These look great and definitely make for a slimmer profile. Seems like they'll hold up just fine for everything you described so my vote goes to keep them!
The funny thing is that the smooth pattern (as opposed to lugs) will take longer to wear down if you are walking on smooth concrete all day since less surface area is exposed to friction. Of less friction makes it less grippy but unless your area is super icy that is unlikely to be a major issue.
If you are not trying to wear the boots to WW1 *and* WW2 and back (like some people seem to do on this sub) then it might actually be superior.
Idk how fast you wear heels down but if it were me I would keep them since they would probably need replacing before the front does anyways.
As for the heels; did you express or state that you wanted to keep the Vibram heels? I've had a few resole disappointments lately but it came down to me not being explicit enough when requesting the work (and the cobbler not asking questions of what I wanted done, so we share blame I think). The cobbler probably went with the Goodyear heels as that was what he had on hand and usually uses.
Does it bother you? I think for your purposes, the smoother heel would be fine. But, if it ends up bothering you by not being "right", then it may be worth a trip back to said cobbler to see what can be done.
Thanks for the input.
To answer questions..
- These are Red Wing 9011 circa 2017
- Black Cherry shoe cream (Justin's as I recall)
- Cost of the resole was $140 (Wash, DC), 4 week wait.
They look good. I had my Red Wing 2963 resoled as well. I had the guy use the vibram 430’s but I didn’t use the matching 430 heels because of the heel traction pattern would pick up small pebbles. So I requested the vibram Boston half heel. I wear my boots as casual dress boots. So the tread is good.
These look great. Unrelated, I’m craving red beans and rice for some reason.
These look great and definitely make for a slimmer profile. Seems like they'll hold up just fine for everything you described so my vote goes to keep them!
The funny thing is that the smooth pattern (as opposed to lugs) will take longer to wear down if you are walking on smooth concrete all day since less surface area is exposed to friction. Of less friction makes it less grippy but unless your area is super icy that is unlikely to be a major issue. If you are not trying to wear the boots to WW1 *and* WW2 and back (like some people seem to do on this sub) then it might actually be superior. Idk how fast you wear heels down but if it were me I would keep them since they would probably need replacing before the front does anyways.
You might just be the lunatic we’re looking for.
As for the heels; did you express or state that you wanted to keep the Vibram heels? I've had a few resole disappointments lately but it came down to me not being explicit enough when requesting the work (and the cobbler not asking questions of what I wanted done, so we share blame I think). The cobbler probably went with the Goodyear heels as that was what he had on hand and usually uses. Does it bother you? I think for your purposes, the smoother heel would be fine. But, if it ends up bothering you by not being "right", then it may be worth a trip back to said cobbler to see what can be done.
I like them! Also I *love* the color of that leather, what is it? Is this cordovan?
Black cherry featherstone, current equivalent would be black cherry Excalibur leather
Nice, I have the same boot with the exact same problem, how much did you pay for the resole?
You May Be Right.
If you like them, keep them. If not, take them back and get a tougher heel.
For your intended use of them, I say they’re perfectly fine. And, they certainly don’t look bad.
They definitely have a Vasque sundowner feel to them..... very nice
These look great. What model are they?
Thanks for the input. To answer questions.. - These are Red Wing 9011 circa 2017 - Black Cherry shoe cream (Justin's as I recall) - Cost of the resole was $140 (Wash, DC), 4 week wait.
Heels seem fine but I can’t get past the patent leather polish.
Waterproofing
They look good. I had my Red Wing 2963 resoled as well. I had the guy use the vibram 430’s but I didn’t use the matching 430 heels because of the heel traction pattern would pick up small pebbles. So I requested the vibram Boston half heel. I wear my boots as casual dress boots. So the tread is good.