Shell Cordovan and Lexol Leather Conditioner, Can they be used together?

[leetpuma]

I have seen quite a bit of conflicting advice on if Lexol Leather Conditioner can be used on shell cordovan. see link http://www.styleforum.net/t/293860/how-to-avoid-shell-cordovan-related

Has anyone done this? Is it an bad idea?

I intend to use my shell shoes as an daily work horse (unexpected pun ) every other day (in rotation). So I don't care for a wax shine. But I do care that they are well conditioned.

If lexol is a subpar choice what is better?

Does ZOES Venetian Shoe Cream actually condition well? I have heard it is pretty bad about sinking into the leather? But has an nice shine

Thanks for the help, this is my first pair of shells and i am quite excited.

-Leetpuma

 

[RogerP]

If you care about keeping your shell shoes properly conditioned, why seek out a product that MAY work on shell when there are quality products on the market DESIGNED to work on shell? Get yourself a jar of Saphir cordovan cream. A little goes a long way, and it is a small investment compared to even the least expensive of quality shell shoes.

 

[DWFII]



I have seen quite a bit of conflicting advice on if Lexol Leather Conditioner can be used on shell cordovan. see link http://www.styleforum.net/t/293860/how-to-avoid-shell-cordovan-related

Has anyone done this? Is it an bad idea?

I intend to use my shell shoes as an daily work horse (unexpected pun ) every other day (in rotation). So I don't care for a wax shine. But I do care that they are well conditioned.

If lexol is a subpar choice what is better?

Does ZOES Venetian Shoe Cream actually condition well? I have heard it is pretty bad about sinking into the leather? But has an nice shine

Thanks for the help, this is my first pair of shells and i am quite excited.

-Leetpuma

There is no reason to not use Lexol. The link you provided suggests that a number of people use it regularly. That siad, Bick4 is probably the better product and i have been using lexol for many decades.

Shell is a preserved animal product using the the same tanning agents as any other veg tanned leather. It is technically not a "skin" but a muscle sheath but except for the density and the finish coat that it is given, it doesn't differ substantially from other leathers.

I talked to Nick Horween about this very subject. He recommended Venetian Creme. I tried it years ago, and again at Nick's prompting. It's OK. But I'm not wild about it. I suspect it was formulated to preserve the finish rather than the leather and I suspect that it contains mineral oil and perhaps a bit of turp.

Don't buy into the popular hype about high end dedicated product. Sometimes there's nothing to be gained despite the brand name cachet.You can use product that are touted as being for shell, no harm, no foul...generally but you'll pay more money for such product and you won't gain much if anything. Group think is strong about some products being extolled here but when you get down to cases the differences are minor.

 

[Nick V.]

In a conversation I had with Nick Horween, it turned out that we both (mostly) use the same two products.
Saph. Reno. and Venetian.

 

[RogerP]

In a conversation I had with Nick Horween, it turned out that we both (mostly) use the same two products.
Saph. Reno. and Venetian.

Thank you Nick, good to know.

 

[leetpuma]

Thanks guys all the comments were very helpful. I will probably invest in some VSC