James Leddy safari boots

[mdwest]

My buff hide is about to be delivered from my 2019 hunt with @Bos en Dal Safaris .. The plan all along has been to have a matching set of cowboy boots, belt, and a holster made from the hide.. and then maybe look at a couple of rifle slings and other stuff with whatever amount of hide is left over...

I've been looking at some of the better regarded custom boot makers in Texas trying to decide on who to hire to make all of the stuff mentioned above... when I came across these guys...

James Leddy Boots |

jamesleddyabilene.com

It looks like in addition to making custom cowboy boots, that they also have a "safari" boot line...

This one in particular looks interesting to me..

Has anyone here ever commissioned a set of boots (hunting or cowboy) from this company?

The Leddy name has a huge reputation... but the company isnt the same as it was 10 years ago.. James Leddy passed away.. A new family bought the business, but kept the name.. Then James kids also formed a boot company (they worked with James for years, knew the trade, etc).. a nephew formed a boot company.. and another memeber of the Leddy family formed a boot company as well...

All of these companies incorporate the Leddy family name into their business name in some way...

From what I understand (I am no expert)... all of them actually do excellent work..

But I am specifically interested in James Leddy Custom Boots because of the safari line they offer...

 

[wesheltonj]

I have not.

Little Boots in San Antonio is a top custom boot maker, I am sure they can make whatever you want, for a price of course.

When Lucchese was based in San Antonio, you could have custom boots made at the factory, not sure if that is the case any longer.

ML Leddy is in Ft. Worth, and their customs are made in San Angelo.

 

[Philip Glass]

My buff hide is about to be delivered from my 2019 hunt with @Bos en Dal Safaris .. The plan all along has been to have a matching set of cowboy boots, belt, and a holster made from the hide.. and then maybe look at a couple of rifle slings and other stuff with whatever amount of hide is left over...

I've been looking at some of the better regarded custom boot makers in Texas trying to decide on who to hire to make all of the stuff mentioned above... when I came across these guys...

James Leddy Boots |

jamesleddyabilene.com

It looks like in addition to making custom cowboy boots, that they also have a "safari" boot line...

This one in particular looks interesting to me..

View attachment 359880

Has anyone here ever commissioned a set of boots (hunting or cowboy) from this company?

The Leddy name has a huge reputation... but the company isnt the same as it was 10 years ago.. James Leddy passed away.. A new family bought the business, but kept the name.. Then James kids also formed a boot company (they worked with James for years, knew the trade, etc).. a nephew formed a boot company.. and another memeber of the Leddy family formed a boot company as well...

All of these companies incorporate the Leddy family name into their business name in some way...

From what I understand (I am no expert)... all of them actually do excellent work..

But I am specifically interested in James Leddy Custom Boots because of the safari line they offer...

I was doing similar planning and came across James Leddy. We have the very famous ML Leddy here in San Angelo and in the Stockyards in Ft Worth. I have some custom ostrich boots from them and yes they are of the best.
I am close to Abilene but have not made it over there to visit the shop. I have all kinds of skins including rhino coming soon I hope to do some projects like this. To get a real custom pair of what look like Courtney’s would be great for me. Courtney does not make custom boots. I went to the factory in Bulawayo to ask.
Please let us know if you get some made. These people need to exhibit at DSC. Their business would explode.
Philip

 

[fourfive8]

Look familiar?

 

[AZDAVE]

Please let us know what you learn when you talk to the company. I also have some buffalo leather and some other back skins i would be interested in having a pair of safari boots made from.

 

[mdwest]

Please let us know what you learn when you talk to the company. I also have some buffalo leather and some other back skins i would be interested in having a pair of safari boots made from.

Will do.

Once I have buff hide in hand, Im planning on driving over to Abeline and looking at the shop and some of their work personally.. Ill take some pics and provide a brief as soon as that happens..

 

[YancyW]

I have a guy in El Paso that makes my boots, I'm not sure I would use him for a safari boot, but he is excellent with traditional boots. He will even build them with stiffer uppers if you have a need to carry anything in them.

 

[CBH Australia]

Good luck. That’s a nice touch using hide from your hunt.

 

[Dwight Beagle]

I haven’t been in the Leddy store in Abilene since I worked at the Abilene sale barn in the early 80’s. I know one of M.L. Leddys grandsons fairly well, he and his sister owned a western wear/saddle store in Denton Texas for many years that was founded by their father. They are good people.

