srivats
Distinguished Member
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I recently received these vintage shell PTBs (made my Keith Highlander) .. the original owner probably wore them 4-5 max. times from the scuffing on the soles.
While the shoes are in great shape, the shell cordovan has some roughness in the areas where it has creased. Remember, these shoes are OLD. The leather actually looks dried out at first glance but as you will see, that is not the case really. Here are a couple of photographs showing the roughness (esp on the left shoe) in more detail:
As you folks have seen many times, shell cordovan is an amazing material. Most of the time, old shell can be restored to near new condition with not too much effort. These Keith Highlanders were by no means in worse condition at all, but the rough spots on one shoe bothered me. I set about "restoring" them to better shape.
I took a terry cloth towel and wet it with water just to make it damp (not dripping wet). I wiped each shoe a few times, letting them dry before I wiped again. After that, I started vigourously brushing with a horsehair brush. I spent atleast 15 minutes brushing each shoe. Next, I wiped them down with the damp towel again, and let them dry. After this, I applied a tiny, tiny bit of alden #8 wax polish (not cream) on each shoe and let the shoes dry out.
After 15 minutes, I brushed them again for like 5 minutes (each shoe), and then buffed them with a flannel cloth. As you can see, a lot of the dryness/roughness is already gone. With regular brushing and maintenance, these shoes will look perfect in a few weeks. I'll post more pics after a few months.
Here are the pics:
While the shoes are in great shape, the shell cordovan has some roughness in the areas where it has creased. Remember, these shoes are OLD. The leather actually looks dried out at first glance but as you will see, that is not the case really. Here are a couple of photographs showing the roughness (esp on the left shoe) in more detail:
As you folks have seen many times, shell cordovan is an amazing material. Most of the time, old shell can be restored to near new condition with not too much effort. These Keith Highlanders were by no means in worse condition at all, but the rough spots on one shoe bothered me. I set about "restoring" them to better shape.
I took a terry cloth towel and wet it with water just to make it damp (not dripping wet). I wiped each shoe a few times, letting them dry before I wiped again. After that, I started vigourously brushing with a horsehair brush. I spent atleast 15 minutes brushing each shoe. Next, I wiped them down with the damp towel again, and let them dry. After this, I applied a tiny, tiny bit of alden #8 wax polish (not cream) on each shoe and let the shoes dry out.
After 15 minutes, I brushed them again for like 5 minutes (each shoe), and then buffed them with a flannel cloth. As you can see, a lot of the dryness/roughness is already gone. With regular brushing and maintenance, these shoes will look perfect in a few weeks. I'll post more pics after a few months.
Here are the pics:
![icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif](https://www.styleforum.net/images/smilies/icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif){kind=icon}
