Club Obi Wan

Hi, this is my first post.
I have looked at a lot of your threads and I saw that there is a general belief that all of Indy's gear was military in origin except for the hat and boots.
I understand the the moviemakers used civilian boots, but I had always assumed that was because they did not have access to newly made military footwear from that period.
(I assume alot)
Still, if you look at the boots worn by American soldiers in WW1, they look just like the boots Indy has on. (model 1917 Pershing AEF Boots)
I went ahead and ordered a pair from a WW1 military reenactor's supply.
80$ delivered, that aint bad, plus they are possibly more authentic than Aldens in terms of historical plausibility.
What do you guys think?

Looks good, could you post a link to where you purchased them?

http://www.aefsupply.com/footwear.htm

Get them there.
I like them, but they don't have the seam on the upper shoe like Aldens.

http://www.replicaters.com/ww1USAEFuniforms.html

Also available here.

I think they´re nice, but I would also prefer Red Wings instead of Aldens.
What do you think :

With some sunning and dark shoe polish, you could probably get those things worn in to the right color...

I can't really tell from the pics you've posted...do they have a moc toe?

-Rabittooth

The one's Platon linked to didn't.

I kinda like those boots. I wonder if the hobnail sole would help with grip or if it would make a slippery situation a knee breaky one.

Indiana Danny wrote:Hi, this is my first post.
I have looked at a lot of your threads and I saw that there is a general belief that all of Indy's gear was military in origin except for the hat and boots.
I understand the the moviemakers used civilian boots, but I had always assumed that was because they did not have access to newly made military footwear from that period.

Welcome! Those are cool looking boots.

The history of the Aldens is, they originally had chosen Redwings but Ford had and preferred the orthopedic Aldens - on prescription, so that's what they used.

So, exactly what color should these boots be ? (before they get worn in)

Snakewhip_Sable wrote:I kinda like those boots. I wonder if the hobnail sole would help with grip or if it would make a slippery situation a knee breaky one.

It would turn cement/pavement into a bad thing(tm).

So, exactly what color should these boots be ? (before they get worn in)

The Aldens? Brown/brick color.

The Pershing boots were made for wear in the muddy, ratfilled trenches, and they should stay there. I do belive these boots would be far to warm to wear in Cairo or India, but then again, Aldens would be too.
Now, about period-accuratnes, I present to you a pre-and WW1 aviator shoe:


description:
PRE WAR SERVICE SHOES - The Army Standard shoe prior to WW1. This shoe was also worn during the war and afterwards by Aviators, Officers, and rear echelon troops. Copied from a rare pair of surviving originals.

Montana

ohh, and link to the page: http://www.aefsupply.com/footwear.htm

The Pershing boots were made for wear in the muddy, ratfilled trenches

Isn't that where Indy did most of his work?
These shoes might not be ideal for the mall, but if you watch the movies, Indy does most of his adventuring in dirt, sand, caves, etc...

Well, Indy sure was in some rough environment, but definitely not in WW1 trenches (well, maybe except for YIJC). Have you ever read a book about AEF in WW1 by Ospreypublishing? Well anyways, the AEF had their own combat boots from the begining, tough combat boots made to stand up againts dirt and mud. But there was no chance for these boots in the trenches of France, the conditions were awful. What I'm trying to say is that the Pershing boot could be a little to heavy-duty even for Indiana Jones. I mean, no soldier would like to wear the Pershing boot in Africa or India.

Montana

Well, hobnailed boots were pretty much the thing for every army in the world until the 1930s when we started bucking the trend by introducing a rubber half soled service shoe. But the Germans, Japanese, and the entire British Commonwealth fought WW2 while wearing hobnails of some kind -- including while in Africa and India.

That having been said, hobnails will turn most modern walking surfaces into something akin to an ice skating rink so I recommend against them. Surprisingly, they also do not provide much in the way of traction on sloping grassy terrain (Refer back to my earlier ice skating rink comment). Hobs were mainly used to extend the life of leather soles and to make that really neat crunchy sound on the parade square so loved by NCOs around the world, not provide extra traction. Trust me on this.

And finally, if you have hardwood floors you definitely DO NOT want to walk on them while wearing hobnailed boots. Not only will you slide around like you're wearing roller skates, you'll also scar the flooring which will not endear you to the owner of said floor!

Still, I've always thought that something similar to the AEF boots would have been a much more period correct boot than the Aldens. I own a pair of Australian repro WW1 boots from Lawrance Ordnance, and have really liked them, but I may have to take another look at AEF's Aviator boot.

So, Indiana Danny, have you gotten your Pershing boots in yet?

Cheers!

Well, I actually changed my mind and ordered the pre war service shoes shown above. The maker is the same company in India, I believe. At the moment they were out of 13s, so I was told to expect them in 5 weeks or so...

Indiana Max wrote:I think they´re nice, but I would also prefer Red Wings instead of Aldens.
What do you think :

Very nice, what model Red Wings are those?

I´m sorry, this page is in german, but I prefer this type of Red Wings
http://www.styleselect.de/product_info. ... d=12202986
They are very abiding and comfortable.

Yeah, that's a nice close enough boot. (except for the light colored sole which I don't see in you picture)

That´s a result of intensiv using over 3 years now. With intensiv I mean climbing in the USA, near San Francisco, in the area of Kernville, hiking in South france, making short cuts in Germany, with big endanger for my shoes and many activities more.

That´s the reason, why they lost their first colour, so I mixed a new one, not as brown as the pair from the link, more auburn. One more aftereffect of over using was, that I had to change the part on the ankles, but you´ll see, in about 4 days when I´ll have posted my pics

I just snagged a new pair of aldens for 150$ on ebay...
Doing the happy dance...

Indiana Danny wrote:Well, I actually changed my mind and ordered the pre war service shoes shown above. The maker is the same company in India, I believe. At the moment they were out of 13s, so I was told to expect them in 5 weeks or so...

Nice, I've always been interseted in this boot, since it doesn't have the hobnails.

WW1 had some great-looking equipment, and I am by no means tryng to hijack your thread, but since we're talking about WW1-period, this is a gas mask bag, called the small box respirator, introduced by the british in 1916, and adapted by the U.S forces in early 1918. The only difference that I know of between the english and the american version is that the british had snaps on it, and the american some kind of fastners (don't remember the name).



http://www.aefsupply.com/Equipment.htm
If you could change the bagstrap with the Indy-one, and remove the string on the front (which was used to tie the bag around your body, so you would have it in the "ready" position on your breast in combat) you would have a decent, period-accurate Indybag.

Materiks

While it does look nice, you might as well get a look-a-like that is "exact" for that price or the real thing if you can find them.

Just reading about boots, very interesting indeed. Regarding the hob-nail, Indy's were definitely smooth sole, most obvious in the Tank scene in Holy Grail.

As far as darkening boots, I swear by an olde English polish I found ina boot store in Venice, a short walk from the Holy Grail library. It's called Prestige, antique Formula Shoe Cream, comes in 20 colors and once used you'll never switch!

The Italian distributor is here.

Hope this helps!

By the way, the Library is actually a temple and had a Leonardo exhibition when I went there,no 'X' on the floor alas! ;-)

Snakewhip_Sable wrote:I kinda like those boots. I wonder if the hobnail sole would help with grip or if it would make a slippery situation a knee breaky one.

I've done a fair amount of hiking and even some rock climbing in hobnail boots. IMO they are on par with modern boots in dirt and snow. Better on ice. But somewhat slick on rock or anyother hard surface they can't dig into.

Oh, and what ever you do, don't dare walk across your wife's, girlfriend's, mother's, etc hardwood floor.