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

[josef1]

Hello,

Sorry if this is not the correct place to post as this is more of a shoe repair question rather than a shoe care question.

Anyway, I have a boot with a small cut in the leather. It's between 1/4 and 1/2 an inch long. It's deep, but it does not go all the way through the leather.
View attachment 996204
I'm wondering what to do about it. Fill in carefully with superglue? Some other product? Leave to a professional?
Since it's a boot, I'm not so much concerned with beauty as I am with long-term structural integrity. At this point, returning to store is also an option, but I'd prefer to keep as I got an amazing deal on these due to the defect.

Thanks

Saphir has a renovating repair cream that fills in scratches although I'm not sure the limitations of this as I've never used it myself.

The Hanger Project has a video on this that tackles scratches using Saphir products and Kirby uses the repair cream as well.


Might be worth a try!

 

[Luigi_M]

I'm slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) approaching to something somehow resembling a mirror shine ...



ok ... ok ... please say nothing: I just wanted to share my attempts.
Best wishes! Luigi

 

[Luigi_M]

@ccpl14 , I have not knowledge to tell you what to do, but by sure I'd warn you against using superglue: on leather in general, and on your shoes in particular.
In my experience superglue dries rock hard and brittle: the opposite of leather, that is usually more or less soft and pliable.
The risk for you is to get another, bigger, crack in the leather: on the edge of the area where superglue has been absorbed.

Sorry, I can just say that. Maybe oter gentlemen will supply you with positive and competent advice.
Good luck, Luigi.

 

[ccpl14]

@ccpl14 , I have not knowledge to tell you what to do, but by sure I'd warn you against using superglue: on leather in general, and on your shoes in particular.
In my experience superglue dries rock hard and brittle: the opposite of leather, that is usually more or less soft and pliable.
The risk for you is to get another, bigger, crack in the leather: on the edge of the area where superglue has been absorbed.

Sorry, I can just say that. Maybe oter gentlemen will supply you with positive and competent advice.
Good luck, Luigi.

Thanks for that advice

 

[Munky]

Beautiful shoes, Luigi! Congratulations.
I agree with your comments about not using superglue. A local cobbler told me about this. It is important that the glue that is used can 'give' a bit. Superglue just sticks things together without any hope of movement.
Hope you are well and enjoying the summer.
Yours, as always,
Munky

 

[Whirling]

Would it be unreasonable for me to put some hand stitches in here to keep this from ripping further? I took it to a local cobbler, but he wanted to put a piece of leather over the top and then restitch the facing down over it. He also wanted $70.


Thanks for your help?

 

[Luigi_M]

Thank you Munky, and glad to hear from you!
My summer has begun well - my 16yo son managed to get admission to the third class of superior school - while I was ready to have him shine my shoes all days, all summer long.
If I think how little he studied, I can draw only two conclusions:
a) his dad is a perfect idiot, because I always had to study hard to achieve something OR
b) God really exists and He is almighty...

Sorry if I digressed from the shoe care for a moment. Have a nice week end!
Luigi.

 

[Luigi_M]

@Whirling , usually I myself like to put my hands on my shoes, but in your case I think I would pass.
I may guess that punching three or four layers of leather with a needle would be really hard, then I wouldn't know which thread use, then again I'd be afraid to make too tight or too loose stitches and tear the leather ...
Were your boots mine, I'd rather try and find a different, more honest cobbler.
Anyway, if you have the guts to try, I'd be glad to see the outcome.
Best luck! Luigi.

 

[Munky]

That is great news, Luigi! All the best to your son. While we are off-topic, I have just been given a Lifetime Achievement Award at Greenwich University, here in the UK. Not for shoes, though, you understand.

My Carlos Santos blue wholecuts are not holding up as well as I would have liked. They are beautiful shoes but are wearing, very quickly, at the end of the sole. I am not sure what to do about this. I haven't worn them all that much, although they are my favourite shoes. They are Goodyear welted, so I can't just drop them into the local cobbler. Hope you are all well and that your son is very pleased with his achievement. Yours, Munky.