I’ve been in the Fort Worth store a number of times and here is my take. A number of years ago I was looking for a good quality western cut sports coat. Looked for several months and all I found were very low quality. I finally went to Leddy’s and there it was. The price was $900.00. Men’s clothing is something I know a lot about. The sportscoat at Leddy’s was egregiously over priced and I left without buying. Six months or so later I was in Houston and walked in to an upper market western wear store and found what looked like the same coat at Leddy’s, for $400.00. I purchased it and had it tailored in Fort Worth. When I picked it up I decided out of curiosity to stop at Leddy’s and compare. It was exactly the same. An employee approached me an asked what I was doing. When I told him his smarmy response was, “Yea but this is Leddy’s”.
I have a BIL who is in Abilene quite a bit. He’s been to the Abilene Leddy’s a number of times and his thinking is like mine-excellent quality but way overpriced. He lives in San Angelo and feels the same about the Leddy’s there. There are a number of very small custom boot makers in Texas that IMO do as good or better work than Leddy’s at lower prices. When it comes to hunting boots, if I wanted a truly hand made pair I’d borrow some Courteney’s from somewhere and take them to a boot maker to use as a model. I wouldn’t use Leddy’s. I wear cowboy boots a lot.

I also have very bad feet. As a result I spend more money comparatively on footwear than I do anything else. I don’t have much choice. I spend enough that each time I purchase it hurts. That alone doesn’t make me an expert but I believe I know more about boots than the average joe.

 

[fourfive8]

Makes a lot of sense if you can find a boot maker to copy something that works. I too like the idea of using your own animal hides for custom work. The caveat is price of course. Above a certain cost, it becomes nuts, IMO, and I'd rather buy another rifle or add another trophy fee or even add a few days to a hunt than spend crazy money on a fashion statement of foot wear. The Leddy boot pictured in the OP looks like a copy of the Courteney Safari model. Both the Selous and Safari Courteney would be good models to try. I think the Selous fits my foot a little better from the get go but with some careful break-in, both the Selous and the Safari have worked well for me. The pic I posted is of a Courteney Safari. Both Courteneys cost me about 200.00 ea- much more than that and I would have gone a different direction. Each foot is different of course, so that should be the ultimate guide. For me, footwear simply has to fit right and work for the intended purpose and be comfortable- fashion and such are secondary.

 

[mdwest]

Follow up to this old thread...

Im headed to Abeline on the 15th... While I am there I am planning on swinging into the James Leddy shop, take a personal look at their wares, and then possibly order a couple of sets of boots..

I had a very nice chat with one of the employees and was able to get a little more information on both their Safari Boots and their cowboy boots..

If you provide the tanned hide, the cost for a pair of custom, fitted, hand crafted safari boots is $400

If you provide the tanned hide, the cost for a "basic" pair of custom, fitted, hand crafted cowboy boots is $950 (the price can go up quite a bit from there if you want a bunch of custom stitch work, or other fancy stuff done to your boots)..

If you want an off the shelf pair of safari boots (made with their leathers, to standard US sizes rather than fitted to your foot).. the price is $350 (a little bit more than Courtney.. a little bit less than Russel boots of similar design)..

Delivery time for custom made boots is about 90 days right now.. but this time line fluctuates a bit from time to time based on demand (there is only 1 person in this shop that actually makes boots)..

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Come on guys, are you honestly suggesting supporting a copycat company? I can almost not believe I am hearing this on our forum. A small company in a small country doing it's best to survive and you want to challenge that?
by all means, let the other company build their custom boots to THEIR design. You cant critisize China after this stunt, sis.

 

[mdwest]

I guess Im not seeing it quite that way @Kevin Peacocke ..

Sure the design is similar..

So are tennis shoe designs by nike, addidas, puma, and reebok..

And cowboy boots... well.. thats an age old design that hundreds, if not thousands rely upon with very little variation in design from one maker to another (although quality of execution can vary substantially)..

What makes the Leddy boot different than the Courtney boot is pretty simple... Leddy will both allow you to use your own hide.. and Leddy will custom fit/build the boot to your foot, as well as "customize" the boot any way you like (multiple types of leather, embroidery, etc)...

Thats not a hack at Courtney at all (we have 2 pair of Courtney boots in our home at the moment).. I think Courtney makes an outstanding product..

But if you want to use your leather, from your hunt (your memories.. your trophies).... and you want to have a boot custom fitted to your foot... that is of a design known to be good.. by a maker that is world-renowned for quality.. What are your other options?

@Philip Glass tried to have Courtney make him a set of customs.. he even visited their factory if I understand correctly.. and this was something they simply do not do..

This doesnt mean people will stop buying Courtneys..

