Why When & How to Condition Shoes! Calf & Shell Cordovan
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- Опубликовано: 9 сен 2024
- This video is a detailed guide that will help you understand:
1. WHY you should condition your leather shoes
2. WHEN (how often) you should condition them
3. HOW you should condition them, including which kind of products you may want to use. I cover the two MAJOR conditioning mistakes you'll want to avoid.
Of course, I have my favorites products, but what this video does NOT cover is which specific products you should personally use. I believe it's more important that you condition them at the appropriate times, and in the appropriate manner, than which exact product you should use. There are at least a dozen leather conditioning products I didn't even mention here, and several I have used (like Shoe MGK and Kiwi Leather Lotion) that I have used and chose not to include in the video.
0:30 - Intro & my disclaimer
1:06 - Why to condition your shoes
2:00 - A list of a few different conditioning products with some comments on each of them
2:05 - Tanner’s Blend byAshland Leather Co
3:13 - Lexol Neatsfoot Leather Dressing by Lexol
3:43 - Renovateur by Saphir
4:28 - Bick 4 Leather Conditioner by Bickmore
5:13 - Pure Polish Cleaner Conditioner by Pure Polish
6:05 - #1: Light conditioning leather with cream shoe polish (AE Park Avenues & Pure Polish Cream Polish)
9:47- #2: Standard conditioning with Conditioner (AE Strands & Pure Polish Cleaner Conditioner)
14:41 - The 2 MAJOR MISTAKES people make when conditioning leather
17:08 - Shining up the Strands by brushing after conditioning
18:25 - #3: Heavy Conditioning with multiple rounds of Conditioner (AE Cornwallis with Patina)
20:18 - #4: Cleaning & heavy conditioning with multiple rounds of Conditioner (Shell Cordovan Florsheim Imperial 93605’s)
21:58 - Using Pure Polish Cleaner Conditioner with a Cloth to clean and condition
29:04 - Using Pure Polish with my finger to condition
30:00 - Brushing off the shoes after the Pure Polish
30:52 - Using Bickmore Bick 4 to condition
31:37 - Brushing off the shoes after the Bick 4
32:04 - Using Lexol Neatsfoot Leather Dressing
34:05 - Brushing off the shoes after Lexol
35:21 - Understanding why this is not an exact science
37:16 - Closing comments & outro
Other related videos:
"Leather Talk with Andy from Pure Polish":
• Leather Talk with Andy...
"Leather Talk with Phil from Horween/Ashland Leather - Part 1"
• Leather Talk with Phil...
"Horween Leather! Why is Good Leather More Expensive?"
• Horween Leather! Why i...
"Leather Quality explained: Aniline? Full Grain? Corrected Grain?" (it's one of my earlier videos, so the graphics are a little cheesey):
• Leather Quality explai...
"Before & After: My 1st Museum Patina!" (The AE Cornwallis video):
• Before & After: My 1st...
"Which Polo Ralph Lauren shoes are Best?":
• Which Polo Ralph Laure...
"Repairing Cracked Leather Polo Shoes":
• Repairing Cracked Leat...
Some links:
www.PurePolishProducts.com for Pure Polish Products
www.AshlandLeather.com for Ashland Leather Co products
www.KirbyAllison.com or www.TheElegantOxford.com for Saphir products
Music Credit: RUclips Audio Library: "Beach Disco" by Dougie Wood
NOTE: Here is a GREAT tip from Steven Roche below that makes a LOT of sense to me:
"it is best to condition first with a low viscosity product without wax ( Lexol Neatsfoot Dressing ), and then apply wax containing products afterwards. The Lexol was not able to penetrate as well as it could through the wax on the Shell Cordovan. The drier the leather, the more an oil based conditioner should be used first. Ultimate absorption and restored pliability."
Also, Venetian Shoe Cream ("VSC") is another product that Shell Cordovan enthusiasts often rave about, but is not included in this video.
The most comprehensive shoe care video I've seen. Thank you.
