Another option is to have a pair custom made. I was in a small town a few days ago to see the doctor, and stopped in to an old-fashioned shoe shop to see if they have any cedar wood shoe trees (old stock from, say, 30 years ago) for RM 20 or something. The shop proprietor showed me a pair of shoes he was making for a customer. It has a leather sole (glued, not welted), and he was hand-dyeing the uppers (I'm not certain if the uppers are leather). The quality is nowhere like English handmade/benchmade shoes, but for RM200 it is an interesting deal. I imagine there are many more shoemakers like him all over the country. Maybe there is a star shoemaker among them.

Here's something I posted on FB for friends.



My Goodyear-welted leather sole, topgrain Oxford brogues. The working man's classic.

The rules are, don't step into a puddle and try not to get them wet. Moisture seeps through the leather and makes the insides moist and stinky. Polish at least once a week or if it gets scuffed. After polishing with mink oil enriched black shoe polish, leather soles have to be cleaned (I use STP Tuff Stuff multi-purpose foam cleaner) and mink oil/wax applied to the soles to prevent moisture ingress.

Cedar shoe trees (Nico Schmid seen here) are a must for this sort of shoe. After a days use the shoe has to 'rest' for 24 hours and dry out. The shoe tree is placed inside a shoe to preserve its shape, stop it from developing creases, thereby extending the life of the shoe.

Nice-smelling cedar helps control odor and absorb moisture. Higher quality shoe trees are often made with two or three pieces of solid wood with a solid metal stem inserted between the heel piece and the single or double toe piece/s which have a spring action so the trees fit more snugly into the shoes. They often have handles or brass knobs at the heel piece for the fingers to grasp and pull out the trees from the shoe when removing them.

Lastly, use a shoehorn. Every time you jam your heel into a shoe, an old English cobbler dies.

REFERENCES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_shoe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welt_(shoe)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe_polish
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mink_oil

wow, nice pair of shoe..where can i get it from here? and how much u bought it for?

Some specs:

- Topgrain leather (corrected grain)
- Rubber heel (more practical for those who do a lot of standing on their feet)

I got this pair, brand new for RM119.90 in PJ.

What a price.

Do show us the soles

Here it is!

What make are they? I don't mind getting some as a beater pair.

Kulitkraf. Malaysian Govt. supplier. These are used by Malaysian military, etc. For topgrain (corrected grain) cowskin (not calfskin) Goodyear welted brogue Oxfords this is a good price. The sole stitching is a bit rough but these are military shoes we're talking about here.

Holy pfhuck, nice shoes at an incredible price.

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Added on January 8, 2010, 11:45 pmIs the insole made of leather? I mean a 4 mm thick insole, not a sock liner.

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Added on January 9, 2010, 12:17 amHere is my black full brogue. I just water polished it 5 minutes ago to show you guys my superior skillz.



This post has been edited by kotmj: Jan 9 2010, 12:17 AM

Well just about any ex Kadet Polis member like me, or ex Govt. employee knows Kulitkraf.

The ones I got are the best. Topgrain cowskin (calfskin is finer), but it's corrected grain meaning they take cowskin which has marks from barbed wire and insect bites and hot-stamp it to 'correct' it. That's why it's cheaper, but as strong and as good. Stitching is rougher than the more expensive makes. It's for military use. If you hang around the beryani shops near MINDEF/PULAPOL you'll see a lot of officer types using these shoes.

From eye level/1 metre away most people would easily confuse these with an RM2680 pair of Church's! Hahahaha!

The inner sole is some synthetic material.

All black shoes nowadays are corrected grain. With black, it makes little difference. It is in brown shoes where the better ones are aniline dyed.

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Added on January 9, 2010, 12:47 amIt's a pity the insole is synthetic. Maybe Kulitkraft can custom make a shoe with a leather insole. It makes a big difference.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Jan 9 2010, 12:47 AM

I dunno why I never llike brogues. Maybe because of those holes

But I do like, I mean seriously like tanned lace-ups. But very hard to find a pair that's cheap which I really like in KL. I'm poor


Oh, they're not welted though.

biker voodoo, good job!

i really really like the westbourne and it's next on my list. fell in love after seeing a friend wear a pair with his jeans.





followed closely with the selbourne

Kulitkraf is a factory and they mainly do HUGE orders for Govt. By right they shouldn't be bothered with retail but they have a small showroom and can even handle credit card orders. Good customer service.

Don't expect Loake style finishing. The stitching is a bit rougher and the inner lining is synth. The rubber heel is actually better for Malaysian conditions IMHO compared to a stacked leather heel.

Can't argue with 119.90! A good shoe to beat around, it looks near enough, good enough and you can let your Loakes/Churches/etc. dry out for 24 hours and wear the Kulitkraf one. The model I got is OLG1010.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Jan 10 2010, 04:03 PM

where do u guys get the shoes polisher, and how much?
been looking for one for ages.

Get one of those instant shine bottles with a sponge applicator. Fast and easy shine.

where can i get it?
cant find any...

Can't find any? You need to unglue your eyes.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Jan 10 2010, 05:04 PM

Compare to conventional polish kit which is better? By the way, for a brown color shoe, what color of shoe polish I should get. Thank you.