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

[BattlePope]

So, just got my first pair of dress shoes, Allen Edmonds Park Avenue's in black. I've already got cedar shoe trees for them but still need to pick up a few things. I'm definitely going to pick up a horsehair brush but am a bit lost on what else I should get. From what I've found from searching, I should also get a leather conditioner/cleaner and then a polish. Do you guys have any specific recommendations for the Park Ave's in black? Cream or wax? If I went with the cream do I even need to get the leather conditioner/cleaner (I know that creams inherently have some conditioning properties)?

Also, I will only be wearing these shoes occasionally (i.e. weddings, funerals, job interviews, etc.). These are not shoes that I wear weekly. The next time I will be wearing them is in mid-August.

 

[glenjay]



Does anyone else react badly to the inclusion of turpentine in Saphir products?  If I use them in the house, I experience sore eyes, dry mouth and olfactory problems. Typically, my sense of smell is affected for quite some time after using the products and I can 'smell' turpentine for a long time after. My hands are also made very dry by the products. The only way to help sort out most of these problems is for me to use the products outside. Given that I live in a cold, dark and wet country, this is not always practical!

My wife has the same reaction to turpentine when I use products that contain it, and would ask me to polish my shoes in the garage. That is one of the main reasons I made a shoe polish that uses orange oil as the solvent rather than turpentine. Both orange oil and turpentine have very similar characteristics as solvents, but orange oil smells much better.

 

[Munky]

Thank you, Glenjay! It is a relief to hear that at least one other person has these problems! Contrariwise, my wife has no problems with the effects of Saphir products and certainly cannot smell them in the house. I think that I could smell them from 2 miles away! Thanks again.

 

[glenjay]



So, just got my first pair of dress shoes, Allen Edmonds Park Avenue's in black. I've already got cedar shoe trees for them but still need to pick up a few things. I'm definitely going to pick up a horsehair brush but am a bit lost on what else I should get. From what I've found from searching, I should also get a leather conditioner/cleaner and then a polish. Do you guys have any specific recommendations for the Park Ave's in black? Cream or wax? If I went with the cream do I even need to get the leather conditioner/cleaner (I know that creams inherently have some conditioning properties)?

Also, I will only be wearing these shoes occasionally (i.e. weddings, funerals, job interviews, etc.). These are not shoes that I wear weekly. The next time I will be wearing them is in mid-August.

I think all you really need is a jar (or tube) of black cream polish. There are oils in cream polish that should be sufficient to condition a pair of shoes that are infrequently worn.

Any brand will do, but Allen Edmonds does carry their own black "Premium Shoe Polish" in a tube, if you want to get your polish from the same place you get your shoes. You may also want to get a tin of paste/wax if you want to spit shine the toe of the shoes.

 

[chogall]

I really don't like the 'shine' produced by AE's "Premium Shoe Polish" in a tube... Meltonian or other brands shoe creams creates so much better shine.

 

[BattlePope]

I think all you really need is a jar (or tube) of black cream polish. There are oils in cream polish that should be sufficient to condition a pair of shoes that are infrequently worn.

Any brand will do, but Allen Edmonds does carry their own black "Premium Shoe Polish" in a tube, if you want to get your polish from the same place you get your shoes. You may also want to get a tin of paste/wax if you want to spit shine the toe of the shoes.

I really don't like the 'shine' produced by AE's "Premium Shoe Polish" in a tube... Meltonian or other brands shoe creams creates so much better shine.

