for (probably: mostly) older working musicians who wear real shoes to gigs...

[bloke]

I've had these dress shoes (no not "military" dress, but dress, anything-but-cheap, and those currently sold as the same thing - these days - being crap) for roughly a half century.

They still polish up beautifully, but the glossy black edges have all flaked off.

A former tuba student and repair employee (who - fortunately - got out of the music biz and into real work, in a sector of the military whereby he has made a really positive difference throughout the world) told me about this product which is SPECIFICALLY designed to restore these edges (again: if shoes ever get this old, or are worn often enough for this to occur).

Here's a before-and-after of the first coat:



Here's the product (which also does a far better job that that sponge-tipped stuff for the BOTTOM edges of the shoes, as well.



Here's after several coats (and not waiting for previous ones to dry). It builds up and forms that glossy edge - much like new shoes feature.
I did NOT sand any of the edges of the leather, but HAD I done so, the final result would have looked much more like: ie. "new" shiny, built-up, AND smooth. (For me, black-and-durable - ie. more durable than would be a polish or dye - is good enough.)



I've never even seen it in shoe shops, much less the shoelace rack at dept. stores. I didn't even try, and just found it for sale online.

FOR PITY'S SAKE, do NOT spill this stuff !!!!

bloke "apologies to the current and former military musicians who already knew all about this product"

[MikeS]

Many, many moons ago (late’50’s, early ‘60’s), Ernie Harwell would do a pre-game interview on the radio before a Detroit Tigers game. At the end of the interview Ernie would say, “For participating today (insert name) will receive a certificate good for a free pair of Florsheim shoes from Sibley’s, Michigan’s largest Florsheim retailer.” You got me wondering how many of those guys are still around and if they still have those wing tips. Back then even Mickey Mantle wouldn’t have turned down a free pair of shoes. If I run into Charlie Maxwell or Luis Aparicio I’ll pass on your tip.

[Big Francis]

My go to is Leather Luster - it's a company based out of Virginia that puts a mirror finish on your shoes. It's a PITA to get the initial shine on the front end because you have to strip the existing wax, dyes, and finish off. but after the initial 16 hours of work, I never had to shine them again for the next 10 years. It's an incredibly durable product.

You can send your shoes to them and they'll do it for you for a relatively modest price considering the labor involved.

Frank

[bloke]

Just to be even more clear...

This is NOT a shoe polish. It's thick and something between a liquid and a goo...to PAINT-BRUSH or SWAB onto the worn VERY EDGES of the leather (as pictured).

btw...
I didn't make a mess (other than on my hands, when I picked up the shoes to test this stuff - not actually meant for - around the bottoms)...
Soap/water/scrubbing got it all off of my hands very quickly/easily.

[Big Francis]

Oh, the edge dressing. Yeah. I love that stuff too but use a different brand. I never had the guts to use it on the shoes like you are (i saw too many guys taking short cuts in the navy and watch that fail spectaculary at inspection). I just used a Sharpie.

[kingrob76]

I never thought I could smell a picture on the internet.... until now.

[Three Valves]

I never thought I could smell a picture on the internet.... until now.

Yeah, I got a whiff too!

[bloke]

feet:
I'm old, so my feet don't sweat.
I can wear socks for a couple of days at least...certainly NOT thirty years ago !!!
(...and - even if my feet DID sweat - there's nothing in these shoes - unlike sneakers - to soak it up.)
They just look really funky inside, because they're really old.

edge dressing:
I didn't detect an odor...no "shoe shop" smell.


BUT...
since it looks icky, I suppose I should spray some sort of concentrated cleanser in there, and see if that stuff dissolves...(??)

[Three Valves]

Then it would smell like a rented bowling shoe!

[bloke]

Hey...
I (sincerely) appreciate the remarks,
and assumed all that was just permanent stains, but about half of it came out with "Fantastik",

and I know exactly where that stuff came from: the floor of the buffing room

I go in there barefoot (to avoid tracking that stuff) wash off my feet afterwards (in the shop sink), but (well... obviously) not thoroughly enough... , work until the last possible minute, shower (but no additional foot-scrubbing ) and head off to a gig.

bloke "Again...Thanks for the heads feets-up."

