 G'day, how are you going? Welcome to Boot Lossophy, my channel about boots and providing boot reviews. If you're new here, my name is Tech. Today I'm going to do a review of the Grandstone chunky mocto boot, their brass boot. This is in the wax suede that they call Earth. So here is the Grandstone brass boot. In a makeup they call Earth. It's a waxy commander wax suede from the Charles F. Stead tannery in Leeds, England. You can see why Grandstone calls it Earth because of the dark chocolate and sandy texture of the wax suede. Or by the way, if you're new to the boot world, one of the interesting yet frustrating things about bootmakers is that while they might source the same leathers from the same tanneries, they will often call their boot models in those leathers by different names. This, for example, is what Stead calls waxy commander in a color that I think they call dark brown or chocolate. Other bootmakers may use the same leather and call it different things to suit the design of their particular boot. It's a little frustrating because you might want to compare different makes in the same leather, but you're never sure if it is the same leather or not. Now, the Charles F. Stead Company Limited, to give them their full name, was started by Charles Stead himself in the 1890s and remains a family company based in Leeds, England. Stead is famous for their classic suede leathers as well as their more exotic suedes like Mohawk and Rambler and more exotic hides like Kudu, Antelope, Elk and Deer. This waxy commander is a medium nap suede that's been treated with oils and waxes and in the finish is waxed over to smooth down the nap. Grant Stone uses it in this boot as well in some of their other styles. In this version of the brass boot, of which there are nine styles not counting the limited releases, they combine the waxy commander with their proprietary commando lugged sole to make a very sturdy looking and feeling and wearing boot. As you can see, it is a mocktoe and it looks ready for the outdoor world whether hiking or working outdoors. I'm not sure I'd necessarily use it as a full on work boot on a construction site, but it feels tough enough to work in the yard or in the garden or in workshops where you're lifting and kicking boxes and that sort of thing. I'll get into the mocktoe design and the commander's sole when I talk about construction, but as a combination, high sidewall mocktoe, rough looking upper, tough commander's sole, these just look ready for action. If you haven't heard of this boot brand, Grant Stone, you should have. It's an American direct to customer boot brand, but let's start with the fact that they're made in China. Now let's also start with how you cannot assume that made in China is equivalent to poor quality. As a management consultant in real life, I deal with international businesses and I can attest to the fact that quality is not dependent on geography, but on processes, procedures, and the setting of specs that the factory receives. If you spec out a poor quality boot and you will get poor quality, even if it's made in Australia, the US or the UK, I've already made my views known about quality boot construction in some of my other Grant Stone boot reviews. In my opinion, Grant Stone is totally top quality. In fact, I believe they punch a good 100 or more dollars above their weight, but I'll get to value later. For now, I want to look at the construction. As usual, let me start from the bottom and go up. This is Grant Stone's proprietary version of the famous commando lugged sole. This pattern of wedged lugs on the side and star pattern lugs on the inside is called the commando pattern and was designed by Vitali Bramani, founder of Italian sole manufacturer Vibram in the 1930s. You'll find this design copied. I don't know if that's too strong a word, perhaps imitated by a number of other boot makers sourcing proprietary soles. One that you recognize immediately is the Timberland honey lugged commando sole on their classic six inch waterproof boot. But boot makers like Truman also use the same pattern and in fact, sole manufacturers its hide, based in the UK, also make the exact same commando pattern sole. As you can see, the lugged sole and the heel top lift are glued and then respectively sewn and nailed to real leather heel blocks and mid soles. The heel has a rubber leather rubber combination stack before it hits the mid sole, giving the heel strike a softer shock absorbing feel. The outsole and midsole are attached to the uppers using Goodyear welt construction. In this case, a storm welt at 360 degree Goodyear welt. A Goodyear welt is where a strip of leather is sewn to the uppers on the inside, while the outside edge of the welt is sewn through the midsole and outsole, as you can see by the outside edge Goodyear welt stitching on the welt and through the outsole. This is a storm or I think more accurately a split reverse welt, where the inside edge of the welt is split. The bottom half is sewn to the uppers inside, while the top half is flanged upwards against the outside of the uppers, and in this way increasing water resistance. That's the advantage of Goodyear welt at boots. They are more water resistant because they don't have stitch holes going right through the boot and the welt acts as a barrier between water on the outside and the inside of the boot. The other advantage of Goodyear welting is that they're supposed to be easier to re-sole. When you wear out the rubber outsole, the coplar unpicks the stitching and glues and sews in a new outsole without disturbing