Marching boots

[Gene T]

Just to add a data point to the discussion on dimensions, here is a side-by-side comparison between a pre-war tall marching boot and a late-war cavalry boot with the spur-rest chopped off (though what's left of it can still be seen).





Both boots have exactly the same foot length. What's most interesting to me is that the pre-war marching boots were made with a back stiffener, like the one found on expensive dressage boots, which allows the shaft to maintain its sharp profile even after hevy use. I believe this foppish feature was never part of the cavalry boots for some odd reason, even though it originated from riding boots (so the cut-downs won't have it), and if I am not mistaken, it was also omitted from the shortened maching boots that came later.

It looks to me like the OP boots may not have a stiffener. If these are indeed mint condition marching boots, it might mean that the stiffeners were already gone by 1939.

Is there any sign of a chopped off spur rest at the top of the heel? It's pretty hard to miss.


Gene T

[paul.j]

Boots

Its got nothing to do with looking neat, where did you get that out of my comment? You civvy collectors crack me up, your concept of war is that everyone was in the thick of it. The cobbler was just that-a cobbler. You must think that when he was not banging it in he was using his spare time to chuck a nail in. I'll enlighten you that there are more non fighters than fighters involved in war.
I have 15 odd pairs of boots and none of them show nails applied in this fashion, once again they had the right tools and knew what they were doing, this does not show it. Anyway, your boots you keep convincing yourself they are fine.

I can't imagine a WWII Wehrmacht cobbler worrying about marking or not the boots when nailing... Many times this was done at company level, so I don't think they would have any interest in the sole looking nice. There are a lot on sewing machine marks all around also, and I don't think it is bad either. We will never know who nailed these boots or when.

Carles

[4th division]

There where no special tools to hammer the hobnails in. The only tools that where used was a cobblers hammer with a flat, round head. Next to that if the hobnail is the 2 prong type there is a prong wich pre cuts 2 slits in the sole so the hobnail goes in correctly. Well, should. But sometimes it does not. And that is what happened here. Happens to me all the time when I nail boots.