After two years I finally wore a hole in the leather soles of my Wolverine 1k's. They went off to the local cobbler, who was kind enough to add a half-sole since the heel and the rest of the boot was structurally intact. After a quick conditioning and cleaning, they are back to looking good as new. I figured I would show some progress pictures of how these have broken in.
Album
I don't baby these. They've walked hundreds of miles. They've been in bars, clubs and basements. They've been up mountains and in rivers. They've been to several continents, and if they hold up to their name, they'll visit several more.
Chromexcel leather shows a lot of top-level wear, so there's a depth of color developing that has only gotten better with time. But it's a leather that WILL show wear, especially creasing, as you can obviously see. Part of this is that these aren't the perfect fit (I'm OK with that) as they are a tad wide. All the stitching is doing well. There is plenty of life left in these, at least 4-5 more years.
As a final note: I got my pair of 1k's at Orvis for $150 after someone returned them. I hope this album shows that being concerned over buying Factory Seconds is a literal non-issue. Unless you get a serious defect or problem, any scratches on the boot will add to the inevitable personality that comes from wear and tear.