I wore them through everything. They were my daily drivers so to speak. I even wore them once a week at work as a nurse. I wore them in countless snow storms in Minnesota.
There really was no break in, they were pretty much comfortable out of the box but definitely after a couple days of wear, they fit like a glove. They have taken on a beautiful patina in the process. All I did was brush them a couple times a month. No oils or creams needed.
I don’t know where the trend originated, but people need to stop this idea of sizing down from sneakers to step into Red Wing Boots. Just get your size unless you’ve been getting the wrong size all along in which case get measured.
They’re hand made boots so stop looking for perfection. After a couple wears, they’re going to be scuffed and scratched. Just enjoy the transformation and don’t worry about a misaligned stitch or something. I actually have a couple pair of boots with a misaligned back strap but I don’t notice it on my feet. This pair has a little misalignment appearance due to sanding the edges but it was appearance only. And you had to look close to notice it. Otherwise, these are great boots. I will be able to wear these to my grave, or pass them on to my grandchildren.