Brogans

[WW2280]

Just got my brogans in. They are super cool! I can't wait to go get some dust on em!

 

[Northern Light]

Can you say "Desert Boots"?

 

[WW2280]

Can you say "Desert Boots"?

Hahaha they dang sure aren't comfortable like some Clarks

 

[Rhea Cole]

Allow someone who has worn out several pair of Jefferson Davis Brogans to advise you. Purchase heavy duty boot insoles. After the first weekend long without them, on Monday you will hobble painfully to a store to buy some of you don't.

Somebody is going to advise you to use neatsfoot oil on your shoes. I respectfully suggest that you consider the evidence in this link:

Why You Should Avoid Using Neatsfoot Oil on Leather

If you own leather goods, you may have heard of neatsfoot oil – and you may even be tempted to use it. But, it can actually do more harm than good to leather items. In this post, we'll explain why you should avoid using neatsfoot oil and what you should use instead.

preservation-solutions.com

Welcome to our world…

 

[Lampasas Bill]

It doesn't sound like much fun, but I was told that the best way break in new brogans is to dip them in water then wear them for a day so they'll conform to your feet. I haven't tried this, so I can't vouch for it; my last pair of brogans were purchased back in the '80s to replace my Salvation Army Store black-dyed desert boots!

 

[captaindrew]

Best way to break them in is simply to wear them some. Certainly don't want to go to an event without doing so. Walk some on pavement or concrete to scuff them up a little, they're quite slick when brand new.

 

[7thWisconsin]

If you didn´t get heelplates - get them. (Even if your pards say they´re ¨over-represented in the hobby.) Concrete and asphalt will wear down your heels in a hot NY minute without them. They are unforgiving. Brogans are expense and you´ll be buyng another pair in a couple years if you don´t protect them.
@Rhea Cole - I have had the same experience with Neatsfoot oil as in this article! I wish I´d known this before I ruined a pair of brogans and several leather straps.

 

[Rhea Cole]

Best way to break them in is simply to wear them some. Certainly don't want to go to an event without doing so. Walk some on pavement or concrete to scuff them up a little, they're quite slick when brand new.

The "them" you are referring to are his feet & ankles ¿no?

 

[Rhea Cole]

If you didn´t get heelplates - get them. (Even if your pards say they´re ¨over-represented in the hobby.) Concrete and asphalt will wear down your heels in a hot NY minute without them. They are unforgiving. Brogans are expense and you´ll be buyng another pair in a couple years if you don´t protect them.
@Rhea Cole - I have had the same experience with Neatsfoot oil as in this article! I wish I´d known this before I ruined a pair of brogans and several leather straps.

Agree entirely on the heel plates. They are a health hazard on any surface but natural. For speaking engagements or other hard surface events I have a pair of desert boots.

I had a similar experience and was saved by a knowledgeable living historian. His solution was saddle soap, which has served me well.

 

[7thWisconsin]

Agree entirely on the heel plates. They are a health hazard on any surface but natural. For speaking engagements or other hard surface events I have a pair of desert boots.

I had a similar experience and was saved by a knowledgeable living historian. His solution was saddle soap, which has served me well.

When we were in college, my roomate assembled a set of Roman armor, complete with hobnailed sandals. We were leaving for a lecture event when he stepped into the (tiled) hall and closed the door. Next came an ungodly clatter like someone dropping a load of recyclables on the floor. That was when he discovered the amazing lack of traction of hobnails on a modern surface. Heel plates are like that, too. I´ve skated through many a grocery store. You can put a little duct tape on them for better temporary traction - that seems to work.

 

[Doc_Ralph]

Just got my brogans in. They are super cool! I can't wait to go get some dust on em!

View attachment 525654

I am going to burn mine this year…four years of misery. My feet have just stopped throbbing. If I could have I would have done so barefoot!

 

[Doc_Ralph]

At Cedar Creek

 

[Doc_Ralph]

I am switching to deerskin knee high moccasins next year for my battlefield work. Maybe new Bs with most modern insoles for my surgical work. Nice boots for balls and meeting the general.
Ones feet have to feel good in the field this comes from one who has suffered from gout and Bs.

