Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[happypebble]

So can the expert minds here recommend a source for vintage shoes other than eBay? Nothing wrong with eBay--in fact, I'm watching several of their auctions right now--but I was wondering if I was missing something elsewhere.

 

[suitforcourt]

Open question for all you Dack wearers. Did they offer Dacks in EEE widths? Asking for a friend.

Look for their G or H width.

I am 8.5eee for most US made shoe. For Dacks and Hartt, I can do 8.5G, 8.5H, 9F, and 9G.

 

[Oshare]

I've become a fan of the deer bone for shell cordovan.

Some of you may remember my disaster from one month ago: Trying to hydrate a pair of Hanover shell PTBs, the leather went black and took on a very rough texture where it had been touching the plastic bag I used for giving them a sauna treatment.

After going at them with the back of a spoon and Bick 4 over the course of about 2 weeks with only moderate success, I broke down and ordered a deer bone from A Fine Pair of Shoes. It wasn't so much the cost that had prevented me from getting the bone sooner... it was the fact that, well, it's a bone.

But it works. The shoes are almost back to normal now. I'll go at them a bit more, but I'm pleasantly surprised at how well the leather has come back.

I also did my Florsheim 93606s. Half way through, I stopped to snap a photo. The left shoe had the deer bone treatment, and the right shoe is just Bick 4 and brushing. The deer bone really does help to smoothen out the creases.

My wife came by and asked what I had in my hands. When I told her it was a deer bone, she just rolled her eyes and walked away.

 

[actionjbone]

I don't know when would be the proper time to wear this Knapp Ankle Boots

View attachment 1195909

Whenever you want?

 

[friendlygoz]

I've become a fan of the deer bone for shell cordovan.

Some of you may remember my disaster from one month ago: Trying to hydrate a pair of Hanover shell PTBs, the leather went black and took on a very rough texture where it had been touching the plastic bag I used for giving them a sauna treatment.

After going at them with the back of a spoon and Bick 4 over the course of about 2 weeks with only moderate success, I broke down and ordered a deer bone from A Fine Pair of Shoes. It wasn't so much the cost that had prevented me from getting the bone sooner... it was the fact that, well, it's a bone.

But it works. The shoes are almost back to normal now. I'll go at them a bit more, but I'm pleasantly surprised at how well the leather has come back.

View attachment 1195921

View attachment 1195922


I also did my Florsheim 93606s. Half way through, I stopped to snap a photo. The left shoe had the deer bone treatment, and the right shoe is just Bick 4 and brushing. The deer bone really does help to smoothen out the creases.

View attachment 1195923


My wife came by and asked what I had in my hands. When I told her it was a deer bone, she just rolled her eyes and walked away.

Great stuff. I’m glad you were able to fix this PTBs. I was feeling your pain. I have a deer bone but never use it because the creases seem to come back in the first minute or so after I put the shoes on. Is your experience different?

Your wife’s reaction: seen it many times...

 

[CWOyaji]

I've become a fan of the deer bone for shell cordovan.

Some of you may remember my disaster from one month ago: Trying to hydrate a pair of Hanover shell PTBs, the leather went black and took on a very rough texture where it had been touching the plastic bag I used for giving them a sauna treatment.

After going at them with the back of a spoon and Bick 4 over the course of about 2 weeks with only moderate success, I broke down and ordered a deer bone from A Fine Pair of Shoes. It wasn't so much the cost that had prevented me from getting the bone sooner... it was the fact that, well, it's a bone.

But it works. The shoes are almost back to normal now. I'll go at them a bit more, but I'm pleasantly surprised at how well the leather has come back.

View attachment 1195921

View attachment 1195922


I also did my Florsheim 93606s. Half way through, I stopped to snap a photo. The left shoe had the deer bone treatment, and the right shoe is just Bick 4 and brushing. The deer bone really does help to smoothen out the creases.

View attachment 1195923


My wife came by and asked what I had in my hands. When I told her it was a deer bone, she just rolled her eyes and walked away.

Glad you were able to get that black residue off those shoes - they look great now!

 

[Oshare]

Great stuff. I’m glad you were able to fix this PTBs. I was feeling your pain. I have a deer bone but never use it because the creases seem to come back in the first minute or so after I put the shoes on. Is your experience different?

Your wife’s reaction: seen it many times...

The creases come back right away, but it seems that the rough and almost gritty texture in the creases takes a bit longer to reappear.

I've only worn the shoes for a couple minutes in the entry to our place since using the deer bone. I'll give a longer term report later.

Glad you were able to get that black residue off those shoes - they look great now!

Thanks. I don't think it was residue. Rather, it was the surface of the cordovan itself that had gotten roughed up and porous.

 

[meister]

Please explain the American fascination with cordovan aka horse butt leather. Then again forgeddabboooudditt!

 

[suitforcourt]

So can the expert minds here recommend a source for vintage shoes other than eBay? Nothing wrong with eBay--in fact, I'm watching several of their auctions right now--but I was wondering if I was missing something elsewhere.

Etsy, kijiji, poshmark, Goodwill online auction, vcleat.com list... Thrift stores are still my favourite.

Others with more time also hit up estate sales, and garage sales.

 

[smfdoc]

I don't know when would be the proper time to wear this Knapp Ankle Boots

View attachment 1195909

On a blind date.

 

[stook1]

Done! Just need to figure out what to do about the sock liners since the foam stuff is disintegrating.

I actually kind of like the before as well. You cant really tell from the images but it was a really synthetic finish, which isnt the case anymore.

Those of you who have been following this for ththe last week or so likely recall that this was meant as a learning experience since I'd never done this before. In that sense it was a HUGE success for me with the bonus that I really like how they turned out.

Images below..

After:

Before:

 

[mormonopoly]

Hi Guys:

Someone should jump on these:

Florsheim Vintage Men's Green Dress Shoes Size 10 | ShopGoodwill.com

www.shopgoodwill.com

Outstanding shoes sadly not my size.

kilowatts

Wow I wish those were my size. I have that model in brown and blue, so these would have really rounded out the collection

 

[mormonopoly]

You think these would fit about the same as florsheim gunboats? The C width scares me a bit especially since they are balmorals.

I have two pairs of this model and I find them to run just a bit large. I can’t give a direct comparison to the gunboats because mine are a slightly different width than my gunboats.

 

[stook1]

I realize theres almost certainly variation but am I crazy to consider these if I'm a 10D brannock with a somewhat high instep. I can do a 10D or 9.5E on the AE 65 last just for common frame of reference.

I have two pairs of this model and I find them to run just a bit large. I can’t give a direct comparison to the gunboats because mine are a slightly different width than my gunboats.

 

[mormonopoly]

I realize theres almost certainly variation but am I crazy to consider these if I'm a 10D brannock with a somewhat high instep. I can do a 10D or 9.5E on the AE 65 last just for common frame of reference.

Hard to say. I'm more used to 1940s-60s shoes, so that's more what I'm comparing them to in terms of fit. If they go for a reasonable price, it might be worth the gamble because you could probably resell them pretty easily. Green shoes of that era are extremely rare.