Buying guide for your leather shoes: maintain, repair and live happily with your shoes? (Part 5)

Brief. They must fill the shoe well , and therefore, the relaxation of the leather must be taken into account . Taking your shoe trees in a size larger than your shoes is a good idea. Ideally, the shape of the shoe trees should match the shape of your shoes. In fact, just make sure they fill the shoe well. It must be a little difficult to remove the shoe tree. Just a little.

A simple principle: if your shoes are made of leather (nubuck and suede calfskin are leathers too!), they need shoe trees. So ideally yes.

However, if you have pairs that you no longer wear, you can remove the shoe trees to put them in new ones. The work of shoe trees only makes sense following the work of leather.

No, let them rest for 24 hours before putting them back. This is crucial.

The strength of leather comes from the collagen present in its grain (see the first article on leather manufacturing ). Not letting the leather rest will damage these collagen fibers. And the leather will therefore be less resistant over time.

Hence the benefit of investing in several pairs of leather shoes from the start. If you wear them all week, a base of three pairs in rotation seems satisfactory. Properly maintained, you will keep them for years and years.

Understand: the frequency of maintenance depends on the frequency of use and the climatic conditions in which these shoes were used . With experience, you will be able to recognize at a glance when leather is dry and needs nourishment.

Please note: it is better to maintain your shoes regularly than once every six months.

By default, if you use it frequently in normal weather conditions (no rain, snow, mud, or too low or too high a temperature), I would say that maintenance every three weeks is fine.

Waxing is optional.

Yes, you read correctly. But beware ! I'm talking about shoe polish, not about “shining your shoes”, an expression that we misuse to say that we are going to take care of them.

In fact, shoe polish does not maintain the leather, it protects it by covering it with a layer. Shoe polish, in a way, is makeup. This helps to improve the aesthetics of a pair of shoes, make them shine more and protect the leather from rain and dust, but in no way does it maintain the leather. It even blocks the pores of the leather !

And even more, if we were only to polish our shoes, without ever removing these successive layers of shoe polish, we would only be suffocating the leather which wouldn't last long .

This is also why, if you have polished your pair of shoes, it is important in the following maintenance to get rid of this layer of shoe polish beforehand, to be able to nourish the leather properly.

This may seem futile, but this way you will avoid premature wear of the counters and the slider at the back of the shoe. And then, it puts you in a slightly different state of mind than putting them on by twisting your foot right and left, putting all your weight on the heel while holding on to the nearest piece of furniture.

Yes.

Some people will tell you that it's heresy, that the leather of the sole needs to breathe, that you will make it suffocate, crack, under a horrible asphyxiating pad, that they think what you are doing is ugly. and that you are not aesthetes as much as they are.

These are people who generally wear Westons.

But the truth is that having a pad (in soft natural rubber; some call it “crepe”) and an iron (recessed, screwed) fitted will extend the life of your shoes because it will protect the sole which will not have no need to be changed (resoling).

Installing the skate and iron costs between €30 and €40, for quality work.

Resoling costs between €95 and €150.

So, iron skate or not iron skate?

Yes, because it will protect the skate to prevent it from coming off. And so you won't have to come regularly to the shoemaker to have a skate repaired.

Quality shoes can be stiff at first (you have to “break the sole”). Perhaps it is better not to make the task even more difficult by immediately adding a pad which would stiffen this sole even more.

In addition, a skate placed on an undeformed sole (therefore not made) can come off more easily .

So you can make the shoe first. Wear it three or four times before installing the skate and iron. But be careful, if you do this, you should not walk on soggy or simply damp floors, because the leather of the sole will drink the water and stay there while the skate will then cover it, weakening the pair of shoes.

There is something else: under the shoe, when it is new, do you see the seam that goes all the way around the sole? So it is better not to wait too long to install a shoe and an iron to protect this seam from the abrasion of a concrete floor.

This is of course a valid question, since the heel gets a lot of wear, as does the toe of the shoe.

However, the heel is a point of support when the toe is not. What this implies is that: on the one hand you will hear with each step the rattling of the piece of metal against the ground and you will have the impression of being John Wayne entering a saloon (this is fun (about five minutes); on the other hand, the vibrations generated by this metal/concrete impact risk resonating down to your spine and causing you back problems.

Forget those heel irons which, moreover, can be changed in no time and for not too much money: around €15-20.

Leather comes from the skin of the animal. Do you think bombarding him with chemicals can be beneficial?

No, you are right.

You must at all costs avoid the silicone contained in cheap products because then, by wanting to do the right thing, you will in fact kill the leather slowly, layer after layer of chemical product.

A word of advice: you should have products from Saphir . The quality of care products plays a big role in the durability of your pairs of shoes.

Black shoes = black shoe polish.

Brown shoes = brown shoe polish.

Eggplant shoes = eggplant shoe polish.

Etc.

Life is simple. Good, but otherwise, to help you further, you must follow this principle: always choose a shoe polish paste darker than the leather of your shoes.

Examples:

Medium brown shoes = dark brown shoe polish.

