A sale on waxed buttero sides at Rocky Mountain Leather… No, really. I was shopping for some Minerva and saw that there was a pretty good sale going. I got to thinking about how I had seen plenty of white waxed makeups, but never any black waxed builds. It made me curious about what one would look like. I knew that I was about to get started making my own boots soon, but didn’t feel confident that I’d be ready to make something for the dome, let alone with something as delicate as a leather with a waxed surface like that. I figured if these were potentially going to be my last boots I buy, I may as well try and go all out and do something as custom as possible. Unfortunately I couldn’t find anyone that would do a stitchdown monkey boot. However I did run across Willie’s new monkey boot pattern that he had just finished prototyping and it seemed like a perfect fit for a rough grungy black boot that would turn into a golden bronze veg tan beauty. I love playing around with leathers I’ve never seen before and getting to see where they go. Only one of the five boots I’ve domed in the last three years has been a leather Id seen used before, and for me that’s the goal. To boldly go where no boot has gone before… or something like that. This was definitely going to be the biggest unknown to date for me.
Did several measurements with photos and sent a foot tracing along with the leather when I sent it out to him.
There were some communication issues on both sides unfortunately. I had some specific details that I wanted that weren’t followed through on and overall it wasn’t the best experience. It was easy enough to get in touch with him and he was super friendly and on board to do the pair, but he didn’t ask for many details, and the details I asked for seemed to get overlooked. I had wanted a 6 or 7 inch version, black stitching on the upper and welt, and raw cord soles. But they showed up full height, with brown upper stitching, white welt stitching, and jade supergrip soles. I let him know that I could do the resoling since I had some raw cord soles (this is why those marks around the base of the upper are there. Inexperienced cobbling on my part) and it would be significantly cheaper for him to send me the right size heels rather than ship the whole thing to the Philippines and back. He also offered to refund me $50, but I never received that. Shipping was also a very surprising $95usd, which hadn’t been mentioned before, and was a bit of a bummer. He got other things right like the edge finish and hardware, and while I didn’t totally love the undertones of the black tongue he did remember that I had said if there wasn’t enough material in the side I sent that he could use a black leather for the tongue. There are some minor things in terms of some puckering at the toe, but it’s a relatively inexpensive custom boot with a flat welt and a fair thick stiff veg tan leather. I’m not going to whine too much. The pattern is beautiful and for the most part they’re very nice boots, and I think with more clear communication it would totally be worth working with Willie.
Same as my other pair. For the most part these have been worn for work. Meaning they’ve been used to climb in and out of walls, put to use in a fabrication shop, installing artwork, painting galleries, etc. There were a handful of short trips out of town where they got a bit of extra walking in them, and a handful of snow and rain days, but aside from a sudden series of early Spring shit weather days, they saw a fairly mild Dome. However, the day before taking photos they did end up absolutely soaked in several inches of slushy snow. Mostly though, they’ve commuted to the museum, commuted home, and repeated.
I was honestly pretty surprised how quickly the wax came off to start with. I’d say most of it was gone by the second month, and the rest slowly faded over the next few months until it settled in the creases and rolls where I think it will mostly stay for a long while. The whiskey undertone definitely mellowed from its light khaki start into a nice golden tan/brown. I expect there’s a lot more to come from them, but midway through they really began to glow. Unfortunately they got a serious dose of wet weather in the last moments of the dome and that pulled a bit of color out of the toe box and around the welt. But with a lot of brushing they got a good bit of luster back. After photos I gave them some VSC. I was a little worried about it stripping some of the last of the wax away, but it didn’t seem to make any change in that respect. While they darkened up a little bit, that seems to be temporary, and they settled mostly back into their previous tone after a day or so. They’re a pretty stiff temper and still haven’t fully broken in. They eased up a bit through the shaft, but I think it’ll be a good long while until they’re truly comfy.
They have a good comfortable shape and fit with enough room for a medium sock to fit with just the right amount of room. I’d say a slight bit narrower than what I take in a truballance, with a slightly lower toe box. Instep is impossible to judge because it’s a monkey boot, but they laced up pretty much perfect for me and I have a pretty medium instep. Arch is pretty mild. The only fit issue I had is that the heel counter is low and tight and didn’t seem to want to give way at all. After six months of being worn every other day, I still have to tape my heel and Achilles if I’ll be wearing them all day. It can be pretty brutal if I don’t.
Overall excellent. The design is I think one of the best monkey boots around currently. Finishing could be slightly neater, and the previously mentioned insole stitching isn’t perfect, but overall they’re punching well above their cost ( on a standard pair without purchasing leather yourself and paying additional costs for soles and whatnot)
They’re a little meaty and stiff, but they’re durable and fairly grippy as long as you’re not in snow. Would be hard to imagine a different outsole looking that good on these.