Santalum x PTC The Klondike Service Boot

If these shoes could talk- well, they can’t, but they have given me permission to speak on their behalf for the purpose of this essay! Teacore is one of my absolute favorite leather patina processes, I have a hard time deciding which I prefer between the darkening of a light colored vegtan leather, or the slow reveal of the core color showing through the black surface coat of a teacore leather. I had always been a huge fan of Red Wing’s 9060 Flatbox Beckmans; a Japanese exclusive done up in Black Klondike. I managed to land a pair years ago in the largest size they were made in (11), but despite months of trying to convince myself that they fit, they were just too small. Last year I came upon the opportunity to buy some Black Klondike leather directly from SB Foot, and with my standing collaborative relationship with Santalum, I set out to create my dream boot. A 9060 on steroids if you will. The Thunderdome was not on my mind at all when this collaboration was conceived, but timing just happened to align and I decided what better way to put my new favorite boots to the test! I work from home as a self employed leatherworker and prior to the dome I would never be caught wearing boots while I am at home working. It just made no sense.. but in order to maximize my wear in the 6 month allotment, much to the chagrin of my partner and her poor toes that I often clobbered, I wore my boots inside the house, every day in fact. With the exception of falling under the weather several times and not leaving bed, I wore my trusty boots every single day, for every single occasion. My gf and our dogs are quite active. We abhor hiking, but all the while love exploring, walking off the beaten path, finding unknown fishing holes and really just being in nature. Every scuff and subsequent peek of teacore in this pair of boots is directly correlated to doing something that I love. I’m very happy with these boots and how they’ve broken in. They really did start to feel like a