Light brown shoes = medium brown shoe polish.

Be aware that leather darkens naturally. But if you want to speed up this natural process, you can, for example, use a dark brown shoe polish on a pair of cognac-colored shoes (a medium brown with a hint of red).

But the first few times, you should stick to the basic principle I mentioned just before.

The case of transparent shoe polish: it is good if your shoes are of an unlikely color but it is better to avoid it as a general rule since, with layers of transparent shoe polish, you will see an unattractive whitish deposit appear in the folds leather walking.

No, it's exactly the same thing. I answer this in a little more detail in my first and second topic .

If your shoes are new, wait a few wears before maintaining them. The leather has not yet been attacked by anything, it would be unwise to maintain it as this could damage the flower.

You can see dry leather, it gives the impression of being brittle, less supple, duller too! This is when you need to act!

The important message is that maintenance must be adapted to the condition of the leather. Some very dry leathers will require more product. On old shoes again, it will be necessary to wax the rail as well as “small stitch” sewing .

In short, adapt.

What do you need ?

• A scraper (hard bristle brush)
• A cotton rag (old torn t-shirt)
• Cleansing milk
• A soft cloth (chamoisine)

You can find this at Valmour , Chaussures Chaussures or at your shoemaker or shoemaker.

Path to follow

1. Get rid of dirt and dust

To do this, you must brush the leather with a scraper brush: pay particular attention to the welt part. You have to take more care when brushing the stem, however, which can be scratched if you brush too vigorously!

2. Clean and nourish the leather

To do this, you will need to use cleansing milk. To apply it, wrap two fingers of your strong hand with the cotton fabric. And put a small amount of lotion on your fingertips, on the fabric.

Start with the back of the shoe . Be careful to distribute the lotion well, in slow and controlled concentric circles, without pressing.

You should not rub, you should rather massage.

Observe how the leather absorbs the liquid.

Take care to emphasize the parts of the upper that work the most: the walking folds. Use a little more lotion to nourish those areas. They deserve it. And, it should be noted that cracks often appear where the leather is most stressed, so these walking creases are crucial.

If the sole is made of leather (in any case, the heel is not made of wood, they are not clogs!) and not of rubber, you can (“must”, in fact) also nourish it with a little of lotion. If the skates are not yet on, you can also nourish the bottom of the shoe: after all, it's leather too!

Note: if the leather of the upper is really very dry, you should repeat the operation several times. Sometimes, the leather has difficulty reaching satiety and you should not hesitate to continue feeding it.

3. It's already over

There you can wait a few minutes until the lotion penetrates the leather well .

Then take the cotton fabric with both hands and pass it over the entire surface of the leather to remove excess product.

Then take the chamois and do the same thing. It should glow. Stop whenever you want .

So.

Your pair of shoes is properly maintained. Honestly, it's simple and it really doesn't take long. In front of an episode of your current series, it's almost too short.

Scenario 2: do what you need to do when you need to (approximately 10 to 30 minutes)

What do you need ?

• A scraper (hard bristle brush)
• A cotton rag (old torn t-shirt)
• Cleansing milk
• Renovating lotion
• A soft cloth (chamoisine)
• A welt brush
• A suitable colored pomade cream
• A suitable shoe polish paste
• A polishing brush

Path to follow

Follow the steps in the first scenario in order. Then here is the rest:

4. Use colored or uncolored ointment cream

For me, the renewing cream is applied two to three times a year when the leather needs it. If the leather needs to be recolored, opt for pigmented cream, otherwise colorless cream.

This cream must be applied in the same way as the lotion, with the same patient gesture and little product.

After applying this layer, wait a few more minutes and, using the cotton cloth held in your hand, rub/caress the leather. It shines even more.

5. Maintain your sole

Over time, the welt will lose some of its color. And, if you just maintain the upper of the shoe but not the welt, it will be as if, when washing your car, you took care to shine the bodywork but the rims and wheels were full of mud.

Tap the end of the welt brush into the pot of shoe polish paste. Then, spread this paste on the welt. All the way, all the way around.

6. Wax

If your leather is still dry, avoid waxing, you will dry it out even more. You can re-cream if the need arises.

Take the cotton fabric again and change the place of this fabric that you are going to use. It's the same gesture as for the lotion and cream.

Put your two fingers covered with the fabric into the pot of shoe polish. You can be a little more generous here. While remaining reasonable of course.

Spread it over the entire surface of the leather, taking care to spread it well. If the leather has perforations and seams, you will need to be careful to remove the shoe polish residue left in these areas using a brush.

7. Play with the shine brush

It's time to shine, by energetically passing the brush over the leather. Go slowly though: the idea is to make quick movements that caress the leather.

8. The finishing touch

Use the chamois to make it shine even more .

(9. Want even more shine?)

This step is optional but you can, at this point, make it shine even more the leather with a little water… or your own saliva.

Eh yes.

