Boots

[dgaddis]

Yeah I switched to some boot laces with kevlar strands that seem to work well. Not sure how the waxed laces were meant to work, but I couldn't keep them tied.

You have to pull them tight so hard it hurts your hands, for real. Like, basically pull as hard as you can stand.

These new laces are just way easier to live with.

[moondog-sparky]

tying shoes "right" is pretty key to keeping them, well, tied... took me awhile to get this part correct. it's hard to explain, so bear with me, but if done correctly they will stay tied all day - no double knot required. the key is in the starting point - if you create the loop with your left hand, then make sure the left lace is on top when initiating the cross over. if you create loop with right hand, then start with right lace on top. the way you know it is correct is if the two loops are perpendicular to your shoe once tied, and NOT parallel with the heel/toe line. (see Dustin's pic on previous page - this is tied correctly). if your loops are parallel with the heel/toe line, simply switch which side (left or right lace) you start with and put that lace on top. that solves the problem.

i know, i know... it's tough to try and write this up. it's all about how the loops align with the shoe once completed. if perpendicular = great. if parallel = bad, loose and will untie. i can honestly say i have shoes i've tied once or twice a year now and they never come loose, no matter the lace type. basically, this approach makes a true square knot which gets tighter under pressure, and not looser.

[dgaddis]

Hell I never knew there were so many ways to tie a shoe LOL. Although my sister somehow learned some unique way all on her own when she was a kid, if you watch her tie her shoes it looks backwards and makes your head hurt. She still ties them like that too.

Here's twenty different knots. The one in my previous pic is the 'better bow' knot in the secure knot section. It's a double knot but not the way I was originally taught to do a double not, it's way more low profile and faster to tie and untie.

https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/knots.htm

[j44ke]

I make two loops and tie the loops together. Super fast. My first grade teacher Mrs. Brown taught me how to do it that way so she didn't have to keep retying my shoes. I just could not tie shoes to save my life before that. And no velcro back then. Or Boa laces.

These laces Dustin and I are talking about are so stiff, you basically have to fold them to make a loop. So the knot ends up like origami, not like an actual knot. Okay aesthetically they look like old-time waxed laces and feel super durable, but really they are only marginally functional. Hiking boot laces are much better laces and actually do the job.

But yeah, I remember your (moondog-sparky) technique from a physics experiment. Evidently the orientation specificity has to do with the motion of the foot while walking. And one way will keep your shoes tied while the other way has almost no chance of success. Thus double knotting to compensate. But the correct orientation offsets or resists the motion of the foot and stays tied even without double knotting.

[Mabouya]

For the last few months I've had several relatively new footwear purchases (not really boots, but this thread seemed appropriate for this post) with laces that were too long, which was driving me nuts. I had to get the loops exactly right, or else either the aglet or the end of the loop would drag on the ground.

So... I finally got around to ordering some "dual wall" heat shrink tubing to make some DIY aglets. In this case dual-wall means that the tubing has an inner coating of adhesive that melts as the tubing shrinks to make it less likely that the "aglet" will come off.

I could have gotten some relatively inexpensive assortment packs from Amazon, but because I like to use McMaster-Carr and because they had some that were specifically listed as "semi-rigid" instead of the more flexible stuff, I got them from there. To be safe and accommodate a wider range of laces I got two diameters of 3:1 shrink and one diameter of 4:1 shrink. Most of the ones I got were black, but I also threw in some clear. We'll see how the whole thing works out.

Soon I will be faced with a major, potentially life-altering decision: when shortening a given lace do I remove material from only one end, and settle for mis-matched aglets but save on tubing, or do I cut off both ends and have matching aglets?

Talk about first-world problems...

[Too Tall]

For the last few months I've had several relatively new footwear purchases (not really boots, but this thread seemed appropriate for this post) with laces that were too long, which was driving me nuts. I had to get the loops exactly right, or else either the aglet or the end of the loop would drag on the ground.

So... I finally got around to ordering some "dual wall" heat shrink tubing to make some DIY aglets. In this case dual-wall means that the tubing has an inner coating of adhesive that melts as the tubing shrinks to make it less likely that the "aglet" will come off.

I could have gotten some relatively inexpensive assortment packs from Amazon, but because I like to use McMaster-Carr and because they had some that were specifically listed as "semi-rigid" instead of the more flexible stuff, I got them from there. To be safe and accommodate a wider range of laces I got two diameters of 3:1 shrink and one diameter of 4:1 shrink. Most of the ones I got were black, but I also threw in some clear. We'll see how the whole thing works out.

