"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

I know the subject of boots has come up here in the past, but I was wanting to consult the wisdom of the Porch. I've been getting (even) more into boots lately. As an archaeologist, I am pretty rough on boots, and my work boots need to serve in a variety of situations (extensive hiking, excavation, uneven/rough/rocky terrain, long periods of standing, paved surfaces, etc.). Generally, I (and every other archaeologist I know) have accepted that I will just need to buy new boots every year or two depending on how much field time I get. I am a Cultural Resource Management (CRM) archaeologist, not primarily a research archaeologist, so the digging I do is usually the shovel and breaker bar type, not scraping with a trowel. The boots that I have been using for the past few years are Danner Vitals, they are hunting boots that are okay for most of the stuff I do (though they are really too warm a lot of the year), and I just buy a new pair every year or two. I was pretty happy with my choice of work boot until about 8 months ago.

I had an old pair of Frye boots (too dressy for field work) that I needed to get new heels on. I have one leg shorter than the other, and I usually use a hard rubber insert to lift my left heel 7mm. I asked the cobbler if they could lift the lef theel. They said no problem, and then when I got them back, the dressy boots that I had kept just because they were so pretty had suddenly become the best distance walking footwear I had. I needed to resole another pair of Danners with a Christy sole, so I aske them to lift that one, and it was pretty darn life changing. The Danners I had lifted are Bull Run Luxes, so not really work boots, but they are so much more comfortable than even sneakers for all day wear that I have been using them at work a lot, but the Christy sole just doesn't cut it for hiking for me (in archaeology, all the hiking is bushwhacking, we don't get to use the trails very often). So now I have become totally sold on using resole-able boots for work, and I want a pair of work boots that I can really use on survey and excavation. I would really like a sturdy pair that will last through multiple resoles.

As I started diving into learning about boots, I fell in love with the Redwing Iron Rangers. I bought a barely used pair cheaply a few weeks ago. After initial break in, I feel like they will be good for some of the work I do, and they can be resoled and I can get the heel lifted easily. But they aren't going to cut it for everything, and certainly not for the more aggressive hiking/survey. I've been looking at the PNW boots like Nicks, Whites, and JK, and I can't get past those tall logger heels. They look absolutely torturous to me. I also wonder about the comfort of leather sole/midsole construction for standing on hard surfaces. Do folks around here have experience with the logger heels? Are they actually comfortable. I assume they have to be, but I don't want to buy a 500+ pair of boots and then never want to wear them. My main experience with tall heels is western boots, and at this point I have only one pair with tall stacks because they are a lovely old handmade leather pair that I inherited, and I don't find them comfortable.

So please, if you have experience with those high end PNW style work boots, please let me know what your insights are.

Just for fun and visual aid, here are the Frye boots I had the left heel lifted on first, then the new Iron Rangers (after a little break in), and my Danner Bull Run Lux boots that I had lifted as well.
full
 
abbydaddy said:
I know the subject of boots has come up here in the past, but I was wanting to consult the wisdom of the Porch. I've been getting (even) more into boots lately. As an archaeologist, I am pretty rough on boots, and my work boots need to serve in a variety of situations (extensive hiking, excavation, uneven/rough/rocky terrain, long periods of standing, paved surfaces, etc.). Generally, I (and every other archaeologist I know) have accepted that I will just need to buy new boots every year or two depending on how much field time I get. I am a Cultural Resource Management (CRM) archaeologist, not primarily a research archaeologist, so the digging I do is usually the shovel and breaker bar type, not scraping with a trowel. The boots that I have been using for the past few years are Danner Vitals, they are hunting boots that are okay for most of the stuff I do (though they are really too warm a lot of the year), and I just buy a new pair every year or two. I was pretty happy with my choice of work boot until about 8 months ago.

