Leather boots with lead soles and brass toe caps.
 
Brass sand shoes with corrugated soles made of brass.
 

Brass boots with corrugated soles and removable uppers.
Shallow water boots which are lighter than other patterns.

The Diver's boots or shoes have two purposes. The first is to protect the diver's feet from injury. The second is to add weight to the diver's feet. This is to help overcome the positive buoyancy effect from the diver's suit. By adding weight low down on the diver's body it makes the diver more stable underwater. The boots are typically about 35 pounds or 16 kilos in weight. The uppers of the boots are made from leather or canvas and are generally renewable. The soles are either cast iron in the case of German boots or brass or lead in the case of most other boots. The lead soled boots are generally preferred for use on deck plates and smooth surfaces whilst the brass soled shoes are preferred for walking on mud or rough ground. For this reason they are often called sand shoes.

The boots are put on with the buckles facing outwards and the laces or lanyards secured around the upper parts of the ankles.
The loose ends are carefully fed below the straps and the straps are tightened and the boots are held firmly in place.
Loosely fitting boots can be sucked into mud and pulled from the diver's feet if not properly secured with the potentially serious
effect of the diver being blown up feet first should the diver loose negative buoyancy.

 


Photo by Diving Heritage.
Country of origin: America
Maker: Andrew Morse
Date: 1920-1930
Sole: Brass
Top: Brass toe cap
Upper: Leather straps
Weight: 9 lbs each (4 kgs)

 


Photo courtesy of Warren Hastings.
Country of origin: China
Maker: Not known
Date: 1970-1990
Sole: Lead
Top: Brass toe cap
Upper: Canvas
Weight: 11 lbs each (5 kgs)

 


Photo courtesy of Mikael Zingmark.
Country of origin: England
Maker: Siebe Gorman & Co Ltd.
Date: 1930-1950
Sole: Brass
Top: Brass
Upper: Leather
Weight: 16 lbs each (7 Kgs)

 


Photo courtesy of Jean-Partick Paszula.
Country of origin: France
Maker: Charles Petit
Date: 1900-1930
Sole: Lead
Top: Brass toe caps
Upper: Leather
Weight: 20 lbs each (9 Kgs)

 


Photo Courtesy of Jean-Paul Pazula.
Country of origin: France
Maker: Joseph Scauda
Date: (estimated) 1920-1930
Sole: Lead
Top: Brass
Upper: Leather
Weight: 9Kilos (20lbs)

 


Photo by Diving Heritage.
Country of origin: German
Maker: Draeger
Date: 1950-1970
Sole: Cast iron
Top: Cast iron with iron toe cap
Upper: Leather
Weight: 13 lbs each (6.5kgs)

 


Photo by Diving Heritage.
Country of origin: Italy
Maker: Galeazzi. La Spezia
Date: 1950-1960
Sole: Lead
Top: Copper band with Brass toe cap
Upper: Leather
Weight: 15 lbs each (6.5 kgs)

 


Photo courtesy of Karina Kowalska of the Museum Nukowania.
Country of origin: Poland
Maker: Unknown
Date: Unknown
Sole: Corrugated lead
Top: Brass Toe caps
Upper: Leather
Weight: Unknown

 


Photo courtesy of Karina Kowalska of the Museum Nukowania.
Country of origin: Russia
Maker: Unknown
Date: 1950-1970
Sole: Smooth lead
Top: Painted brass toe cap
Upper: Leather
Weight: 18 lbs each

 


Photo courtesy of Jan Hasselbach.
Country of origin: Russia
Date: 1950-1995
Sole: Lead with grip grooves
Top: Brass with brass toe caps
Upper: Rubberised canvas
Weight: 10 Kgs each

 
Country of origin: Spain
Maker: La Spirotechnique
Date: Around 1960
Sole: Smooth Lead
Top: Polished brass
Upper: Leather
Weight: 14 lbs. each

 


Photo courtesy of Mikael Zingmark.
Country of origin: Sweden
Maker: Emil Carlsson & Son Company
Date: 1930-1950
Sole: Lead with steel reinforcement
Top: Copper with Brass toe cap
Upper: Leather
Weight: Approx 18 lbs each (8Kgs)

 


Photo courtesy of Mikael Zingmark.
Country of origin: Sweden
Maker: Homemade
Date: 1930-1940
Sole: Lead
Top: Brass
Upper: Leather
Weight: Not known

 


Photo courtesy of Mikael Zingmark.
Country of origin: Sweden
Maker: Homemade
Date: Approx 1940-1950
Sole: Lead
Top: Aluminum
Upper: Leather
Weight: Not known

 

Can you contribute an item of Divers boots to this section?

Please email a photo and a description to info@divingheritage.com