Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[ace13x]

Hi everyone. I apologize if this question has been asked before but is it worth it to get a deer bone to reduce the rolls on my Florsheim longwings?

Only if you get a big bottle of snake oil to go with it.

Seriously, a light conditioner (like Bick4, Lexol etc) and a spoon is all you need. But honestly, those rolls are neither excessive nor badly placed. I would do absolutely nothing to try and smooth them out. They add a pleasant character that says these shoes aren't some plastic crap from Payless. Enjoy them.

 

[smfdoc]

Only if you get a big bottle of snake oil to go with it.

Seriously, a light conditioner (like Bick4, Lexol etc) and a spoon is all you need. But honestly, those rolls are neither excessive nor badly placed. I would do absolutely nothing to try and smooth them out. They add a pleasant character that says these shoes aren't some plastic crap from Payless. Enjoy them.

+1. I have a deer bone that has been used once or twice and never again. Not worth the cost for me. PM me if you really want one and I will sell it to you cheap.

 

[M.Photog]

He is also very helpful. He sent me his glycerin shoe treatment recipe and I have used that on a number of shoes.

Is that something you have written about on your blog?

 

[smfdoc]

Is that something you have written about on your blog?

Just go to vcleat.com, click the search icon in the upper right corner and enter glycerin. You will find them all.

 

[M.Photog]

It can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/europeanblend_noswbox/. I highly recommend following if you have an instagram.

Thanks for sharing that link, what an amazing collection. This caught my eye, has anyone used the product he mentions?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEgjpULJ8EC/?taken-by=europeanblend_noswbox

https://www.amazon.com/Collonil-Quality-Supreme-Leather-Deluxe/dp/B00BKP9JLU

 

[M.Photog]

Just go to vcleat.com, click the search icon in the upper right corner and enter glycerin. You will find them all.

Thanks, I will have a look. I thought I had seen everything on his site by now.

 

[benjak]

Thanks all. As per everyone's advice, I'll just keep them as is for the time being.

I made the mistake of back-reading this thread unfortunately so I'm now looking to add a shell ptb to my collection . Can anyone recommend a reputable site that sells vintage shoes? I'd rather avoid going on ebay if at all possible, too many negative experiences.

 

[M.Photog]

Thanks all. As per everyone's advice, I'll just keep them as is for the time being.

I made the mistake of back-reading this thread unfortunately so I'm now looking to add a shell ptb to my collection . Can anyone recommend a reputable site that sells vintage shoes? I'd rather avoid going on ebay if at all possible, too many negative experiences.

http://classicshoesformen.com/
I have spent some enjoyable hours looking at this. Very nice shoes but not cheap.

Also there is a member of this forum who sells shoes as I recall. There are also shoes on etsy although I haven't bought any there.

I have had excellent luck buying on ebay, it's all about the strategy

 

[suitforcourt]

http://classicshoesformen.com/
I have spent some enjoyable hours looking at this. Very nice shoes but not cheap.

Also there is a member of this forum who sells shoes as I recall. There are also shoes on etsy although I haven't bought any there.

I have had excellent luck buying on ebay, it's all about the strategy

I check out eBay, etsy, and kijiji.

Need luck, patience, and sometimes just have to pull the trigger.

 

[willyto]

Unfortunately with vintage shoes there's always a bit of gambling involved. The shoes can look mint and perfect on pictures but then when you get them they might crack even after doing a deep conditioning (Has happened to me with a pair of deadstock of british army oxfords Grenson 1945 dated) so you just have to deal with it. The older the shoes are the more risk there is to it since we don't know how have they been stored and how the leather has hold over the years.

That doesn't mean you have to be always worried about them breaking but you have to factor in the chance that the shoes might not be wearable or as good as they look. For that reason sometimes it's preferable to buy from sources that have already taken care of the shoes although it might be more expensive. It can save money in the long run unles you love to experiment yourself as much as I do.

In short, if you don't know for sure that the shoes will be wearable try to spend as less as you possibly so if anything goes wrong you don't lose too much money. Even if it doesn't work out you can use that pair to practice restoring old shoes and experiment on them, that's what I do. I will post pictures soon of a pair of british made in Northampton boots from Tebutt that ended up being a disappointment and had to be thrown away. I traced their origins and found pictures of the original factory and also learned how to spot faulty resole works.

For those who don't know him this is a man to follow. The work he does restoring shoes that most of us would just give up on them it's impressive. From repairing cracking to shrinking shoes or stretching them in never seen ways for me: https://www.instagram.com/bespokeaddict/

 

[smfdoc]

I started a spreadsheet where I could track the wearing of shoes. It has caused me to really focus on expanding the rotation. Friday has come and I just had to get some shell back on, so I bypassed the newer Aldens and opted for the trusty #8 Florsheim LWB.

 

[benjak]

Thank you again gentlemen. Opinions on this PTB on ebay: http://www.ebay.ph/itm/322582786836?ul_noapp=true

The seller is asking for $199 plus shipping. Is this too high?

 

[suitforcourt]

Thank you again gentlemen. Opinions on this PTB on ebay: http://www.ebay.ph/itm/322582786836?ul_noapp=true

The seller is asking for $199 plus shipping. Is this too high?

View attachment 827467

High for me. Unless an extremely rare shoe, or you have difficulty finding your size..... I arbitrarily set 150 limit, plus shipping and taxes.

 

[madhat]

High for me. Unless an extremely rare shoe, or you have difficulty finding your size..... I arbitrarily set 150 limit, plus shipping and taxes.

Agreed. For a worn pair of standard size that’s too much for a common style. I've watched two pairs of shell in basically my size go for much less than $100 in the past two months. I was, admittedly, shocked the pair that was comparable condition to these only went $36. I'd be more willing to pay $200 for this pair of they were NWB.

 

[M.Photog]

Thank you again gentlemen. Opinions on this PTB on ebay: http://www.ebay.ph/itm/322582786836?ul_noapp=true

The seller is asking for $199 plus shipping. Is this too high?

View attachment 827467

Perhaps a little high. I picked up a very nice pair of 93605 longwings with almost no wear recently for $149 plus shipping. I grabbed them in the first few minutes they were listed. It depends on how much time you are willing to spend searching and how difficult it is to find your size.