Patent Leather Belt

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by UMP 64

If patent leather is what you have, just keep wearing it, it will evidentially loosen up and conform to your waist like any other HD belt. Yes, I wear patent leather belt & 3/4 plate shoes. If they are good enough for Gerry Davis in pro baseball, who worked the dish last night, Cincy over Atlanta game, they are good enough for me or any one else who wants to look professional.

Who gives a damn about Gerry Davis? He's an umpire doing a job for money, pretty much like the rest of us, just at a more marketable level.

If you think patent leather has on place in "SOFTBALL", get over it. I work HS & college baseball & softball and see patent in both. If you don't like it, don't use it. Your shoes probably look like they have not been cleaned in weeks.

What an idiotic statement that is. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. I know many an umpire who can bring a comparable shine (without Leather Lustre) to a shoe simply by shining them. Clean and polished is all the needs to be accomplished. And remember, the better the shoe looks walking onto the field, the worse it looks when it gets dirty or damaged.

The advantages of patent are many and they do hold up well. 5 & 6 years for 2 pairs.

I've worn the same pairs of New Balance for four year on and off the field on a regular basis. The treatment applied TO a piece of leather and shoe will never replace the treatment OF a piece of leather and shoe. The fact that they are made of patent leather has no bearing on the wear.

Thank you Gerry Davis for making what I think is the BEST plate shoe out there.

Yeah, he slaves all day, cobbling away.

Work on your mechanics and do not worry what someone else wants to wear.

You should be doing that anyway.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by PtotheB

Our shoes that we wear with our dress and some service uniforms are made of a substance called Corfram mentioned earlier in this post. It is far more comfortable and breathable than old patent leather.

Actually, Corfam (a duPont product) does not breath well even though it is considered a poromeric. I just about grew up in a kid tannery, so when I brought home a pair of Corfam shoes (for inspection only, USN), my dad just looked at me with a blank stare. Turns out, the tannery had some low level of involvement in part of the processing towards the end of production, so they made at least a little money against lost income. Actually, I probably wore them less than 50 times as my feet sweat and they were not comfortable.

Here is a brief on the product:

Corfam was the first poromeric imitation leather, invented by Lee Hollowell, and introduced by DuPont in 1963 at the Chicago Shoe Show. Corfam was the centerpiece of the DuPont pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair in New York City. Its major advantages over natural leather were its durability and its high gloss finish that could be easily cleaned with a damp cloth. Its disadvantages were its stiffness which did not lessen with wearing and its relative lack of breathability. DuPont manufactured Corfam at its plant in Old Hickory, Tennessee from 1964 to 1971. After spending millions of dollars marketing the product to shoe manufacturers, DuPont withdrew Corfam from the market in 1971 and sold the rights to a company in Poland. Corfam is mainly remembered as a textbook marketing disaster.
The 1966 Chilean issue of Reader's Digest claimed that by 1983 there would not be enough leather from cows, demand exceeding supply by 30%.
Corfam is still used today in some products, an example being certain types of equestrian saddle girth. Corfam shoes are still very popular in the military and other uniformed professions where shiny shoes are an asset.

[Mountaineer]

Originally Posted by Dakota

I do have a curiosity question, though, for anyone who has and wears both regular and patent leather plate shoes...

So, my question: Do you notice a difference in comfort between the two? Do the natural leather shoes flex more easily and breathe better? I would think so.

OK, I'll bite . . . honestly, I don't see a difference. They "may" be just a little stiffer but I don't see any major difference in one being hotter than the other. I also wear them for basketball which requires a lot more running and they move fine without extra heat. I'm guessing that they have developed a softer, kindler patent leather.

[Steve M]

Originally Posted by Dakota

I do have a curiosity question, though, for anyone who has and wears both regular and patent leather plate shoes...

The only patent leather shoes I've ever worn were what came with rental tuxes, and those shoes were uncomfortable in just about every way possible, but the part attributable to the finish of the leather was that my feet got hot and sweaty - and I was mostly just standing around, and they were very stiff.

So, my question: Do you notice a difference in comfort between the two? Do the natural leather shoes flex more easily and breathe better? I would think so.

Personally (even if the softball HFMICs endorsed patent leather), the shoes would seem completely unsuitable for any athletic use and I would not use them for that purpose. The ease of cleaning and glaringly shiny look would not be a good trade-off for stiff sweaty shoes.

