New shoe break in and care

[doublemazaa]

Just got my first pair of good shoes (AE Strand in Walnut) and want to take care of them so they last as long as possible.

What's the consensus about how I should care for them now and going forward? Any special breaking in advice? I have a kiwi polish kit that I used on my old shoes. Acceptable?

Should I or shouldn't I get topys?

Thanks.
jd

 

[MyOtherLife]

Your feet lose a 1/4 cup of moisture in a days wearing so the leather needs to dry between wearings so

• Don't wear any pair of shoes 2 days in a row.
• At the end of a day, use (preferrably cedar) properly sized shoe trees in the shoes. leave 24hrs.
• If you have no shoe trees, use crumpled newspaper as a temp solution, but get proper trees

Your Allen Edmonds shoes are the Burninshed Walnut so you will not really need polish for this finish.

• At the end of a days wearing, take a moist but not soaked cloth over them to remove dirt & dust.
• Sparingly apply a leather conditioner (Lexol, etc) to the leather about once per month.
• Let dry about 1/2 hour, then brush with a clean horsehair brush.
• Then buff with an old clean soft cotton or flannel cotton rag.
• Just lotion, dry, brush and buff.

Congratulations on your purchase. The Burnished Walnut and Strand both are beautiful. Wear in good health.

 

[retozimmermann]

Originally Posted by doublemazaa

Just got my first pair of good shoes (AE Strand in Walnut) and want to take care of them so they last as long as possible.

What's the consensus about how I should care for them now and going forward? Any special breaking in advice? I have a kiwi polish kit that I used on my old shoes. Acceptable?

Should I or shouldn't I get topys?

Thanks.
jd

You'll need good shoe trees, and give the shoes a good day's rest (better two) after wearing. The Kiwi is acceptable and many people use polish from that brand, even very high-end shoemakers Alternatives would be for example Saphir, which a lot of people like, or Burgol (disclaimer: we sell Burgol in Korea so I am biased. It's definitely a very good polish but ultimately you'd have to compare for yourself).

Before waxing the shoes I recommend brushing off any dirt and clean dust with a bit of warm and mildly soapy water and a cloth or sponge. Occasionally you may want to strip off the wax with a leather cleaner.

 

[doublemazaa]

Thanks for the care advice. I have trees, so I'll be good to go on that account.

Any thoughts on topys yes or topys no?

 

[viator]

Originally Posted by Man Of Lint

Your Allen Edmonds shoes are the Burninshed Walnut so you will not really need polish for this finish.
What exactly is a burnished leather and why does it not not need polish? Not even a cream polish?

 

[Keyboard Warrior]

Originally Posted by doublemazaa

Thanks for the care advice. I have trees, so I'll be good to go on that account.

Any thoughts on topys yes or topys no?

Topys for traction and longer lasting shoes.

Originally Posted by viator

What exactly is a burnished leather and why does it not not need polish? Not even a cream polish?

I think he meant "burnished" as in color, unless you want to change the color stick with neutral cream.