Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread - reviews, pictures, sizing, etc...

[MoneyWellSpent]

For whatever it's worth, I have and use both. I have also used AE polish (in the tubes) and kiwi (in the cans), as well as AE cordovan cream.

For new calfskin shoes, I use AE cleaner / conditioner to moisturize the leather. I also use AE polish (in the tubes) for the first few polishing sessions. After that, I switch to Renovateur and Kiwi if I need them to shine.

For my shell cordovan, I use Renovateur almost exclusively, though I usually also hit them with kiwi wax about 1x per year. If I want to get some of the burgundy coloring back, I use AE cordovan cream, but as stated a few pages back, you need to be really careful with this, and apply only a very little bit at a time.

I bought 2 glass tubs of Renovateur over a year ago - I am less than 1/4 of the way through my first one. You just don't use much of it....

Thanks for the objective response. I appreciate you touching on how long the Renovateur is lasting for you. This video from Crockett and Jones shows the guy liberally applying the Saphir, and it almost looks like he could go through a jar in less than a dozen polishings, rubbing it all over the soles and everything. When I saw that, I was like, whoa... I'm not sure I'm ready to afford that!

 

[bucksfan]

Thanks for the objective response. I appreciate you touching on how long the Renovateur is lasting for you. This video from Crockett and Jones shows the guy liberally applying the Saphir, and it almost looks like he could go through a jar in less than a dozen polishings. When I saw that, I was like, whoa... I'm not sure I'm ready to afford that!

I use an old t-shirt to apply, and apply a VERY light coat - almost like auto polish, the less you use, the better. It barely hazes the surface and I brush it off with a horsehair brush.

The amount he puts on at 1:20 is about what I use for a pair of shoes. I will say that calfskin tends to soak it in more than cordovan, though. (More than 3/4 of my collection is shell, which doesn't soak it up much).

He's really heavy on the polish too...

Edit: he uses Reno on the soles too, which I do not.

 

[g.michael]



For whatever it's worth, I have and use both.  I have also used AE polish (in the tubes) and kiwi (in the cans), as well as AE cordovan cream.  

For new calfskin shoes, I use AE cleaner / conditioner to moisturize the leather.  I also use AE polish (in the tubes) for the first few polishing sessions.  After that, I switch to Renovateur and Kiwi if I need them to shine.  

For my shell cordovan, I use Renovateur almost exclusively, though I usually also hit them with kiwi wax about 1x per year.  If I want to get some of the burgundy coloring back, I use AE cordovan cream, but as stated a few pages back, you need to be really careful with this, and apply only a very little bit at a time.  

I bought 2 glass tubs of Renovateur over a year ago - I am less than 1/4 of the way through my first one.  You just don't use much of it.... 

This is all good advice and is basically what I do as well. I agree that Renovateur, used correctly, lasts a long long time as a little goes a long long way. Yes you pay more for it but it is a better product and will last a really long time (needs to be used sparingly).

 

[MOCKBA]

It looks like the price of the shell cordovan Daltons went up; they are now $700 as opposed to the $600 of the other shell offerings. Is this due to the extra leather needed? I was told this might happen, so I am glad I got my orders in.

 

[cbtaylor]

Thank you all for the comments. So the Shell Dalton are now $100 more, than the web gem special a month or so back? Mine were $595, was this a special price, or have the prices just gone up due to limited shell available?

 

[MoneyWellSpent]

I use an old t-shirt to apply, and apply a VERY light coat - almost like auto polish, the less you use, the better. It barely hazes the surface and I brush it off with a horsehair brush.

The amount he puts on at 1:20 is about what I use for a pair of shoes. I will say that calfskin tends to soak it in more than cordovan, though. (More than 3/4 of my collection is shell, which doesn't soak it up much).

He's really heavy on the polish too...

Edit: he uses Reno on the soles too, which I do not.

Yeah, this is one of the few examples of a "professional" saying that you should condition the soles of the shoes. There aren't many out there, but a few seem to believe you should. It makes sense to me that the soles could benefit from conditioning just as much as the rest of the shoe. However, I feel like the majority (including AE in one of their Q/A responses) say that the soles don't need any treatment.

 

[MoneyWellSpent]

Thank you all for the comments. So the Shell Dalton are now $100 more, than the web gem special a month or so back? Mine were $595, was this a special price, or have the prices just gone up due to limited shell available?

The web gems are always a bit cheaper than regular stock, but a jump of $100.00 suggests that the shell shortage may be impacting prices now.

 

[Winston S.]



I use an old t-shirt to apply, and apply a VERY light coat - almost like auto polish, the less you use, the better.  It barely hazes the surface and I brush it off with a horsehair brush.  

The amount he puts on at 1:20 is about what I use for a pair of shoes.  I will say that calfskin tends to soak it in more than cordovan, though.  (More than 3/4 of my collection is shell, which doesn't soak it up much).  