I'm not a fan of polishing shoes, and dealing with alcohol and chemical allergies rendering my hands unable deal with these products, I'll look into the Pure Polish and Lexol Neatsfoot. Used to work on guitars every week, and sometimes everyday. I'll fetch a bag of rags for when it's time to condition and quickly shine my dress shoes. Right now they can all use this treatment. Cheers Bob for all that you do, you inspire me and motivate me to continue on this journey - whatever we can call it (being presentable every day?).
Actually today for the first time I sent in my MacNeils to a cobbler for a resole. He feels only replacing the outer layer of leather sole and leaving the rubber heel is a good start for now. Leather upper also will be restored and reconditioned since the previous owner never moisturised the leather, and he also darkened them with cordovan and/or black polish. I never found out the true finish colour of the leather. Fascinating model of shoe. It costs me much cheaper than to buy a 2nd hand/NOS/brand-new pair of MacNeils so I'm not losing here at all. I have also bonded with this specific pair over the last 4 years, so I really don't feel like parting with them. My adventure with visits to the cobbler has only begun.
Yes, the non-toxic nature of Pure Polish is very attractive to me. I hope the Macneils come out great!!
@@CobblerBob Will get a word from my cobbler tomorrow. Hopefully it all works out!
Thirsty leather. Just bought my second bottle of renovateur great video thanks
17:50 whoa! Notice the sudden change!? Wow! Just unbelievably shiny!
Thank you for your heart felt, transparent and informative videos. I watch many shoe enthusiast videos and you don’t come across as a salesman…thank you.
I very recently found a beautiful pair of vintage Florsheim Imperial plain oxford shell cordovans, with original sole and heels in beautiful condition. I foolishly wore them without conditioning them first and they cracked horribly the first time I wore them. I tried various repair products which of course failed immediately upon flexing the shoes. I resolved to give them away, which I haven't done yet. Providentially, I found another pair EXACTLY the same just a few weeks later and bought them. These also have original soles and heels, and are also in beautiful shape. I haven't worn them yet, but I've conditioned them twice so far with Safir Renovateur and they do seem to be more supple than the first pair. Your video was very helpful, I will be trying some Bicks and some Neetsfoot oil also before wearing them. Thanks for a great video!
You are the doing the lords work
THANK you!!
Robert, you should remove shoelaces to condition and polish the tongues. This also provides an opportunity to wash the shoelaces with hot water and dish washing liquid, an excellent and strong soap for this purpose.
I did for the shell and Strands, I didn't for the Park Ave's. I stated why not for the Park Ave's, simply bc it was neutral cream polish, and I'm busy and don't want to create extra work when not neccessary.
@@CobblerBob I believe the tongues should not be neglected, even though it's extra work. Clean shoelaces are a nice addition to shoe care as well.
Robert, it is best to condition first with a low viscosity product without wax ( Lexol Neatsfoot Dressing ), and then apply wax containing products afterwards. The Lexol was not able to penetrate as well as it could through the wax on the Shell Cordovan. The drier the leather, the more an oil based conditioner should be used first. Ultimate absorption and restored pliability.
I NEVER thought of this... GREAT tip. I ALWAYS learn something after doing a video... it seems to "flush out" more tips. I'll copy this into the description or pin a comment or something.
@@CobblerBob Glad you found my tip useful. Great video, Robert !
I think your closing thought about sometimes it is factors out of your control, is the most important and is probably the most frustrating thing with shoe care.
Great video, Bob.
Though retired I purchased from a thrift two zipper top leather messenger bags that looked very tired but otherwise excellent. Cleaning, conditioning, cream polish, then finally shoe polish resulted in two dry, faded leather bags looking new. As in your video it took elbow grease and effort with multiple conditioning and polishing but it was worth it.
I laughed, I cried. Another informative video courtesy of Mr. Powers. Thanks for all your work.
LOL, I'm glad it helped! You're welcome!
I was wondering why you didn't first use saddle soap on the cordovan leather shoes. Keep up the good work.
This is my comment for the RUclips algorithm. Thank you.👍.
ThAnK YoU!
