Interlude: Boots

Interludes are short segments between regular episodes with no editing but WITH leather creaking. It's a chance to hear a little more about what's going on in my life. New boots! Yay!

Transcript

Edge : 0:00

Welcome to full cow podcast about leather, kink and BDSM. My name is edge My pronouns are he him, and I'm your host. And this is another interlude of the episode between episodes offered raw and unedited, but with leather creaking. And this time we're talking about boots. You know, I recently had a financial windfall, I received a sizable check that I was not expecting at all. And finally, after 52 years of living, I've learned to take most of that money and put it into savings. But just most of it. Since it arrived right around Christmas, I decided to do a little bit of a splurge and buy some new boots. And this was partially because I had someone visiting me from out of town, we were going to stampers. And, you know, when you start at a boot store, if you go to a boot store often enough, you're gonna buy boots. It was also motivated by the fact that stampers had posted that they finally had West goes back in stock. If you follow the boot world at all, since the pandemic, you'll know that there has been a desperate shortage of instock boots from major makers. So it both felt like a particular timing and a particular opportunity. It just felt right. The truth is, though, I don't really need more boots, if you've ever seen a tour of my playroom, and if not, I should probably post one at some point, I have a very large boot rack slash closet with maybe 25 pairs of boots. Of those I regularly wear probably four. And that's sad, isn't it. But that's just the way it is I gravitate to some of my favorite pairs over and over. So I don't want to pretend that I necessarily need more boots. Nor am I an endless boot collector when it comes to leather. Trust me, I have so many leather shirts, I will always buy another leather shirt. So many pairs of breeches, I will always pair by another pair of breeches. But I've not been driven in the same way in a Pokeyman way to catch all the boots. That's not been my motivation. It is true, however, that for about a year I have been missing a pair of tall boots, and a pair of short lace up boots. I had a pair of westco John masters and a pair of Wesco bas there's simply no longer in my possession. And I'm not sure that they ever will be again. So there has been a slight hole in my boot collection. Particularly the short lace up boots, you know, I got from stoppers. months, maybe nine months ago. on consignment, they had a pair of highlighters, short highlighters. And with metal plates on the side, and so they kind of go clicky clack when I walk in, I love them and I bought them. But they kill my toes. I don't know why these boots are so willful, I have tried breaking them to my will over and over. No, they always when they always hurt me, they hurt me. And I've even gone back to stampers and they've steamed on and I've walked around in wet boots and that helped a little bit. But I've really been missing my short lace up boots. For my toe lace up ones, I still have another pair of Wesco Bas and that serves every purpose. And if you've listened to any of my content, you know that I would argue that any leather man really only needs one pair of tall pull on boots, one pair of short lace up boots. So I've had those right. But particularly the short lace up I was kind of missing. So when when I got this money, and when I knew there were West Coast in stock, I ended up getting a pair of short jumpmaster no short highlighters. I know I'm throwing around terms. So Wescoe is one of the primary Bootmakers particularly for working style boots including engineer boots and logger boots. The job Master is really more there logger boot. Mini Highliner is their lineman boot. It has an extra flap of leather on the inside of the boot. Not quite inside the boot. But on the inside outside. That's not a very good description. But there's an extra flap of leather that's meant to provide protection while you're climbing up the pole. So I got a pair of short lineman boots. And then I've got a pair of dangers. Now, I already had a pair of trainers and they cracked. I don't there's no other way to describe it. You know diners are sort of the primary. They're the West Coast riding boots. They are Premier and they're not cheap. I spent hundreds of dollars on my pair of diners. And they they cracked. I mean it turns out that this beautiful black shiny shaft was made out of some sort of plastic with some white, cottony material underneath. It wasn't all leather. It was horrible. So I've been so disappointed and kind of angry with Dana for a long time. But why was that stampers Kyle who works here is like Hey, Doc trainers, they fix that, that won't happen again. And oh, by the way, we have boots with extra big calves in stock. And I have extra big calves. So I ended up getting a pair of trainers and a pair of the highlighters. And shopping for boots for me as always anxiety producing, I have a funny feet. You know, they're technically like seven and a half Triple E or something. But I usually fit into an eight and a half because the larger toe box allows my crazy white tiny feet to be comfortable. But whenever I'm buying boots, I'm just never, I'm always afraid I'm about to make a huge mistake. And these boots really don't fit me and I'm going to regret it. I have a kind of anxiety around buying boots. So far I've been really happy. I did get an