Hey guys!
Been pretty absent for a while. Going through some life stuff and just working through these damned boots to have them ready in time for the Dome.
Upper Leather: Honey Navajo Bison from Hide House
Inner Vamp Leather: Horween Dover
Quarter Lining Leather: Tanneries Haas Zermatt
Sole stack: Wickett and Craig American Vachetta midsole + Vibram 7500 Midsole + Vibram Roccia
Last: Munson
Style: Double Vamp, True Moccasin, Derby
Instagram for more: X24 Leathers - I know not everyone here uses it, but there’s significantly more info there than I will provide here.
I assert that I am the first person, outside of Russell, to figure out how to successfully to the double vamp technique. The toe stitch does not puncture the inner vamp anywhere. If you can find anyone else who has done it before me, I am glad to be corrected. 
Regardless, I am proud of myself for making it happen.
My goal was to recreate the logo on my hat. I really like the leather I went with, but it is dang stiff. It’s a veg tan bison, and the lining is fully laminated throughout. It has to be for the inner vamp, but I laminated the quarters as well. I don’t think I will fully laminate them again.
I made the quarters seemless, so they wrap all the way around the bottom of the foot. The only seam in that regard is the derby smile. The heel counter cover is only aesthetic, as the counter sits in between the vamp layers, just like Russell does it.
I need to remember to make the lateral portion of the toe stitch a little straighter. I am not a fan of how that area looks on these. It’s not the worst, but it just feels a little less refined to me.
I am generally very pleased with how they’ve turned out. I learned a lot again, and will be taking these with me to Stitchdown Expo. Honestly, I really just want to show off to the guys at Russell and earn their approval. Hahaha. Partially joking, but I legitimately do look up to them quite a lot.
Excluding the test piece, which I ended up using a last that was too small, these took maybe 1.5 months or so to make. And a good chunk of that was trying to get my soles in. Multiple suppliers fell through with the ones I was trying to get, hence my delay. Excluding that situation, probably closer to 5 weeks from start to finish. I was really only doing these and working though.
My next pair will be something like a South 40. Double Vamp with molded sole, maybe an 8-9 inch boot, using some gorgeous Horween Yellowstone in Royal Blue. I’m intending on them being my most durable, bombproof boot once they are done. They may end up being my entry to next year’s Dome though, so it could be a while before I start on them. At this point though, I’m confident enough with my moccasin construction process that they aren’t taking me too long.
Apologies for lack of structure and rambling, I am typing this up in between meetings. Please ask any questions you so desire.
Thanks for reading!