How to stretch my riding boot?

batman1

batman1

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I’m posting my Daytona’s back to Germany for a bit of winter maintenance, and will need to use a temporary pair of Alpine Stars that are a half size too small, I can get the A/Stars on with the inner sole removed and thin socks but they are tight.
I’ve tried some various potions and polishes but with limited results.

Having searched the net for ideas it appears that I have two more options to try...

1. Stuff a zipped bag of water into the boot and pop the boot into the freezer for a couple of days. The water will expand as it freezes and slowly stretch the boots.

2. Submerge the boots and get them completely wet through then wear them whilst wet until they dry out by which time they should be fixed?

Has anyone tried either of these methods and did they work, before I start to leave wet footprints all over my house.?
 
Batman you wouldn’t want to do this but we had an old guy who told us young uns horrendous stories of his experiences in the trenches. He said ( seriously) he pissed in his boots to soften them up when they got replacements.
 
Are the Alpinestars leather or are they a man made fibre, if they are man made you may find even if you stretched them they would simply recover and a bit of heat may be a better option.
 
batman1 said:
Has anyone tried either of these methods and did they work .......?
Click to expand...


So, I get through shed loads of kit because of work, and breaking in new kit is nothing new to me. I always go the get things wet and wear them way. Gloves in particular - i stick them in a sink of hot water whilst I have a cup of tea, and then put them on, go out and wear them all day. Ive done the same with boots.

I would be wary of chucking things in a freezer full of water !! :eek:

leather wants to stretch, be supple, coax it and manage it. If you freeze it, it will be brittle and hard. I'd have thought (i don't know, I'm just thinking on my feet) that you're more likely to break / tear something than you will stretch something that way.

The biggest fly in the ointment that i have found is modern nylon stitching that seems to have very little give in it. So for example, if your boots have toe sliders, plastic heel guards and all of those are stitched in ... then those areas will struggle to stretch in my experience.

Your other option is the old fashioned shoe tree / shoe stretcher thing. Again, I've used something like this (old plain one knocking around the house) in wet shoes and left them for a few days.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Invention-..._2?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=W0CTTGWBJVQRVGQ0YMWX


Freezer ? Nah .... that sounds a bit dodgy !!

:thumb2
 
Well blow me down with a feather, he was right I googled it.
“Ammonia in water acts as a caustic but weak base. Its high pH breaks down organic material, making urine the perfect substance for ancients to use in softening and tanning animal hides. Soaking animal skins in urine also made it easier for leather workers to remove hair and bits of flesh from the skin.8 Oct 2013”
I’ll leave it up to you to decide though,mmmm
 
Use a hairdryer on them, all over the foot part, while you're wearing them - perhaps put a thicker-than-usual pair of socks on too. Walk around in them whilst they're hot, whinge at the tightness, squat a few times so you're really flexing the foot. Repeat. It may work. :)

Pete
 
Fill them full of warm water put them on and then walk a mile or so in them
 
From the above, wet boots worn for a day seem to be the advice but I'd add that you could wear waterproof socks in the wet boot just to make it easier.
 
take them to your local cobbler,he puts them on his stretcher for 24/48 hours.cost about 3 quid. worked for my hogs.
 
fishy23 said:
Batman you wouldn’t want to do this but we had an old guy who told us young uns horrendous stories of his experiences in the trenches. He said ( seriously) he pissed in his boots to soften them up when they got replacements.
Click to expand...
we would do this to everyday boots in the RN . it works .
 
Ha Ha, I just love the wealth of information that one can gather from this forum, and the funnies too!

So it”s all sorted, I’ve put a big bucket in the garage, I’ll keep peeing into it unit I’ve got enough of the amber liquid to fill me boots, then I’ll warm it up on the stove after “she” has gone off to work, and then I’ll poor the heated solution into each boot, then I’ll just squeeze my big feet in and go for a long walk :scotsman.

I’ll be sure to pick a route where I won’t need to stop and chat to anyone.:hide

Now as I need to be on with this job pretty smart so I’m trying to think of an enjoyable way to produce lots of urine quickly....

..Ahh I don’t need any help with this one...:beerjug::beer:

Happy New Year Guys! :thumb
 
Seems Op is saying boot is half a size to small, well according to Google below.

A cobbler has a device that can apply pressure from inside the boot's foot to stretch it. The amount of stretching that a cobbler can do for a pair of all-leather boots is about one width size wider (such as from a “D” to an “E”.) However, no boot can be stretched longer, such as from a size 10 to a size 10.5.


http://www.bootedmanblog.com/?p=1226
 
batman1 said:
Ha Ha, I just love the wealth of information that one can gather from this forum, and the funnies too!

So it”s all sorted, I’ve put a big bucket in the garage, I’ll keep peeing into it unit I’ve got enough of the amber liquid to fill me boots, then I’ll warm it up on the stove after “she” has gone off to work, and then I’ll poor the heated solution into each boot, then I’ll just squeeze my big feet in and go for a long walk :scotsman.

I’ll be sure to pick a route where I won’t need to stop and chat to anyone.:hide

Now as I need to be on with this job pretty smart so I’m trying to think of an enjoyable way to produce lots of urine quickly....

..Ahh I don’t need any help with this one...:beerjug::beer:

Happy New Year Guys! :thumb
Click to expand...

An the saying goes , has anyone seen batman1 in his new boots? , “Sure there he is walking down that track with 16 dogs all running excitedly around him”
 
The freezer method worked for me with a pair of shoes. 24 hours and job done.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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