shoe leather maintenance

[bee_pipes]

I wear boots hard. When I was in the military (a million years ago) we didn't care - we thought it was appalling when boots shot up to $20 a pair. The boots weren't that great (we thought) but they took a lot of abuse. Now I find a good pair of boots can cost upwards of $150 (high quarters, steel toe) and I want to make them last. I find myself taking more care to keep polish on the leather after the last pair cracked from neglect. Breaking in a new pair can be an ordeal (aside from the cost), so I'd like to wring every last bit of usefulness out of a pair before replacing, especially with the cost of a good pair boots.

Yesterday morning we were out working in a grassy field and my socks and feet got soaked, bringing to my attention that I had gone too long without putting polish on the leather. Been using kiwi polish ever since my dad showed me how to take care of shoes. Used mink oil and "sno proof" in the past. Also used Lincoln polish in the service - a brand they carried at the px.

What do you use to keep your boots in shape and get the most out of your investment? How often do you polish? Do you do it on an as-need basis, or do you do it daily, weekly, etc? What has worked for you? I used to see people light polish on fire, briefly, to melt it and rub the melted polish into the leather. Guess their DI showed them that in basic - any benefit to that?

I don't want to spit-shine them - they are work boots, but I want to give the leather every opportunity for a long, useful life. It has been a long time since I was able to keep a pair of boots long enough to need resoleing, the leather is usually trashed by then. I have rubber boots for really wet work, but 99% of the time I am wearing leather boots.

Regards,
Pat

[Buck]

My grandfather was a cobbler who made special
shoes for handicap or special needs folk's. The
one simple lesson he taught me to keep shoe fit
and wearble for a VERY long time was........
NEVER wear the same pair two days in a row.

Gramps taught me that moisture is a killer of leather
so it was important to let a the shoes rest AND DRY
OUT for at least a day. Gramps told me that folk's
just don't understand that shoes wear out from the
inside out first due to the constant attack of body
moisture on shoes worn everyday.

Gramps said that a person needs at least two pair
of work shoes/boots to make both pair last almost
forever. Rotate your shoes, he said, and your feet
will alway be dry and comfortable.

Well, I followed Gramps advice and I still have work
boots in service I bought 25 yrs ago and they both
protect my feet and legs they look good too! I have
three pair of the same work boot that I rotate each
day which I'm certain is why they've lasted so long.

While the upfront cost might seem extreme it's a
huge bargain in the long run. 8)

[Katrina-Sisu]

Plain old dollar store Vasoline.

Back in the days of yore lol, I had to walk across a dip in our backyard to get home from school. This was 1998 and we had terrble flooding due to El Nino.

I vasolined my leather boots every week and those things were watertight. I had a growth spurt and couldn't wear them anymore but I loved those boots.

Kat

[bookwormom]

mutton tallow. best stuff for boots, makes them waterproof and costs nothing, provided you have lamb in the freezer.

[cubcadet]

When I tried to waterproff a pair of nice seather work boots, it made my feet sweat so much because the perspiration couldn`t escape, that the boots stank real bad until I had to toss them. It seems the salt in my sweat made the stitching rot. I now wear G.I. rubber boots in the field so no dew or rain even has a chance to get on my boot leather. When the sun dries things out, the rubber boots come off. I just am real careful not to walk in areas where the rubber could get slashed or punctured.

[cubcadet]

By the by, Buck, that`s real good advice. I`m going to take that one to heart. Thanks.

[JakeLeg]

Ditto on the "keep them dry" sentiment. For about 20 bucks, I bought a boot dryer at walmart. It's a base with a fan and 2 adjustable "vent ducts" coming up from the base. One boot goes on each duct, upside down. The base has a timer that allows you to turn it on for up to 2 hours. It blows a warm dry flow of air into the boots. Not only does it keep my boots dry, but because they're dry, the tend to stink a whole lot less.

In addition, instead of Vaseline, I use mink oil and saddle soap. They're available in the shoe care section along side the shoe polish. About once or twice a month I'll use the saddle soap to clean them and then apply the mink oil. They keep my boots clean, water tight and give them the greasy leather look i like.

[Mom5farmboys]

My husband is a farmer and is very hard on boots. Cow manure is hard on leather. What he does is rub bear grease into new boots until they are completely saturated and will not absorb any more. Then he will start wearing them. He has had a tin of bear grease that was his dads, this stuff is old and I don't even know where you would get it now. It sure does extend the life of his boots, every so often he will reapply the bear grease treatment, I'm not sure how often though. Hope this was helpful.

[tufhelp]

When I was in the Army they issued us two pairs of boots and in basic training we had to change boots every day. In our company they kept track of this by having us paint a small rectangle of red paint on the back of the heels on one pair and white paint on the other pair. Woe be it to anyone showing up for formation with the wrong color boots on! It was annoying to us, but then we didn't know that this gave the boots a chance to dry out between wearings and thereby extending their life. When I can afford it I do the same with my shoes and boots to this day - sans paint swatches of course - can't give Lindawoman anything else to harangue me with! :rolleyes: (Not really, she is the salt of the earth...)

[flatwater]

I use snow seal and like has been said before keep them dry inside. Rather then two pair of boots keep an extra pair of dry socks and change mid day. Your feet will feel better and so will your boots. 100 percent water proof with leather boots is a misnomer. 80 percent at best , but when they do get wet completely dry them out before retreating them.

[Teg]

If they do get wet stuff them with newspaper the first night and that will help a good bit in the overall drying process.

[MissouriFree]

When I was in the Army they issued us two pairs of boots and in basic training we had to change boots every day. In our company they kept track of this by having us paint a small rectangle of red paint on the back of the heels on one pair and white paint on the other pair. Woe be it to anyone showing up for formation with the wrong color boots on! It was annoying to us, but then we didn't know that this gave the boots a chance to dry out between wearings and thereby extending their life. When I can afford it I do the same with my shoes and boots to this day - sans paint swatches of course - can't give Lindawoman anything else to harangue me with! :rolleyes: (Not really, she is the salt of the earth...)

Tuf..

same here ..
back in the day we had a white dot painted on ours..

BTW most construction workers do not wear Steel toes on jobs, there have been cases of something heavy hitting the steel toes, sliding off and crushing the instep.. Most would rather have crushed toes than a crushed foot.

mo

[huckelberry]

i use some stuff called montana pitch blend,its got mink oil and pine pitch and bees wax in it,you can order it from baileys(chainsaw and logging supply folks) best thing ive found so far...jon

[buster]

What is good for leather belts. I have one that is discolored and needs to be polished. Will regular black shoe polish work and not rub off on my pants, or someones furniture?