- Big Black Boots is closed -

Big Black Boots has been selling boots since 1985 and online since 1995. We were the first boot store on the internet! But after 34 years we have retired.

We've closed our web store. But are keeping our web site up to provide you with much more detailed information than available at the manufacturers' web sites. And we also have exhaustive information on sizing and how to measure your feet and legs for tall boots.

We've removed pricing info since you can get more up to date prices from the manufacturer's web sites. But we're keeping the prices for the various options here since it's sometimes hard to get that information until you order a custom pair of boots. The options prices may be out of date but they don't change as often or as much as the actual boot prices.

We're also keeping the website order forms up because they contain lots of useful information which may not be available on the manufacturer's website. These contain a lot of information which can help when you order directly from Wesco or Dehner. Of course, the order forms no longer accept orders or payments.

Our email address at

will be kept active so customers can contact us in the future.

Our customer lists and records are NOT for sale.

Thanks for being such great customers over the years. It's been a pleasure helping you get into great boots that fit well.

Ron & Rich

Big Black Boots

Grinders 14 Hole
Steel Toe Ranger Boots
11" / 29 cm Tall
Thick, Supple Oil-tanned Black Leather

Features:

Black Oil-tanned Leather - thick & supple
Steel Toe
Leather toe cap
Strong Goodyear welt construction
Thick air-cushion Grinders soles -
famous agressive lug pattern
oil, acid, alkali resistant, long-wearing
11" (29 cm) tall - 14-holes / eyelets
Heavy leather boot tongue
Strong pull loop makes boots
easier to pull on
Cushioned foot bed
UK Men's Whole Sizes
3 through 12 in medium/wide width -- click here for size conversion and fitting advice
These are stock boots -- not available in custom sizes and configurations

The Boots:

These Grinders ranger boots come from a long British heritage of "ranger" boots. The boots worn by British rangers which share the design features of the famous jump boots worn by U.S. paratroopers.

This updated design takes a tough boot and makes it comfortable using thick, supple oil-tanned leather with a waxy finish, thick air-cushioned lug soles and a cushioned footbed.
Goodyear Welt

The strong Goodyear welt construction uses extra heavy thread which is lock stitched to ensure these sturdy boots will stay that way.

14-hole? --- That's the British way of describing the height of lace-up boots. You count the number of eyelets or holes up each side of the boot. These 14 hole boots are about 11 inches / 29 cm high. The height is measured from top of the boot's heel up the back of the boots and shows how high on your leg the top of the boot will be.

Our pictures shows these boots ladder laced in the traditional British style. Of course you can lace them any way you want. They look great with colored laces too.

These boots are made with thick, oil-tanned leather with a waxy surface.
They will not take a shine unless you're willing to first remove the wax/oil.

In 2009 Grinders introduced a new premium version of this famous ‘Herald’ boot which was sold only in England. The ‘UK only’ version was built using thicker, full-grain, black, oil-tanned leather with a heavy wax finish. This higher quality leather is not plated or polished so it breathes better than shiny leather. And, even though it’s thicker and stronger, this waxy leather is softer and more supple than the original shiny leather and very comfortable to wear.

Those boots were sold at a premium price in the UK and weren't available for export. However, they proved so popular that Grinders has decided to switch to this premium leather for all of the black versions of their 14-hole ‘Herald’ and 20-hole ‘King’ boots and are now exporting them to the US.

So all black Grinders boots now use this leather. Since Grinders now makes all of their black boots with this premium leather and they don't have to stock both types of leather, they've been able to keep the price low.
So our prices have remained the same.

How these boots fit:

US men's size	Grinders UK size
3½	3
4	3
4½	4
5	4
5½	5
6	5
6½	6
7	6
7½	7
8	7
8½	8
9	8
9½	9
10	9
10½	10
11	10
11½	11
12	11
12½	12
13	12

These boots are intended to be worn with heavy boot socks. Heavy boot socks help provide a better and more comfortable fit. They keep you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter (as long as they're not made of cotton). See our F.A.Q. discussion on socks here.

Grinders boots use UK sizing so they run about one size large in length compared to US men's sizing and are a bit wide as well. In other words a Grinders UK size 9 boot will fit about like a U.S. men's size 10 E. The table to the right shows the recommended Grinders size for each US men's size. Note that the Grinders are only available in whole sizes. So this makes choosing the correct size more challenging. Remember that it's better to get a lace-up boot slightly too large than slightly too small. Your toes should NEVER hit the end of any footwear.

The toe box on the Grinders boots is a classic ranger / jump boot toe. It leaves plenty of toe room in both height and width. You can wiggle your toes when wearing these boots. When you have a correct fit, these boots feel spacious.

Before using the table you should first measure your feet to determine your actual US men's size. Use the advice on our measuring page. Click here to see that page.

If you're feet measure slightly over a whole US men's size, such as 9 or 10 then go up a half US men's size. So, if your feet are just over US men's size 9, then use US men's size 9½ when you check the table. This causes you to go up a whole size on the UK sizing. If you went right at US men's 9 the table would suggest a UK size 8. But that size would be slightly too small for you. Of course the UK 9 is slightly too large for your size but you can make up the difference by adding a thicker insole liner. Better to be slightly too large than slightly too small and have your toes hit against the end of the boot.

Women should determine their foot size using the advice we give on our sizing page (see link above). Don't try to convert women's to men's size... it's much more reliable to measure your feet to determine their actual U.S. men's size.

Please don't estimate based on the size of other footwear you own. Boots and shoes vary widely in sizing... the only sure way of getting a good fit is to measure your feet to determine what size they are.

If you're used to British boots such as Dr. Martens you'll find these Grinders boots have a similar fit. But our best advice is to measure your feet.

If the boots feel slightly loose, you can adjust the fit using an extra insole insert to tighten up the fit. And, of course, you should wear these boots with boot socks.

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