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

[DapperAndy]

Wow! No concerns about getting polish or wax on your bed? I always end up with little bits on the ground that leave a smudge and require some cleanup after. Or bits that fly off while I'm brushing the shoe.

I had a blanket down, and I apply it with my fingers, so there’s little excess. It was one time, but notable and appreciated for its convenience, nonetheless.

Usually, I just use the dining room table. Good lighting and a convenient place for a glass of wine between shines.

 

[Luigi_M]

a convenient place for a glass of wine between shines.

... you definitely are a true dandy!

 

[Chowkin]

Yes, Pure Polish is excellent and contains no turpentine (a good thing as far as I am concerned). I have to admit that I only polish my shoes in bed. I thought everyone did. There is something special about cuddling up with a good pair of brogues.

That’s why they call it Shoe Appreciation

 

[uozay]

Is Saphir Médaille d'Or Sole Guard necessary or worthwhile or is it just fancy vegtable oil? If it is useful how often do you guys use it?

Just wondering too what do people do with a tin of saphir polish that has dried out? I've about 20% left in a tin.

thanks guys!

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Sole oil is a useless product. They are just trying to sell you more products. Anything that softens the soles (including oil) will only make it wear faster.

Wax drying in the tin is fine to use. It just means some of the solvents have dried out and honestly that's a good thing, IME. You can raise a shine will less of it and much faster. Actually when I get new polish I open the tin and cut an "X" into it and leave the lid off for many days to encourage it to dry faster.

 

[Munky]

Sole oil is a useless product. They are just trying to sell you more products. Anything that softens the soles (including oil) will only make it wear faster.

Wax drying in the tin is fine to use. It just means some of the solvents have dried out and honestly that's a good thing, IME. You can raise a shine will less of it and much faster. Actually when I get new polish I open the tin and cut an "X" into it and leave the lid off for many days to encourage it to dry faster.

[Spoiler, same old theme]. Does this mean that the turpentine in shoe polish is being evaporated? If this is the case, is it OK - on a regular basis - to use polishes without turps in the first place? Or any other solvents, come to that. That is to say, beeswax based products without a solvent? Is a solvent a necessity in shoe cream or shoe wax? For the sake of reductio ad absurdum, would it be reasonable to base your care of a pair of shoes ONLY on beeswax products, with no solvents? Can leather absorb beeswax without this solvent or does it just sit on top of the shoe? Yours, as always, Munky.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Most shoe polishes have a solvent in them to keep them "moist". Non-solvent based conditioners and polishes likely have borax mixed in which reacts with the proteins in beeswax to keep in in a liquid form. In any event I don't think leather absorbs beeswax at all and it isn't really necessary as beeswax is more or less just a cosmetic ingredient (for shine).

 

[DapperAndy]

[Spoiler, same old theme]. Does this mean that the turpentine in shoe polish is being evaporated? If this is the case, is it OK - on a regular basis - to use polishes without turps in the first place? Or any other solvents, come to that. That is to say, beeswax based products without a solvent? Is a solvent a necessity in shoe cream or shoe wax? For the sake of reductio ad absurdum, would it be reasonable to base your care of a pair of shoes ONLY on beeswax products, with no solvents? Can leather absorb beeswax without this solvent or does it just sit on top of the shoe? Yours, as always, Munky.

All shoe polish has four basic ingredients:

1. Solvent (usually Naphtha or Turpentine)
2. Oil (usually Neatsfoot or Mink oil)
3. Wax (usually Beeswax and/or Carnauba)
4. Color (usually chemical dyes)

The solvent has two main purposes: soften and ease the spread of the polish, and dissolve and clean the old waxes.

The wax has four main purposes:
1. Cosmetic (as @patrickBOOTH said) for adding a shine.
2. Protection, so that if you scuff your shoe on something, you aren’t scuffing the leather, just the wax.
3. Color stabilization. It allows you to replenish or change the color of the leather, as it is what holds the dye or pigment, rather than applying dye or pigment directly to the leather.
4. Proportion moderation. It is mixed at a proportion determined by the manufacturer to provide conditioning, protection, and/or shine. Can you condition your leather without wax, using oil only? Yes, but you run the risk of over conditioning. Wax helps you moderate that proportion through other application/textural limiters (you could spread cream on very thick, but it will usually get over-sticky before getting over saturated).

Can Polish be made without conditioning oil? Yes, that’s usually a High Shine or Mirror Gloss Product, designed for maximum cosmetic appeal.

Can Polish be made without solvent? Yes, again as @patrickBOOTH said, but then you’re using other products to soften the wax.

Can Polish be made without wax? Conditioner can. But again, you are limiting your protection, running the risk of over application, and coloring the leather directly.

Can Polish be made without color? Yes, that’s Neutral, High Shine, or Cleaner/Conditioner type Products.

Yours truly.
~Andy

 

[ShoeWho]

What are the options for extending the life of WW2 boots made with wooden pegs? I see a lot of German jackboots on ebay.de which are claimed to be genuine WW2 but they look as if they've been resoled with modern materials. So I'm wondering whether there's an established method for resoling boots made with wooden pegs. (I know you can still buy the pegs, but that's not what I had in mind!) I'm thinking of buying an old pair of boots for cheap...the soles are getting thin, as you can see. Maybe I could just buy those self-stick soles from Amazon www.amazon.co.uk/Soltrack-Mens-stick-on-soles/dp/B003B2QM8I . I don't care about authenticity, I just want cheap boots with character for slobbing around in.