the uppers. Inside the boot, the welt going around the edge of the boot forms a cavity in the footbed. Grandstone fills this with cork, inserting a steel shank in this gap between the heel and the ball of the feet to give you arch support and stability. On top of the cork filling is another vagetan layer of leather. That's the insole and on top of the heel area is another piece of foam back leather to provide comfort on the heel strike. This leather cork, leather midsole and insole construction is meant to be gold standard. In many boots these days, particularly from newer director customer boot companies, you'll find the inclusion of man-made materials like cardboard, compressed leather board or poron and foam. I don't really have a view on this. I find, for example, boots like Thursday using poron and foam. I find them immediately comfortable on the foot. On the other hand, I find the leather cork, leather combinations a little tougher to break in. But once they do, it feels made for your own particular feet. I'm happy to have a bob each way. For longevity though, if you have one pair of boots and you wear them almost every day, probably the natural materials will last you longer. Grandstone's tendency to use real leather extends to the reinforcement at the toes and the heels. At the toe, it is structured using a leather toe puff. It's hard. The heel counter is also a thick piece of leather to shape around and protect your heel. Moving upwards, I've already spoken about the Steadwaxy Commander Leather. It's soft, supple and comfortable despite being quite a tough leather. There's a single piece backstay and the stitching all over is immaculate. Double stitched everywhere and triple stitched at the quarter. The hardware is Grandstone's very recognizable brass hardware. Five eyelets and two speed hooks. They're generously sized. The eyelets and speed hooks are backed and they look incredibly finished. Taking a look at the vamp and the toe box, this Floyd Lask gives a nice wide shape and the mock toe is, when compared to other mock toe boots like Red Wings or Tharagood, it's same but different. As you can see, it's high walled like the Red Wing 875 classic mock toe and a Tharagood mock toe work boots but it's more rounded in profile. That's because the mock toe stitching is more inboard and not at the edge of the side walls. I think this gives it a more versatile look so that it's not so obviously a work boot. Like it looks like a work boot like the Tharagood but it also looks like an amped up casual boot that you can wear off sight. Mock toe is short for moccasin toe so-called because they look like First Nations moccasin footwear. In this case it's a mock mock toe, not a real one. This contrast stitching doesn't stitch together two pieces of leather being the sidewalls on the top of the vamp. It actually just puckers up the leather on the vamp to create this gathered look and stitch lines. Coming up to the tongue and the lacing faces, Grandstone provides two pairs of laces, both flat wax cotton which I find confusing especially for these outdoorsy boots. I prefer leather laces on them, the tough and up factor and I replace the cotton laces with a pair of spare Grandstone leather laces that came as spares from another boot. The tongue itself is the same waxy commander and is unlined. It's so thin in order to be comfortable I guess. It's semi-gusseted to the third eyelet, exactly the same as their diesel boots. However, I find that unlike the thicker lined leathers on their diesel boots, the thinner suede does slip to one side on my right foot despite the semi-gusseting because it's just so thin and soft. What I've done is used a chisel, shock horror, to punch slits on the tongue that I can lace the laces through to keep the tongue in place. You can also get a cobbler to put a short stitch along one side of the tongue, effectively increasing the gusset depth along one side so that you can open this way. Inside, other than the tongue, which is why I'm puzzled why the tongue isn't lined, the whole boot is lined with a soft four grain wisconsin cow leather. It really increases the comfort factor when you slip your foot in. For a mid US $300 boot, it really feels properly finished off. The suede on the tongue is 2.1 mils thick and the combination suede and lining is 4.5 mils thick. Being suede, it's soft and light but the boot still weighs in at 960 odd grams per boot. Now that is a heavy boot because of all that leather around the toe box and the heel and the underfoot not to mention the thick dense rubber outsole. This is not a fashion boot, it means business. I have worn this hiking on very long day long hikes across our forest reserves along the coast in sandy conditions as well as over rubbly limestone rocks and they have taken the beating. The leather's waxy covering has scratched and scraped off in parts but no cuts can be seen and the grippy outsole has got dirty, picked up gravel in the grooves but no real damage. I think these are tough enough to go on any kind of hike and certainly tough enough to be used for say gardening for anything from mowing the lawn to digging in plants and moving soil. I think they're tough enough to wear in a workshop perhaps working with wood or cars and car engines or in a warehouse moving crates and boxes. I'm not sure I'd wear them as construction site boots though. Casually I think they're pretty versatile. They go with carpenter pants, jeans, any color of jeans in dark or light denim or in brown, gray or black denim. Their dark color makes them matchable to almost any color