I had an old pair of Frye boots (too dressy for field work) that I needed to get new heels on. I have one leg shorter than the other, and I usually use a hard rubber insert to lift my left heel 7mm. I asked the cobbler if they could lift the lef theel. They said no problem, and then when I got them back, the dressy boots that I had kept just because they were so pretty had suddenly become the best distance walking footwear I had. I needed to resole another pair of Danners with a Christy sole, so I aske them to lift that one, and it was pretty darn life changing. The Danners I had lifted are Bull Run Luxes, so not really work boots, but they are so much more comfortable than even sneakers for all day wear that I have been using them at work a lot, but the Christy sole just doesn't cut it for hiking for me (in archaeology, all the hiking is bushwhacking, we don't get to use the trails very often). So now I have become totally sold on using resole-able boots for work, and I want a pair of work boots that I can really use on survey and excavation. I would really like a sturdy pair that will last through multiple resoles.

As I started diving into learning about boots, I fell in love with the Redwing Iron Rangers. I bought a barely used pair cheaply a few weeks ago. After initial break in, I feel like they will be good for some of the work I do, and they can be resoled and I can get the heel lifted easily. But they aren't going to cut it for everything, and certainly not for the more aggressive hiking/survey. I've been looking at the PNW boots like Nicks, Whites, and JK, and I can't get past those tall logger heels. They look absolutely torturous to me. I also wonder about the comfort of leather sole/midsole construction for standing on hard surfaces. Do folks around here have experience with the logger heels? Are they actually comfortable. I assume they have to be, but I don't want to buy a 500+ pair of boots and then never want to wear them. My main experience with tall heels is western boots, and at this point I have only one pair with tall stacks because they are a lovely old handmade leather pair that I inherited, and I don't find them comfortable.

So please, if you have experience with those high end PNW style work boots, please let me know what your insights are.

Just for fun and visual aid, here are the Frye boots I had the left heel lifted on first, then the new Iron Rangers (after a little break in), and my Danner Bull Run Lux boots that I had lifted as well.
full
Click to expand...
No green triangles then?
 
YaArArYa said:
No green triangles then?
Click to expand...
No, there really aren't any safety guidelines we need to follow. If this was the UK I think things would be different, but thankfully for my very broad toes, I am not required to rub them bloody in a steel toe (I've had jobs where I needed the green triangles, and the boots I could afford then were extremely painful if I had to walk distances).

That said, if there is such a thing as a comfortable hard toe for someone with hobbit feet, I would be open to the option, I just need something that I can cover miles and miles in.
 
Well I have gone down the rabbit hole of boots myself over the last year, year and a half

I got the blacksmiths (just like the iron ranger but without the toe cap)
But my needs were very different, standing on concrete all darn day.

But I would still say the moc toe would be an excellent option, it was originally designed as a hunting/hiking boot
But I don't know how you would handle the 7mm difference unless you got a thicker wedge (or built up midsole) for that particular foot
 
By built up midsole,
Have a cobbler stick an extra layer or two of leather between your insole and your outsole ...might work
 
Rsmith_77 said:
Well I have gone down the rabbit hole of boots myself over the last year, year and a half

I got the blacksmiths (just like the iron ranger but without the toe cap)
But my needs were very different, standing on concrete all darn day.

But I would still say the moc toe would be an excellent option, it was originally designed as a hunting/hiking boot
But I don't know how you would handle the 7mm difference unless you got a thicker wedge (or built up midsole) for that particular foot
Click to expand...
Yeah, when I had the moc toe boots resoled the cobbler added a wedge to the midsole. It is a very comfy boot, but the Christy sole is not really great for hiking. The grip is plenty for roads or trails, but steep wet heavily vegetated hillsides are a bit much.

I'm very happy with the Danners for light duty stuff, I just need a little more grip, structure, and shank stability for bushwhacking and hopping on shovels and the like.
 
