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FAQ'S
MEASURING KIT
What is included? How does it work? How can I be sure it is accurate?
The measuring kit includes a tape measure that matches the one I use, as well as instructions on how to measure your own feet. The instructions are easy to follow.
Also included is a questionnaire about foot problems, uses the boots will be put to, your own height and weight, past experience with boots, and expectations you have for my custom boots.
The measuring kit explains and requires that you do foot tracings, and includes special paper for making careful footprints, all which I need to produce the boots and the orthotic footbeds. You are urged to take pictures of the profiles of your feet and any problem areas. Be assured that when I make your boots, if I have any questions, I will ask you.
Wouldn’t it be better if I just came to your shop to get fitted?
This measuring kit has evolved over 30 years of making boots by mail. Using it, I guarantee a perfect fit. In fact, I prefer that you measure your own feet at home under normal home conditions, as people’s feet tend to swell when traveling long distances, such as to a remotely located shop such as mine.
I should point out that I am booked a year in advance, and am usually running a little behind schedule, so I like to keep shop time committed to actual production as much as possible.
THE BOOTS
What is the difference between the 15cm and the 18cm boot?
The 15cm boot is about the same height as your average off-the-shelf hiking boot. It comes just over the ankle and gives quite good ankle support, without sacrificing flexibility too much. The 18cm boot is usually for those who want more rigidity, such as goat and sheep hunters who hike above timberline, or those who need more ankle support for either medical or other reasons, such as working in water that would go over the tops of the 15cm boots. The 18cm boots are therefore a little harder to break-in, and much stiffer at the ankle. There is very little difference in weight between the two different heights.
What is the difference in the leather thicknesses, what should I choose?
I have always tended to overbuild my boots that made them very difficult for some people to break in. I have learned over the years that most people really do better using the lighter 5-ounce leather. This is the average leather thickness found on most off-the-shelf boots. The thickness of the leather usually has little bearing on how long the boots will last, and has a lot to do with how rugged the conditions are in which the boots will be used, as well as the weight of the individual using them.
I prefer the lighter leather for myself, and urge most people to use it - Much easier to break-in as well.
Do you make a last for my boots and what happens to it?
Yes, I take your measuring kit and all of its measurements and I make a last, which represents the exact interior dimensions of your boot. This last is kept on file for at least a month after you have been sent your boots just in case any questions arise concerning the fit. In order to keep the price down, eventually your lasts are recycled. Your file is kept and new lasts can be made from your file at any time.
How can you guarantee a fit?
Well, first, I am a craftsperson, but I am also an artist. I can visualize in 3D, so you receive my kit, fill it all out, and send it back. I then take a stock last and modify it to match your dimensions. Around that, I then build the boot. I keep your last intact for a few weeks in case there are any questions, and as a reference, then I re-use it for someone else, but your kit remains in my file along with more than 3,000 others. At any time I can pull the file and make another last exactly like the original. This saves the client hundreds and hundreds of dollars for custom lasts, and saves me horrendous storage problems handling 3,000 pairs of lasts.
What if the boots don’t fit?
If you have a fitting problem when you try the boots on, phone me, and we can discuss it and see if there might be a simple solution to the problem that can be affected on the spot. If not, you will send them back either for a refund or a rebuild, whichever you prefer. I have nearly 100% success fitting boots, so this would be a very rare problem.
THE ORTHOTIC FOOTBED
I have my own orthotics. Can I use them? Are yours removable?
My orthotics and my boots are made as a unit to work together. I strongly suggest you try my combination for your comfort before trying to fit another orthotic into the boots. Yes, mine are removable, and your favorites may easily be inserted if they fit.
How are your footbeds made?
The whole boot is made for the foot that is going to wear it. The footbed and the boot are made for each other. One is not added as an afterthought to make do for a cranky client. As I make your boots, I make choices and make design changes to suit your needs. The boot and the footbed are made to work together.
