[David Huggins]

Okay the last link never worked so try again

http://www.oppland.no/Klimapark2469/Bildegall...-fra-funn/

best
Dave

[E. Storesund]

Exciting site. Fun to see those bull-roarers as well. Can't wait to read more about the textiles.

[Johan Gemvik]

I just wanted to thank everyone posting here for helping me make the right choice.

Today I got the book "Stepping through Time" from Oxbow. This is best book I've seen on the subject of historical shoes. It just bows everything else out of the water. And yes, obviously you can buy it from Oxbow so everyone into making or even buying repro shoes that doesn't have it should get one before they run out..

The book shows clearly what the viking boots discussed in the thread really looked like, along with just about any shoe type from ancient egyptian up to modern age. The toggle "Rus" boots don't look right. Not just the seam along the sole but other details as well like the very shape of the toe tip.

The "York" toggle style shoes do look just right, like a photo copy from the illustrations and the (obviously aged, crumpled and worn) photo of the actual find in the book. The book also lists a number of find sites sporting them or very similar shoe styles, not just York so they were used all over in the viking age.

[Johan Gemvik]

I just got the shoes from Viking leathercrafts today and they were well worth the wait.

The shoes were natural tan leather as ordered, the cut and stitch was perfect, though I really should have ordered a size larger than I did to also fit thick socks for winter use.

The site states you should order a size larger for extra soles, but I'd go so far as to say add another size again if you want thick socks to fit as well as an extra sole. No problem, these will just be snug fitting summer shoes and I can order another pair that are more oversize for winter outdoors training.

The leather was thick and soft, but had some very minor blemishes, though to me this only makes them look more authentic and at the price it isn't even really worth mentioning. Really i was nothing, a slight scratch at one place not even visible after darkening, greasing and polishing the leather with a piece of cloth.

The cut of the shoe is just spot on straight out of the Stepping through time book, or photos of the York toogle shoe artifact it's based on (well except for being all wrinkly and aged 1000 years of course). Except it's thicker top leather for heavy duty combat use tearing and the sole is Vibram for improved traction (optional of course).

The idea with the tan leather was that I wanted to stain or oil darken the shoes to the shade of my own choice and a personal look. Once i darkened the leather with olive oil and greased them with mink oli grease to get the right used but well kept look the shoe was simply perfect. I'll take some photos so you can see what the shoes looks like.

All in all, for the price this is unbeatable shoes!
As historical shoes go they're a solid 4 out of 5 (5 being reserved for the many times more expensive top grade custom shoes tailored for your foot), and you really can't go wrong with them. Best off the shelf viking shoe you'll ever find and the best sturdy fighting shoe I know of being sold today.
I'll definitely go ahead and order another slightly larger pair for winter use with socks and wool inner sole. Maybe I'll get more than one pair now that I think about it.

[Johan Gemvik]

EDIT *bunched-up text block fixed*

Well, in short the shoes were great. Order some, you won't be disappointed.

Just a word on the sizes.
Make sure to slightly oversize them to fit your needlebound socks. (Yes I have a pair of those on the way too from a friend.) I have wide scandinavian feet, but a clear 9&1/2 in american football shoes, and a size 10 of these fit very snugly though I'm stretching them some to have a looser fit with socks right now. The leather is soft and does stretch some even though it's thick.

But If I really want thick winter socks and a thick inner sole I'll have to get an 11 or even a 12.