Shoe question - Is bookbinder always bad?

[knittieguy]

I recently picked up these Trickers shoes without realizing that "bookbinder" meant the leather was covered in some sort of acrylic lacquer. I actually still like them. They are very shiny, but have kind of a cordovan-esque look. From the inside of the shoe, the leather actually looks like it is of decent quality. And I only got them as weekend shoes, anyway. But I've never had bookbinder leather shoes before. Is the leather or acrylic likely to crack or start looking bad in short order? Is it correct that there really isn't any way to polish them (apart from maybe wiping them off) since nothing will soak through the coating? Are they relatively rain proof?

 

[OldTown]

As someone who made the mistake of buying Allen Edmonds "techno horse" Bond Street shoes online, the answer is a big YES.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

Bad depends on what you value. On the upside, you don’t have to polish them. On the downside, they don’t last as long.

My wife has a few pair of patent leather shoes that she’s worn on a somewhat regular basis for about 10 years and has not had any issues.

 

[monkey66]

Their fine until you scuff/scratch them and can't polish it out.

I made the same mistake with a pair of Trickers once, moved them on.

 

[JFWR]

Bad depends on what you value. On the upside, you don’t have to polish them. On the downside, they don’t last as long.

My wife has a few pair of patent leather shoes that she’s worn on a somewhat regular basis for about 10 years and has not had any issues.

Patent leather is a good material and not related to book binder or corrected grain. It's good for evening shoes. It is not often to find good patent leather shoes anymore, though.

But to address the op: you messed up. The shoes are gonna look bad in a few months and they won't ever take a polish if super corrected grain.

You could try stripping them, but...

 

[JFWR]

As someone who made the mistake of buying Allen Edmonds "techno horse" Bond Street shoes online, the answer is a big YES.

Technohorse can still be polished, so it isn't full blown corrected grain or book binder.

 

[OldTown]

Technohorse can still be polished, so it isn't full blown corrected grain or book binder.

It looks and feels like plastic.

 

[JFWR]

It looks and feels like plastic.

Yeah, I have the bond street in mahogany and I'm not too pleased. Nevertheless, I've mirror shined em up, so I know they can be polished. Real corrected grain with a heavy heavy heavy finish can't be polished at all.

 

[Goofy]

Bookbinder leather can’t be polished, but doesn’t require it either. Just rubbing it with a damp cloth will bring out it’s original luster and shine.

Color can be restored by applying leather paint like saphir’s teinture Française to scuffed areas.

A downside to it is that areas which are exposed to stress like the vamp will inevitably develop wrinkles and cracks over time. This can be minimized by keeping them lasted when unworn, but over time it‘s bound to happen.

Note the wrinkling on the vamp in the depicted shoes.

 

[Thomson]

I suspect there are different quality levels as well and not all bookbinder is equal. I have a pair of Church‘s which I bought before I knew better. They have held up very well, are not too shiny and are now doing service as my rainy weather shoes.

 

[JonnyCar]

Just been on the C&J website, and they have the same loafer in 'calf' and 'cavalry calf', which is their corrected grain leather. The price difference? Well, they've a different sole, so not an exact comparison, but there's 10% in it, and the cavalry calf costs about 10% more than the suede option. I actually have some loafers from C&J in cavalry calf as I loved the colour (burgundy) and got them on discount, and I've really enjoyed wearing them to be honest. If they had the regular calf at the same price, I'd have gone for that, but they are still high-quality, well-made shoes. Like Thomson I suspect all bookbinder is not created equal and I also agree that shoes do different jobs. Hopefully you'll keep enjoying these as weekend shoes!

 

[Son Of Saphir]

I suspect there are different quality levels as well and not all bookbinder is equal. I have a pair of Church‘s which I bought before I knew better. They have held up very well, are not too shiny and are now doing service as my rainy weather shoes.

Some bookbinder is of very high quality.
The quality can be seen by looking at the underside of the leather which has a very fine nap.
Some of the best bookbinder lasts a long time and polishes up like a treat.
The problem is with the cheap bookbinder leather with the heavy plasticky surface.

Some of the best bespoke shoemakers have made shoes out of bookbinder.
Have some photos somewhere of $$$$$ shoes made form bookbinder but can't find them at the moment.

 

[LJ1891]

Some bookbinder is of very high quality.
The quality can be seen by looking at the underside of the leather which has a very fine nap.
Some of the best bookbinder lasts a long time and polishes up like a treat.
The problem is with the cheap bookbinder leather with the heavy plasticky surface.

Some of the best bespoke shoemakers have made shoes out of bookbinder.
Have some photos somewhere of $$$$$ shoes made form bookbinder but can't find them at the moment.

I always appreciate your posts. I learn something every time.