IHWE-MRLOU-BLK - Wesco® - 10" Horsehide Pull-On "Mister Lou" Engineer Boot - Black

[Oaktavia]

@seawolf I ended up oiling both pairs again but only the bottom parts of them. They both drank up the oil quite a bit and ended up looking nearly the same as they did before treatment. Especially the black pair. I coated them again yesterday and wore the black ones today.

[seawolf]

@Oaktavia Well, now you know they're conditioned for sure. How does the leather feel?

[nrtphotos]

I’ve barely worn mine over the last year, the instep is really tight. Not sure how much I can expect them to break in

[Oaktavia]

@seawolf it feels quenched yet not oversaturated. I think I gave them just enough. The upper part of the boot above the larger buckle is amazingly soft and supple. Much different than before.

[seawolf]

@nrtphotos In my experience with Wesco engineer boots, that's a feature, not a bug. The boot stays on your foot because of how it fits around your instep. It'll loosen up a bit as you break them in. One thing you can do in the meantime is remove the insole until they're soft enough to not bother your instep any more. Once they're nice and soft, put the insole back in and you should be good to go.

[seawolf]

@Oaktavia That sounds ideal! Nicely done. Now you'll know for next time.

[nrtphotos]

@seawolf I sure hope they do, they make the top of my foot numb currently with the insert in!

[seawolf]

@nrtphotos That insert is pretty thick. Pull it out and give it a try. Also, you can wear thinner socks. I have faith!

[goosehd]

@nrtphotos You might be able to take them to a cobbler and see if they will stretch them for you. We did it to a pair of my wife’s cowboy boots and it worked out fantastically. Took them a few days to do.

She just went in, told them where her problem areas were, and they were able to stretch them out. They did two days of slowly stretching them, went on the third day to see how much progress was made and to try them on. Decided to do one more day of stretching and they’re just about perfect.

The cobbler took what was a pair of almost unwearable boots and took them to about 90-95% stretched to where my wife just wore them for a week and they were perfect.

[seawolf]

@goosehd Oh shit. I need to do this. I bought a boot stretcher, but it's not quite hitting the right spot, and I need some more help. Thank you for this!

[goosehd]

@seawolf They also sprayed the leather (I think with an isopropyl alcohol/mixture) to aide in the stretching of the leather. Took it very slow to not damage the leather fibres.

[seawolf]

@goosehd That sounds great. I should call around and find a cobbler that can do this. My right instep is a bit more pronounced than normal and it's painful sometimes when I wear my non-custom Wescos.

[goosehd]

@seawolf Also, the stretcher they used looked like this, which really helped with problem areas:

[pechelman]

Talk to Wesco about stretching. They can do this for you and they didn't charge me anything. Not sure if it's the same these days or not.

[seawolf]

@goosehd Oh no. That's what I have. FML. It doesn't quite hit the right spot. I need one that stretches up and down, not side to side. I'll go google that and see if it's a thing.

[goosehd]

@seawolf There are stretchers in all planes. I just put that one up there as an example.

[seawolf]

@goosehd I just found this, which is what I need. Thanks for the nudge.

[seawolf]

Really the issue was not knowing what that specific type of stretcher was called.

[injunjack]

OR you pee in your boot and wear it till it dryes. If you have problem peeing in your own boots, ask a friend to do it. (or byu urea at pharmacy or where-ever you get in your neck of the woods)
urea has been used ages for softening leather... once your boot is wet, it'll stretch and mold to your feet.
Also riding a motorcycle in rain gives boots a nice soak, and using them while wet damp does the trick as well....

[seawolf]

@injunjack I may have to move this to Unpopular Opinions.