The last was a bit more generous hence I had to downsize to half size. I am quite surprised the arch support reminded me of Edward Green which is a good thing. Generally a well made pair of shoes and good value for the money. The patina is not bad but could be better in terms to coverage but again I'm not expecting much for the asking price.

Just picked up a new pair of Cheaney's Imperial Collection on their new 15216 Last. It fits well for me as the heel cups nicely and no issues with tightness around the bunion. Arc support could be better but then I am comparing it with EG. I like the Bronzed Espresso calf, there's some unevenness in the shading thus creating a museum calf-like look.







Oak barked, closed channel stitching and a nice beveled waist.



In comparison to the custom Cheaney.



This post has been edited by Kelvw: Feb 24 2020, 06:32 PM

Thanks! It's the Lancanster model. From an angle, it does look like a pair of boots

Bought it from EnglishBrands in Birmingham. Not many of these around other resellers as it's just been released, otherwise it'll have to be directly from Cheaneys.

Thanks! It came with my custom Cheaneys. Shame they weren't sold separately.

Being stuck at home the third week now. The only place I could wear my shoe lol

I just won a bunch of Saphir products for an online shoeshine competition. It was good fun and helps replenish some of my current polish.

Shoes not included lol


Here's what I entered





I think I've got too many products now

I realised that! I won about £150 worth of Saphir products. The other time I won a filled Loake Valet box as well but I only used the box haha.
Also sometimes I get given polishes when I drop by some of the shoe shops.
Tbh I have too many brushes now, perhaps about 12?

No idea if both makes any differences. I have one where I use it to brush off dirt/dust and another to brush off the excess polish. I never use it for mirror shine as that would scratch it all up. I think you meant giving the whole shoe a sheen after a polish, then yes. The friction from the brush would do so.

This post has been edited by Kelvw: Jul 3 2020, 04:23 AM

That's crazy amount of shoes!

Shoe care to start the week

Some before and after pics

It's fairly straight forward. I tend to lay down about 10 - 15 thin layers of neutral wax to fill in the pores. Then I start to add darker wax, in this case for the above grey pair I used black instead. Again building up in very thin layers, this could go on for maybe another 10 - 20 layers or more ( I don't keep count) but I try to have the same amount of layers for both shoes so it has equal shine. Just a note, add some very small amount of water droplets in between each layer. It's almost like a lubricant for the wax. I tend to leave it overnight for the wax to harden up and continue a few more layers the next day.

Make sure when you add droplets of water, it doesn't saturate the leather and the cloth. It's moist rather than damp. Otherwise you will dull the polish instead. If that is the case, I would leave for a few hours to dry off and start again.

Also it's important to use the right cloth (I use selvyt cloth or similar type). You have to experiment which cloth suits your technique. The wrong fabric can create a lot of scratches or micro swirls as you start to reach mirror shine and it can extremely frustrating. I have 3 different cloth for various applications. I also like to finish off with a lightly damped cotton ball with some very light wax.
The trick is, everything is very minimal.

That's pretty much it. Just have a lot of patience

This post has been edited by Kelvw: Sep 25 2020, 04:54 AM

I tend to touch up the shine after wearing it for a week in rotation. I would use the brush to get rid of dust around the welt and creases but not on the toe cap. You shouldn't accumulate too much wax if it's used sparingly. I would only strip off the polish if I had a deep gash on the mirror shine that couldn't be touched up.

I just use Saphir Reno'Mat to remove the polish and then recondition the leather with Saphir Renovateur cream after. I've not used saddle soap as my shoes don't get that dirty. It's maintained weekly so no deep cleaning required