March 20, 2013
The Single Most Important Shoe Care Tip I accepted some time ago that few people – including the people I know who are as interested in men’s style as I am – take the time to polish their shoes. Which is a shame because much of the value in good leather shoes is tied into how well you take care of them. The richness and depth of the leather, and the patina that builds over time, are all really brought out with routine polishing. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that a well-taken pair of mid-quality, full-grain leather shoes will always look better than a neglected pair made by some world-class cordwainer. If you’re not going to polish your shoes, however, then I encourage you to at least take one step: every once in a while, when your shoes start to look a little dry, apply a coat of leather conditioner. Routine application will do more for the health and appearance of your shoes than anything else. It will help bring out the suppleness and richness in the leather, give the color some depth, and most importantly, prevent your uppers from drying out and cracking. Many shoe enthusiasts prefer to condition their shoes with Saphir Renovateur. Indeed, it’s pretty nice stuff, but also a bit expensive. You’d be perfectly fine, in my opinion, with many of the cheaper options on the market. I prefer Allen Edmonds’ Conditioner and Cleaner, though Lexol is also pretty good (they have it broken up into separate conditioner and cleaner bottles). I’ve used all three and they do the job just fine. The real advantage of Saphir, from what I can tell, is that it smells a bit nicer and comes in a prettier container. Not a totally trivial thing, since it’s nice to make the activity as enjoyable as possible, but if you can’t afford it, don’t sweat it. The most important thing is that you put some conditioner on once every month or two, even if you can’t be bothered to polish.   (Photo via The William Brown Project)

The Single Most Important Shoe Care Tip

I accepted some time ago that few people – including the people I know who are as interested in men’s style as I am – take the time to polish their shoes. Which is a shame because much of the value in good leather shoes is tied into how well you take care of them. The richness and depth of the leather, and the patina that builds over time, are all really brought out with routine polishing. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that a well-taken pair of mid-quality, full-grain leather shoes will always look better than a neglected pair made by some world-class cordwainer.

If you’re not going to polish your shoes, however, then I encourage you to at least take one step: every once in a while, when your shoes start to look a little dry, apply a coat of leather conditioner. Routine application will do more for the health and appearance of your shoes than anything else. It will help bring out the suppleness and richness in the leather, give the color some depth, and most importantly, prevent your uppers from drying out and cracking.

Many shoe enthusiasts prefer to condition their shoes with Saphir Renovateur. Indeed, it’s pretty nice stuff, but also a bit expensive. You’d be perfectly fine, in my opinion, with many of the cheaper options on the market. I prefer Allen Edmonds’ Conditioner and Cleaner, though Lexol is also pretty good (they have it broken up into separate conditioner and cleaner bottles). I’ve used all three and they do the job just fine. The real advantage of Saphir, from what I can tell, is that it smells a bit nicer and comes in a prettier container. Not a totally trivial thing, since it’s nice to make the activity as enjoyable as possible, but if you can’t afford it, don’t sweat it. The most important thing is that you put some conditioner on once every month or two, even if you can’t be bothered to polish.  

(Photo via The William Brown Project)

Posted in Saphir Allen Edmonds Lexol Shoes Maintenance
March 7, 2012

Bulling Shoes

Every once in a while, I like to bull my shoes. Bulling refers to a shoe polishing technique that results in a high, glossy shine. In the States, they call it spit shining.

To bull shoes, start by stripping down the leather with Lexol leather cleaner. This will give you a clean, new surface to work on. Next, go through the regular routines for any polishing technique - apply leather conditioner, buff them out, let them sit for thirty minutes, and then apply cream polish before buffing them out again.

