoe cream monthly but while in Norway I was desperate and treated them thoroughly with snow seal as they got wet in the snow). The leather has darkened substantially and it takes only a gently brush to bring back the shine and depth. There’s very collapse of the toe box as it’s two layers of 2.5mm upper leather (vamp over quarters) that are glued together.

Overall the fit when new was better than any new pair of boots/shoes I’ve ever bought. The toebox is spacious enough but I will increase the arch support for the last’s next iteration. The heel had a pressure point that has since gone. I’ve never had discomfort or even blisters. I like wearing them with good wool socks. First time Ive tried kiltiesand I feel they have added some comfort to the instep.

Overall I’m quite happy how they turned out but There’s many things I will improve on next time. There’s an instagram post in which I shared what could have been done better. Speedhooks: we’re not set well and I damaged the upper on the first speedhook and ultimately lost that speedhook. The eyelets were also set a little too hard. One of the boots is slightly taller because I made a mistake while clicking and did not notice. The stitching of the outsole is a bit too close to the edge. The rows of the upper stitching could be tighter together

Looks great but not a great choice in cold, wet, icy or snowy conditions. Becomes hard in cold temperatures and offers very little insulation towards the ground. They also offer minimal cushioning. Durability seems great (but soles usually last me a long time as I am careful not to drag my heels. )

This was really fun and I’m thankful for the incredible helpful shoemaking community online.