BlkBrd Rudiger in Horween Chromexcel, Natural colorway on Royce-B last and sized UK10, EEE (+ a few adjustments specific to the shape of my feet). It is an MTO pair and the customization include Storm Welted Construction, Vibram Fighter Rubber Outsoles and Gusseted tongue.
These are not my first pair from BlkBrd. My first were Dixon Cap-Toe Derbies in Horween Waxed Flesh, Tan, which I ordered last year. Starting from placing that order to using the Dixons for a year, it had been a roller coaster experience. When I approached BlkBrd last year, I wanted a pair of rugged, water resistant, welted boots. The Waxed Flesh leather was recommended by BlkBrd. Though I had requested BlkBrd to send a pic of the leather, it didn't happen and I forgot to follow-up too. As tan is a rare color for Waxed Flesh, most of the images which show up in Google are for the natural colorway. I liked the leather in natural color, assumed that the tan would be similar and decided to go ahead with the order. Another mistake from my side was the sizing. I placed the original order for UK9, EE. While waiting for the trial pair, I decided to go through the tedious process of measuring my feet. The recommended method is to take several measurements (both length and width) with socks on, spread across several days, at various times of the day, in both seated and standing positions and then average the results. My findings were surprising. While my right foot is about UK9, the left is bigger at UK9.5. The left is also wider than the right. Brands like Bata, Woodland don't have half sizes at all and brands like Clark's which do rarely stock them. Their outlets have convinced me that I am UK9. As expected, when the first BlkBrd trial pair arrived, my feet barely went inside. I got back to BlkBrd regarding the size and was shocked to learn that they had already cut the leather assuming UK9 sizing. They however promised me that they'll have enough margin to go up by half a size. I was also surprised when they told me that they don't have true half sized lasts. To get to say UK9.5, they start with a UK9 and perform a few adjustments to get to UK9.5. This wasn't confidence inspiring. Anyway, they sent me another trial pair - UK9.5, EE fitting. This time my feet could go in, but they were still tight. I also realized that the Royce-B last on which many of their flagship designs are based is relatively narrow compared to similar sized lasts from say Tricker's - the 4497s. BlkBrd recommended to go for UK 9.5, EEE size with a few adjustments to the toe box to make them roomier.
Finally, when the boots arrived, the first shock was the color. The tan colorway is basically a color #8. Though it is actually one of the most popular colorways from house Horween, the burgundy undertones look repulsive to me. I am a brown man. The next shock was when I realized that BlkBrd had missed the gusseted tongue - a necessity during heavy downpours while I am commuting on a two wheeler. I can recall the fit to be fine though. I got back to BlkBrd and they agreed their mistake. They persuaded me to keep the pair and offered me a discount for the next order. When I refused, they offered to attach the tongues to the existing boots or build another pair by scavenging parts from the current one. I wasn't sure about the quality of the resulting boots, so I stood my ground and told them that I'll be shipping the boots back to them. It would be up to them to refund my money but the boots would be useless to me without the water resistance. Finally, they went ahead and made me a new pair. The Dixons have been good to wear except for some discomfort in the toebox, which gets prominent after a full day of wear. I suspect that BlkBrd's method of starting with a UK 9 and getting to 9.5 by making some adjustments is the reason behind this.
After all this, why did I go back to BlkBrd? After an year with the Dixons, I have started to appreciate their build quality. Heavy Bangalore downpours, muddy roads, footpaths piled with debris from the metro construction, the Dixons have seen it all. But for their color and cramped toebox, they would have been the perfect boots for me. In the meantime, I had also been on the lookout for an easy to maintain, causal looking, water and scratch resistant leather for my next pair of boots. The answer I got is pull-up leather. When it comes to pull-up, very few can beat Horween Chromexcel. The tannery has been producing this leather for over 100 years and owing to its popularity and large volumes at which the leather gets sold, Chromexcel is relatively cheap too. As the leather darkens with age, I feel that the natural colorway which starts out as light brown is the best. For maintenance, Horween only recommends regular application of the
Venetian Shoe Cream. A cost no bar service boots in natural Chromexcel would be the ones
made by Viberg. Retailing at over 1000$ a pair, they are way beyond my budget. I would say, a close second (in terms of looks) that sells in our own backyard at less than one third the price is
Rudiger from BlkBrd.
An year is apparently long enough to heal old wounds and I decided to pull the trigger. This time though, things turned out fine and I am happy with the comfort, fit and finish of the Rudigers. As I have a first hand experience of what could go wrong with BlkBrd, I was proactive in following up about this order. I would recommend BlkBrd to anyone provided they are ready to do the same. Things to keep in mind while ordering from BlkBrd,
1. If the boots are based on the Royce-B, keep in mind that this is a narrow last
2. If they recommend any special leather, request them to share pics on WhatsApp before confirming the order.
3. Request them to ship a trail pair and not just a trial boot! They ship only one boot for the right foot by default
4. Request them to account for the cost of shipping 2-3 trial pairs while quoting the price. If you have asymmetric or wide feet like me, you'll likely need to try more than one pair to get the sizing right!
5. While placing the order, ask them not to mark or cut the leather until the size is confirmed after wearing the trial pairs
6. For MTO boots, keep following up on the customization. Request them for pics at various stages of construction. Sometimes, they don't respond to WhatsApp messages by end of the day. Keep chasing them until they do
Also, special thanks to
@moktan who has been giving me sound advice on boots for more than a year. He has been patient enough to read and respond to my evolving thoughts about boots. He saved me once from spending thousands on Cordovan boots which were meant for use in wet weather. He has a kind of figured out my taste in boots and have generously recommended me options from across the world...
(thanks to Moktan), I came to know of a very highly sought after leather type called Shell Cordovan. Google is your friend for those who would like to know more. In short it is the tissue that is located under the horse rump that is used in making a variety of items - shoes and wallets being some. There are a few leather manufacturers that specialize in shell cordovan. One of the oldest and widely respected is Horween Leather Co. in Chicago.