 

[saskatoonjay]

What are the options for extending the life of WW2 boots made with wooden pegs? I see a lot of German jackboots on ebay.de which are claimed to be genuine WW2 but they look as if they've been resoled with modern materials. So I'm wondering whether there's an established method for resoling boots made with wooden pegs. (I know you can still buy the pegs, but that's not what I had in mind!) I'm thinking of buying an old pair of boots for cheap...the soles are getting thin, as you can see. Maybe I could just buy those self-stick soles from Amazon www.amazon.co.uk/Soltrack-Mens-stick-on-soles/dp/B003B2QM8I . I don't care about authenticity, I just want cheap boots with character for slobbing around in.

Nazi boots? Please don’t. Especially if you’re in the States where the threat is no longer hypothetical.

 

[Munky]

All shoe polish has four basic ingredients:

1. Solvent (usually Naphtha or Turpentine)
2. Oil (usually Neatsfoot or Mink oil)
3. Wax (usually Beeswax and/or Carnauba)
4. Color (usually chemical dyes)

The solvent has two main purposes: soften and ease the spread of the polish, and dissolve and clean the old waxes.

The wax has four main purposes:
1. Cosmetic (as @patrickBOOTH said) for adding a shine.
2. Protection, so that if you scuff your shoe on something, you aren’t scuffing the leather, just the wax.
3. Color stabilization. It allows you to replenish or change the color of the leather, as it is what holds the dye or pigment, rather than applying dye or pigment directly to the leather.
4. Proportion moderation. It is mixed at a proportion determined by the manufacturer to provide conditioning, protection, and/or shine. Can you condition your leather without wax, using oil only? Yes, but you run the risk of over conditioning. Wax helps you moderate that proportion through other application/textural limiters (you could spread cream on very thick, but it will usually get over-sticky before getting over saturated).

Can Polish be made without conditioning oil? Yes, that’s usually a High Shine or Mirror Gloss Product, designed for maximum cosmetic appeal.

Can Polish be made without solvent? Yes, again as @patrickBOOTH said, but then you’re using other products to soften the wax.

Can Polish be made without wax? Conditioner can. But again, you are limiting your protection, running the risk of over application, and coloring the leather directly.

Can Polish be made without color? Yes, that’s Neutral, High Shine, or Cleaner/Conditioner type Products.

Yours truly.
~Andy

Thanks for this, Andy. I knew about quite a few of these things and I have used your creams for a long time. My cache is running low. Can you ship to the UK? With best wishes, Munky.

 

[ShoeWho]

Nazi boots? Please don’t. Especially if you’re in the States where the threat is no longer hypothetical.

I'm in London and I'm as aware of fascist symbolism as anyone. But these are just boots. When you wear them they look like ordinary biker/engineer boots and nobody notices or cares. Unless you tuck your trousers inside and retain the noisy metal fittings on the heel and sole. Which I wouldn't do. I don't goose step either.

When West Germany reformed its army in the '50s they carried on using jackboots in the exact same style as the WW2 type. I have a pair - top quality, issued in the '70s, with a leather lined shaft. (I got them for £5 from a seller on ebay who listed them in the wrong section.) It's interesting that the Allies didn't mandate a new style of boot. But goose stepping ceased...maybe that's what people cared about at the time. l

 

[troika]

Has anyone tried applying rubber half soles to leather shoes by themselves? I'm kinda sick of paying a cobbler $40 every time I wanna add some to my shoes. Vibrams are $8 a pair on amazon, and I figure I can do it with Barge cement and some elbow grease.

The only thing I'm worried about is clamping them together for 48hrs somehow. I assume cobblers do it with a press with a last in it or something. @Nick V. any thoughts?

 

[Munky]

I'm in London and I'm as aware of fascist symbolism as anyone. But these are just boots. When you wear them they look like ordinary biker/engineer boots and nobody notices or cares. Unless you tuck your trousers inside and retain the noisy metal fittings on the heel and sole. Which I wouldn't do. I don't goose step either.

When West Germany reformed its army in the '50s they carried on using jackboots in the exact same style as the WW2 type. I have a pair - top quality, issued in the '70s, with a leather lined shaft. (I got them for £5 from a seller on ebay who listed them in the wrong section.) It's interesting that the Allies didn't mandate a new style of boot. But goose stepping ceased...maybe that's what people cared about at the time. l

Boots like this are not 'just boots' and you seem to know this. They are Nazi jackboots and come freighted with a truly awful history. I am sure there are plenty of sites where you can be advised about such things, but I hope that this isn't one of them. M.

 

[ShoeWho]

Without the goose step and the other aspects I mentioned above, they are just boots. Like engineer boots without the strap. If you saw me wearing them with boot cut jeans you'd have no idea of their provenance. And if nobody can tell they are so-called Nazi boots, where's the harm?

I'm the last person who would want to upset victims of Nazism - FWIW I'm a socialist and have better knowledge of 20th century European history than 99.99% of people. If a Holocaust survivor sees me wearing these boots he will be untroubled. I wonder how he feels about Luftwaffe livery on planes at airshows, or American motorcycle cop uniforms, or Keanu Reeves' leather coat in the Matrix. All those images have a Nazi tinge, but if you decide they shouldn't be seen you've given the fascists power over our shared iconography. And I won't do that.