Where is Tom Mattimore???

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MeatGrinder
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Where is Tom Mattimore???

#1

Post by MeatGrinder » 02 Jun 2009, 21:32

I ordered a second pair of jackboots a year ago. Multiple emails and calls with no luck.
Anyone know his status?

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CTAPOCTA
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Re: Where is Tom Mattimore???

#2

Post by CTAPOCTA » 02 Jun 2009, 22:25

He only picks up the phone between after 5 pm, .... sometimes. Ordered jackboots in December of 2008, order came in 3 month in March 2009, quality very disappointing, returned right away - still waiting for my refund.


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Cessna
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Re: Where is Tom Mattimore???

#3

Post by Cessna » 04 Jun 2009, 22:32

Great. Just great.

I ordered a pair of boots back in February.

I'm still waiting.

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bruno.reinhold
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Re: Where is Tom Mattimore???

#4

Post by bruno.reinhold » 09 Jun 2009, 01:38

I dont know where he is either. I tried to call him several times but only got him through email. said he'd have my boots done in time for a big event last weekend. NOPE. I just hope that they are worth it, whenever they finally arrive. I mean, I hear people saying that 'his toes arent 100%' and 'the hobnails are square' yack, yack. but my big concern is a boot that will last with proper care, and wont chafe all the skin off my feet like my cheap-butt ATF boots. comfort and durability, in other words, in a boot that can adequately pass for a german lowboot.
why is that beginning to sound like too much to ask for?

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landser32
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Re: Where is Tom Mattimore???

#5

Post by landser32 » 11 Jun 2009, 19:55

I am absolutely shocked if this is the case. There was a time that Tom offered great products and services with a quick turn around time and great prices..

If this is true, I fear the reason may be that if you have to choose between one pair of marschstiefels in a size 7, or an order for 100 + pairs for 7th century footwear for a Hollywood or Broadway production, who do you think is going to take priority.. If that's the case, it's a damn shame...

MeatGrinder
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Re: Where is Tom Mattimore???

#6

Post by MeatGrinder » 11 Jun 2009, 21:05

I actually DID talk to him a few times over the last year. And everytime I got a PROMISE my boots would be shipped to me in a couple weeks. Nicht.

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Dieter
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Re: Where is Tom Mattimore???

#7

Post by Dieter » 11 Jun 2009, 21:35

Didn't he get all bent out of shape because somebody on THIS FORUM had the audacity to criticize a pair of his marschestiefel (something about a "sharks toe") or his delivery time, and then he announced that he'd no longer be making those?

TOTVERBAND
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Re: Where is Tom Mattimore???

#8

Post by TOTVERBAND » 11 Jun 2009, 22:48

all i have seen is pictures of his boots, and i have been told on one hand they were high quality boots, while on the other they are incorrect, and a member here stated that he ordered a pair and had to return it because of quality issues, so i'm guessing he closed shop on the ww2 jacks. Btw, the photo and reference to the jacks has been removed from his site.

I even asked him at one point about the shark toe issue and offered to pay for an original last, but i never got a reply. (at that point his boots were recommened, so i was willing to attempt to get a pair, but only if he could correct that issue) I think a lot more people had the sharktoe inquiry.

to add on, boot makers do get overly sensitive about the boots they make. If something is wrong in the details they claim it's for durability, or it's how they were taught/learned to make all their boots. i base this off of my experience in DC with a boot maker who made me jacks with the wrong back-seam design even though i provided him with an unissued original pair to base it off of, and went over the points of detail twice, but then i end up with a pair of all-smooth out italian leather jacks that were'nt even wood pegged on the sole and having the horrendous backseam, which made it look more like a riding boot in the end. I've yet to correct the issues of the boots except for sand-papering the lowers myself to rid it of the smoothness. I couldn't get the issue corrected in the shop due to me pointing out the flaws and having the boot maker take it as an offense to his craftsmenship. The worst and most audacious part was me paying $500 for the pair. If i ever pursue this path in the future it will involve a written contract. This must be a small piece of what vendors go through to when they have a repro made for them from an external source.
I live the war in my head and I am the walking dead when i'm alive. Everyone's a critic, but they live their lives in their heads and they are dead just like me, so i say let them 'live' until they die by me dead walking over them.

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Dieter
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Re: Where is Tom Mattimore???

#9

Post by Dieter » 11 Jun 2009, 23:56

So after all that grief and heartache, I'll bet you took the Lost battallions plunge and got theirs, right?

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bruno.reinhold
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Re: Where is Tom Mattimore???

#10

Post by bruno.reinhold » 24 Jun 2009, 06:10

told for the second time in 6 weeks that "they were just shipped out". looks like I will not have them for yet another tactical................

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Dieter
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Re: Where is Tom Mattimore???

#11

Post by Dieter » 24 Jun 2009, 07:01

Then in that case, forget all about Tom Mattimore. If you reenact out-dated Silly War or Revolutionary period, you're OK, but WW2? You're outta luck, because he obviously can't take criticism. :x
It's also a pity we can no longer get high quality marschstiefel from Lost battalions, too, and pretty much left to the tender mercies of Rollin Curtis' low quality (disintegrate after 3 or 4 events) boots!
I really don't like to flame vendors, but ones like Tom Mattimore, who promise but don't deliver (or give refunds), loose any respect they once earned, no matter how much they studied originals.
Nowhere on his website does he mention one word about "no refunds".
Last edited by Dieter on 24 Jun 2009, 21:48, edited 1 time in total.

TOTVERBAND
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Re: Where is Tom Mattimore???

#12

Post by TOTVERBAND » 24 Jun 2009, 12:53

Dieter wrote: It's also a pity we can no longer get high quality marschstiefel from Lost battalions

what do you mean by that? is he again no longer producing them, or has the quality declined???

i believe i have one of his most recent made pairs, so i'd really like to know.

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Dieter
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Re: Where is Tom Mattimore???

#13

Post by Dieter » 24 Jun 2009, 17:40

I tried to order a pair last week, but was informed by Ray that they have discontinued selling them, and that he will be taking the page down soon. :(

TOTVERBAND
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Re: Where is Tom Mattimore???

#14

Post by TOTVERBAND » 24 Jun 2009, 23:03

yea, he told me this around november of last year, but every couple of months he's back to making them again. my guess is that he has an unreliable boot guy, and is looking elsewhere, but it could also be due to the high cost therefore lack of demand aka the present economy...

to tell the truth i want to get started producing some marschstiefel due to my experience gathering originals and repros. I've always wanted to give it a shot; not just finding someone else to make them for me due to my experiences with the above-mentioned cordwainer, but rather i wanted to make them myself meaning having to learn the trade more specifically the german-style of bootmaking(not cowboy boots, which is taught here in the states) and being able to provide high-end footwear for the most discerning and for those who want to pass the boots down to their sons, which was done in the days of the old german empire. thinking about it more; it's my goal but i lack the capital right now due to unemployment. any help with this from forum members in terms of german trade school sources will be much appreciated.

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CTAPOCTA
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Re: Where is Tom Mattimore???

#15

Post by CTAPOCTA » 25 Jun 2009, 06:28

I ordered jackboots from Tom Mattimore back in Dec 2008. It finally was delivered in March 2009.The quality was very very poor, I was under impression he was very drunk when making those boots, I wish I would take pictures before sending them back. I had to return it, he said no problem, will send me refund. It`s been more than 3 month since then but still no refund. Last week he lied to me again for the 7th time that he will put the check in the mail. He didn`t want to take credit card payment (now I see why), Paypal garantees money back only for 30 days (took 100 days to make product). What can I do? It`s a $250.-

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