Also ty
I really enjoy your videos. It's just genuine. Appreciate all of your videos.
Greetings Mr. Powers, I always enjoy your quality content. It is always easy to find value in it. Please be encouraged to keep up the good work. Best regards, Jimmy Sherman
Thank you, I will! I appreciate it!
Thanks for the demonstration with so many different products
You're welcome!
Thank you so much. It was very informative, educative and relaxing video.
Good seeing your videos again
Thank you!
Comment for the algorithm. Nice work as always Bob.
Thank you!
Lotta work😵💫
true...
Good video, Bob. I will add Lexol to my list of products. I already have a bottle of the regular conditioner in my car.!
Thanks Mark!
Bob great video, can't wait for upcoming update video on the pair of Shell Cordavan you thifted.
Great Video The timing is perfect. I am ready to spruce up my favorite shoes.❤️
Thank you! I hope it helped. If you want to really learn more, go to my Channel and peruse the "Shoe/Leather/Polish/Technical Stuff" Playlist for more in depth stuff.
Good info on taking care of my shoes, Thanks
👊🏼
Very interesting and useful. You explain and show things well.
Thank you!
Always informative info!
Muchas gracias
Disfrute mucho viendo y aprendiendo de este hermoso vídeo 👍👍
Inspiring, thank you!
Hi Bob, I enjoy your content, and really like your approach to not just shoe care, but your interest in shoe restoration and repair. A great follow for your fellow shoe enthusiasts, thank you!
You’re very welcome!
كيف لي ان احصل على حذاء منك @@CobblerBob
Enjoyed the video and will purchase a couple of products and Thx.
👊🏼
Excellent video!
When are we getting the follow-up on the cordovan shoes?
Another great video!
Thanks Bob! great video
Glad you liked it!
Good video. I particularly appreciate you mentioning that a good shoe cream serves as a good conditioner when used regularly. Pure Polish and Saphir are both fine choices.
Thank you. I was nervous about releasing this one!
Hi Bob, love your passion for shoes and transition to suits too! I also feel that Pure Polish works the best for me.
Thanks for the great video !
Comment for support. Great videos Bob. :)
THANK YOU!
Good video Bob
Great video Bob, thank you so much for posting and spreading the shoe enthusiasm!!
You are very welcome!
A few that I like are VSC Venetian Shoe Cream and Picards leather balm. There is no perfect conditioner, I recommend getting a couple of good conditioners and switch off.
VSC is another one that I've heard mentioned in Shell Cordovan circles. I should have at least brought it up in the video!
Good tutorial, always learn something new from your videos!
Thank you Sir!
Thanks for the information!
You're very welcome!
Great video!
Enjoyed the video. Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Always beautiful video thank you
You’re welcome!
Thanks for the content!!!
Hey Bob, great video as always! Here's a question for you: would you condition a new pair of shoes out of the box before wearing them? I've seen different people saying different things about this so I'm curious about your opinion.
I think Justin Fitzpatrick says not to, but I generally do. I don’t see how it can hurt, and I doubt that the leather is “fresh from the tannery.” I’d perform the standard conditioning on them, then polish with cream polish, then one coat of paste wax, the. Of course mirror shine the toes.
Great video! Thanks Bob!
Keep up the great work Robert.
Thank you Sir!
Nice video Robert, thanks for sharing your knowledge!
You are welcome!!
Good content. Thank you
Hey Bob, hello, great video. I will look into pure polish products. I too have heard of bick 4 and Lenox to be great products.
Thank you!
Love all your videos. Can I use saddle soap on my Allen Edmonds?
Great information thank you
You’re welcome!
Great video, as always. You inspired me to try a resole job on my chukkas instead of thrashing them.
As for the Pure Polish what rubs me the wrong way is the fact that their product is nearly identical to a reddit recipe back from 2012 (where the author also describes the IV value of fats).
IMO it's better to DIY knowing the ingredients' quality rather than paying premium for coconut oil mixed with limonene that's been sitting on a shelf for God knows how long
Pure Polish has worked very well for me for the past couple years, and I consider the owner Andy a friend and I trust him.