When it comes to actually making the footbed, I devote one whole day to doing it. I build it up using three different densities and foam characteristics, hand-sculpting it to fit perfectly and support and correct as needed; to enhance the support and correction already built into the boots. Then, the footbed is leather covered and hand stitched as I sit in front of the fire in the living room.
How long do they last?
The leather wears out every 8 years or so, and the footbed is then re-covered with leather. Other than that, these footbeds last a lifetime. If they don't, by the time they do wear out, my lifetime will be over and you can take your complaints to Saint Peter! So far, the footbeds I made 30 years ago are still going with the occasional recovering when the leather wears out.
I have podiatrist clients who wear my footbeds while they make a living making footbeds for others---which they never guarantee!!
Are your customers satisfied and happy?
I invite you to do an Internet search on my name and try to find even one negative comment about my work or me anywhere on the net. It’s bound to happen some time, but so far, so good. Why? Because I make sure every client is happy and well served or he gets his money back and I get my boots back.
How do I prevent blisters?
Some socks are more abrasive than others, possibly depending on the synthetic materials used. Moisture softens skin until even the slightest friction will cause a blister. The thickness of the sock under the stress of wearing it needs to match the ones I made the boots for.
If you keep yourself in shape in a gym all winter and then build up to a big hike and go, your legs and the rest of your body will do well, but your feet will suffer, because they themselves have to be toughened up and broken in. At the gym you are wearing soft cushy gym shoes---not the same as all leather-hiking boots. Also, the boots need occasional wearing to some extent just to keep them limber, so the one big hike of the year is not also the one big break-in of the year.
Some things to prevent this: Put some research into getting a back-up pair of socks that matches your favorite pair.
Next, take small hikes in your boots throughout the year to keep them and your feet in shape for the big one.
This next step will help most of all: It’s the broomstick handle trick that will shape your counters more perfectly. Make a solution of one part rubbing alcohol to one part water. Take the footbed out of the boots and apply a sponge soaked with the solution to the inside of the boot where the blisters were coming from----about 1.5cm up from the base, and just off center to the outside. You can wet the whole counter.
Then take a wooden broom handle, and bracing the screw end against the floor and in the instep of one foot to keep the handle from slipping, insert the rounded wooden handle into the boot and press and work it into the place in the counter where you were getting the blisters. You can actually shape the counter this way and push the place out just a little where rubbing was making the blisters. Work the handle around so that you don't leave any ridges in the softened leather, but leaving it still concave just where you need it to be. When you are done, put the foot bed back in and try them on. When you've got it right, the place where the blisters were being made will no longer be rubbing.... the alcohol would have taken some of the oils out of the leather, so when the boots are dry, re-oil and wax the inside of the boots.... This should do it.
Note: Where some blisters develop most is also a place where bone spurs develop. You may have bone spurs starting to grow. I don't think this is a problem medically speaking, but for the fit of your boots it is.
Blisters around the heels: If you take a 50% solution of rubbing alcohol and water on a sponge and apply it to the area where you are getting the blisters, then use a short wooden or plastic handle of something that will fit in there, you can work and reshape the area that is causing the blisters. You can even use the rounded end of a broom handle, the other end braced in your instep on the floor, to reshape the leather counter when it is wet with the alcohol solution. You just want to concave the leather around where it is rubbing, so it better fits the shape of your heel and doesn't rub any more.
What if my toes feel a bit squished?
This shouldn’t happen with good measurements, however if it does happen, for whatever reason, you’ll need to have the toes stretched a little wider. This can be done at a shoe repair store. The repairman can use alcohol and water to stretch them wider for you. Then you can put them on, and they will dry to the new width. Otherwise, they may have to stay on the stretcher over night. They won't need much stretching, in fact, very little, but it may take a while to keep the leather stretched out, as it will want to shrink back at first.
How do I care for my boots?
You care for these boots the same way you would care for anything out in the weather made from fine leather. When you receive them, your boots are ready to go, as far as to weatherproofing/waterproofing. Your job is now to maintain their condition. There are three approaches: oil, wax, and silicone.