All this means is when someone is sitting on a kudu backskin thats been in a closet for the past 5 years unused.. that Leddy might present a very cool option for them to do something with the leather..

 

[YancyW]

Follow up to this old thread...

Im headed to Abeline on the 15th... While I am there I am planning on swinging into the James Leddy shop, take a personal look at their wares, and then possibly order a couple of sets of boots..

I had a very nice chat with one of the employees and was able to get a little more information on both their Safari Boots and their cowboy boots..

If you provide the tanned hide, the cost for a pair of custom, fitted, hand crafted safari boots is $400

If you provide the tanned hide, the cost for a "basic" pair of custom, fitted, hand crafted cowboy boots is $950 (the price can go up quite a bit from there if you want a bunch of custom stitch work, or other fancy stuff done to your boots)..

If you want an off the shelf pair of safari boots (made with their leathers, to standard US sizes rather than fitted to your foot).. the price is $350 (a little bit more than Courtney.. a little bit less than Russel boots of similar design)..

Delivery time for custom made boots is about 90 days right now.. but this time line fluctuates a bit from time to time based on demand (there is only 1 person in this shop that actually makes boots)..

If the difference between a custom pair and off the rack is $50, that is a very easy decision.

 

[mdwest]

Well worth the 2 hour and 45 minute drive!

Assuming we ever see another DSC event.. I think @Philip Glass earlier comment about them getting a booth would be huge.. I bet they'd sell 200+ pair or more at a single show.. They could measure and fit people right there in the booth.. and customers could bring in their tanned hides/leathers and drop them at the show..

I made the mistake of bringing home back skins and full hides from literally every single animal on our first three safaris, thinking I'd figure out some cool stuff to do with them all (pillows, rifle cases, etc)... Im betting many/most make the same mistake..

Here I sit, years later, with a closet full of unused skins... many of them truly beautiful.. kudu, sable, blue wildebeest, impala, blesbok, hartebeest, waterbuck, nyala, zebra, etc..etc.. I think the only animals we didnt bring skins home on were warthogs lol...

Its time to start using some of those skins for something (and also time to stop bringing home skins!!!! lol)...

 

[spike.t]

Well worth the 2 hour and 45 minute drive!

Assuming we ever see another DSC event.. I think @Philip Glass earlier comment about them getting a booth would be huge.. I bet they'd sell 200+ pair or more at a single show.. They could measure and fit people right there in the booth.. and customers could bring in their tanned hides/leathers and drop them at the show..

I made the mistake of bringing home back skins and full hides from literally every single animal on our first three safaris, thinking I'd figure out some cool stuff to do with them all (pillows, rifle cases, etc)... Im betting many/most make the same mistake..

Here I sit, years later, with a closet full of unused skins... many of them truly beautiful.. kudu, sable, blue wildebeest, impala, blesbok, hartebeest, waterbuck, nyala, zebra, etc..etc.. I think the only animals we didnt bring skins home on were warthogs lol...

Its time to start using some of those skins for something (and also time to stop bringing home skins!!!! lol)...

Warthog makes good boots...have a pair from JB Hill I bought bout 3 years ago at sci....

 

[mdwest]

If the difference between a custom pair and off the rack is $50, that is a very easy decision.

I think the off the rack price is where Courtney will continue to win the day..

They are a more well known product, available at a lower price..

 

[Philip Glass]

Come on guys, are you honestly suggesting supporting a copycat company? I can almost not believe I am hearing this on our forum. A small company in a small country doing it's best to survive and you want to challenge that?
by all means, let the other company build their custom boots to THEIR design. You cant critisize China after this stunt, sis.

Some of us can’t fit into the wide Courtney’s! I even went to the factory in Bulawayo to try to get something custom made and they won’t do it. They used to do it, but now they don’t. This isn’t a factory it’s a custom boot shop, and it’s only 1.5 hours from me
Philip

 

[Philip Glass]

If the difference between a custom pair and off the rack is $50, that is a very easy decision.

For sure.

 

[Dwight Beagle]

I was surprised at the price for custom cowboy boots from Leddy’s. They cost that much 40 years ago.

Some of us can’t fit into the wide Courtney’s!

I’m glad you mentioned that because I have seriously wide feet, 4E to be exact. If I ever get off the shelf safari footwear Courtney will be the first place I look.

A couple of points Kevin. Leddy’s is a smaller company than Courtney. And while I’m all for supporting small companies, foreign and domestic, there’s nothing wrong with spending money on gear that’s made in your own country. And there’s a WORLD of difference in custom footwear and off the rack footwear. At the price mdwest is paying it truly is a no-brainer.