[Three Valves]

My wife washes my feet.

She says I have a Messiah complex.

I forgave her.

[Mary Ann]

I just got a pair of very nice dressy basket-weave black leather flat shoes at a thrift store, that were made in Italy probably quite a long time ago. You can't find that kind of thing now. They are my new performance shoes.

[bloke]

Again, even the brand new shoes represented to be the same as those in the picture are sort of the (forgive me, but) the jimbo version of Florsheim Imperials.

By the way, I really I am grateful for pointing out how they looked on the inside. I don't know why I assumed they were just discolored from age.

[MiBrassFS]

And here I thought this was the real reason “Sharpie” markers existed…

[tokuno]

Pictures not loading for me, but if you’re talking about sole and heel edge dressing, then thumbs up; been using it for decades.

I’ve always found it at cobbler shops (vanishingly rare businesses in my area).

My career began in San Francisco’s financial district where cordovan or black dress shoes were table stakes, but I could barely afford the shoes, never mind paying others to polish them, so I got plenty of practice late at night in my crappy apartment.

After learning the hard way how not to edge dress, I’d set the shoes on a couple sheets of newspaper lain on a level, stable surface before I uncapped the bottle, which I’d set well away from my moving arms and shoes. I also learned to provide more drying time than for a quick brush and polish (doesn’t come out of carpets, and no joy getting it off linoleum or hardwood, either).

Good value, though. My 1980/90s Allen Edmonds (after innumerable re-soles) developed a non-repairable crease split in the upper, so coincident to this post, I’m sporting a brand new pair in the office this morning. Be hard to match 3+ decades’ of use with an equivalent-costing rack of Air Jordans. To be fair, I rotate in other “dress” shoes, but the A-E Park Avenues serviced a lot of work/concert/funeral/etc. miles in comfort and style.

[bloke]

a specific product (I only found one make) that's mostly liquid, slightly gooey, and coats (part of the name: "kote") worn edges of leather (around the lace-up and foot-insertion areas of real leather dress shoes).

It's a different product from the multi-brands stuff to put around the edges of heels and soles.

[gocsick]

Fiebing's leather products are fantastic. They are apparently a 4th generation family business. They also make the best saddle soap and a great product called salt-stain remover that removes the white discoloration when road salt absorbs into the leather on boots and shoes. I've used the leather dye to fix a pair of off-white boots my wife bought, wore a few times, then decided she hated the color. I redyed them for her. Used their deglazer to remove the orginal polish.. followed by two coats of leather dye and you couldn't tell that they didn't come from the factory a deep mahogany (that exactly matched the color on the bottle).

I learned about the company from a tobacco pipe maker. Their leather dye is an alcohol based stain that is really vibrant on dense woods and doesn't interact with other finishes. . The standard practice for staining pipes after carving is to stain the wood... then light the stain on fire while still wet to burn the alcohol off and set the color (let the stain air dry on leather). Then you can buff with rouge and finish with drying oil, wax, or shellac. Not at all relevant but I thought that was pretty cool.

[bloke]

Aside from discovering (thanks to gentle joking criticism) that inside my shoes they were dirty - rather than permanently stained, I've added two or three more coats yet of this stuff around the top edges, and it's looking less and less like I put it on there and more and more like the factory put it on there.

[tokuno]

a specific product (I only found one make) that's mostly liquid, slightly gooey, and coats (part of the name: "kote") worn edges of leather (around the lace-up and foot-insertion areas of real leather dress shoes).

It's a different product from the multi-brands stuff to put around the edges of heels and soles.

nice! Sounds good for dress belts, too.

[bloke]

a specific product (I only found one make) that's mostly liquid, slightly gooey, and coats (part of the name: "kote") worn edges of leather (around the lace-up and foot-insertion areas of real leather dress shoes).

It's a different product from the multi-brands stuff to put around the edges of heels and soles.

nice! Sounds good for dress belts, too.

Yes...
My octogen' bro' - having been shown this product, but not needing it for any of his shoes - is getting some for his (high-quality, yet old) leather belts.