Midas x Skolyx Cap toe service boot dark brown roughout suede

Note: See below for sizing guidance

Our much appreciated collaboration with Midas Bootmaker from Indonesia continues. The price of these, given the quality and level of craftsmanship, is simply amazing. As before, there are a limited number of these shoes we get in stock, since production capacity is small in Midas' workshop.

The shoes are entirely handmade (apart from the upper being machine stitched), they are lasted by hand, hand welted Veldtschoen construction, and with a sole stitch made by hand, despite being rubber soles (!). Veldtschoen means that the upper leather is turned outwards and lies on top of the welt (while the lining is still attached to the insole with the welt seam, as on normal hand welted shoes), this makes them even more resistant to water. Combined with a half length gusset tongue to prevent water or snow entering the shoe.

The leather is a really durable dark brown roughout suede leather (which differs from full reverse calf suede in having a less sanded nap). This comes from the local tannery Cisarua, a family owned tannery started back in 1949, which has gained global interest in recent years due to their high quality products.

We also have a higher specification than usual Midas shoes with heel stiffeners in real leather, which moulds to the feet and can be reshaped if necessary, made from the same type of veg-tanned "shoulder" leather as the insoles. The cap toe service boot pattern is specially developed for this collaboration. Made on the Edlyn last, which is a classic service boot last with a round toe. 

Underneath we find Dr. Sole's superb Supergrip soles, developed using old military boot soles as a base, in a rubber compound that provides excellent grip, good comfort and really good wear resistance. The heel part is riveted for best durability. Dr. Sole has taken the workwear boot world by storm, with its historically inspired soles made from the best possible rubber compounds.

Indonesia is one of the world's foremost centres for the manufacture of workwear boots, a tradition that dates back to when the country was a Dutch colony, but which has been developed and refined over the decades since the country gained independence in the 1940s. Uniquely, however, everything is still done almost exclusively by hand, not with machines like the shoe lasters, Goodyear machines and McKay machines for stitching and so on, but with awl, needle, knife, hammer, etc. The production is in most cases very small scale, Midas / Winson is a small workshop of eight people who only make about 30 pairs of shoes a month.

These are boots that are made to be worn hard, and will only look better and better with age. Really solidly made in thick leather, both in terms of upper leather and insole leather, which requires some time to break in but then becomes as one with your feet (a good tip for easier break-in is to not use the top eyelets).

See more detailed specifications below, and read more detailed information about the shoes and about Midas Bootmaker here.

Construction:
Hand welted Veldtschoen construction, with handmade sole stitch.
Heel stiffeners are made of real leather, which conforms to the feet in the best way possible, and can be reshaped if necessary.

Sole:
Dr. Sole Supergrip rubber sole.

Size:
Comes in full EU sizes, so 6,6 mm in length between each size, so not directly comparable to UK/US sizes. See below for further sizing guidance. When in between sizes, we recommend choosing the larger size and also order a thin insole in leather. If you are still uncertain on your size, please e-mail ktj@skolyx.se for further guidance.

Shoe care:
Use Saphir Super Invulner for protection and Saphir Suede Renovator Spray in dark brown if you wish to freshen up the color. Use a suede brush to brush out dust and dirt. On the sole edge in leather, use Saphir Medaille d'Or Creme Pommadier shoe cream. We do recommend using shoe trees in cedar wood to prevent cracks from excessive creasing and prolong the lifespan of the boots.

NOTE: See below for sizing guidance.

Which shoe care products to use:
Before use, go over the shoes gently with a a suede brush followed by Saphir Medaille d'Or Super Invulner to protect from water and dirt. Use Saphir Medaille d'Or Suede Renovator Spray in Dark brown when the colour needs to be improved and to give some nourishment. For more thorough yet gentle cleaning we recommend Saphir Medaille d'Or Omninettoyant suede cleaner. We recommend using cedar wood shoe trees to prevent unnecessary creasing and extend the lifespan of your footwear.

Read more about how to use these products on the respective product pages, or in the shoe care guide linked below.

Basic shoe care:
- Don’t use the same pair for two consecutive days
- Brush / wipe the shoes off after use
- Use shoe trees and shoehorn
- Treat regular leather with shoe cream, treat suede and textile with waterproofing spray
Learn more on these steps in this guide.

Further shoe care info:
For more on how to clean, refresh and protect suede and nubuck, read this guide.

Listed below are the full specifications of these shoes, and how they differ from standard Goodyear welted shoes:

- Lasted by hand, using pliers and hand hammered nails. When the upper is pulled over the shoe last, this is done with two different machines on standard Goodyear welted shoes.
- Insole made of thick vegetable tanned shoulder leather where the holdfast for the welt seam is carved out by hand with a sharp knife. On regular welted shoes it's a slightly thinner leather insole with a canvas strip glued to it, to which the welt is stitched.
- The heel stiffeners are made from the same type of leather as the insole, where it's split into thinner pieces and these are then cut and skived by hand to act as stiffeners, which when attached by hand treated with starch-based paste which makes the leather stiff when dry. On regular welted shoes, the heel stiffener is usually made of celastic or leather board (leather dust mixed with glue) that is preformed, in some cases (as on TLB Mallorca Artista) of real leather but often also then preformed.
- Welt stitch sewn by hand, with awl, needle and twisted thread. When the leather strip that runs around the shoe is attached to the upper leather (lining in the case of Veldtschoen) and the insole, the seam on regular welted shoes is sewn with a Goodyear machine.
- Sole stitch sewn by hand. The seam that attaches the welt to the outsole, the one that is removed and remade when you resole the shoes (until the welt becomes too worn and needs to be replaced as well) and which is sewn with a McKay sewing machine on regular welted shoes.
- The bottom filling consists of a cork plate in the front part, instead of the cheaper cork mass usually used. At the waist is a metal shank covered with the same vegetable tanned leather as the insole is made of, otherwise often just cork mass is used here as well.
- The heel is built up layer by layer, and pegged by hand from both the bottom and the inside of the shoe. Almost all factory-made welted shoes use pre-built heels that are put on the shoes in one piece and pegged by machine.

Read even more about how the shoes are made and about Midas Bootmaker, and watch footage of the production, here.