You can iron a very thin layer of shoe polish over the entire upper and either splatter on the shoe (yes, I know, it's weird, but hey, it's a strong moment that you're experiencing, an intimate moment , no one will ever know), or sprinkle the leather with small droplets of water projected through your little finger, after having poured a little water into the cover of the shoe polish can.

Then stroke the leather with your two fingers into the cotton fabric (yet another part of the fabric!) and make fairly large and energetic concentric circles. Always the same, you need energy but gentleness.

You should see the polish particles crystallize and shine. It's a frosting primer. Optional but enjoyable.

This is well summarized in our video with Mathieu Preiss from Septième Largeur:

You'll like what I'm going to say: there's nothing to do!

Or rather, almost nothing to do.

Once in a while, depending on your use, you can dust off the shoe and give it a little facelift!

Ah but, I think about it, you also bought shoe trees for your suede shoes, eh? No, but it was just to check.

What do you need ?

• Cotton fabric
• Renovating lotion
• Shoe polish paste
• A horsehair and brass brush
• A blowtorch (kitchen for example)

Path to follow

1. Brush

Use rotating movements to brush the leather. Insist where dust spots have become encrusted.

2. Pass the blowtorch

Then, it is necessary to smooth the leather whose “hairs”, let’s say, have bristled under the action of the horsehair and brass brush. The flame should lick the leather without burning it. It's a precise movement, at the right distance, without ever stopping the flame on the leather of course.

3. If the sole is dirty, it must be nourished and waxed

With the cotton fabric, apply lotion on the smooth, going slowly so as not to get any on the suede.

Then, you can put a little shoe polish on the smooth, taking even more precautions to avoid staining the leather.

So.

You can also use a crepe brush regularly if you wish.

If you have stained the leather, there are solutions: I will come to them at the end of the article.

Oily leather is greasy. Thank you very much.

That is, it is saturated with fat. It cannot therefore be maintained in the same way as unsaturated leather. (I explain what a leather guy Jacques & Déméter is with their map of the best shoemakers in France.

If you follow these lists, you can't go wrong.

But still, if you go there randomly just because you are playful or a little reckless, know that nothing differentiates a good shoemaker from a bad one just by eye. You will have to listen.

If he tells you that you can come pick up your pair of shoes in two hours, that's a bad one.

Otherwise, let's say between three days and a week, it's a good one. Or at least, that's a good sign.

For what ? Glue drying time. 24 hours are necessary for the skate to adhere perfectly to the sole.

And then also, so that the skate does not come off at the first inconvenience, you must arrange the sole so that it receives it and give a shape to the skate to allow it to better fit your sole.

This is bad work:

This is some very good work:

And then, when we get to this level of detail, we suspect that the work is careful:

It is also essential to ask for an iron. It must be recessed, screwed (and not nailed) in a material that does not rust (brass, stainless steel).

The skate is dependent on the iron that protects it. We often attack the front of the shoe. And it gives something like this, by force:

This is why it is necessary to protect the front of the shoe.

You should know that heels which wear out quickly are easy to change. This is a common operation for the shoemaker who will only have to change the right end (the part in contact with the ground) and not the entire heel.

We see it in the previous photograph.

If you do not use a shoehorn or your foot rubs against the heel or for any other reason, the time will come when the shoe lining in contact with the heel will need to be changed. In the same way as the good part, it's very easy.

Ah yes, that makes me think: resoling does not mean “putting on a shoe and shoe” but rather changing the sole. Many people are wrong.

Resoling costs between €95 and €150 (or even more depending on the assembly in particular) and, of course, it is a repair that we want to see as infrequently as possible.

However, resoling is always cheaper than a quality new pair of shoes and will last for years. Moreover, there are also less expensive partial resolings:

You have to change the sole when it no longer plays its role. It's simple. If there is a hole in it for example. Although the matter must be qualified: if the pair is very tired, and the leather of the upper is about to crack, it is also possible to have a leather insert fitted and covered with a rubber pad. But the viable solution is to resole.

The hole formed on the person's fulcrum. Right down to the shoe lining.

This is where shoe polish comes in handy. Well-polished shoes will be much less likely to have the stain soak into the leather. If you act quickly, there will be no consequences.

If you have young children, for example, you might want to think about it. You know the little unexpected vomit right in the direction of your brand new Carmina…

Anyway!, if such a misfortune happens to you I advise you to read this article by Jacques & Déméter which covers (if I may say so) the subject in a very beautiful way. It's quite complete. You will know what to do.

It's well explained.

When it comes to repairing snags, sometimes simple maintenance allows you to get rid of scratches.

But if the leather is too damaged, I can only advise you to go to your shoemaker, in whom you now have complete confidence.

Oh what a catchy title this is. I am sorry.

I believe that every man's dream in leather shoes is to have no creases. Personally, I tell myself that my walking patterns belong only to me, that they are unique, that no one has the same ones.

And then, as I write Fred&Matt , but is that really what you want? For motorcycles and scooters, I say not...

Don't throw away your shoes. Maybe there is still time to save them.

I leave you with this before/after which, I hope, will convince you: