@@byN91 All of the handgrade lasts I have tried tend to have a narrower heel. It’s quite an accomodating last overall though do you could also size down.
C&J recommend sizing half a size down in the 337 last unless you have a wide foot. It is quite an elongated last shape with reasonably generous instep. If you have detailed questions I would recommend contacting C&Js customer service department directly. They are very helpful.
just bought a pair of Aldwich at Loake cheltenham, mahogany. Great value, formal, classic shoes. Use Sapphir shoe polish for mirror finish. But for country walking, Trickers goodyear welted command soled shoes cannot beaten.
The Herring beeswax creams are made in China. I couldn’t say if it is on a par with Saphir as I haven’t used their comparable products but I have found the Herring creams to be perfectly adequate for regular maintenance.
Thanks for sharing this video much appreciated. you helped me make a decision. I've just purchased a pristine pair still boxed Loake 1880 Aldwych in black. same as yours in the video....Hey...£60 What a result. Beltin eh. Anyways thanks for sharing.😂
Crockett & Jones Hand Grade (C&J HG) uses the same grading of leather as Edward Green (EG). The difference is C&J HG will make 4 pairs of shoes out of one hide and EG makes only 2 pairs of shoes instead. Therefore EG they are charging their customers more as the production cost is much higher.
I think that’s a second price increase since bought these? Cheaney, C&J and Church’s have also all increased their prices. C&J mainline was < £400 a few years ago, now £445.
I think that’s mostly the lighting but the leather texture is slightly different on each shoe which does make a small difference whey they are polished up.
Also look into the services of the Shoe Healer in Doncaster.. I have had a load sent to them.. Tricker's Sanders Loakes.. Utter fantastic workmanship..i just can not fault.! All mine now are sent there.. Check em out Ann or Greg customer services, they'll post em back to you too..
The foot bed is not replaced as the fiber ribbing is machine stitched to the bottom...of which the welt is stiched to that.. The foot bed is moulded to your foot.. To replace the leather foot bed means an almost dismantle of the shoe itself.. Time consuming & mega expensive.. Loake do replace the leather Logo sock to cover the heal block nails..
Better still if you don't take a video of your shoes before you send them for a factory refurbishment. Just send one shoe, then when it comes back video the two shoes next to one another.
One shouldn’t expect a replacement insole. The whole idea of Goodyear welting is to allow the shoe to be resoled and rehealed without disturbing the integrity of the shoe shape. Effectively the uppers and insole become a sealed unit to which the welt, soles are heals are attached. The reason they replaced the heal liner is because when fitting the new heal, they will have used nails hammered from the shoe interior into the replacement heel block. The liner covers those nail holes. Technically it is possible for an insole to be replaced, especially at the factory where the shoes were made. It requires careful removal of the uppers and for them to restretched over the original last. This would only be done out of necessity - to replace the shoe lining or if the insole has become damaged. It’s a much more complicated and time-consuming operation than resoling and rehealing.
Shame its now 90 for the resole, I have sent two pairs for this service so far. Unfortunately they lost one pair, they did however send me a brand new pair.
I used a local cobbler to resole Bedales and made efforts to find a reputable one (ie not the amateurs at Timpsons). New soles then literally disintegrated over next month and problem appeared to be quality of materials used in the repair. Have now bought new Bedales and factory resole for me from now on.
You cannot replace the insole on a goodyear welted shoe - technically you could but you would be better off buying a new shoe as that would required disassembling the entire shoe - replacing the sockliner is enough - really good job for GBP 60/-
I don’t have any experience with SW but my experience has been that it isn’t worth going too cheap on GYW shoes because ultimately you’re paying extra for construction as a long term investment in a quality upper. I would just buy some higher quality M&S shoes instead and chuck then once they’re worn out. Suede is probably a better bet for budget shoes than leather though.
I wore my 1880 Strands for 3 1/2 years before resoling. Reasonably heavy wear; twice a week although didn’t do too much pavement walking. Just in between home/office and the bus stop mostly.
@Harry Donovan I didn’t wait until the sole was completely worn though. The rubber heel block was in need of replacement so I thought I might as well send them back to the factory. Who knows, there might have been another year left in the soles.
Retaining the insoles means your feet contours are still there so the shoe won't feel 'brand new'. It's a personal preference I suppose - whether you'd like to get a brand new shoe back, or your old shoe spruced up. I must agree that the wheeling defects are unacceptable though. £600??? I thought the 1880 series cost around £120? The 'regular' models were something like £90?
The £600 was a slip of the tongue on my part. Should have said £60. Loake 1880s are in the £220-250 which is still very good value. I agree on the insole. Thanks for the feedback.
These are the mahogany. The burgundy seems to be a bit more popular and is unquestionably a striking shade and very versatile. I occasionally wonder if I made the right choice but the important thing is that I wear these a lot and the mahogany works for me.
I’ll get around to uploading that Export grade review eventually! The Tower Last is something a bit different; neither rounded nor chiseled, triangular without being ‘pointy’.
marksshoereviews Originally I wanted some Barker Falsgraves but on review speaking to a ton of my colleagues they would literally pick any shoe over them Magnanni I like the look of but it would seem more difficult to get a hold of than they used to be which is off putting for £350, this put me onto Loake in the Hanover which seems a good deal for the same price but I’ve also fallen for the Crocket and jones Belsgrave with the quarter brogue detailing on the cap toe. My feelings are ill only live once and I’m younger so perhaps I buy the Crocket and Jones on the basis of its higher quality I guess at least on speaking to a shoe repair guy in Timsons...
you do realise to change the "insole" you need to remove the welt aswell since its glued to the welt stitching, wich means you replace the complete shoe exept the uppers. and torrington is a pair of nice shoes.
Those seem great value but supply seems to be very limited? They are not currently available through the Meermin website. The Carmina SC Longwings are a bit pricier but seem great value compared with Allen Edmonds or Alden. My issue with Meermin/Carmina is always the narrowness of the lasts.
That would make you a UK size 9? It depends on the last but I think all British shoes run a bit on the large size compared with, say, Italian or Spanish shoes. The Capital Last is a little bit elongated and has a decent amount of width. It only comes in F width; that’s standard UK width which I find to be a fair bit wider than Allen Edmonds D width, for example. Unless you have a wide foot you might want to consider half a size down but it’s always best to try on first or make sure you can return if necessary. Hope that helps.
Works out at around 1/4 the original price of the shoes and you get a pair that is virtually as good as new. That’s approx. £550 (including heel replacements) for a pair of shoes that will last 12+ years with 3 resoles. That’s cheap if you ask me!
I was impressed with the heel finish; sometimes there is a small gap between the rubber insert and leather heel block but none here. The wheeling on the sole was a bit off but it’s purely aesthetic and irrelevant after a couple of wears.
Hi! What do you think of these in terms of their versatility in dressing casually? I heard different shades of brown are more versatile and I am looking to invest in a new chukka boot. My options are the Clark's Desert Boots (CDB) in beeswax leather vs this pair of Charles Tyrwhitt Desert Boots in suede. How have the Charles Tyrwhitt Desert Boots been? Is the suede still in good condition? and the crepe comfortably broken in? Thank you very much!
To be honest, I have only worn these half a dozen times since purchase, not because I don’t like them but I have several pairs of casual shoes in rotation. As I said in the video, the last shape of the CT desert boots is a bit more ‘elegant’ than the Clarks boot but it’s still a very casual shoe. I would say it’s like a hybrid between a Clark’s desert boot and a GY welted chukka in terms of its look. I can’t really compare with the Clarks boot in terms of quality but I am still happy with the quality of the suede. I haven’t been disappointed with any of CTs casual shoes yet - I feel you get what you pay for and on sale they are good value. If you want a very casual boot the Clarks boot might be the better option. I think the CT boot will ‘dress up’ a bit better.
@@marksshoereviews6028 Thank you for your reply! I have contacted CT's excellent live chat service to which I now know that these shoes actually have a cemented sole which make them impossible to resole. On the other hand, I have heard of many others resoling their CDBs (they have a stitch-down construction). Due to this, I think the CDBs are up my alley.
Alvin Zhou I hadn’t really considered whether either shoe could be resoled but that would be a + for the Clarks boot. Personally if I was making a long term investment in a pair of chukkas I would spend a bit more for GY welted as I don’t feel it’s especially economic to resole cheaper shoes but YMMV. I don’t mind that these can’t be resoled as they’re in rotation with other casual shoes and I expect I will still be wearing them in 5 years time.
Don’t get me wrong, C&J handgrades are fantastic shoes. Whether they represent ‘good value’ really depends on your personal circumstances and perception. If you are more comfortable at the Loake or Cheaney price level, I think the extra cost can be a little hard to justify. If you’re comparing them to higher end RTW such as G&G and EG, they represent fantastic value.
I have all three, loake 188, cheaney, and C&J bench and handgrade, I’d say performance as mentioned in the video is quite tricky, the loakes I’d looked after well can last decades, what you do get though with the handgrades is the little touches on the sole such as the fudge wheel markings on the welt and the oak bark leather sole, cheaney benchgrade vs Crockett benchgrade is close and I don’t believe the C&J is that much better.
Not sure you are comparing apples with apples here. Loakes are entry level. Cheaney are a step up, even their entry level. Crockett and Jones entry level is better than Cheaney entry level! Both Cheaney and Crockett and Jones climb to excellent shoes at the top of their ranges - completely blowing Loake away.
I'd agree, I own 4 pairs of Cheaney and as it happens 4 pairs of Loake and would say that Cheaney are definitely a step above Loake - which by the way are very good shoes too. Especially if you only stick to Loake's 1880 range .
Hi Mark... I like your videos and taste in footwear! Look forward to more. How about adding some footage at the end of each video to show how they look on?
thomas donaldson Thanks for the feedback. I need to invest in some decent video editing software so I can display the shoes in different contexts. I agree that it’s helpful to see them on the foot.
Nguyễn Khánh Thanks for the feedback. I think the quality of C&J benchgrade is a little bit higher than Cheaney’s standard line but it isn’t significant. Stylistically, C&J lasts tend to be a bit narrower and they offer a bit more variety whereas Cheaney’s standard 125 (shown here) is a very classic last shape. C&J edges it if you are looking for a more refined ‘modern’ look.
@@yacovlevi You wouldn't know class if it bit you directly on your ass. I stopped caring about your comments about 2-3 years ago when I watched you show the internet how clueless you are about classic shoe style. You think you're this world-wise shoe elitist, but you're actually just a douchebag who thinks you're always right. Please just go away.
@@benjaminkenobi21 Hello sir. Good afternoon. Thank you for your comments. I, in fact do know what class is and these shoes do not have it. They just look common. Their bulk, the dull colour. They are mass produced by machines with average leather. You could hardly wear these shoes for a formal event.
@@yacovlevi You don't even appear to know the difference between "classy" and "formal." Classy means "stylish and sophisticated." Formal means "in accordance with rules of convention or etiquette." In my book, these shoes are those things. No one said they were formal shoes, and they don't need to be formal shoes to be classy shoes. Who gives a shit if they're mass produced by machines? These are welted by someone holding the shoe in their hand and using a stitching machine, which the vast majority of shoes in the world are not. I think your "high standards" for formality and hand craftsmanship are laughable, I really do.
