WWII Buckle Boots

[USMC_COLLECTOR]

I have a pair of WWII buckle boots that have slowly started to tear down the back part of the buckle. It has gotten down about one inch. Do I leave them the way the are? Or try to adhesive tape the inside to prevent anymore separation?

[USMC_COLLECTOR]

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[Rakkasan187]

Are these boots that are worn or displayed? 

 

Personally, I would not add any adhesive to stop the rip. Adhesives after a period of time will discolor the leather where the tape was applied and leave a sticky residue that if cleaned will do more harm. I would also not use and saddle soap or leather softener or preservatives on the leather. It will discolor the leather and, in some cases, can cause even more damage than if nothing at all was applied. 

 

If the leather is hard and brittle and the boots are not properly stored or if they are in constant temperature variations (humidity, high heat, low cold temperatures, direct sunlight, mold, or exposed to insects, these could all have effects on the stitching and the threads which may eventually breakdown, causing the subsequent splitting. The effects of these are irreversible.

 

In order to maintain the form of the boots you can place acid free tissue paper inside the boots which will fill in gaps where the foot would shape the leather after wearing for a period of time. This will help reduce the "depressions" that you will sometimes see on the outsides of boots. Don't pack the tissue paper so tightly though that it strecthes the form of the boot, as this will also cause long term damage. You will want to change the paper out every 6 months or so as the acid free paper sometimes discolors as the dyes and other chemicals in the leather will wick into the paper. 

 

I have worked in an Army Museum for many years now and leather products (boots, saddles, scabbards etc) have to be very closely monitored and inspected for the same things I mentioned above. Constant temperature and humidity-controlled environments, rotating the artifacts and careful cleaning (minus chemicals) have helped preserve our artifacts which date to the American Revolution. We have specialized conservators in the museum system that stabilize damaged artifacts so they will not further deteriorate and in some rare cases will restore items to as accurate as possible which in many cases costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

 

These are just my thoughts on what you can do to prevent any further deterioration... Others may have some more ideas, but I hope this helps

 

When you have time, post some pictures of what the damage looks like. We can't truly assess the situation without seeing images of the separation.

 

Best regards, stay safe

 

Leigh 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dmar836]

Pics always help but must agree with Leigh. It's really difficult to not do something to try to improve these items. The truth is that they are now likely to be in a much more stable environment that they have in the past and so deterioration "should" be somewhat slowed.

Dave

[USMC_COLLECTOR]

Here are some pictures of the damage. Didn't help that my teacher leaned his army on my boots...

23 hours ago, dmar836 said:

Pics always help but must agree with Leigh. It's really difficult to not do something to try to improve these items. The truth is that they are now likely to be in a much more stable environment that they have in the past and so deterioration "should" be somewhat slowed.

Dave

 

On 1/28/2022 at 8:51 AM, Rakkasan187 said:

Are these boots that are worn or displayed? 

 

Personally, I would not add any adhesive to stop the rip. Adhesives after a period of time will discolor the leather where the tape was applied and leave a sticky residue that if cleaned will do more harm. I would also not use and saddle soap or leather softener or preservatives on the leather. It will discolor the leather and, in some cases, can cause even more damage than if nothing at all was applied. 

 

If the leather is hard and brittle and the boots are not properly stored or if they are in constant temperature variations (humidity, high heat, low cold temperatures, direct sunlight, mold, or exposed to insects, these could all have effects on the stitching and the threads which may eventually breakdown, causing the subsequent splitting. The effects of these are irreversible.

 

In order to maintain the form of the boots you can place acid free tissue paper inside the boots which will fill in gaps where the foot would shape the leather after wearing for a period of time. This will help reduce the "depressions" that you will sometimes see on the outsides of boots. Don't pack the tissue paper so tightly though that it strecthes the form of the boot, as this will also cause long term damage. You will want to change the paper out every 6 months or so as the acid free paper sometimes discolors as the dyes and other chemicals in the leather will wick into the paper. 

 

I have worked in an Army Museum for many years now and leather products (boots, saddles, scabbards etc) have to be very closely monitored and inspected for the same things I mentioned above. Constant temperature and humidity-controlled environments, rotating the artifacts and careful cleaning (minus chemicals) have helped preserve our artifacts which date to the American Revolution. We have specialized conservators in the museum system that stabilize damaged artifacts so they will not further deteriorate and in some rare cases will restore items to as accurate as possible which in many cases costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

 

These are just my thoughts on what you can do to prevent any further deterioration... Others may have some more ideas, but I hope this helps

 

When you have time, post some pictures of what the damage looks like. We can't truly assess the situation without seeing images of the separation.

 

Best regards, stay safe

 

Leigh 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[USMC_COLLECTOR]

And these boots will probably just go on a mannequin.