When Clark's Desert Boots were made in England, conventional wisdom was to order a half-size down because they tended to "run large".  These boots are well-made, but come from Vietnam now and run true-to-size, that is a 9 is a 9.  The wax finish is easily scuffed, but rubbing beeswax over the scuff and warming it with a match or cigarette lighter melts the beeswax, and it blends perfectly.  No corners were cut manufacturing these boots.