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

[chogall]

Quote:

Quote:
Yup. Make-up pads are much better.

Despite its popularity by the Armoury and Leather Soul, I find cotton rounds have way too much lint.

 

[Munky]

A lot of Saphir products contain turpentine, to which I am allergic. If I use them in the house, I find myself having difficulty breathing. Collonil products vary in their use of turpentine. Without going through them all, I have observed that some do contain turpentine and some don't. Collonil products are also very good.

I have found that products containing turpentine dry my hands out. I'm not going to start wearing rubber gloves but it pays to be aware of what is in some of these products. I have reflected on the idea that if they dry my hands out, what are they doing to my shoes?

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I use my hands for anything. I lick a waxed finger for mirror shining. Meh.

 

[PCK1]

T-shirts ftw.



@RIDER - do you have pics of the Gatsby button boots?

 

[PCK1]

If I have a bespoke shoe made by a top quality maker and wear it twice per month with no care and only brushing...and only in impeccable weather...and always storing it properly with shoes, out of heat, etc....how long will it last? 20 years?

 

[jerrybrowne]



If I have a bespoke shoe made by a top quality maker and wear it twice per month with no care and only brushing...and only in impeccable weather...and always storing it properly with shoes, out of heat, etc....how long will it last? 20 years?

Maybe if they are shell. Calf will always need some frequent conditioning to last that long no matter how infrequently you wear them.

 

[RIDER]



T-shirts ftw.



@RIDER
- do you have pics of the Gatsby button boots?

No, I wasn't in the factory when they went on their way, but this pair was used as the model:

This actual pair belongs to someone around these parts....did it some years ago. Most for the film were brown combo's if I remember correctly, and we had to do 16 pair for the lead.....forget his name. We first did these for Boardwalk Empire, but with working button holes. Provided a disaster as they couldn't get them off and on with changes as easily as they had hoped. If we have to make these up now the elastic loop is the way to go.

 

[PCK1]

Very cool @RIDER ...what about those little hooks that they use specifically for the button boots though to get them on and off?

@jerrybrowne - suppose you are right about the conditioning...if only the world was perfect

 

[jungleroller]



Maybe if they are shell. Calf will always need some frequent conditioning to last that long no matter how infrequently you wear them.

Wasn't this covered a few pages back?

In all likelihood, if you didn't wear the shoes in the rain, if you didn't get mud or ordure on them, if you didn't scratch them or spill wine or beer on them, or leave them too near the heat or in the back of your car to bake in the sun,etc., you'd get years and years of wear out of them.

Conditioners and polishes exist to counter the deleterious effects of forcing leather to be the interface between yourself and harsh reality. Leather often sits for years rolled up in bins before a manufacture buys it and perhaps years more before it is used to make shoes. No one toils unseen in vast midnight warehouses unrolling those hides one by one and conditioning them. No harm, no foul.

Exactly......we have leathers at the factory that are from the 70's. They are now premium hides and are only used for the highest priced work. We used a bunch of great old bone buck for the Great Gatsby movie's button boots. Studio pays ++ prices, the old leathers are pulled out of the leather room. They don't go bad, just need to be reconditioned a bit. NO factory throws out leather - it doesn't rot on it's own. The environment does that.

 

[DWFII]



If I have a bespoke shoe made by a top quality maker and wear it twice per month with no care and only brushing...and only in impeccable weather...and always storing it properly with shoes, out of heat, etc....how long will it last? 20 years?

Depending on the leather and the tanning, probably 20 and then some. I've seen boots that were forty years old and still being worn and no special care. No abuse but no babying either.

All things being equal--tanning, currying, etc., calf is no worse than any any other leather and better than some.

 

[jerrybrowne]



Wasn't this covered a few pages back?

Really not a direct comparison. Actually, never mind. It's really not worth effort addressing this....

 

[PCK1]

I'd like to get a constructive investigation going on leather conditioners...since they seem to come up a lot

This is what I am thinking.

Conditioners:

1. Lexol

2. Bick4

3. GlenKaren

4. Saphir Renovateur

If you have used any of these products please mention the following

1. Experience using the product.
2. Results from use of the product
3. Method you used to apply product
4. Would you use this product again?

If you have used multiple of these products, please repeat for each product. ALSO, please provide which is your preferred...and pros/cons of using one versus another.

If you feel that a different product should be added, please feel free to do so.
If you feel that more information should be provided than what I have requested, feel free to do so as they are guidelines.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

This thread is exhausting, it's the same **** over and over again. You're asking for a lot of work, especially since every question you are asking answers and experiences exist in this thread and pretty recently too. Even in just the past few months. Doing a thread search with those products as key words would be a good place to start.

 

[sstomcat]



I'd like to get a constructive investigation going on leather conditioners...since they seem to come up a lot

This is what I am thinking.

Conditioners:

1. Lexol

2. Bick4

3. GlenKaren

4. Saphir Renovateur

If you have used any of these products please mention the following

1. Experience using the product.
2. Results from use of the product
3. Method you used to apply product
4. Would you use this product again?

If you have used multiple of these products, please repeat for each product. ALSO, please provide which is your preferred...and pros/cons of using one versus another.

If you feel that a different product should be added, please feel free to do so.
If you feel that more information should be provided than what I have requested, feel free to do so as they are guidelines.

There is no best, it all it all boils down to you, how you use it, when you use it on which leather you use it. You will get the best feedback by buying all four and experimenting by yourself.

 

[sstomcat]



If I have a bespoke shoe made by a top quality maker and wear it twice per month with no care and only brushing...and only in impeccable weather...and always storing it properly with shoes, out of heat, etc....how long will it last? 20 years?

Maybe if they are shell. Calf will always need some frequent conditioning to last that long no matter how infrequently you wear them.

Depending on the leather and the tanning, probably 20 and then some. I've seen boots that were forty years old and still being worn and no special care. No abuse but no babying either.

All things being equal--tanning, currying, etc., calf is no worse than any any other leather and better than some.

Doesn't necessary have to be Bespoke, I have a pair of SAS that I dont baby sit neither do I abuse and it still looks good after 15 years and easily good for another 10.
I have been told that with Vass if you take care of them it will last you a lifetime with care and rotation and I do tend to believe it.

Unless you wear these shoes in rain, ice and snow w/o proper protection I cant see how good shoes can have a short lifespan.