Nicks Boots isn’t only busy making boots in their Spokane, WA workshop—they’re busy making videos of making boots, which is a very, very good thing.
Nicks is one of the most prolific boot brands in terms of the video space—they’ve devoted a ton of time and resources to helping us all understand what they do—but some of the best showcase how their boots get made from start to finish. It’s a very intimate view of the boot building process, and in my opinion, it’s must-see (internet) TV if you truly want to understand and appreciate the craft and creation process.
Here are some videos from Nicks that are definitely worth the time:
BuilderPro
If you’re only going to watch one video from Nicks—or if you’ve got just under twenty minutes to spare—this is the one. The BuilderPro is the workhorse of the Nicks stable, typically clocking in at about 10 inches tall with some heavy-lugged Vibram soles. These boots will take a lot of abuse before they come apart, because as you can see in the video, there’s so much holding them together—nails, glue, McKay stitching on the midsoles, a double row of rapid stitching through the outsoles; they even drill screws through the bottom of the soles! (Overkill, but why not?)
It’s highly enjoyable to watch Nicks‘ craftspeople breeze through these boots with skill and finesse. Noticing details like how they sew up the uppers in a very specific order of stitch lines, you can tell they’ve got this whole thing down to a meticulous science. There are some very fun tools and accessories as well, such as the uber-fashionable magnetic wristband that allows the person doing the lasting to keep his tacks close at hand.
Urban Logger
The Urban Logger is technically part of the Nicks heritage line (in other words, maybe not quite designed for the standards of modern, heavy-duty work), but we can see here that it’s almost as overbuilt as the BuilderPro. This video’s also notable for showing us how a logger heel gets formed. It’s already somewhat difficult to shape and smooth out the edges of a boot…but you need even more precision and focus to create that sloped heel.
Also, in case you were wondering what the deal was with the man using that piece of rebar: He’s hammering down the nails in the heel that didn’t quite get clinched. Very resourceful.
HotShot
Here Nicks explains how their fire boots are built to National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) standards. Thick 7-8 oz leathers, self-extinguishing thread throughout, fire-resistant Vibram soles…these things are built really tough. Nicks also demonstrates just how well the HotShot stands up to flames. Fwoosh!
Boot Rebuild
Like a few other bootmakers in the Pacific Northwest, Nicks will not only resole your well-loved boots, they’ll almost completely restore them to like-new condition. Here we get to see all those old layers of rubber, leather and nails get torn out and replaced with new components. Everything up to the shaft of the boots gets replaced—in other words, they throw out the areas that receive the most wear and tear, while preserving what’s intact and already broken in.
You can tell that the bootmakers appear to take extra care with these boots; after all, they already belong to someone who thought it was important enough to keep their Nicks Boots alive. Notice how they hit the same stitch holes in the uppers as they sew on the new leather. Great touch.
Baby BuilderPro
Is it an April Fool’s joke? Yes. Is it adorable? Also yes. Is it well-built? Well, that’s for the baby to decide.