 

[Rhea Cole]

I am going to burn mine this year…four years of misery. My feet have just stopped throbbing. If I could have I would have done so barefoot!

You will, perhaps, be happy to know that in the period after action reports the brogans & pants were universally… CWT civility prevents me going any further… Foxtrot-Tango-Sierra!

 

[Doc_Ralph]

Mine just about killed me when we did a ceremonial salute in Warrenton CSA graveyard early this year. At a 7 I walked in and it was so slick in my Bs I fell but got back up. Maybe I should shoot them first and then hang them and burn them.

I was super careful at Cedar as most of you know it can be quite rocky there in places. Up by the big tent where our battery was. Plenty of cow pies this year too.

 

[Doc_Ralph]

You will, perhaps, be happy to know that in the period after action reports the brogans & pants were universally… CWT civility prevents me going any further… Foxtrot-Tango-Sierra!

Hawk Va new lad! Maybe I will do my CSA surgeon impression in a kilt with my clan tartan which is reddish and so it will blend in. Dunno? I will be on my feet lecturing for a good three hours a day at reenactments & volunteer surgeon on the field for what are they these days? 45 minutes? Plus camp calls. So I will be on my feet a lot next year. If it is in Brogans I might as well jump and end it all now!

 

[Doc_Ralph]

The only thing worse than toe or foot pain is possibly kidney stones or dental abscess. God bless you ladies but in addition you have additional discomforts that I as a surgeon have a textbook as well as first hand observations but of the actual level of pain I am ignorant. Childbirth comes to mind.

 

[Doc_Ralph]

The army mostly moves by its feet. Some of us are fortunate to have horsepower to move along the plank roads and turnpikes with our chattel.

I am tied to my tents, tarps and poles, cast iron cookware and branding irons, operating table and saw horses, medical supplies, my instruments and medical references, my tent desk and chair and cot. While not a campaigner I am still nimble enough to fill one horse powered wagon. I must be as close to the fray to be able to provide succor and comfort to our boys and girls and the occasional Yankee.

I am praying that gone are the days when I come home from an event and feel like a cripple as my feet hurt. I think the key is the most advanced insoles. Or custom made boots.

 

[52ndFandS]

Allow someone who has worn out several pair of Jefferson Davis Brogans to advise you. Purchase heavy duty boot insoles. After the first weekend long without them, on Monday you will hobble painfully to a store to buy some of you don't.

Somebody is going to advise you to use neatsfoot oil on your shoes. I respectfully suggest that you consider the evidence in this link:

Why You Should Avoid Using Neatsfoot Oil on Leather

If you own leather goods, you may have heard of neatsfoot oil – and you may even be tempted to use it. But, it can actually do more harm than good to leather items. In this post, we'll explain why you should avoid using neatsfoot oil and what you should use instead.

preservation-solutions.com

Welcome to our world…

Suggestion then? I hav and incredibly stiff pain coming soon. Don't leave me hangin'.

 

[Doc_Ralph]

IMHO However for all you reenactors who do suffer from foot problems you may perhaps be heartened to know that I am currently working on a product that has a proven track record of comfort and even inspiration of an escape from this earthly plane with joy. I am referring to Dr. Rs Medicated Sand. It will be coming in jars.

Everyone know of the joy of walking on a sandy beach. How fresh and clean your feet look like. The sand is of course medicated to relief any possible damage caused by the scrubbing off of any miasma residue that may have been picked up by walking around outside with no shoes on.

This quackery product is not for internal use. Without Dr, Rs Medicated Sand Sock the jar will most likely sit unused on a shelf on the bookcase. I will be three dollars richer and you will have received a cheap lesson about you should measure everything with a grain of salt or in this case sand and then soak your foot/feet in tepid water in a galvanized bucket. If it is not galvanized there could be a chance of metal poisoning which would I guess take your mind off your feet.