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

[florent]

I’m looking at purchasing this pair of shoes on ebay

Mens Wright Cognac Shell Leather Wingtip Oxford Shoes 12 D Vtg N7 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mens Wright Cognac Shell Leather Wingtip Oxford Shoes 12 D Vtg N7 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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I know I won’t be able to eliminate all the folds, is there a way to minimize them if I purchase the shoe? I don’t mind experimenting on a pair like this, the cost is low enough that I can view them as a “training pair”. Any advice would be much appreciated!

These aren't shell cordovan, despite the description, but corrected grain. The wrinkles are probably here to stay

 

[JFWR]

Nothing special here guys, just a plug for how easy Horween shell is to maintain. Wore these new-to-me Bourbon Shell Cap's from Viberg. After two straight days, decided to hit them with a little maintenance. Here's a quick before shot.....

View attachment 1881663

Again, not bad. Nothing that requires a serious commitment. Here's an after shot that required a little less than 90 seconds of elapsed time, total.......

View attachment 1881664

I used to go through this routine of brushing the dust off, adding a little water and wiping, then brushing to finish off the process. Nothing major, maybe 5 minutes. But the beauty of Horween shell (maybe others, but 99% of the shell I've owned is from Horween) is how easy it is to maintain. Now my routine is to spritz a small amount of water on the brush of choice and brush for about 30-40 seconds for each shoe. That's it and unless the shoes are in really bad condition, that's all it takes.

Spoiler: Additional After Shots

View attachment 1881665 View attachment 1881666 View attachment 1881667

People act like shell cordovan is so hard to care for, when it is absolutely the easiest leather in the world to maintain. It doesn't suffer any damage from anything and it requires very little maintenance.

People mistake the fact that it is currently quite expensive because horses just aren't as numerous as they once were. This was, once upon a time, armour leather. Then it was razor strop and work boot leather.

 

[Domino23]

These aren't shell cordovan, despite the description, but corrected grain. The wrinkles are probably here to stay

Damn!!!
I really liked how those looked, but I'm glad you told me before I got them. This is why I'm forcing myself to sit on purchases and seek more information before pulling the trigger lol. Thank you!

 

[marinemustang]

Unsure if this is the appropriate thread for polish sales. I have many (20+) brand new cans/bottles of Saphir products that were purchased about 6 months ago. My choices in shoes has pivoted so I'm looking to move these polishes to someone who will use them. If interested, DM me and we can work something out. Thanks!

 

[JFWR]

In regards to dubbin, can you use bear grease instead of dubbin to condition rough out suede and the like? My friend up in Canada has a cottage where her grandparents have on occasion had to shoot bears, and as a result, they have some bear grease. Given dubbin is animal grease, is it possible to use the bear grease in this capacity?

 

[gnu]

Is it possible to redirect creases on shell cordovan? I had my first wear of a pair of shell Alden Indy boots today. I did precrease them but not as much as I normally do with my other shell pairs. One of the boots has an angled crease over the toe thats a bit annoying. I was able to smooth it out with a deer bone, but is there any way to keep that crease from reforming again or sort of move it so its slightly more aesthetically pleasing?

 

[JFWR]

Is it possible to redirect creases on shell cordovan? I had my first wear of a pair of shell Alden Indy boots today. I did precrease them but not as much as I normally do with my other shell pairs. One of the boots has an angled crease over the toe thats a bit annoying. I was able to smooth it out with a deer bone, but is there any way to keep that crease from reforming again or sort of move it so its slightly more aesthetically pleasing?

The deer bone doesn't really work to do anything at all.

Generally speaking, once leather is creased, it's creased forever. There's no coming back.

Pre-creasing is the only option and you really need to do it legitimately in order to avoid problems.

It is possible, however, that the crease hasn't really set and you might be able to force the crease to properly appear elsewise by -really creasing the hell out of it-. I'd try that and hope that this redirects the crease strictly to that location. It might! Though I am doubtful.

 

[Rusty1960]

I wouldn't go through all the trouble and just buy a coloured one and not apply more than a layer of wax on the vamp if any. I haven't handled sharskin myself so don't know how they react to regular shoe cream.

I brought back to life these two pairs of shoes that I bought but don't fit me well.Basically cleaned the suede, used Saphir suede conditioner and sanded the edges, recoloured and used shoemaking wax with edge and heel irons on them.

Saint Crispin's:

I marked every stitch mark individually myself:

Vass: (Even the toe taps had rust in them) Looks like the owner wore them a lot on grit surfaces but I couldn't be bothered to sand that all down.

I found on The Elegant Oxford that Saphir made the color cream I needed. Worked out well.

 

[Jazzthief]

Removing Salt Stains from Suede Leather

Greetings,

I am having problems with removing salt stains from my dark brown desert boots. I have given them a go with Saphir salt stain remover, then washed them with Saphir suede shampoo, and used the renovating spray in dark brown. The stains are still clearly visible as washed out streaks.

Is it a lost cause or are there still some tricks that could solve the issue?

 

[prof.contingency]

Removing Salt Stains from Suede Leather

Greetings,

I am having problems with removing salt stains from my dark brown desert boots. I have given them a go with Saphir salt stain remover, then washed them with Saphir suede shampoo, and used the renovating spray in dark brown. The stains are still clearly visible as washed out streaks.

Is it a lost cause or are there still some tricks that could solve the issue?

Unfortunately, salt damage is likely to be irreversible, as causes structural change to the leather itself The trick is to address it when it happens. This doesn't mean that you can't save the shoe though. You can either re-dye or apply a colour spray to mitigate how it looks.

 

[Frozenhaze]

Removing Salt Stains from Suede Leather

Greetings,

I am having problems with removing salt stains from my dark brown desert boots. I have given them a go with Saphir salt stain remover, then washed them with Saphir suede shampoo, and used the renovating spray in dark brown. The stains are still clearly visible as washed out streaks.

Is it a lost cause or are there still some tricks that could solve the issue?

You can always try the old trick and mix 1 part vinegar with 2 parts water and rub this mixture into the boots with a soft cloth, then wipe away any residues and leave the boots to dry slowly overnight.

 

[Jazzthief]

Unfortunately, salt damage is likely to be irreversible, as causes structural change to the leather itself The trick is to address it when it happens. This doesn't mean that you can't save the shoe though. You can either re-dye or apply a colour spray to mitigate how it looks.

You can always try the old trick and mix 1 part vinegar with 2 parts water and rub this mixture into the boots with a soft cloth, then wipe away any residues and leave the boots to dry slowly overnight.

I have added a picture to illustrate. This is before using the renovating spray, but that did not really make the situation better in regards to the salt streaks. It actually looks lighter and whiter than in the picture.

I know that one is supposed to act on these stains immediately, but this time around I just did not have the chance. That is on me.

 

[Soundchasr]

Edge and heel question:

What product do I use to make my edges look like they used to? I was going to sand them down a bit and then apply a brown edging but I don't want them too dark. Any product suggestions appreciated!

 

[vim147]

Edge and heel question:

What product do I use to make my edges look like they used to? I was going to sand them down a bit and then apply a brown edging but I don't want them too dark. Any product suggestions appreciated!

Try regular polish and wax.

 

[JFWR]

Try regular polish and wax.

This^ Use some cream polish for colour then wax.