Sagara Cordmaster

Black Rust Arborwax
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50% complete
rustic.boots
Worn 6 months
Open Thunderdome 2025-2026
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Reviews

Stealth Monkey

(Note this is not aI written) Conclusions Been a ride the last 6 months, in my Sagara Chordmasters, these were apart of my Thunderdome '25 prize. Sagara reached out to see if I would be interested in putting a new proprietary leather through its paces. Of the new arborwax options I opted for a stealth Black Rust build, with black storm welts, black Norwegian stitching and the Dr Sole Urban Explorer. Leather This is a substantial leather, it was very stiff and was quite the chore to break in. I walked these on a treadmill 5 days a week which added around 100 miles in these boots. While ive made significant progress on the patina I can tell these boots still have more left in the evolutionary tank. Under what I assume is the white wax layer, is an even deeper teacore that's the real prize. I managed to coax out the brown in the heels and quarters but like any good teacore it would require a serious journey to get these to full potential. That said these are no longer a deep dark black and more of a slate as the blacks has worn away, lived up to its billing of that there is no doubts. Sole The Urban Explorer is a little know Dr Sole option, I was a little skeptical how it would hold up, but minus one extra nail I added, they have preformed flawlessly. Really like how they are recessed, low profile yet still provide moderate traction. Model Sagara Chordmasters needs no introduction if you don't have a monkey boot in your collection, id very highly recommend the Sagara iteration. The integrated lineman patch is a thing of beauty. I did break a speed hook arojnd mile 50, I would probably opt for the small speed hooks in the future. Final Thoughts I could easily put in another 100+ miles on these maybe ill run them again next TD as used.This pair is uderstated while also having a wealth of detail and nuance and in my book that is a worthy combination. I expect these to sit near the top of my rotation for years to come
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5 days ago
Specs

Maker

Sagara

Model

Cordmaster

Leather

Black Rust Arborwax

Sole

Dr. Sole #1150 Urban Explorer Full Sole

Purchased from

Sagara

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Awards
Open Thunderdome Finisher2025-2026 Stitchdown Patina Thunderdome Open Edition
  • Apprentice ScholarAwarded for sharing knowledge about the item
  • Aging JourneymanAwarded for documenting this item's aging
  • Apprentice ReviewerAwarded for completing seasonal review tasks