Dacks and other Canadian shoe brands

[suitforcourt]

I love this pair of Hartt PTBs.

 

[goatamous II]

Are these McHale or Dacks?

 

[Jiqea]

Are these McHale or Dacks?

They are Dacks. That shoe-liner was used when they were recrafted by Dacks. My understanding is that while all production had been moved to Fredericton in 1959/60, Dacks maintained a small recrafting facility in Toronto.

 

[goatamous II]

Thank you as always, @Jiqea !
I ended up leaving them but may keep an eye out to see if they sit around long enough for the price to drop. $29 seemed a little steep for the condition

 

[Jiqea]

Thank you as always, @Jiqea !
I ended up leaving them but may keep an eye out to see if they sit around long enough for the price to drop. $29 seemed a little steep for the condition

Good call. Leave the rebuilds on the shelf.

 

[SumGuy]

They are not my size, so this is sort of moot anyway, but if they were, I'd take them at $29 without a second thought. I'm not a fan of the split toe, but they are good looking shoes overall. Combine that with them being full-on Dack's (as opposed to Bond Street), and even though they were re-crafted (what is the difference between re-crafted and rebuilt or repaired?) by Dack's themselves, and it is an easy decision for me.

If you have to get re-crafted shoes, it is hard to imagine that a factory re-crafted shoe wouldn't be at least as good as what any cobbler may do. My impression is that the factory would do a lot better than most cobblers, and not by a slight amount, especially back in those days.

 

[Jiqea]

I thought I would make a few Hartt and Sole observations tonight on the changes in construction from the 1950's to the 80's of the classic Hartt cap-toe blucher.

Here is the version of the shoe from the 50's with the 3 digit style code, 641.

The soles of the 50's version had 3 nails at the toe, 10 at the waist, along with heavily nailed leather heels. Both the sole of the toe-box and the waist were stamped with the Hartt logo, with the waist indicating the shoes were the "Custom Grade".

1950's Sole

Through the early 60's, and perhaps up to approximately 1967, Hartt used Goodyear rubber heels. The number of nails at the waist was reduced to 9, and the stamp at the waist no longer indicated "Custom Grade". The 3 nails at the toe were retained. The shoe was now given the style number 2641, with the 2 indicating the leather colour.

1960's Sole until Approx 1967

By the late 60's, Goodyear heels ceased to be used, and Dacks and Hartt made the switch to Biltrite heels. The three nails at the toe disappeared, along with one nail less at the waist. This iteration remained unchanged until the mid 70's. The uppers were virtually identical from the 50's to the 70's.

Late 1960's to late 1970's Sole

From the mid 70's to the the late 80's, Hartt made a change in style to the uppers, adding the additional detail at the heel (see below) and the Blucher was given the new style number 2628. The old school Hartt stamp on the toe box disappears, and the stamp at the waist now reads "Extra Quality, Made in Canada"

Late 70's through 1980's Uppers.

Late 70's through 1980's Soles and Heels

Production likely continued into the early 1990's, although I am uncertain of this.

 

[SecondHandStyle]

Found a pair of SE Dack’s at the thrift! My first time seeing the SE Dack lineup but was able to understand thanks to @Jiqea’s older post that these are the 1950s version of what is later known as bespoke quality.

Very impressed by how well these have held up for 70 years

Size 8E if anyone is interested!

 

[suitforcourt]

Florsheim Friday, Canadian edition. These gunboats were made by John McHale. I had a pair in 8.5ee that were tight in the toebox and kept rubbing on my pinky toes. So I sold those and found this pair in 8.5eee. But I've lost weight and now my toes are swimming.

However, my heels are locked in. I guess I'll keep them. Pablo Hadarits fortified these classics with toe taps and sole savers. The double leather soles have lots of life left. Happy Friday, shoe pals.

 

[Jiqea]

I thought I would make a few Hartt and Sole observations tonight on the changes in construction from the 1950's to the 80's of the classic Hartt cap-toe blucher.

Here is the version of the shoe from the 50's with the 3 digit style code, 641.

View attachment 2276773

The soles of the 50's version had 3 nails at the toe, 10 at the waist, along with heavily nailed leather heels. Both the sole of the toe-box and the waist were stamped with the Hartt logo, with the waist indicating the shoes were the "Custom Grade".

1950's Sole

View attachment 2276775


Through the early 60's, and perhaps up to approximately 1967, Hartt used Goodyear rubber heels. The number of nails at the waist was reduced to 9, and the stamp at the waist no longer indicated "Custom Grade". The 3 nails at the toe were retained. The shoe was now given the style number 2641, with the 2 indicating the leather colour.

1960's Sole until Approx 1967

View attachment 2276777


By the late 60's, Goodyear heels ceased to be used, and Dacks and Hartt made the switch to Biltrite heels. The three nails at the toe disappeared, along with one nail less at the waist. This iteration remained unchanged until the mid 70's. The uppers were virtually identical from the 50's to the 70's.

Late 1960's to late 1970's Sole

View attachment 2276783

From the mid 70's to the the late 80's, Hartt made a change in style to the uppers, adding the additional detail at the heel (see below) and the Blucher was given the new style number 2628. The old school Hartt stamp on the toe box disappears, and the stamp at the waist now reads "Extra Quality, Made in Canada"

Late 70's through 1980's Uppers.

View attachment 2276789

Late 70's through 1980's Soles and Heels

View attachment 2276799

Production likely continued into the early 1990's, although I am uncertain of this.

Just an update on these shoes. I have been able to determine from an original box, that Hartt called this style the "Athlone". Athlone is a medieval city in Ireland located on the Shannon River.