Today, many stores offer products that are half made of cheap goods, mostly from China. You can buy anything, but often the quality leaves much to be desired. In the pursuit of mass production and cost reduction, manufacturers do not always pay attention to the quality of their products. For example, sports shoes come with a warranty of only 60 days. Meanwhile, in the Russian Empire, shoemakers provided their clients with a 5-year warranty. This was because they valued their honor and reputation. Deceive once, and no one will come to you again. A hundred years ago, everyone knew where the best master in their craft lived, whether it was a spoon maker, potter, bricklayer, seamstress, or shoemaker.

In those times, the masters from the city of Kimry in the Tver province were renowned as excellent shoemakers. Among them stood out an elderly craftsman named Uncle Dyoma. Contemporaries recalled that his boots never got wet. Only in old age did he reveal the secret of his craftsmanship. It turned out that he heated the sole over fir coals, soaked it in wax, and pressed fine river sand into it, creating a durable protective silicate layer. Such a sole did not slip even on ice. In wet weather, Uncle Dyoma's shoes remained dry thanks to a special mixture of fat, wax, and tree resin. The master claimed that in his boots, "you can walk on a lake as if on land." He provided a 5-year warranty, but sometimes people wore them for almost a lifetime.

Some researchers believe that the five-year warranty among many craftsmen was traditional for a simple reason: it was the time needed for sharpening knives, which became dull after 5 years and required replacement. It is surprising that some seamstresses also promised that their bras, shirts, and stockings would last 5 years. But why this was the case, just like with shoemakers, remains a mystery.