OIL Oil softens leather. Do not use it as your primary waterproofer! Is the leather soft? Do not oil. Oil builds up in the leather, releases the fibers, makes them flaccid, attacks and releases glue. Only use oil if you have been in lots of mud or wet cement and the natural oils in the leather have been drawn out. You will know this has happened, if the leather is hard and stiff when dry. In which case, use just what oil is necessary to restore to like new condition. Keep all oil off the edge of the vibram sole, as it can attack the glue and soften the sole. This warning includes products designed for waterproofing, but use oil as the main ingredient--such as mink-oil, hubbards, dubbin, etc. SILICONE Don’t use it at all. It dries and cracks the leather whenever I’ve tried it.
WAX: wax is a lubricant and waterproofer. Beeswax based products seem to do the best. I like Nik-wax and Sno-seal, but you should be able to find a wax-based product in your area. Wax will lengthen the life of the inside backs of your boots, around the tops of your calf-skin boot lining, and also the footbed. Work it in, buff it off, work talcum powder into it to smooth, and polish and prevent your socks from hanging up.
The outside of the boots everywhere can be worked up with wax, you may melt it in using a hairdryer---never put leather boots in an oven.
When do I condition my footwear?
As often as conditions require! If you have wet boots, dry them GENTLY. Never dry near or on a source of radiant heat. Wet leather will transform itself into the carbonized qualities of porcelain when exposed to excessive radiant heat---once this happens, there is no fix and no wearing them ever again!
Remember that the uric acid in manure gradually carbonizes (digests the protein in the leather fiber, makes it crack), reduces the life of the leather, as will the uric acid in excess perspiration.
EXCESS PERSPIRATION?
Wash the boots out with baking soda and water once in a while.
BOOTS SQUEEK?
Sprinkle talcum powder between the orthotic footbed and the insole of the boot.
How long should my boots last?
The life of your boots depends on you. If you take care of them and keep the leather conditioned, both inside and out, keep them away from radiant heat or leaving them too long in vehicles parked in the sun, they will last the longest. Every 6 years or so, they may need a new sole to replace the worn one.
The average recreational hiker can expect these boots to pretty well last a lifetime.
It also depends on how they are used. I have mountain climbing guide clients that order a new pair every 4 years to always have a fresh pair to change into depending on conditions, and because their line of work is very tough on boots when used like they do, day in and day out.
Do I need to prepay for the boots? What about refunds?
No one is required to prepay for boots until one month before I make them. However, between now and then there could be price rises that you may be subject to.
If you prepay immediately, you lock in the price, as I go out and purchase the materials immediately in order to beat the monster called "Inflation" which has been running better than 14% per year in my business.
If something happens to you, and you change your mind about getting the boots, my policy is to keep my good will and good reputation by refunding the money.
What happens if something happens to me and suddenly two years worth of orders must be refunded at once could be problematic. I do have insurance, but after I am gone to the great beyond, there may be delays in probate.
I have always enjoyed perfect health, and this has never happened before! I eat well, exercise daily and keep in perfect shape for my age, including jogging uphill every day in my hiking boots, etc.
In 32 years, I think only one or two have ever changed their mind about getting my boots (due to changed circumstances, as I recall) and they got a full refund. Please bear in mind, that I deal in Canadian dollars and you may deal in U.S. dollars, which are always fluctuating in relation to each other. So there is no exact to the penny exchange usually possible, plus banks, at the moment charge 3.5% for every transaction. I cannot be responsible for that.
I am planning to only accept orders the filling of which will take me up to the age of 71. I have 300 more orders I will accept in my life. My, but it has gone so fast!
Currently, that means as of today April, 2008, and this changes weekly, there is a 16 month waiting period for the regular price of $1600 and a 5 month waiting period for the rush order price of $3,000.
One more thing:
If I make you a pair of boots, and for some reason (God forbid) you are not happy with the fit, which is guaranteed, then we have two options. Either you or I will opt for a refund, or I will modify or build you a new pair no extra charge.
I treat my customers the same way I want to be treated.
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