@@CobblerBob Thanks for your reply. I managed to read some old blog posts by Glen Karen's creator. I've much more faith in the product now. Also I've done my own version of the product to supplement my saphir products. Btw I wholeheartedly recommend reading these old articles. There's lots of good knowledge in them
Great information, I always reference you to my friends for information on leather, spit shine and shoe care in general. Though I’m bummed to have to wait for 2 months for the Florsheim video 😔
I'm glad it helps! Sorry, but I have to order materials, and some of it's not easy to find buying as a consumer vs a "shop". Many shoe repair suppliers won't sell to the public, or are overseas and get very very expensive once you tack on shipping from England. Right now for example, I'm trying to find a supplier of Gemming.
Cool video bro.
Great info thanks for taking the time to show us definitely going to order some pure polish and cleaner. Take care and God Bless you and your family keep up the Power content.
"Power content"... I like that! I may have to use that!! Thank you Tony, and same to you!
I love your channel.
Glad you enjoy it!
I didn't think about the pH balance being off.. I have a pair of 70s style chelsea boots that are cracking pike your chell shoes.... and that was after lots of conditioning.. so it might be the age or the pH or the cheaper leather they used.. interesting
I got that info from Andy from the Leather Talk video interview.
I may have missed this in the video, but I noticed you using the Pure Polish Cleaner Conditioner at times and Saphir Renovateur in others. Can you explain what leads you in each of those directions?
Enjoy your videos!
Thank you!
Great video
Glad you enjoyed it!
Comment because you told me too. I learned a lot.
LOL, THANK YOU!
Thanks
Edit: to be clear, I was referencing Pure Polish not you Bob. As in Pure Polish is the viral marketing company Sorry that came across as directed at you if it did
Here’s where I am just frankly a bit skeptical.
People who ran leather for a living create and or recommend products. Nick Horween for example recommends Venetian Shoe Cream and Venetian Leather Balm.
Yet, someone who doesn’t work in the industry comes up with some “all natural” product that gets marketed virally online, and it looks convincing to people who also don’t work in the industry…and I should be convinced?
I don’t mean that to be mean or overly critical, so please don’t take it that way. I just struggle to understand why I shouldn’t take the word of the tanners directly.
I didn’t see the original comment, but I’m not at all offended. There’s a reason I leave the “I’m not a professional” in my intro. You have a valid point. I’d listen to Nick Horween before me too, but I’ve never had a chance to talk to him, nor have I ever seen his opinion in any video or article. I SHOULD have included VSC in the video. I didn’t intentionally exclude it, I just have so many other conditioners, I never got around to getting it. That’s why I did mention VSC in the comments, as it was the one other product that multiple guys I listen to respect and use. Also, I try to make it clear, this is not a complete list. There are SO many products out there.
Also, the video is titled “WHY and HOW to condition, not WHICH conditioner is best. That’s also why I stated twice, for emphasis, that I believe the fact that you condition shoes is better than which one you use.
I never looked at PP as a “viral marketing co.” Andy’s a good guy, and he’s been good to me, and others I personally know, like Russell the Sartorial Chauffer, that has a few hundred pairs of shoes, uses and likes PP. I also like it not just bc of the relationship with Andy, but as I stated in the beginning of the video I like how it seems to work.
That being said, yes, I’m not the final word. I gained my opinions in every one of my interests, whether it was shoes, or building big block Oldsmobile V8s, or Karate, by listening to lots of different people and testing myself to form my own opinions.
What if you have wax and polish on your shoe? Do you put conditioner still on? Or do you strip the wax?
I generally only strip the wax if it needs to come off. The two situations I can think of where I need to remove old wax are: 1) I thrifted the shoes, and it's obvious it needs to come off, or 2) I put a lot of colored wax on, for example to darken the toe cap, and I want to remove it to do a neutral or other colored mirror shine. Generally the only place a thick layer of wax will be present is the toe cap, and maybe on the heel counter. On the Strands, the heel counter was mirror shined, although not to the same shine as the toe caps, and I just conditioned over it. The rest of the body of the Strands was pretty well shined with Pure Polish water resistant walnut wax. I don't see a need to strip off wax off of the whole upper to moisturize them unless it's crazy thick, in which case it's probably cracking at flex points anyway.
