**The Official Shoe Care Thread: Tutorials, Photos, etc.**

[CWV]

Thanks. The Islay boots are breaking in slowly but normally. Funnily enough, it's the Boston loafers that are presenting a problem. They seemed to have broken in normally over the Summer and were getting quite comfortable. In the last couple of wears, though, just the left shoe is pinching my small toe in and under the next toe over the course of the day. It's the damnedest thing after having been comfortable for a few months.

I think that happens because of the expansion of the leather allows the foot to move a little forward thus puting the pinky deeper into the inward line of the toe box

 

[JFWR]

Thanks. The Islay boots are breaking in slowly but normally. Funnily enough, it's the Boston loafers that are presenting a problem. They seemed to have broken in normally over the Summer and were getting quite comfortable. In the last couple of wears, though, just the left shoe is pinching my small toe in and under the next toe over the course of the day. It's the damnedest thing after having been comfortable for a few months.

You might want to try a toe pad to keep the foot back in place if it is, as suggested, your foot being pushed forward.

 

[CWV]

You might want to try a toe pad to keep the foot back in place if it is, as suggested, your foot being pushed forward.

I know not this thing

 

[bmw_talenti]

Can someone help me to figure put what happened to my Clarks shoes. I was applying the wet towel with iron to remove creases on the vamp and this happend on the toe box. The leather bulged inside becoming really visible. From the inside I can feel something is wrong, like worn out interior but there was nothing wrong before doing the ironing. Is there something I can do?

 

[Mercurio]

From the inside I can feel something is wrong, like worn out interior but there was nothing wrong before doing the ironing. Is there something I can do?

The best way to diminish creases, as they are a natural consequence of flexing when you walk, is to use a shoe tree all the time when they are not on your feet. I doubt it was a good idea to use an iron as it can yield unhappy results such as damaging or detaching the lining inside the shoe or burning the leather. Most important, creases don't disappear, they will come again as soon as you wear your shoes, as the fibers in the leather are already broken.

Some further reading on the subject:

In-depth - How shoes crease - Shoegazing.com

After once again receiving questions from readers about this subject this week, I felt it might be time to write a more in-depth post about how shoes are

shoegazing.com

 

[JFWR]

Can someone help me to figure put what happened to my Clarks shoes. I was applying the wet towel with iron to remove creases on the vamp and this happend on the toe box. The leather bulged inside becoming really visible. From the inside I can feel something is wrong, like worn out interior but there was nothing wrong before doing the ironing. Is there something I can do?
View attachment 1679468

Looks like something you'd have to take to a cobbler, man. I think you might have seriously damaged the shoe.

 

[florent]

Can someone help me to figure put what happened to my Clarks shoes. I was applying the wet towel with iron to remove creases on the vamp and this happend on the toe box. The leather bulged inside becoming really visible. From the inside I can feel something is wrong, like worn out interior but there was nothing wrong before doing the ironing. Is there something I can do?
View attachment 1679468

I think you melted the toe puff. Bring it to a cobbler but if that's what happened it's a difficult repair and probably not worth the cost.

 

[nevaeh]

Can someone help me to figure put what happened to my Clarks shoes. I was applying the wet towel with iron to remove creases on the vamp and this happend on the toe box. The leather bulged inside becoming really visible. From the inside I can feel something is wrong, like worn out interior but there was nothing wrong before doing the ironing. Is there something I can do?
View attachment 1679468

Take this to a cobbler and do not try to do anything else yourself. As @florent said, you likely damaged your toe puff, for many toe puffs now are made from plastic material. Hindsight is always 20/20, but applying that much heat to leather is a terrible idea. Besides, shoes aren’t cotton shirts; creases on shoes are natural and completely acceptable.

 

[bmw_talenti]

You were all right…I melted the toe puff, nothing else to do. At lease they were not that new shoes…
There are some Youtube channels which do magic eliminating creases with acetone, are they legit??? It seems quite an easy job watching them.

 

[nevaeh]

You were all right…I melted the toe puff, nothing else to do. At lease they were not that new shoes…
There are some Youtube channels which do magic eliminating creases with acetone, are they legit??? It seems quite an easy job watching them.

Don’t mess with that; no need to remove creases from shoes. They are normal and natural.

 

[Mercurio]

You were all right…I melted the toe puff, nothing else to do. At lease they were not that new shoes…
There are some Youtube channels which do magic eliminating creases with acetone, are they legit??? It seems quite an easy job watching them.

As I mentioned before, creases don't disappear, they will come again as soon as you wear your shoes, as the fibers in the leather are already broken. On the other hand, acetone will peel off leather dye, you do that only if you plan on re-dying your leather shoes.

 

[vim147]

You were all right…I melted the toe puff, nothing else to do. At lease they were not that new shoes…
There are some Youtube channels which do magic eliminating creases with acetone, are they legit??? It seems quite an easy job watching them.

You shouldn't iron over the toe box area.
I've bought many 2nd hand shoes in my time, I dunk them in a bucket of water for an hour then put shoe trees in them for 24 hours to dry.

Whilst damp and still in its shoe tree, i iron over the vamp area where the creasing is. I've sometimes shrunk the width of shoes using an appropriate size shoe tree if i find them too big. After this procedure i apply several applications shoe conditioner over 1-2 weeks as the shoes will be very dry then polish and shine up.

check out Bespoke Addict The Brighton Gentleman on youtube for guidance.

 

[nevaeh]

You shouldn't iron over the toe box area.
I've bought many 2nd hand shoes in my time, I dunk them in a bucket of water for an hour then put shoe trees in them for 24 hours to dry.

Whilst damp and still in its shoe tree, i iron over the vamp area where the creasing is. I've sometimes shrunk the width of shoes using an appropriate size shoe tree if i find them too big. After this procedure i apply several applications shoe conditioner over 1-2 weeks as the shoes will be very dry then polish and shine up.

check out Bespoke Addict The Brighton Gentleman on youtube for guidance.

Even this is risky for beginners. Unless you’ve practiced with old or less valuable shoes, don’t do this with new or expensive ones.

Leave creases be. They are a normal part of wearing shoes—and will reappear after some time anyway. @j ingevaldsson has written eloquently about creases before. Read the article about creasing on his blog, Shoegazing.

 

[TS2404]

I am cleaning up these shell cordovan Aldens that I purchased second-hand and would appreciate any tips on addressing some strange patches in the leather. I am not sure what they are - they are a darkish grey, almost with a bit of a sheen to them. They are less noticeable from certain angles so I've taken photos in direct sunlight and from angles that best show the affected areas.

I've given the shoes a light pass with renomat and a few rounds of Bick4 so far. The shoes are looking better overall but still haven't really addressed that issue. Appreciate any advice on this one before I do anything further.

 

[Zerase]

Hello hivemind!

I brought out these boots for the first time since March. They looked absolutely flawless when i put them on and during the whole day. This morning I woke up to find them in this condition.

I thought that I hade removed all the salt and **** from last year when I put them into hibernation but I was clearly wrong. My question to you is

• How do I get rid of the salt completely
• How much damage has this potentially caused my shoes.

Thanks in advance