He's really heavy on the polish too... 

Edit: he uses Reno on the soles too, which I do not.  

I didn't watch the video, but I put some Reno layers on several of my shoes and I didn't even put a noticeable dent in the jar.

 

[BootSpell]

The web gems are always a bit cheaper than regular stock, but a jump of $100.00 suggests that the shell shortage may be impacting prices now.

I bought a pair of walnut shell Daltons in June at the "full retail" price of $675. So the price for the burgundy shell has gone up $20 from the walnut shell in June. The Web Gem price was a special price for that limited time.

 

[sevenfoldtieguy]



Thanks for the objective response.  I appreciate you touching on how long the Renovateur is lasting for you.  This video from Crockett and Jones shows the guy liberally applying the Saphir, and it almost looks like he could go through a jar in less than a dozen polishings, rubbing it all over the soles and everything.    When I saw that, I was like, whoa... I'm not sure I'm ready to afford that!

I use about the same amount as the C&J guy does, but even at that it lasts much longer than a dozen polishings. Just got in two new jars of reno this week from Kirby's.

I also condition my new shells with Saphir Reno or Saphir shell cordovan cream (neutral) prior to wearing them out of the house for the first time. While many of the "experts" will say this is unnecessary, it does, if nothing else, make the shell more supple.

 

[Firefox]

Thanks. I'm in Mississauga though, do you know any other places that carry Collonil closer to me?
Wow I hope Rego Bespoke does that again this year for the next sale of AE. What models do they carry? Can definitely make a trip to downtown for that!

Sadly, I live east of downtown so I'm not too familiar with what may be available in Mississauga. I would think that there would have to be other stores who carry it, though. Given that the Greater Toronto Area has a population of more than 5.5 million people, you'd think that it would be easier to find certain products. As far as Rego, I was under the impression that they had about 8 different styles in stock. But the great thing about the offer is that they were willing to order basically any shoe off the AE website (at discount), and you don't pay the shipping. I wanted a pair of chili-coloured Delrays, but they only had them in black. They ordered the chili pair for me at the $249 website price.

I can attest to Novelty's Topy-ing abilities. Had em put Topys on a pair of Alfred Sargents and they did a really great job. Can't quite remember the price but it was somewhere in the ballpark of $30-35, which isn't too bad! (at least, by Canadian standards

)

The topys on my PAs cost $39.55 (including HST). Not sure if there is a price difference depending on the type of shoe, but I doubt it. I'm picking up my topy'd Delrays today.

I thought I would also share some experience with a shoe care product for my AEs and other shoes. Well known around these boards, but Saphir Renovateur works....SO AMAZINGLY. I had read so many good things about it and was skeptical, but sweet jesus the product is incredible. Applied a thin layer of it on all of my AEs and then re-bulled the cap and OH MY what a difference in the mirror shine it made. Furthermore, I applied it to a scuffed pair of CXL bayfields (sorry i should've taken pics) that hadnt been treated at all in 8 months, and they look like new. Finally, after going to Oktoberfest this last weekend in my beeswax clark's DB, I woke up to find them completely beer stained and scuffed, but a quick application of Renovateur makes them look as good as new. Hell, BETTER than new, since they have some character to them from creasing

This is what I've heard from everyone. The only thing that has made me wary is the price of the product and the small jar size, although it sounds like a little bit goes a long way. ajmanouk, do you mind telling me where you buy/order your Renovateur from? If you order it, what are the shipping charges like? It seems like shipping anything to Canada is always so expensive (at least compared to domestic shipping within the U.S., which is often free).

 

[OptoDoc]

Any chance Nordstom's would accept an exchange on lightly worn (1 day) Clifton's? They fit great walking around my house, but after 7 hours they have loosened up considerably.

 

[DJTraveler]

Any chance Nordstom's would accept an exchange on lightly worn (1 day) Clifton's? They fit great walking around my house, but after 7 hours they have loosened up considerably

You can fully return them. Nordstrom accepts returns on all merchandise. Even shoes you've worn for a couple weeks.

 

[elbastardocalvo]

For today: brown Fifth Street with a grey wool suit:

 

[clarksdb]



Sadly, I live east of downtown so I'm not too familiar with what may be available in Mississauga. I would think that there would have to be other stores who carry it, though. Given that the Greater Toronto Area has a population of more than 5.5 million people, you'd think that it would be easier to find certain products. As far as Rego, I was under the impression that they had about 8 different styles in stock. But the great thing about the offer is that they were willing to order basically any shoe off the AE website (at discount), and you don't pay the shipping. I wanted a pair of chili-coloured Delrays, but they only had them in black. They ordered the chili pair for me at the $249 website price.

Thanks for the info, I will keep Rego in mind.

For today:  brown Fifth Street with a grey wool suit:

Great look, like the socks too.