LIFESTYLE: REAL LEATHER > PLASTIC: A HEATHEN NOTE ON SHOES, STANDARDS, AND TRUTH

“Washed and fed,

one may fare to the Thing:

Though one's clothes be the worse for Wear,

None need be ashamed of his shoes or hose,

Nor of the horse he owns,

Although no thoroughbred.”

Havamal

Authenticity isn’t a slogan; it’s a discipline. Discipline is a Tribe virtue.  The images below show two paths: a pair of spit-shined leather shoes and a high-gloss “Corfam/poromeric” shoe (the plastic kind many of us were issued) next to a leather one. One is real, shaped by your hands and patience. The other is easy, uniform, and man-made for show. Which one speaks to Heathen virtue?

A heathen Soldier, Marine, Sailor, Airman, or Coast Guardsman proves his worth by being tactically and technically proficient—and that extends to uniform wear and care. Our ancestors went to the þing dressed as well as they could manage, because appearance was part of honor. So is yours.

Leather vs. Plastic, in plain words

Leather breathes, takes a true spit-shine you earn, can be repaired, and ages with character. Each layer of wax and water is a small oath kept.

Plastic “high-gloss” looks shiny out of the box, but it doesn’t breathe, tends to crease and crack at the flex, and you can’t build a deeper mirror beyond the factory finish.  If you get a deep scratch on a pair of Corfams they are toast.

Heathen virtues this touches.  Truth. Discipline. Industriousness. Honor. Not performative “signals,” but the quiet, repeatable work that forges standards—on the range, in the field, at inspection, and on the ballroom floor.

Simple standards before military ball season

Choose real leather (full-grain if you can; a good second-hand pair beats plastic new).

Build a shine ritual: brush clean, condition if needed, then thin wax + water in tight circles; heels and welts dressed; edges blacked.  We old school military know it well,

Mind the whole uniform: straight gig line, sharp creases, proper lacing, socks that match, trousers hemmed to kiss the top of the shoe—not puddled, not floating. Take care of your military shoes in real wooden shoe trees and shoe covers to protect the shine.

Real leather spit shined left - Corfam right

If you must wear plastic for now: keep them immaculate, no dust in the seams, and plan your upgrade. Better kit is part of becoming a better craftsman of yourself.

Leather is real. Plastic is convenient. Heathens choose truth over convenience whenever we can. Show up as the man or woman your ancestors would recognize squared away, mirror-bright because you made it so—skill in the hands, standards in the heart.  Don’t say Vikings didn’t have shoe polish.  They took great care of their weapons and equipment.  It had to last.

Spit shined real leather

So, are spit shined leather shoes versus Corfam a good analogy of what it means to strive to be a heathen and our Tribe value of quality? You bet

it does.

Shoe covers

The sentinels of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington wear real, spit-shined leather shoes—not Corfam.

That’s by design:

Their uniform standards are among the most demanding in the U.S. military.

Leather shoes are required because they can be brought to a true mirror finish through hand labor, and they hold up better to the ceremonial demands.

Corfam may look shiny out of the box, but it cannot achieve the same depth of shine or durability under the constant scrutiny those guards are under.

It ties directly to what you were saying earlier: at the highest levels of military tradition and honor, plastic shortcuts are not acceptable. Only real, worked leather meets the standard.

Show us your best mirror-shine.