My dear wife bought me some old-timey Swiss Raichle boots from the church op shop where she volunteers, for $5.

They are quite heavy and have two sewn-in leather soles above the Vibram rubber
but no randling. I'd expect not to walk off the soles a la Meindls.

They fit me at least with thin socks but appear about 8mm narrower than my other boots.

In very-good condition, these appear to have been little used, and I'm wondering whether I should wear them or send them to a museum.

Any thoughts?

I had a pair of Raichle’s back in the 70’s Goodyear welt, one piece upper and all. A very tough boot but heavy by todays standards. They do require a good bit of breaking in and if they don’t fit they will break you instead.

Thanks Roger,
I'll keep that in mind. How would you break them in?

Make sure they are the right size; length & width. Chose insoles to adjust fit and comfort. Wear around the house for progressively longer periods. If they resist some the old way to get them to cooperate faster was to soak them in warm water then wear until dry which I’ve never actually tried. Then treat them a good non animal fat leather preservative. Old time fat based preservatives like Hubbard shoe grease, mink oil and the like will over time rot the leather. I’ve used SnoSeal for years but like Obenhaufs better now since after soaking in it doesn’t attract dirt as much. Where you live there may be something comparable locally.

Thanks again Roger,
I've got Snowseal and Dubbin but never heard of mink oil - hopefully nothing like skunk oil

From new-boot instructions I glean that their makers don't like Snowseal-type stuff now, either, claiming it gathers grit that abrades the leather. I find that logic a bit twee, though, because seams will split, soles will separate and the dog will chew your boot long before it matters.

Actually that’s the only thing I don’t like about SnSeal it does collects dirt. SnoSeal was invented here by a local climber Ome Daiber.

Yes you would have to wear and use a long time. The two pairs of LOWA hiking boots I wear now mostly have been going strong for at least 15 years each counting a resole on one pair. So it depends on how much you use them but abrasion does indeed happen if you use them enough. Especially if you don’t take care of them.

https://bootmoodfoot.com/sno-seal-vs-obenhaufs/

Yes, boots can last a long time if you clean them well and have enough different ones to spread the wear.

Without even trying, I guess there must be five or six pairs I can choose from at the moment, including 15-year-old ones bought in Africa. In really wet or snowy weather I'm not above wearing grippy pacs or gumboots either, and they don't need much care at all.

All the new boots come with instructions to use only their own products but, when spray-on, the cost would soon pay for new boots.

I must watch out for Obenauf's.