and I've even seen them with red pants. They're very casual so no smart or business casual gear but certainly chinos and button downs and a bomber or leather jacket would work as would say denim and a t-shirt or a polo shirt. When it's colder jeans or thick flannel pants with a flannel shirt a jumper and waxed or winter padded jackets that'll all work. Okay let's take a look at leather care. Stead's website gives no indication of leather care. Thank you very much. The Grant Stone Care page on their website it's under the help section. Does it really deal with waxy commander? Bummer. On English websites that discuss caring for waxy commander they recommend dubbing wax. The English use that a lot. In my opinion I'd be sparing in product use. The underlying leather is suede. Suede generally does not need the condition that smooth leathers need to prevent them from drying out and cracking. The wax surface will scuff off as you can see all over the place. Here, here and I think that creates a lovely worn patina. If they really got scuffed off I might continue to treasure that look but if you really had to or if the suede finally felt really exposed and dry I might apply a little beeswax or dubbing wax or a balm like Smith's Leather Balm. I'll put a few links to the products I would use below for you to take a look at. Don't forget of course if you like the patina caused by that creased worn look putting on product we'll cover it up again. Clearly though a soft damp cloth if it gets muddy and dirty, a brushing and then perhaps a brush with a stiff suede brush. Keeping the boot clean alone will help to keep the suede conditioned. Now what about sizing? I measure a US 8 and a half in D width on the Brennick device so I consider my true to size as a US 8 and a half D that's an Australian 7 and a half. In this Grant Stone Floyd last like most of my US boots and like the Grant Stone Diesel's Leo last I bought an 8D. In most cases they say to size half down from true. While my diesel boots in the Leo last are perfect at 8D these are roomy in the toe box. I think that's to be expected because they have a tall side wall at the toes and I think this Floyd last is also a little roomier in volume. I don't know if I'd size down another half though I think these were probably designed to be roomy. I think if I went down a full size below true to 7 and a half D I think it'd just be too short. While I've tried a 7 and a half E in the Leo last and that fit really well almost no change to an 8D I'm not sure this Floyd last in a 7 and a half E would be much different to this. So I think an 8D is the correct size for me just a half down from true and how does that feel? The heel is snug and fitted, the waist too, it flares out at the ball of the feet just right and feels comfortable. It's probably the volume that feels a little on the large side and definitely there's lots of room in the toes not just width wise but also volume or height wise. It's not too bad it doesn't feel like clown shoes you just feel room. I've taken to wearing a thick two mil removable leather insole and with medium or thick socks that's fixed it for me. I'd rather feel a little room than to have any pinching anywhere. The last soft suede upper and design make it a comfortable boot anyway. I didn't really have a break in period except for the sole it's a very thick sole combining a thick and quite hard rubber commander outsole with all that leather and cork as well as a thick welt. There was no heel slip as can sometimes happen when the sole doesn't first flex with your foot a little bit but not much and after a couple of weeks of wear it got flexible enough to not feel that it was fitting my it was fighting my stepping style. It's comfortable and it feels truly supportive it's no sneaker though you know you're in a tough boot and surrounded by leather. The shock absorption is okay but not fantastic the arch support is pretty good so that compensates when you're walking on rough ground all day. Now turning to the value I bought this in September 2021 for 298 US dollars that converted to about 400 Aussie dollars with shipping. As a price comparison you can buy a red-wing classic mock toe here in Australia for 520 to 540 Aussie dollars. You can buy a pair of Farragut mock toe wage soles from Amazon for 360 to 470 Aussie depending on style. I wouldn't compare them with boots you can buy from fashion brands or even from timberland these are heritage style and heritage method construction boots that don't compare with fashion brands for longevity or sturdiness. The Thursday Diplomat mock toe wage sole costs 199 US or about Aussie 300 so price-wise they're comparable to mock toe wage soles in the class except perhaps for the Thursday Diplomat. Now I have boots from Redwing, Tharragut, Wolverine, Allen Edmonds, Alden, all the top American makers. I also have boots from the New Breed, Thursday, Parkhurst, Helm, Oak Street Bootmakers. Whatever the pricing comparison I can honestly say that the manufacturing quality and attention to detail the quality control before they're sent out to you is second to none. Put that together against the manufacturing quality and QC of the others and their relative costs I truly believe these punch at least 100 US dollars above their weight. Value? Yeah you'd better believe it. So hey there you are that's what I think of these Grant Stone brass boots in earth or Sted's waxy commander. Don't forget I have more boot reviews coming and I'll upload more unboxing videos as I buy more boots. 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