Boot leakage

[Dreadhead]

Getting on well with my new pair of handmade boots and have been using nikwax nubuck for waterproofing and it works great on the grain but the edges next tae the sole still let water in.

how should i treat this? would dubbin seal these edges?
i have fiebings edge kote i use for making sheaths and pouches, was wondering if that would do the job on my boots?

any advice on sealing the edges of leather for boots would be helpful as i love these boots its just ashame the edges leak a bit

Hamish

[mountainm]

I'd ask the people that made them, so you don't invalidate the warranty as such. Beeswax may do the trick if melted in with a warm hair dryer.

[treadlightly]

Its difficult to say without seeing the boots but it is hard to make leather boots completely waterproof. My bison boots let in water at the seams too but wearing thickish wool socks means it doesn't worry me. The soles get damp inside but i find my feet remain comfortable and warm.

[Dreadhead]

Its difficult to say without seeing the boots but it is hard to make leather boots completely waterproof. My bison boots let in water at the seams too but wearing thickish wool socks means it doesn't worry me. The soles get damp inside but i find my feet remain comfortable and warm.

these boots http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88203

[Randall]

I was wondering about this yesterday actually, boot repair in general. Got a decent pair of leather walking boots and want to make them last a long time. My stepdad is still using a pair of boots that he bought back in '86! ..I'd be thrilled if mine lasted half that time. Only had mine a year and I can just see a place where the sole is beginning to seperate from the leather. Any ideas for things like this? To fix them before they turn into a problem?

[treadlightly]

You could try shoegoo. Its good stuff. You can buy it online. Google the name and it should come up

[Randall]

You could try shoegoo. Its good stuff. You can buy it online. Google the name and it should come up

Interesting. Looks like the solution.

Cheers,

Randall

[treadlightly]

these boots http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88203

You could apply nikwax or similar to the stitching but i suspect it will only make them more water resistant not waterproof.

[Dreadhead]

i think the water is leaking through where the edges of the leather are bare alongside the sole. so im thinking something needs to seal the edges. beeswax is a good idea. was hoping dubbin may do the same as the nixwax solution im using seams tae only work on the grain of the leather

[blacktimberwolf]

Not much you can do about it. Anything you put on to waterproof it will just rub off & very quickly in wet vegetation....The quality of the leather & stitching is important too, if the soles arn't stitched on very tightly or the leather is too fibrous it will act like a sponge.
You could try applying beeswax then heat with a hair dryer & really rub it in with your fingers. This will only be temporary though 'cause like I said, it will get rubbed/worn off.
Prehaps some kind of sealant might work for longer periods but it may damage the leather in the long run. It's a problem with this type of sewn sole where the bare edge of the uppers is exposed to a lot of friction & humidity. Your German paras are the same no ?


EDIT: shoegoo might be worth a try yeah, Transparent of course, but you would have to be careful applying it otherwise you will have an uneven mess around the bottoms. I have repared a few boots with shoegoo & I usually get some along the edge of the sole which I leave & it does take a while before it eventually wears off so it may hold on your leather edges but again it won't be permanant & may crack in places if the sole is very flexible.

[Bardster]

get some snoseal and rub it into the edges when they are dry, the leather will soak up some of it and make it waterproof. shouldnt rub off as its soaked into the leather. gonna do the same with mine, and its what worked on my rogues.
Amazon stock it as do Tandy.

they do a product called welt seal to but its hard to find in the uk.

[Dreadhead]

yeah fair point on that one. thats why i was thinking of using my black edge kote as its for sealing edges anyway and it works well on sheaths and whatnot, but then again they dont get the same wear and tear.

my paras are old and completely knackered and since i converted tae flat soles and barefoot orientated shoes i can wear anything with a wedge under the heel anyway. think the chickens may have attacked the paras as they have been lying outside acually

[Dreadhead]

get some snoseal and rub it into the edges when they are dry, the leather will soak up some of it and make it waterproof. shouldnt rub off as its soaked into the leather. gonna do the same with mine, and its what worked on my rogues.
Amazon stock it as do Tandy.

that looks perfect! im sure somebody reccommended me this before but i couldnt find any. will have a look on amazon cheers bard. have you used these on your brodequins? and how have they held up?

[Bardster]

Yeah i use it on the brodequins, but they havnt been out in much wet yet. they are my out and about boot. i use my rogues for out in the woods and it works well on those.

[blacktimberwolf]

Ah good ol' sno-seal....



Don't want to dash your hopes but I use it regularly on some German paras' (amoung many other things) & though it's great stuff for the uppers it does wear off quite quickly around the sewn edges when walked through wet grass for example, even after spending an hour soaking it in with a hair dryer several times over....it is basically bee's wax with a softner added so it can be appled without melting it first....smells great too

[Dreadhead]

have already ordered some fae evilbay will try it out anyway

[blacktimberwolf]

Yeah why not,certainly won't harm your boots anyway.. it's really good stuff & can be used on any leather items....

[Lister]

This will sound dumb as hell but would something like silicon sealant work?

[Teepee]

My Meindl pac boots leaked slightly where they were stitched to the rubber foot section, I sealed them with warm beeswax (Gwax). It worked but as BTW pointed out, it wore off after 3 days.

I've used alll sorts of glues and sealants in my line of work and at home for repair. The strongest glue I've found is McNett seamgrip, but Shoegoo is still pretty good.

My Scarpa walking boots have a tiny gap whre the rubber is seperating from the leather. Its only about 3x3mm but when its wet, it causes the toe section to slowly suck up water. I seal this up with a product very similar to seamgrip and its seems to last for about 3 weeks use before it needs replacing.

[Dreadhead]

Thanks for the tip teepee ill try this sno seal out and if it fails ill check out the mcnett seamgrip or shoegoo