Fill yer boots...

[Baytree]

Ok a question.
On another forum I use a thread started about softening boot leather. I perhaps shouldn't have said anything but after giving other ideas I mentioned the old story of people filling their boots with urine to soften the leather. I say I perhaps shouldn't have mentioned it because the original poster seemed to become focused on the idea and even at one point asked where to get urine from although in his defence he's in Israel so English may not be his first language.
Now the conversation has moved on to another thread asking if the idea actually works. There are a number of us who are aware of the story , a number who are aware that urine was used in the tanning industry and a few former servicemen who have heard the advice but none of us have ever actually done it. One ex squaddie said he was told this but just reckoned the advice was literally taking the piss , pun intended.
So , simple question , has anyone done this , does it work or is it a well perpetuated urban myth come joke?

 

[divebuddy]

Good question Baytree. I have no experience in this so am watching with interest. I am sure someone on the forum has peed in his boots

 

[Ark79]

There’s probably some truth to it but these days we have plenty on the market to assist

I have witnessed a lad pissing in another lads boots in retaliation to him nailing the lads boots to the bothy floor winter time too!… he could have been helping the man out with his riggers

 

[1 shot willie]

Not sure about the urine......but......each to their own.

Back in the day we were issued the old DMS leather boots.....stiff leather not at all supple enough.
It was common practice to soak your new boots in water overnight.
Let them drain fully and then wear the wet boots to dry naturally over the next few days.
The softening of the leather with water.....and the drying by wearing.......... would mould the boots to the shape of your foot nigh on perfectly.

When dry rub in as much oil as you can with a cotton rag not a brush.

"Neatsfoot oil" is a brilliant product for maintaining and softening leather.

Gold Label Neatsfoot Oil

Gold Label Neatsfoot Oil is available online with fast delivery from VioVet, the trusted supplier of veterinary medication, foods and animal care products.

www.viovet.co.uk

 

[38thfoot]

Think the urine thing would work with pure unlined leather boots but modern footwear tends to have various LO infs and materials that may be adversely affected, if nothing else retaining the smell!

38

 

[Baytree]

Yeah that's pretty much my thoughts that it was a technique for old fashioned all leather boots but not really for modern synthetic jobbies. I'm not sure where I first heard of this but can definitely recall reading one of Sven Hassel's books in the 70's where he mentioned it. I think he also added that goat piss was better but didn"t go into just how to collect that. Ok so his books are largely fiction but there are a number of elements that ring true and I've heard numerous references to the practice but all unfortunately second hand . I've not heard (or if I have I can't remember it ) of a first hand account of someone actually filling their boots with urine.

 

[38thfoot]

It was definitely something that old soldiers used to do but it had gone by the wayside by the time I joined the regular army, partly as a result of more technical construction of boots and partly because other options such as neaps oil were available.

38

 

[Ystranc]

While taking a leak out in the woods on a dark nights camping trip I would say that soaking your boots in urine is definitely an option… it’s bad form to soak someone else’s though.

 

[Ark79]

While taking a leak out in the woods on a dark nights camping trip I would say that soaking your boots in urine is definitely an option… it’s bad form to soak someone else’s though.

What if they ask you a question tho and you turn with cook in hand is that bad form or the wrong time to ask a question

 

[Ystranc]

What if they ask you a question tho and you turn with cook in hand is that bad form or the wrong time to ask a question

I would consider that bad form on two counts, a true gentleman wouldn’t knowingly stand close enough to converse or address another in that situation...Anyone doing so deserves damp shoes.
The only known exception to this rule is when the wife is in the bath while you need to pee but then she should know far better than to distract you and make you turn around mid flow.
Obviously, this will bring us onto the subject of courtesy flushing….OMG Baytree what have you started?

 

[Big Red]

On Dartmoor we use “Maidens Water”. You get an 18 year old virgin to pee in your boots……….Not been done for some years now,

 

[Baytree]

….OMG Baytree what have you started?

Not just in the gutter but running down it in riverlets..

 

[Ark79]

The only known exception to this rule is when the wife is in the bath while you need to pee but then she should know far better than to distract you and make you turn around mid flow.

Well she shouldn’t be wearing boots in the bath

 

[Baytree]

I might not be the sharpest tool in the box but the way this thread is going I'm beginning to think i might just not get an actual answer to my question...

 

[Ystranc]

On Dartmoor we use “Maidens Water”. You get an 18 year old virgin to pee in your boots……….Not been done for some years now,

They’re pretty rare these days.

 

[1 shot willie]

@Baytree

A little more light on the subject as to the origins........... and more than likely closer to the real tale of how it all began?

Pissing in boots

Hardcastle, the hero of James Lansdale Hodson’s Grey Dawn – Red Night (1929) is a fastidious man who has worked his way out of the slums, and on enlisting finds himself among the kind …

greatwarfiction.wordpress.com

A reference further down the page confirms tanners used urine to soften leather.