Tom,
I wear both types and do not notice a difference in comfort or in heat. But I would not notice a difference in heat as I am generally soaked after a game - it's one reason why I really prefer the navy pants when I work the plate, the grays end up as two-tone and nobody can tell that my pants are all wet in the navy. Both types of shoe seem to flex equally well, both broke in in a reasonable amount of time, and both types seem to last - the regular style has conservatively seen over 700 plate games and the patent leather ones have been through over 300 plate games.

[Skahtboi]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Yeah, he slaves all day, cobbling away.

Thanks Mike. You just taught me a very valuable lesson. Don't read umpiring threads while sitting in the recliner with a laptop and eating. There is crud all over my screen, now, from where I spewed with laughter at this comment of yours.

[bkbjones]

Originally Posted by UMP 64

Yes, I wear patent leather belt & 3/4 plate shoes. If they are good enough for Gerry Davis in pro baseball,...

Dammit! I got ROBBED! My Gerry Davis plate shoes are REAL leather! And I could have gotten PATENT leather?

Now, lookie here Ump 64 and whoever else wants to put me and others down. I can make a pair of real leather shoes shine just like those fancy assed patent leather shoes. I can make my belt shine too. All it takes is a little work. It's that first impression thing...and I can guarandamnedtee you that every college coach around here (and most of the community college coaches) and top flight travel ball coaches know what umpires are supposed to wear (oh, hey, they know the rules, too).

If they see some clown come on the field with patent leather shoes and a patent leather belt, ya know what they think? It shows that umpires doesn't know what they are supposed to wear, and if they do, they're probably too lazy to shine up the real stuff. You might be the nicest guy in the world, but I have no room for laziness. Lazy people cheat ME and every other hard-working umpire -- and IMHO, patent leather = laziness.

[mike31]

Any time I see an umpire in patent leather at a softball game, I think he's a baseball official who's stooped to do an easy game for a change... a lesser game anyway.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by mike31

Any time I see an umpire in patent leather at a softball game, I think he's a baseball official who's stooped to do an easy game for a change... a lesser game anyway.

Another idiotic statement from someone who hasn't the slightest idea of the subject upon which they have chosen to comment.

[Dakota]

He was obviously just being a troll, Mike. Wanted to get a rise out of someone about "easy game" ... and when that didn't work, he edited the post 9 hours later to add "lesser game." He doesn't even know how to be a good troll.

[bkbjones]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Another idiotic statement from someone who hasn't the slightest idea of the subject upon which they have chosen to comment.

Which means he is PERFECT for the LL Softball WS.

[Julio Caliente]

Originally Posted by mike31

Any time I see an umpire in patent leather at a softball game, I think he's a baseball official who's stooped to do an easy game for a change... a lesser game anyway.

I have done a few years of BB and this year got my first introduction to FP SB and your post shows somebody who has no idea what they are talking about. In my opinion (what ever that is worth) baseball is easier to call than softball, but softball take less time. By that I mean that in BB you have much more time between the action to stretch, rest your legs, etc. In SB you are almost always "on the move" because the game is much more fast paced. Basically, you have to bust your *** a many more times in SB than in BB to be in the right place to make the best call you can.

[Skahtboi]

Originally Posted by Julio Caliente

I have done a few years of BB and this year got my first introduction to FP SB and your post shows somebody who has no idea what they are talking about. In my opinion (what ever that is worth) baseball is easier to call than softball, but softball take less time. By that I mean that in BB you have much more time between the action to stretch, rest your legs, etc. In SB you are almost always "on the move" because the game is much more fast paced. Basically, you have to bust your *** a many more times in SB than in BB to be in the right place to make the best call you can.

I believe Mike meant his post tongue in cheek. He was speaking as a baseball umpire would.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by Skahtboi

I believe Mike meant his post tongue in cheek. He was speaking as a baseball umpire would.

I'm stickin' with my troll theory.

[Skahtboi]

Originally Posted by Dakota

I'm stickin' with my troll theory.

I just noticed the edit, and recant my previous post. I agree that he was just trying to get a rise out the community, now.

[bkbjones]

Originally Posted by Dakota

I'm stickin' with my troll theory.

I think it's more than that. I think it's a troll conspiracy theory. One troll has been conspicuous in his absence (did he sprain his fists?), and now we suddenly have another.

I'm looking all over the place for another one. I think I just saw one behind the wall across the street...