Alright, thanks so much guys. I think I'm going to pick up this:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...field-keywords=Meltonian&rh=i:aps,k:Meltonian

As well as a buff brush and an applicator brush. Do you guys have recommendations for specific brands of brushes? If not, I'll probably just go with the Kiwi one. Also, this being my first pair of $300+ shoes, I really want to take good care of them. I'm hoping these bad boys last me 10+ years. With that said, I'm thinking about picking up some conditioner as well. I know that you said it's probably not necessary with my infrequent use but I'm thinking about snagging some of this:

http://www.amazon.com/Leather-Honey-Conditioner-Since-Bottle/dp/B003IS3HV0/ref=cm_cr_dp_asin_lnk

One of the reviewers for the Meltonian cream polish on Amazon recommended this and I've also heard some good things about it elsewhere. What do you guys think? Are there any disadvantages of moisturizing it twice (once with the conditioner and then with the conditioning properties of the cream as well)? Is it just plain overkill? Will the Meltonian cream be more than enough? Like I mentioned, these are my first nice and semi-expensive dress shoes I've ever bought so I really want to take care of them so I apologize for all the questions. Thanks for your patience!

 

[chogall]

Lexol works well as conditioner. Meltonian cream polish works, but you don't really need to condition and cream after every wear.

IMO, if its that infrequently worn, keep the shoes in their shoe bags so they don't collect dust. Condition and cream a day before you wear them, make sure the flex points and all the sole edge threads are well wax/creamed. And just brush and wipe down with a damp towel after, let dry, before letting them hibernate in their shoe bags again.

Just IMO.

 

[Gerry]



'A Fine Pair of Shoes', who supply most of the Saphir products, here in the UK describe Saphir Reno, wax and cream as containing 'Natural Turpentine Oil'. I appreciate that they may be wrong, but if they are, they are consistently wrong, in that they mention NTO so often in product descriptions!

There is no doubt the range of Saphir Medaille D'Or polish contains Natural Turpentine Oil, Avel mention this on their website.

 

[benhour]

The discation was about the renovateur (it's not containing turpentine) and cordovan cream! MDO saphir wax and cream polish has turpentine but not all their products ! I think i have to try Glenjays polish! Btw I think " natural turpentine oil" Is quit rong as a phrase! Turpentine comes from the distillation of the pine tree resin! So it's not quite "natural" and because it's a distillation product it can't be oil !it's more like alcohol the feel!

 

[Numbernine]



The discation was about the renovateur (it's not containing turpentine) and cordovan cream! MDO saphir wax and cream polish has turpentine but not all their products ! I think i have to try Glenjays polish! Btw I think " natural turpentine oil" Is quit rong as a phrase! Turpentine comes from the distillation of the pine tree resin! So it's not quite "natural" and because it's a distillation product it can't be oil !it's more like alcohol the feel!

I think if you investigate what is permissible,in the US anyway,to label natural you will be quite surprised

 

[chogall]



I think if you investigate what is permissible,in the US anyway,to label natural you will be quite surprised

+1. America's animal and plant products have very low quality and loose regulations thank to lobbying.

Even vegetables and plants organically grown at Napa are disappointing compare to those I had in East/Southeast Asia.

 

[rootskier]



+1. America's animal and plant products have very low quality and loose regulations thank to lobbying.

Even vegetables and plants organically grown at Napa are disappointing compare to those I had in East/Southeast Asia.

This is perhaps the most absurd post in this thread.

 

[David Copeland]

Don't remember seeing the guy actually post any of his own experiences but just all copy and paste from Saphir venders and random websites

Uh . . . sorry for your blindness.

 

[benhour]

I think if you investigate what is permissible,in the US anyway,to label natural you will be quite surprised

hahaha i thought so!!!

 

[Munky]

The reason I tend to believe in the list of contents offered by manufacturers and sellers is because we have a Trades Description Act in the Uk, which is tightly monitored. You are not allowed to claim that something is an ingredient of a product when its not. Any company caught in breach of the Act will be heavily fined and loose all credibilty. Thus, if Saphir or one of its agents say that there is turpentine oil, in their products, I tend to accept that. I am confident, too, that Saphir and its agents are using the term 'natural turpentine oil' correctly too. If they wern't, again, they would be in trouble under the Trades Descriptions Act. I would imagine that other countries have similar laws.