eight and a half gainer with the extra big calf. And smartly, I went into stampers with my breeches to make sure that they looked good and would fit with things I'm actually going to wear them with, right so I brought my legless breeches, I brought my CHP breeches, and I made sure they would fit inside the boot. And they did. The highlanders I was very happy with but even then I was like, Oh, my God, or this is the right size. Where are they going to get on my feet, I have a lot of boot anxiety, more than when I'm like when I'm buying leather. Like I know my body, I put something on boom, it fits. I'm always anxious when it comes to boots, I'm always anxious. But so far, I'm very happy with my purchases. Part of what's interesting for me about my relationship with boots, I have incredibly specific rituals when it comes to buying leather. So you know, before any new item of leather can get into the leather closet, I have to wear it out or wear it in a scene. And then I have to mark it with my seed. It's this whole, like I'm claiming it, it is a part of me. It is it isn't I've now marked it, it's a whole thing, a whole thing. I don't know why I do not do that with boots, I don't have any crazy rituals with boots, I wear them, they spent a little bit of time, before they get into the boot rack, usually on like my leather altar or in my dead room, I kind of get to know them a little bit. But the amount of ritual I put into boots, is is so much less than the amount of ritual I put into leather. And I can't justify or explain that. These are both items of gear, these are both very special to me, these are both things that need to serve them. You know, I've often spoken about boots as having like, boots are a little bit like wild stallions. And they have to be broken to your will literally you're breaking it up as you wear it, breaking it into the particular shape of your foot and the particular way that you walk and all that. So I always think of boots being very willful. And going back to the pair of high liners that I got on consignment that hurt my toes. I could never break their will I tried and I tried and tried, they broke my knee instead. So part of it is that boots are boots are like searching for the words, boots have an animus and a spirit of their own before I even get them. They are wild animals. And my job and getting a pair of boots is not necessarily to mark them as mine. But to come to some sort of agreement with them. Because I think they always retain that. That sort of stallion spirit. Yes, I know. I'm talking crazy. But for me boots always retain that sort of animalistic wild spirit. Right. And so what I do, I can't claim them the way I claim a piece of leather, the best I can do is come to some sort of agreement that we're going to work with each other. And that's the process of breaking in the boot. The process of breaking in the boot is really just going to sound so crazy. It's like earning the trust of my boots that I will I will use them. I will wear them. I will give them life. I will give them purpose. They will have a great time with me. And and then they're like okay, all right, well, I'm not gonna kill your foot. Let's go have fun. Let's go. That's very different leather for me doesn't come with that same spiritedness. Leather for me is a little bit more of a blank canvas. So when I get it, I mark it. I imprint on it. Why? I don't know. Is it crazy? Yeah, a little bit. Am I crazy? No, I'm weird, but in a wonderful way. So there are specific rituals with my leather gear to sort of imprint upon them. But the rituals around boots are less ritualistic and more. Like, I don't know animal training. Yeah, okay. I also when I was at school offers got some really great accessories, they have these little sheets of essentially plastic that act as boot shapers, you just sort of bend them in half and put them in the shaft or your boot. And they pop into place. And then they keep that boot from sagging, which is a real problem for tall boots. So I was really happy with those, they were very reasonably priced. And then I got these hook pull things, I mean, it's essentially two metal hooks with little wooden handles. And they're particularly good for the dangers because inside containers, they're these two cloth loops, and they're the pull on loops. Most boots have a pull on loop somewhere. And then you swiftly you scoot the metal hooks into these pull on loops. And then you use them to pull on the boot. And then you slide them out. And I never had those before they make a significant difference in putting on the danger. So I was very happy with that. And I also got some socks I really liked. Now, historically, I've just worn white tube socks as my standard boot sock and they're fine. They're perfectly serviceable. I've worn them my entire boot wearing life. But stampers had these socks by Fox, I think fuck sport maybe. And they were white. They were really tall. And they were a little thicker. They're not as thick as like the giant wool, Arctic boots, socks, but they were a little thicker. And I just loved the way they felt I loved how tall they were, because they could pull them up. And they would provide protection with my boot. And I also love the kind of cushion Enos of them. So summers only had one pair and they were like we're not carrying these anymore. We're not going to carry them in stock. So thank God for Amazon because I ordered like seven pairs. Oh God, no, it wasn't even Amazon, it was through the actual website for the company. Anyway, I got