Why Shell Cordovan Is The $#!+

[nate10184]

Inspired by Manton's thread about John Lobb Paris Bespoke. I picked these Brooks English wingtips up a few months back. They were in bad shape but I could tell they were shell and I thought with some elbow grease they might polish up nicely.

Before:

 

[nate10184]

First step was to buff them with the inside of an athletic sock. This took off a ton of gunk and revealed the most beautiful color underneath. I've never seen shell this color, it's similar to mahogany but has a ruby red hue. The photos really do it no justice. These side by side shots show the staggering difference.

During:

 

[nate10184]

I used a combination of Crema Nubiana and Creme Cordovan to condition and polish these up. Added a new pair of laces as well. Once again the depth of the outers just blew me away. I've sold probably 15+ cordovan shoes from Alden and AE and nothing even approaches these. The weather has been terrible but I'll try to get some better shots when the sun comes out. After

 

[magogian12345]

Wow, pretty impressive.

 

[TheFoo]

Wow, those are gorgeous. They might be color #8, but aged. Nick Horween shows on his blog that #8 cordovan can turn that color after being exposed to sunlight for a long time.

 

[Shikar]

Simply Beautiful!! Thanks for posting this.

Regards.

 

[DutchDaedalus]

Very nice indeed. How old are these shoes?

 

[furo]

NICE

What did you pay for them? Looks like the original condition presented a steal

 

[erdawe]

Wow nice shoes and restoration. I wish I had a better eye to spot such gems.

How are the inter-linings holding up, hope they're in fair shape as sometimes they can turn nasty with age.

 

[SpooPoker]

These shoes are absolutely amazing. The color is superb. Great job with the restoration - it only shows what rewards looking beyond the surface brings.

 

[ajv]

Nate,

Just a few words : thank you, you made me dream.

 

[the.chikor]

Great job.

 

[Xiaogou]

Originally Posted by the.chikor

Great job.

Indeed! Those shoes are awesome. It sucks that I cannot go out and buy that pair.

 

[greekgeek]

Great pair of shells. Anyone who Talks down on Aldens needs referred to this thread.

 

[Don Carlos]

Great job on the restoration effort. They look amazing. And yeah, I do think those are sun-faded #8. I'm inspired to try fading one of my #8 pairs to see if I can achieve a similar patina.