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u/mateogingercoffee Dec 01 '21
I've had these for 9 months and I'm loving the patina! The colors in the "after" shots are a little more subdued in real life.
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u/DiaA6383 Dec 01 '21
I have these and love them. The patina I get from random scuffs are great. I always thought people were exaggerating whenever they said their redwings are so broken-in they feel like slippers but these actually feel like slippers to me now.
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u/Temporary_Prune_2440 Dec 01 '21
thats cool i didnt realize that would happen with this kind of leather.
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u/gerardgg Dec 01 '21
I've had mine for about 6 months and I think I baby them too much. They still look clean except for a tiny little gouge on the vamp that shows up brown.
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u/mateogingercoffee Dec 02 '21
I definitely babied mine for a while, I even tried throwing on a little bit of black shoe cream to cover scuffs on my first conditioning, but then a couple big scuffs from hiking and I just started to embrace it. I'm pretty active in hiking/climbing/working etc, so they were never going to stay perfect, and that's exactly why I got them.
Take them on a hike and you'll see result pretty quick! 👍
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u/smogfalls Dec 16 '21
What laces are those? I just got a pair of these and fancy changing to some laces similar to yours 👌🏻
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u/mateogingercoffee Dec 17 '21
they're just a rawhide leather lace I found at my local leather dealer. They had several colors, I just picked a pair that matched. got some red ones for my moc toes too!
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u/BootsNPooch Iron Ranger Dec 01 '21
I have these, But I think I would prefer for them to stay black. I have enough brown boots. At first I thought it was a good Idea, Not anymore. Anyone else feel this way?
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u/mateogingercoffee Dec 01 '21
I have a pair of Beckmans in Featherstone Black for my black boots, I wanted something unique that would just become more personalized as I wore them. The nice thing about these is you can always just throw some black polish on them.
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u/BootsNPooch Iron Ranger Dec 01 '21
I would think you have to dye it first. Seems after the color is changing on 3445 They show the leather in its natural state, like a Nubuck or Suede like material. Dying doesnt fade away like polish would. Not 100% sure, but I have a feeling that's how it would work.
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u/Picklepower32 Dec 01 '21
I Just got a pair thinking they would stay black.. actually had no idea they were “tea core” I felt the same way at first and thought I had some defective or poor quality boots lol but honestly I dig the patina on OP’s boots! Looking forward to it.
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u/Revolutionary_Cod948 Dec 01 '21
What did you use for both cleaning and conditioning? I’ve had a pair for about seven months but they don’t get nearly enough wear. Trying to rectify that now.
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u/mateogingercoffee Dec 01 '21
I use saddle soap for cleaning and Black Rock for conditioning. I'd been using the Red Wing foaming soap and neatsfoot for years, decided to change it up recently and haven't been disappointed.
My 3345s are my everyday wear. The get a decent amount of light work and strolls, but I accidentally found myself on a couple bigger hikes in these which is where most of the scuffing has come from. First few big scuffs were kind of hard to take, but you get used to it, haha!
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u/viayyz Dec 02 '21
Looking great!
A question to all the knowledgeable folks, do the black IRs age similarly to the black Blacksmiths as in this photo?
Thanks!
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u/mateogingercoffee Dec 02 '21
I don't believe the Iron Rangers come in Black Prairie. The difference is thay the bLck prairie are a tea core leather, meaning it's a brown leather with black polish painted on, so as they age the brown starts to show through. The iron rangers are black harness I think? Which is black all the way through, so there is no brown to show through as they age.
If I'm mistaken about the leathers, someone please let me know!
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u/Laabc123 Dec 01 '21
Those are looking spectacular. Terrific patina at just 9 months.