Post WWII German Army boot from Baltes:
After about half a year in the trunk of Ferdi´s car, who is a very skilled but too busy shoemaker I finally got these boots back. They are the bigger brothers of these boots. These have got really thick leather, nearly as thick as a belt, about 2 mm. The color used to be black but on very stressed areas it was worn off and is brownish shining trough. When I bought them I was considering to give them a treatment with black shoe cream but luckily I left them their character.
Now with the new soles and fixed heels (I guess they will darken a bit after a while) they for sure will last a lifetime. I gave them some treatment with neutral leather oil, they fit like a glove and you really have another example how skilled they were making boots at Baltes around 1960.
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These are truly lovely boots. My dad who served in the Greek army from later 50s till the mid 1980s, was issued a pair of these (if I recall correctly, at some point the Greek army received material support from Germany as part of a NATO incentive). Bottom line, my feet are much bigger than my dads (I am 43, he is 40) so I never got to wear them. Instead, they were passed on to my cousin and I was always envious of his boots (at least in the 90s when I was a teenager). I also remember seeing them in full jack-boot version with the same Worwerk sole and the metal teeth in the front. Interestingly, during the same period (mid to late 90s), an almost identical reproduction boot became extremely popular in Greece. There were called Wehrmacht (no joke) (https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51P7+ms7rbL._AC_.jpg). I tried to find more about these but information is limited. I believe that there were made in a factory somewhere in Eastern Europe and some entrepreneurial spirit imported them to Greece and made a ton of money for about a decade. Anyways, year later, I discovered the Red Wing shoe company from Minnesota USA that makes a wonderful range of heritage work boots. To me, the Iron Ranger is an improved version of the Baltes boots, slightly higher (6″), much better leather, vibram sole and without the associations with the German military (I am referring to the WWII era). (https://www.redwinglondon.com/products/red-wing-iron-ranger-boots-8111)
Thanks Stathis for your story. Redwing does make some good shoes and they last for ages if you get the sole fixed from time to time. The Baltes boots have some nice details, like the wooden nailed soles which nowadays only bespoke shoemakers do.
Hello Stathis, the company who did these boots also made the “Knobelbecher” boot (without laces). Baltes did manufacture these boots a bit higher for the “Wachbataillion”. I had laced boots with thick leather and solid quality about 1992, later on they got lighter and then gore tex lined. Indeed they have something common with classic workboots and Redwing ist probably the best example. Thanks for your comment, best Alex
I’ve got a pair exactly the same that I picked up at a carboot sale a decade ago They are heavy squeek at little (it use to be a lot) and unfortunately a tad wide for me . I cleaned them with acetone and put some brown dye on them and they have a rather nice patina.
They have thicker leather and sole unit than Redwings that I’ve used for years evidently this is the wooden pegged sole. Does anyone no more about the sole construction because I notice they have stiching on the insole possibly for the gemming or are they hand welted. The heels are stacked leaked nailed down leather. Glad I’ve managed to date them althought I knew they were Bundeswehr due to the markings.
they are early Bundeswehr or more likely Bundesgrenzschutz (Borderpatrol), since they are quite low for a boot.
Unfortunately I have no expert opinion about the sole making. Thanks for your experience your shared about them.