Red Wing Boots – From Dream to Reality
The process for making a pair of Red Wing boots has remained largely unchanged for over 100 years. At the dawn of the 20th century, cobbler Charles Beckman of Red Wing, MN, took note that more and more people took jobs in the industrial or raw material sectors of the economy. As this shift from the farm to the factory took place, the demand for a quality, durable, comfortable work boot skyrocketed. Charles Beckman believed he could create work boots that could satisfy the demands and needs of these workers. He gathered 14 investors and opened Red Wing shoes in 1905 with the vision of the perfect work shoe dancing in his head.
Since that fateful year, Red Wing Shoes has become world-renown as the best source for comfortable, durable work boots. How did they earn that reputation? One of the major reasons is our commitment to service during and after the sale, and this is reflected by our 30 day service program. However, the biggest reason is because of the artisan craftsmanship that goes into making a pair of Red Wing Boots. Let’s take a look at how we create each and every pair of boots!
Tanning
Originally, we outsourced all of the leather we used for our Red Wing Boots. However, in 1986, Red Wing Shoes bought S.B. Foot Tannery. Established in 1872, S.B. Foot was a small scale specialty tanner. However, before long specialized in what they did best: shoe leather. The same family has run the company for three generations, and believes in the same things we do: quality over quantity. Balking at the faster, cheaper, tanning methods that produce an inferior product, S.B. Foot still uses wooden drums for tanning the hide used in Red Wing Boots. While other companies simply spray a water proofer on after the boot is cobbled together, the waterproofing of our leather is done in the wooden tan drum, so that the leather is saturated with the waterproofing agent. You won’t find any shortcuts taken with our leather.
Stitching
Even with technology advancing at such a rapid pace, there has yet to exist a robot/computer combo that can match the quality of the stitching Red Wing boots are known for. Some stitching is done by the hands of our artisan cobblers, and the rest, featuring the famous triple stitch, is done on a Puritan Stitch machine. Known for their ability to stitch through very tough leather, these machines have Red Wing staff that are specifically dedicated to their upkeep and performance… they’re that important to what we do!
Testing
Finally, once the leather is cut and stitched, we move to testing. We send all models of Red Wing Boots to a testing lab that submits our boots to a series of rigorous and thorough tests. They test our boots for durability, strength, waterproofing, all-weather grip, and impact resistance. For the impact resistance trial, the lab drops a 50 pound weight from 5 feet directly on to the clay-filled toe of our boot. The impression made on the clay shoes indicate to the tester the level of impact resistance. These tests are vital to our quality control process, and our quality control process is vital to our identity as a company. Needless to say, we put a lot of time and thought into these tests!
Contact Red Wing Charlottesville
Red Wing Boots are made by a company where artisan craftsmanship is still the biggest selling point, and taking pride in your work is still the main focus. In the age of stockholders and profit margins, there aren’t many companies that can say the same. We’re proud that we still can. We think you’ll see the difference… come visit Red Wing Charlottesville today!