 

[Luigi_M]

@Munky , I don't know if it's the same case, but until a couple of years ago the sole of all my shoes worn quickier on the outer part of the sole and towards the point.
I think I had been making too long steps.
Then, by kind suggestion of @DWFII, I begun to be more gait-aware, so to say, making shorter steps, trying and keep my weight more centered on my feet and trying to put one feet right behind the other while walking (not like a top model , but neither putting a feet here, a feet there, like I was doing before).
It took me some weeks of "controlled walking", during which I felt a bit unnatural, but then I got used to a more correct walk and now my soles wear evenly (yet always too fast *sigh* - says the scrooge in me).
You might want to try as well.

Sincere congratulations for your achievement too! I'm pretty sure it's not awarded easily, nor to anyone.
Yours, Luigi.

 

[Munky]

@Munky , I don't know if it's the same case, but until a couple of years ago the sole of all my shoes worn quickier on the outer part of the sole and towards the point.
I think I had been making too long steps.
Then, by kind suggestion of @DWFII, I begun to be more gait-aware, so to say, making shorter steps, trying and keep my weight more centered on my feet and trying to put one feet right behind the other while walking (not like a top model , but neither putting a feet here, a feet there, like I was doing before).
It took me some weeks of "controlled walking", during which I felt a bit unnatural, but then I got used to a more correct walk and now my soles wear evenly (yet always too fast *sigh* - says the scrooge in me).
You might want to try as well.

Thank you for that, Luigi. Oddly enough, I have been experimenting with ways of walking, too! I don't know where I heard of it but one bit of advice was to let the soles our your feet broaden out a bit, when you walk. I will try the useful advice from you and DW, too. This attention to detail will drive us mad! I keep trying to repeat the mantra: 'they are only shoes; they are only shoes'!

Thanks for your other comment, too. The award doesn't come up easily. However...it is a sign of ageing too!

Have a great weekend and again, well done to your son! With all good wishes, Munky.

 

[josef1]

Anyone have experience with Allen Edmonds edge dressing colors?

Been meaning to purchase but I can't seem to decide whatll go best with most of my shoes.

I hear natural just makes it shiny so I cant decide between chili or brown.

From what I can gather now from old pics, here are what most of my shoe edges look like. (Meermin monks and Loake Buckingham)

 

[Manuhel]

No, I don't know anyone who mixes. Usually you put in a thin coat of cream (one of the redder ones) brush it up so it looks nice, then decide if you want a little more and add a little coat, brush till it looks nice. If you don't think the color is purple enough, think about adding a coat of navy. I really like hermes and mahogany creams, so I think the burgundy polish you have is probably pretty nice.

I don't know if mahogany wax colors as well as mahogany cream (I have both). In fact, if you want, once you are done, you can use the mahogany wax on the toe box and heels and it will look good. You aren't going to make a mistake with this stuff, it all looks good. As I said, I like red, so I use hermes red cream, and then mahogany on the toe box. Doesn't that sound beautiful?

Here is a picture after the process. Used Saphir renomat, renovateur, two layers of burgundy cream polish and mahagony wax for now.

Quite happy so far as the leather is more subtle and the creases are not so visible any more. For more depth on the color I guess I have to see how it develops over time. Navy blue wax has not yet arrived.
Thanks for the help so far.

 

[willyto]

Would it be unreasonable for me to put some hand stitches in here to keep this from ripping further? I took it to a local cobbler, but he wanted to put a piece of leather over the top and then restitch the facing down over it. He also wanted $70.
View attachment 997193 View attachment 997194

Thanks for your help?

I have a pair of John Lobb bespoke shoes I got for quite cheap(Shoe trees included) that unfortunately the seller didn't find appropiate to disclose that kind of damage in one of the shoes. I guess it can be repaired by someone with the knowledge and I have them as a long term project(They would need to be resoled and rewelted). I've been conditioning them with Bick4 and did a glycerin treatment(Which actually altered the finish of the shoe trees). The fit is quite good too and they wear like slippers.

To the point, I would trust a reputable cobbler to fix that instead of doing a DIY.

 

[coldsalmon]

I have these AE Rutledges, which are quite wrinkly. I actually love the way they look, but I wonder if it is because I am not conditioning the leather properly. I wore them frequently about 4 years ago (enough to re-sole them), and I used AE shoe cream every few wears. Then I stopped wearing them for about 2 years just after my daughter was born. I've recently pulled them out of the closet after starting a new job. I polished them before wearing them again.

That photo is after polishing, but before a coat of AE Conditioner that I put on yesterday. I can upload more detailed photos if you think that would be helpful. I'm just wondering if I should be doing more, or if this is just what happens to well-used shoes.