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

[masernaut]

In my experience, side ridges such as those are a result of your gait.

 

[patrick_b]



Hi guys. After reading thousands of entries on this thread, I can get a pretty decent shine on my calf shoes. The thing that eludes me, however, is a really good shine on my AE cordovan Leeds.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I keep hoping for something like post 2036 of this thread, on p. 136. This pair of shoes is reported to be only a couple months old.

Compare that to my Leeds. I've had these for over a year, and have brushed them for hundreds of hours. They haven't been worn a lot, but some weekends I'll brush them for several hours. I treated them with Saphir cordo creme early on (because they arrived [new] with a few minor scuffs). Since then, until this weekend, I have basically only brushed them. Today I applied a couple thin layers of Saphir Renovateur--which added a bit of shine. The shoes look like they are in great shape, but they don't have any interesting colour variation, and they aren't taking on much of a shine. All the work I've done only seems to have brought out the imperfections in the cordovan. This picture makes them look a bit shiny, but they don't have any gloss compared to a good polish on my calf shoes.

Any advice gratefully received.

As Ron Rider mentioned, shell is tricky. You'll never get the same type of shine on your Leeds that you do on your calf shoes. Calf needs the layer of wax atop the leather to achieve its shine. Shell has an innate shine due to the oils and waxes stuffed into it during the tanning and finishing process. That's not to say you can't bull the toe of your shell shoes to get a mirror shine, I simply think that the beauty of shell is its inherent shine, not a wax shine like calf. Alden adds something during their finishing process that makes them look nicer out of the box than their AE counterparts.

Those are my Leeds in your 1st image. Products like Renovateur and Venetian Shoe cream will add a bit of life to your Leeds but nothing looks better than shell with some wear on them. That's when they get the depth that looks so nice (IMO of course).

For reference, I achieved a decent shine on these shell boots using Saphir Cordovan polish and a bit of kiwi wax. Note, I haven't used that much product on shell since that experiment.

These were treated with Renovatur or VSC just prior to the picture. Shell looks its best like this, IMO. Broken in, some wear, dings, dents, etc., just a small amount of product and a lot of brushing.

 

[Cleav]

Excellent patrick, thanks

 

[robkez313]

I bought Saphir Renovateur. Is it enough protection for shoes to use only Renovateur or do i also need to use Saphir Cream Polish on top of Renovateur?
Shoes are : guidi black, wolverine 1k brown

 

[PCK1]

The shine on those boots is WOWOWOW.

 

[ezlau]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

This is a pair of my loafer where the tip is worn and I believe the welt are showing? Just wondering what you guys think: Resole, or would it still last for awhile?

The sole still feels solid (no spongy feeling) when I apply pressure on it.

 

[DWFII]



Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

This is a pair of my loafer where the tip is worn and I believe the welt are showing? Just wondering what you guys think: Resole, or would it still last for awhile?

The sole still feels solid (no spongy feeling) when I apply pressure on it.

If you keep wearing it, you'll have to replace welt, too. Not the optimal situation...either for the shoe or for your pocketbook.

 

[Cleav]

What D says ^ Take em in, be good for you and them.

 

[ezlau]



If you keep wearing it, you'll have to replace welt, too. Not the optimal situation...either for the shoe or for your pocketbook.

Thanks DWF - that's what I thought too.

 

[DWFII]



Thanks DWF - that's what I thought too.

 

[DWFII]



Also I have noticed that this kind of side ridge has formed

What you're seeing there is the edge of the heel stiffener. It was not skived (thinned to a feather edge) well enough or the material used for the stiffener would not allow fine skiving, and / or it wasn't adhered to the lining and quarters well enough. Done deal...no help. Sorry.

 

[ovlov]

What you're seeing there is the edge of the heel stiffener. It was not skived (thinned to a feather edge) well enough or the material used for the stiffener would not allow fine skiving, and / or it wasn't adhered to the lining and quarters well enough.

Done deal...no help. Sorry.

Thanks mate,
Glad you chimed in. How about the forefoot though? That seems to be the bigger concern. As it stands now it probably isn't all that noticeable, but if like the now before wearing is it likely rto get significatly worse? and why would it be there in the first place? leather/ construction?

 

[DWFII]



Thanks mate,
Glad you chimed in. How about the forefoot though? That seems to be the bigger concern. As it stands now it probably isn't all that noticeable, but if like the now before wearing is it likely rto get significatly worse? and why would it be there in the first place? leather/ construction?

I don't know...maybe I've seen too much...but I don't really see a problem there...at least not in the leather itself.

All leathers are going to crease where the shoe flexes. If those creases are in a toe cap broguing, then either the toe stiffener is too soft or the toe cap / broguing too far towards the joint or the shoes don't fit you. Nothing else suggests itself.

And, from what I've gathered talking to Tony Crack, the baby calf is kind of like a crust...which is as close to the natural surface of the leather as you can get in a shoe leather...so it's unlikely to be a problem in the finish.

Maybe if you can explain to me what it is that you find disturbing, I can give you a better answer. Maybe a better photo?

 

[ovlov]

I don't know...maybe I've seen too much...but I don't really see a problem there...at least not in the leather itself.

All leathers are going to crease where the shoe flexes. If those creases are in a toe cap broguing, then either the toe stiffener is too soft or the toe cap / broguing too far towards the joint or the shoes don't fit you. Nothing else suggests itself.

And, from what I've gathered talking to Tony Crack, the baby calf is kind of like a crust...which is as close to the natural surface of the leather as you can get in a shoe leather...so it's unlikely to be a problem in the finish.

Maybe if you can explain to me what it is that you find disturbing, I can give you a better answer. Maybe a better photo?

Its that there are very soft small wrinkles that are a- much smaller than what I see in any of my other shoes and b- appear to have occurred before the shoes have even been worn out and about. It's not really noticeable now but I am concerned both that the different size/texture of the wrinkling indicates and issue with the leather and b- that after wearing the shoes about a bit they will become much more significant and noticeable. of course after some wear all my shoes get some wrinkling but they are more 'chunky'.

 

[JezeC]

Allen Edmond got a bit scratched up. Not sure how I can alleviate the situation. Attached are the photos. Are these marks permanent?