**The Official Shoe Care Thread: Tutorials, Photos, etc.**

JTMD said:

Thank you for your response. I just started thinking about it yesterday and will look into other boxes

. Of course I found it a bit pricey but wasn't sure if maybe it was made of a more expensive wood. I was wanting something that looks nice enough to be left out and isn't obviously a shine kit.

As mentioned, I thought this one might be too small anyways. I'd certainly have to leave out some of the products I have that see less use and I usually buy 100gram tins versus the smaller 50 gram that this box holds.

One of the "advantages" was that this comes with free shipping. I'm in Switzerland, which is nice, but selection of products is a bit more on the limited side. Shipping often adds $50 or more to the product's overall cost.

Oh well, back to the drawing board..thanks again.

Click to expand...

Got any good antique shops in your area? You might be able to find a nice box there.

actionjbone said:

Got any good antique shops in your area? You might be able to find a nice box there.

Click to expand...

Thank you. What a great suggestion. I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it on my own. 🙄

JTMD said:

Thank you. What a great suggestion. I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it on my own. 🙄

Click to expand...

Here is the one I made myself using a box I found in my mother-in-law's house. The box was a bit like a small wooden suitcase. It had a handle which I removed but I added the leather pull tabs on the sides to make it easier to carry. I made the internal dividers to fit the products I wanted inside. It wasn't that hard and was made using simple hand tools (if you are a proper woodworker, please look away).

Hurlazza4 said:

Here is the one I made myself using a box I found in my mother-in-law's house. The box was a bit like a small wooden suitcase. It had a handle which I removed but I added the leather pull tabs on the sides to make it easier to carry. I made the internal dividers to fit the products I wanted inside. It wasn't that hard and was made using simple hand tools (if you are a proper woodworker, please look away).
View attachment 2170177 View attachment 2170179 View attachment 2170181 View attachment 2170183

Click to expand...

I haven't worked wood since high school shop class back in 1990. My results would not look anywhere near as nice as the work you did on that box. Thank you for sharing photos of it.

Some things just seem to slip the mind. I could hit the antique stores as actionjbone suggested, and now that you mention it, I could find something without dividers and have someone make them to specification.

I suppose nowadays the first reaction is to just go on-line and get what you want without much thought around it. That saphir kit suits my needs and was quick to find..but with a bit more effort I could have something a bit more unique and nicer looking.

As much as modern tech has been beneficial, it does have a few drawbacks..getting what you want at the touch of a screen prevents further consideration as to what you might actually prefer versus what is being shown to you..which for the most part is actually being sold to you..when I looked up shoe shine boxes they didn't give me photos like your's versus 100 different companies selling shoe shine boxes.

Oh well, better cut it off here before I start rambling 😅. Thanks again.

Hurlazza4 said:

Here is the one I made myself using a box I found in my mother-in-law's house. The box was a bit like a small wooden suitcase. It had a handle which I removed but I added the leather pull tabs on the sides to make it easier to carry. I made the internal dividers to fit the products I wanted inside. It wasn't that hard and was made using simple hand tools (if you are a proper woodworker, please look away).
View attachment 2170177 View attachment 2170179 View attachment 2170181 View attachment 2170183

Click to expand...

Trimly makes some good ****. 👍

Hurlazza4 said:

Here is the one I made myself using a box I found in my mother-in-law's house. The box was a bit like a small wooden suitcase. It had a handle which I removed but I added the leather pull tabs on the sides to make it easier to carry. I made the internal dividers to fit the products I wanted inside. It wasn't that hard and was made using simple hand tools (if you are a proper woodworker, please look away).
View attachment 2170177 View attachment 2170179 View attachment 2170181 View attachment 2170183

Click to expand...

Great job with the internal dvidiers. I can see that you gave the corner mitre joints as well. well done!

I've been trying different ways to treat old leather soles, and I wanted to share a new experiment.

Background: I restore shoes in a wide variety of conditions. Part of that involves cleaning & treating leather soles that may be water damaged + dried out, and sometimes musty, but still pretty thick.

Zinc Oxide has been tested as a way of adding fungus resistance to leather soles: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15440478.2023.2226415

So I tried adding some.



Specifically, I have an old tube of Desitin. The kind with cod liver oil and 40% zinc oxide.

The photo shows old water-damaged Peal & Co shoes. After cleaning the soles, I rubbed Desitin into the leather. After letting it sit a while, I buffed the soles with an old rag.

So far, I've tried this three times. Obviously, it whitens the soles. The zinc oxide stays put, I haven't seen white marks on floors where I've walked.

It hasn't been long enough to see how this will affect wear. But so far I haven't seen any ill effects.

If folks are interested, I'll share progress over time. Or if anyone else wants to try it, we can compare notes.

Any ecommendations on a cobbler in NYC? Is B. Nelson still the go to in the city? I need a pair of boots resoled and heel blocks replaced.

actionjbone said:

Trimly makes some good ****. 👍

Click to expand...

Yes, two horse and one goat there in the photo. There's also a Trimly crepe suede brush obscured from view. I also have a bunch of their shoe trees. They're great value for money, I doubt you'd find better in Aus.

florent said:

Perfectly flush tips can be difficult because the curvature of the tips doesn't always match the sole curvature. That said the job seems a bit sloppy here with the lateral gaps but I wouldn't expect it to cause much trouble.

The upper damage is just terrible, I would be pissed. Difficult to say how it will evolve, that depends on how deep the cut is and how the leather creases when you walk.

Click to expand...

Shawnc said:

Horrible work. Both the tear and taps. The shoes look really good so your instincts were on-point. The shoes are definitely wearable. Just unfortunate the cobbler had a bad day.

Click to expand...

JUAN MANUEL said:

Nice shoes. I wouldn't mind. Enjoy your shoes.

Click to expand...

Appreciate all the inputs from folks on here! I found the work a bit sloppy as well, given that the cobbler has done much cleaner taps on new pairs of shoes etc., but shoe repair is an art -- not a science. So I understand making space for variances / things to go not quite right. The scratch/cut/crease was most frustrating (whereas taps can always be redone), but alas.

At the end of the day, they were able to restore a rather vintage pair of shoes and I'll just see how they fare once I start wearing them.