Soon I will be faced with a major, potentially life-altering decision: when shortening a given lace do I remove material from only one end, and settle for mis-matched aglets but save on tubing, or do I cut off both ends and have matching aglets?

Talk about first-world problems...

Your struggle is real. Be strong....and give me 20.

[dgaddis]

7 weeks in. These are definitely the most comfortable pair of shoes I own. Wore my Vans the other day and forgot just how little support they have haha.

[swt]

Jason is usually making machining content but I thought it was really interesting to see the boot making process, and Jason trying his hand at making some.

[72gmc]

^^^ thanks for posting this! I’m looking forward to watching it.

[kdawg]

I make two loops and tie the loops together. Super fast. My first grade teacher Mrs. Brown taught me how to do it that way so she didn't have to keep retying my shoes. I just could not tie shoes to save my life before that. And no velcro back then. Or Boa laces.

These laces Dustin and I are talking about are so stiff, you basically have to fold them to make a loop. So the knot ends up like origami, not like an actual knot. Okay aesthetically they look like old-time waxed laces and feel super durable, but really they are only marginally functional. Hiking boot laces are much better laces and actually do the job.

But yeah, I remember your (moondog-sparky) technique from a physics experiment. Evidently the orientation specificity has to do with the motion of the foot while walking. And one way will keep your shoes tied while the other way has almost no chance of success. Thus double knotting to compensate. But the correct orientation offsets or resists the motion of the foot and stays tied even without double knotting.

That makes sense - my work shoes are driving me crazy at the moment because the left one comes untied a few times per day. I tie a nice square knot with both ends slipped and the right stays perfect - but the left loosens itself.

I’d like to tie it the other way round to see if it still does it but I can’t do it - it’s just too ingrained the other way so a double knot will have to do.

[doomridesout]

I needed some new shoes for business-casual days at the office and this thread got me down a rabbit hole. I have a pair of Red Wing Heritage Work Chukkas in my office and a pair of Rancourt Byron Boots on the way. Whichever one feels better on my feet stays, the other gets returned.

[AngryScientist]

I dont have a particularly wide foot and i have a pair of the redwing heritage beckmens and they are exceedingly narrow boots. curious to hear how you get on with yours.

[Mabouya]

Whichever one feels better on my feet stays, the other gets returned.

As much as I love my Rancourt Byrons, I will say this:

1) The Byrons do take a little while to break in, so at the start may not feel perfect.

2) The Work Chukkas and the Byrons have totally different soles, and the Red Wings' polyurethane will be softer than the Rancourts' leather and hard rubber, so there's a good chance that the Red Wings will feel noticeably better. And if this is for an application where you're on your feet a lot and walking around, they may well be the better choice. However, for a "Friday casual" look in an office that's normally dressed up, I'm guessing that the Rancourts will fit in better, because they're a bit more stylish (IMO) than the Red Wings.

Have fun deciding.

[doomridesout]

I actually had a pair of the Work Chukkas back in 2013 and they were really nice but I hadn't yet reckoned with my big wide flipper foot. So both boots I ordered are wides. Interesting to hear Angry's comment about the Rancourts being a particularly narrow fit- we'll see if the wide is wide enough.

Definitely more fore the "dressy casual" look than for being on my feet all day. Our office's standard of dress has kind of hit the skids since COVID- if we're not actually in court it's all jeans all the time. I want a nicer looking shoe as a foundation for making jeans and a casual button-up look professional.

[j44ke]

I wear LL Bean Maine Hunting Shoes a lot. However, they stopped making taller boots in narrow, so my 10" boots were a bit sloppy fitting and perhaps as a result, the leather heel cover peeled off inside both boots. And one sole got a puncture, so I sent them to LL Bean, and $40 later they replaced the bottoms with narrows (they will do this within the same size) and fixed the leather heal cover inside (part of the process of resoling.) Service always includes new laces and new insoles. The boots need a dose of shoe grease but otherwise back to work.

[doomridesout]

The Rancourts won, by the way.

[Mabouya]

The Rancourts won, by the way.

Rancourt makes some very fine shoes.

[doomridesout]

That became apparent to me... I also ordered some ranger mocs.

[johnnyace]

I've had these for a couple of years and have been happy with them. Irish Setter (now owned by Red Wing) Trailblazers. I like that I can take them into the local Red Wing store, and they will clean and condition them for me for free, for as long as I own them.
730150-3-4x.jpg

[Mabouya]

That became apparent to me... I also ordered some ranger mocs.

Funny - we have the exact same two types of Rancourts, but got them in opposite order. I got the Ranger Mocs first, then a few years later added the Byrons.