Quote:
Originally Posted by
zinc2162 
I have the same tan Krause. It seems that the waxy leather isn't taking the polish in. Do you suggest to saddle soap it even they are right out of the box?
Yes. The Krause is Horween Dublin leather and is NOT the same as most leathers. Dublin is Essex leather (tanned like shell) with a waxy finish There is a reason AE is making the Krause. Dublin is also used in the AE rough collection which I have 3 shoes in, and all 3 leathers have a slightly different finish. Just as the Krause in russet is a different leather finish than the tan.
A word of caution, I normally use Obenhauf’s leather oil on my bison leather boots, and occasional use it to touch up in between applications of HDLP on chrome tanned boots. When I was treating several pairs of bison boots I decided to also treat my AE rouch collection Black Hills with the leather oil. And the next day it looked like the leather Gods had puked all over my shoes. It took 2 weeks of saddle soaping them every night to get them back to normal. You have to be careful in using products on exotic leathers like Dublin.
I was hoping the Krause would be like the Elgin which is very waxy and a great color and finish IMO.
AE says for care of the Elgin: These types of leathers can be cleaned using a damp cloth to remove dirt and any residue. Follow by using a soft cloth to apply Allen Edmonds Leather Lotion , which has been specifically formulated for these leathers.
That is it, just water and AE leather lotion which is the same as Bicks 4.
For my McTavish it says: Use Allen Edmonds Conditioner Cleaner to remove surface residue and to keep leather soft and pliable. Follow by applying Allen Edmonds Saddle Soap which cleans all smooth leather shoes while restoring the leather's natural oils.
When I got my McTavish one shoe was a bit darker than the other, and yes they are firsts. The overall color was a bit lighter than I hoped just like the tan Krause. The leather between the McTavish and Krause is pretty much identical from what I can tell. seer had already treated his McTavish with neatsfoot oil to darken them so despite the issues with the Black Hills and oil figured it was safe. It was and by using a couple of extra coats on the lighter shoe I was able to match them both:
Elgin on left, McTavish on right with right shoe being darker out of the box:
After leveling out the color with neatsfoot oil:
The Krause were the same, one was slightly lighter than the other. Using saddle soap helps break the finish up so that any product applied can more evenly sink in. When dying leather shoes a deglazer is used but I would not use such a product on Dublin leather, the saddle soap is safe. In this case I used shoe cream instead of neatsfoot oil to even the color out. I was happy with the color that the cream provided and I finished with wax paste polish. It turned out very well. And they have a much better finish and protection against the elements than out of the box which is a lot more of a dress boot finish than a work boot.
Good luck and any questions shoot me a PM.
.