Nice video, Bob. What is your opinion on the performance of Lexol on the shoes? I used to use that on my motorcycle racing leathers back in the day. I've also used it on the leather seats in our cars. I haven't tried it on shoes, yet.
I like it. I think it's great for really old and/or dry leather. It felt like the thin consistency really penetrates deep into leather pretty quickly. One of my viewers made a comment that made a lot of sense to me... use the thinner, runnier (oilier) conditioners, like Lexol, FIRST. Then use the thicker/greasier consistency conditioners later.
Hi Robert. Love your channel. My problem with conditioners is...I cannot afford $20 for an 8oz bottle of conditioner. What I would like to know is...can I go to a Home Depot or Lowes, and get large can of something that will condition my shoes, without the high cost of "name brand" conditioners. I am aware that the smaller name brand bottled are probably of higher quality...however, if I just need to condition my leather products, (shoes, bags, even furniture), what can I get in large volumes for a better price point? I need conditioner but I hesitate on spending $20 or $30 on a small bottle of Bick4. Seems there is likely a conditioner out there, (mink oil, coconut oil, or even olive oil), that will do the same thing as Bick4, without the high cost. I am struggling with knowing what is the best value for conditioner. Thanks for any responses, I know it is virtually impossible for you to answer every question and read every comment. I do love your channel and will continue to watch it regularly. Thanks for all you do.
Thanks for watching. That’s a great question. IMHO it’s not worth wandering off the path. I thrifted and flip shoes, I own 26 pairs of shoes, shine shoes for co-workers/friends, and most of the conditioners I use last several years even in small quantities. I just don’t think it’s worth the risk of not knowing what you’re getting versus tried and true conditioners. Watch my “Leather Talk” series with Andy from Pure Polish and from Phil from Ashland if you want in depth details as to why I say this.
@@CobblerBob Thanks for the reply Robert. I appreciate you and your channel.
Can the crack in the shell be repaired?
I'm going to try with a product called LM Filler & Stop Crash (yes, that's what it's called). Probably another whole video on that. It's a product sent to me that's not released in the US yet. The general concensus among shell enthusiasts is that once a serious crack develops in one area, it's an indication that the rest of the shell is deteriorated. I know I may put a lot of effort into these and they may continue to crack, but if so, I'll put them on a shelf as a display item next to my NOS unworn black Sears Roebuck PTBs from the early 1980's.
Have you tried products like Renapur Leather Balsam or the Effax or Belvoir versions?
No! I've never even heard of them!
You read the instructions, 'apply in one inch circles' then applied in 3-4 inch back n forth motion. Why ?
Honestly, I don’t think it makes that much difference.
Hi Thanks for the video! Have you ever tried plain coconut oil as a conditioner? If yes, could you please comment on it?
No, I haven't tried coconut oil by itself, but that is the main conditioning ingredient in the Pure Polish Cleaner Conditioner FYI!
Awesome, someone who is not selling product explaining shoe conditioners.
Can I use the same process on a leather handbag or a belt? Thank you 😊
Absolutely. With belts, don’t use too much product, and let it dry preferably overnight to ensure you don’t transfer any product onto your pants.
👍
Robert, I notice that your fingernails seem to be a bit deteriorated. Is that from the products you use on your shoes? Having sensitive skin, I'm weary of using products that might be inflammatory.
No, absolutely not. My fingernails are that way even when I touch no products. I used to work on cars a lot, I’m pretty certain I damaged the cuticles/nail bed on both of my thumbs. You’ll notice it’s only on my thumbnails. I don’t use shoe products enough for that to be a problem. Besides, most of the products I use now are Pure Polish, which are natural ingredients like Coconut oil and beeswax.
@@CobblerBob, thanks for the quick reply. All the best.
Hello!
THANK you!
I'm commenting
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