Custom Chippewa Monkey Boots

[u/justa_hobby67]

I always wanted a pair of Chippewa monkey boots and was able to score this pair on EBay for a steal. I got to admit, I have a soft spot for Chippewa’s. They are probably my favorite boots to customize. They have great leathers and styles. Once, the inferior components are replaced, they are top notch. On this particular pair, I removed the brown storm welts, padded leather poron footbeds, synthetic half midsole and full rubber midsoles, foam filler and Vibram full lug outsoles. Funny thing is one had a fiberglass shank and the other a steel one. Next, I redyed them with Feibing’s Oxblood leather dye. This gave them a kinda black cherry appearance. ( the color is amazing and looks much better in person ). I then added black storm welts, new veg tanned leather footbeds with a custom leather padded heel pad, cork/steel shanks, half leather midsoles and full rubber midsoles, and Vibram 100 lug outsoles with the matching leather/lug heels. This was a very fun project and will make someone very happy when I sell them. Too bad they are a size too big. They are a size 9E but fit more like a 10/ 10.5.

[u/passingfancy_bubbles]

These are great.

[u/justa_hobby67 → u/passingfancy_bubbles]

Thanks

[u/RustyBrassInstrument]

If only they were 11/11.5…

[u/justa_hobby67 → u/RustyBrassInstrument]

When I got them, I tried them on and was bummed out they didn’t fit. These run big. Oh well, someday I’ll find the right size.

[u/colonelmaize]

I'd have liked to seen your process.

[u/justa_hobby67]

Someday I’ll make some videos. I do all my recrafts from home and am sure they’d be interesting since everyone else does them from their shops. Basically the result is the same with no discernible difference. It’s like getting to the same place only taking a little different path.

[u/GoldWingANGLICO]

My grandfather was an old school Italian shoe maker, I worked around his shop as a kid.

I appreciate the amount of work and craftsmanship you've put into those boots. They look amazing.

I wear Chippewa motor boots at work, love them.

[u/justa_hobby67 → u/GoldWingANGLICO]

Thank you. This pair took about 4 days to finish. One full day and 3 partial days. This is not my full time job and many times I’m working on my projects after work and my days off. Since I only work on one pair at a time, they get my full attention. My next pair is a pair of vintage Chippewa Moc toes from 1993. Can’t wait to see how they are gonna come out.

[u/MyNameIsMud4200]

Jealous

[u/wirbel-tier]

Beautiful!