Captoe Roughouts: Shoe, Service Type III: The other roughout boot
Date: 3/12/2010
Author: Chris Guska
The finished product
Conclusions
This was an interesting project and experiment for me. At the end of the day, I'm not entirely pleased with the results. The boots still have some uncorrectable flaws which differentiate them from originals.
I need to put this all into perspective in the following ways:
1.) These boots are not true reproductions. They are a conversion of a modern commercial off the shelf product - and always will be in some ways something it was never meant to be. Lipstick on a pig factor here.
2.) In order to advance the craft of what we do, sometimes we need to take risks and experiment. It doesn't always turn out perfect no matter the other factors in play. This is a prime example.
3.) While these boots may seem to be a "pretty good" conversion - or in some ways "good enough" - I must also state in context of the true reproduction products that I've reviewed - I must be equally as harsh to these as I have been to At The Front, AP Co, What Price Glory or WWII Impressions. If I received these boots from one of those specialized reenactment retailers, I most likely would have "blown a gasket" in a review over the "obvious" flaws they contain.
4.) For many, this may all come across as being a "Stitch Natsee" or dwelling on too much minutiae. In some ways, I totally agree - and I've mellowed out over the years to the point where I'll probably wear these boots. I may wear them with some apprehension as they're not quite right - and in some way "diminish" the high standard that I try and achieve. I don't want to be a hypocrite for demanding the highest standard of retailers like Rollin, Raymond, Jerry or Juan - but lower the standard when it comes to something I've worked on. There truly is some middle ground...
5.) Hopefully this project and article about the process will improve the knowledge of the reenactor community and garner a bit more interest in the Captoe Roughout variant. Maybe one day we'll have a true reproduction - but who knows. Until then, I'll just have to make do with these conversions, however imperfect as they may be.
Page 1: Background
Page 2: The Project
Page 3: The Conversion