Now, to get the high shine, you need to use a bit of wax and water. I find Saphir Pate de Luxe Wax to be the most effective. Wrap a soft cotton cloth around your fingers, swipe it in the wax, and then dab it in some water (or, if you’re an old-school American, lightly spit on it). Lightly rub this on your shoes using small, circular motions. Keep doing this until you feel the paste starting to get dry, and then add a minimal amount of water again. After a while, you’ll find that a mirror shine will start to appear, and the leather will feel very glassy and smooth. The key here is to only use a minimum amount of polish and water. You don’t want too much of either. Do this to the toe caps, heel cup, and back quarters, but not to any areas where the leather bends. If you do, you’ll get unsightly cracks in the wax. 

The whole process takes a long time. Three to five hours, depending on how well you work and how finely grained the leather is. This isn’t something you want to do if you just want smart looking shoes; you have to enjoy the process. I recommend putting on some music, sitting back, and just enjoying yourself. 

Above are three photos. I shot the top one at night, right after I finished bulling my left shoe and before I started on my right. You can see the effect it has when these two are placed side by side. The other two photos I took in the morning, after I was done polishing both of them. 

Posted in Bulling Lexol Maintenance Polishing Saphir Shoes Spit Shine
February 8, 2012
Go Easy on the Wax I recently bought a new pair of Crockett and Jones Belgraves from a seller I found online. I was able to get them at a nice discount, but when they arrived, they had thin white creases in certain parts of the leather. I figured the leather must have been just dry, so I treated it with some conditioner. Even after a few treatments, however, they didn’t go away. In fact, when I worn them around a bit, awful white lines would appear wherever the leather would bend.  Then it occurred to me - the seller must have caked on a bunch of neutral shoe polish wax. He didn’t know how to properly shine shoes. The result is something like the picture you see above, even though the shoes were new.  The best way to get rid of heavy wax build-up is to use Lexol leather cleaner. “Mixed” solutions such as Allen Edmonds conditioner and cleaner won’t be enough (though they’re still good for regular maintenance). If the build-up is especially bad, you might even have to run your fingernail over the stitches and around the pinking (the zig zag detailing). That’s what I found myself doing last night for about an hour. The problem with having so much wax build-up is that it not only creates ugly creases (particularly if you use a neutral wax), but it also prevents the leather from absorbing any conditioner, which means it will eventually dry out. To avoid this, go easy on the wax, and every once in a while, use some Lexol leather cleaner to wipe away any build-up. Remember that a little wax goes a long, long way. Or, if you prefer, just stick to cream polish. You won’t get as much protection from the elements, or perhaps even as high of a shine, but at least your shoes will never look like the ones above. 

Go Easy on the Wax

I recently bought a new pair of Crockett and Jones Belgraves from a seller I found online. I was able to get them at a nice discount, but when they arrived, they had thin white creases in certain parts of the leather. I figured the leather must have been just dry, so I treated it with some conditioner. Even after a few treatments, however, they didn’t go away. In fact, when I worn them around a bit, awful white lines would appear wherever the leather would bend. 

Then it occurred to me - the seller must have caked on a bunch of neutral shoe polish wax. He didn’t know how to properly shine shoes. The result is something like the picture you see above, even though the shoes were new. 

The best way to get rid of heavy wax build-up is to use Lexol leather cleaner. “Mixed” solutions such as Allen Edmonds conditioner and cleaner won’t be enough (though they’re still good for regular maintenance). If the build-up is especially bad, you might even have to run your fingernail over the stitches and around the pinking (the zig zag detailing). That’s what I found myself doing last night for about an hour.

The problem with having so much wax build-up is that it not only creates ugly creases (particularly if you use a neutral wax), but it also prevents the leather from absorbing any conditioner, which means it will eventually dry out. To avoid this, go easy on the wax, and every once in a while, use some Lexol leather cleaner to wipe away any build-up. Remember that a little wax goes a long, long way.

Or, if you prefer, just stick to cream polish. You won’t get as much protection from the elements, or perhaps even as high of a shine, but at least your shoes will never look like the ones above. 

Posted in Shoes Shoe Polish Wax Maintenance Shoe Care Allen Edmonds Lexol