a lot of socks coming on the way at this point. So I got those boots, probably about a week ago. And they're now at home in the boot closet. I have worn both pairs out several times and the dangers are still, you know, if I pay attention, I'm like, wow, my foot feels really pressed against the edges. Maybe these aren't wide enough for me. But if I'm if I don't put my attention on my foot, they're perfectly comfortable. So I know they're going to be good boots, I just have to let them be a good boot without sort of getting in the way. The highlighters I'm very happy with they need a little bit more breaking in, you know, it's very different. The way you break in a lace up boot from a pull on boot. Pull on boots are really about getting those creases in at the ankle. And at the end step and, and lace up boot is a little bit different. You know, actually Kyle at stampers recommended a great video on how to get the proper break in your diners. He told me to go to YouTube and search for danger he'll video and essentially, before you even put the boots on, you have to reach your hand into the shaft and bend the heel backwards and make sure that you have a clean even break on the inside. If not, they're gonna break in a way that presses against your ankle. And I know it's a little hard to describe, but if you go look at the video, you'll know what I'm talking about. I'm really glad I did that. The dangers have been pretty comfortable and broken in. I've worn them a few times. And I've worn the Highlanders a few times. And my boots are in the boot closet and I am happy. I've been and one of the reasons I never got new pairs of Daenerys. Besides my utter disappointment in the fact that my very expensive boots fell apart and were made out of plastic and cloth instead of leather. Generally I wear my West goes for anything that would require a danger type boots. So all of my breeches I will wear West goes with them. My CHP cloth uniform, I will wear my west coast with it because it looks just as hot. But now I've really gotten into wearing the dangers a little bit more they are ball laced, which means there's a little bit of lacing at the instep. And the very specific way you have to lace it so that the laces meet in the middle. And it's a good look. I like the slightly more pointed toe of the diner. The shaft has a nice it's it's straighter, it's got a nice curve to it. So I've been enjoying wearing that more out to the bars. And I think they're going to be the dangers will become part of my regular circulation along with my West goes. And that's what's going on in my world right now. It's booted ventures, I actually have another pair of boots that should be arriving soon a pair of tall harness West girls with a double strap at the top. And I ordered those I think nine months ago. But I have a note on my calendar that they were supposed to be done. Next week. We'll see if they actually our West Coast had some production problems with the pandemic. I am I'm a little anxious about those boots as to you know, I do have that boot anxiety whenever I buy boots. But in particular, you know, the owner of stampers convinced me to get these boots shorter than I Wanted, I want an 18 inch, he's like, no, they're going to be too, they're going to be too big at the top because they have to fit over your giant calf. And then you're gonna have this big boot at the big boot at the top. So I get them lower, get them lower. And I did. I'm not sure if I'm going to love that. So we'll see. I've kind of already convinced myself, I'm not going to love them, which is such a sad thing to do to boots that haven't been born yet. But I'm doing it because then I am front loading disappointment. And then they can arrive. Oh my god, I actually love these Yay. I don't know, I'll tell you what, when they arrive, I'll give you a report on them. I am struggling with podcast production. I really need to get some of the main episodes in the can I need to build up a buffer. But my schedule has been really busy lately, not just with the holidays. But I have a lot of plans going on that are wonderful. So I'm hopeful to maintain my podcast production. But I certainly ask your forgiveness. If some episodes get a little bit behind. I remain dedicated to producing the podcast. And when I look at the numbers of how many viewers and I mean, how many listeners and subscribers and all that. It's not at all impressive. But the people who've approached me personally and told me anecdotally that this podcast and has an impact on them. All y'all have made my life really wonderful as the only reason I keep doing this work. And it's a lot of work. One thing that may be coming with the main podcast, I may just have to jettison the interview segment, like I did for the January episode on collecting gears and plenty changes. It's just that much extra work to find someone to interview to arrange the interview to do all that. I love the fact that I get a second voice in and it's not just all me that we get another perspective. I think that's really valuable. But it's really weighing the value of that versus the cost of what it takes to produce. So if you have particular thoughts on that, please reach out to me, let me know. So what's that's what's going on in my world. You got two new pairs of boots. I got a third pair on the way and I am struggling with this damn podcast, but I remain devoted to it because of you because you're listening. And because you're letting me know you listen. So thank you and have a beautifully blessed journey.