When it comes to our boots and shoes, there are often a lot of options to consider when it comes to soling finishes and details. Here is a breakdown of some of the terminology and images to accompany some of the techniques we can apply to your footwear.
- WELT OPTIONS
Sometimes apart from the actual sole construction of Blake Stitch or McKay Welt (Blake Rapid), there might be other details you're interested in to give your boot that extra little something special. Here we list a couple of other options for our Gordon and Charlie boots.
(A) Stormwelt : Our stormwelt is a strip of leather that runs 270 or 360 degrees of the sole and sits between the midsole and upper of the boot. It acts as an extra layer of water protection as well as looking mighty fine. Note that the Stormwelt will only run 270degrees of the sole when used in conjunction with a Dr Sole Rubber full or half sole.
(B) Triple Stitch : The triple stitch is where the upper of the boot is turned out and covers 270 degrees around the forefoot of the boot and is stitched to the midsole. It acts to protect against more water penetration and also looks excellent.
- FULL RUBBER SOLE
Rather than a full leather outsole, a full rubber sole is an excellent option for hard-wearing day-to-day wear. There are a wide variety of profiles and treads to choose from, so here is a breakdown of our most popular:
(A) Starr Rubber : Available in Black or Brown. This material is made in South Australia and has decent grip. It's 8mm thick and is slightly softer than the Topy Rug material, but still wears well.
(B) Topy Rug 6mm Rubber : Available in Natural, Brown and Black. This is a very tough rubber material with a bit of grip. It's 6mm thick.
(C) Topy Rug 9mm Rubber : Available in Natural, Caramel, Brown and Black. This is a very tough rubber material with a bit of grip. It's 9mm thick.
(D) Dr Sole Supergrip Full Rubber : Available in Cream, Green and Black. This is a grippy rubber material that is 6mm thick.
(E) Itshide Commando Full Rubber : Available in Black and Brown. This is our chunkiest rubber sole with grippy rubber profile that still allows for us to stitch the outsole to the midsole.
(F) Vibram Tuscany Full Rubber : Available in Black. This is a finer rubber sole than our Commando sole whilst still maintaining a grippy rubber profile. The rubber part is 4mm thick and the tread is 8mm thick overall. Due to the slightly finer rubber sole, we treat this with an extra leather midsole to give the boot its durability and structure.
- EXTRA RUBBER AT FOREFOOT
If opting for a full leather sole on your footwear, it is a wise choice to put some form of rubber over the forefoot to protect the stitching and leather material for longevity and durability. A half topy is our most common option, and is the finest profile. But there are a couple of other options as well, listed with images below.
(A) Half Topy
(B) Topy Rug 6mm at forefoot only
(C) Mild Commando
(D) Dr Sole Supergrip Half Sole
- EDGE FINISH
The Edge Finish is the stain that we apply to the side profile of your shoes/boots. They typically come in three colour options:
(A) Raw Wax
(B) Brown Wax
(C) Black Wax
See images below for these examples.