Sold off my guns today. Kept three, my trusty Walther PPK, one I won't mention and a black powder .50 cal pistol I built from a kit many years ago. I wound up with two H&R 20 gauge barrels that I don't know where the stocks are. It took about two hours for them to appraise and list them and pay me. I'll let my wife deal with my knives when that time comes. I've got way too many to deal with and don't even know of a dealer that would take them all. She likes the ones with "pretty" handles 😆.
 
sitflyer said:
Sold off my guns today. Kept three, my trusty Walther PPK, one I won't mention and a black powder .50 cal pistol I built from a kit many years ago. I wound up with two H&R 20 gauge barrels that I don't know where the stocks are. It took about two hours for them to appraise and list them and pay me. I'll let my wife deal with my knives when that time comes. I've got way too many to deal with and don't even know of a dealer that would take them all. She likes the ones with "pretty" handles 😆.
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That's a big day Duane (I had a PPK once, and a PP). I hope you're ok buddy 👍👍
 
sitflyer said:
Sold off my guns today. Kept three, my trusty Walther PPK, one I won't mention and a black powder .50 cal pistol I built from a kit many years ago. I wound up with two H&R 20 gauge barrels that I don't know where the stocks are. It took about two hours for them to appraise and list them and pay me. I'll let my wife deal with my knives when that time comes. I've got way too many to deal with and don't even know of a dealer that would take them all. She likes the ones with "pretty" handles 😆.
Click to expand...
I hope that was just in the spirit of decluttering your life. Knives with pretty handles are nice.
 
abbydaddy said:
I hope that was just in the spirit of decluttering your life. Knives with pretty handles are nice.
Click to expand...
It would be nice if that were the case. I did manage to find the box with the two shotgun stocks and will drive to the store tomorrow to pass them on. They are consecutively serialized, but one has been refinished because of damage from storage in a vinyl liner that off gassed and damaged the black lacquer finish that it had. The Jacobean stain and tung oil finish that I did on it actually looks way more appealing than the original finish. These guns were a Christmas present to me and my now deceased brother, but he got into a lot of trouble in his late teens. So I wound up owning both of them. I don't have anyone to pass them on to.
 
Hey, everyone! Was thinking this might be the appropriate place to bring it up, are photos containing (but not centered on) the BK16 ok here? I have been tempted to post mine with other knives, but I haven't just because the blank is EDM cut and the micarta scales are 3D milled. I probably just answered my own question there. To those who are well established here, I have a genuine interest in listening to what you guys have to say about this. I'm not trying to have an argument. For what it's worth, my blade is uncoated.

Oh, yeah, Keen boots are definitely worth your time if you've never checked them out.
 
I would look at the kenetrek hard scrabble hiker uninsulated boots…all of your requirements met, if you want taller shafts then go with their mountaineer…..finest boots available and you will not regret. I buy expensive good quality boots because my work too, has me on many similar surfaces. I have some White’s wildland wilderness logger -smoke jumper boots too, and also recommend them for all surfaces except paving or concrete unless that surface is for short periods of time. I do not blink to buy a $500+ boot because my feet and back both appreciate and need the best, good luck. Kenetrek.com 👍
 
runninmike said:
I would look at the kenetrek hard scrabble hiker uninsulated boots…all of your requirements met, if you want taller shafts then go with their mountaineer…..finest boots available and you will not regret. I buy expensive good quality boots because my work too, has me on many similar surfaces. I have some White’s wildland wilderness logger -smoke jumper boots too, and also recommend them for all surfaces except paving or concrete unless that surface is for short periods of time. I do not blink to buy a $500+ boot because my feet and back both appreciate and need the best, good luck. Kenetrek.com 👍
Click to expand...
I have Kenetrec boots.
Totally Awesome!
Best boots I have ever used.
 
Just Tom. said:
Well, I guess it’s time to hide here again until this whole thing blows over.
Feeling a little like this about now:

kYpJ1Nk.jpg
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Egads! You ain't just a whistlin' Dixie. I wish the forum knife could somehow avoid the folks strolling in and whining about established porch denizens. If you don't want to hang out here, then don't. But don't whine about not getting a knife.

I personally don't get bothered (much) by flippers, but I do get bothered by acrimony befouling the forum knife process.
 
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