VASH Style thread......

[PRE-H20]

I've always loved Vash's random threads..... so in the spirit od Vash's randomness.... here is mine.

Couldn't sleep, up late into the night...... riffling through YouTube videos... came across some Shoe Cobbling videos.... both Professional and DIY videos..... fascinating videos...... kept me intrigued and it actually relaxed me.....

Then.... I starting thinking... wow that stuff is pretty cool, doesnt look too hard, I have all the stuff needed in the garage..... sooooo WTH..... let me try some of this stuff... seems simple enough.

One of the videos showed this guy that wanted to get the crease out of his work shoes, he did this by wetting a towel and taking a steam iron to it and steaming the heck out of the leather, using a shoe tree and the usual shoe polish, water polish, over and over and over again..... WHAT THE HECK..... its works !!!!!

It freaking worked! took a little getting used to the process and could be long to get the shine back but WOW.

These shoes are 25 years old, the creases were old and deep...... the shoe trees do help when just sitting BUT the leather remembers the original shape and dried perfectly into shape! They don't new but they look great !

who knew ? wow.

[PRE-H20]

[Chocaholic]

Next time, try melatonin.

[masraum]

Nice! Who knew!

Are you going to flatten the flap that goes into the buckle now. I'm sure if you unbuckle those that flap is creased and curved from being buckled.

Finish the other and polish them up. Post the results!

[masraum]

Many years ago, when I was in college, I had a pair of Florsheim penny loafers. I hadn't worn them in years, and was working part time at a grocery store bagging groceries. My black sneakers wore out, so I started wearing the penny loafers. One day it was pouring so me, and the shoes got soaked taking groceries out to customer's cars. The shoes after getting wet conformed to the shape of my feet and were super comfortable. That's actually close to the process that I've heard recommended here for breaking in new leather shoes. Anyway, they looked like hell after that and I think the soles were worn and the finish looked like crap. I was in the mall and saw a shoe repair place. I took the shoes in and said "can you do anything with these?" I think they resoled the shoes, and put a nice finish on them (something more than a polish, I assume). The shoes were great after that for many years.

I think the break-in procedure that Tobra has mentioned is to wear wool socks if you've got them and fill your shoes with warm water and wear them. The wool helps keep things from getting too nasty/stinky, and the water helps the leather confirm to your feet which relieves spots that rub your feet. Then after a day like that, you let them dry thoroughly and they are supposed to be good to go. I've never tried it, but after my experience with that other pair of shoes, I suspect it would probably work pretty well.

[LWJ]

Living in Portland, it is wet. Leather shoes. Get shoes all wet. Drink too much. Go dancing. In the am shoes fit and head hurts.

[PRE-H20]

Chocaholic...... that was funny! good idea... I need sleep.

So as silly as this thread is, I wasn't going to post any other pix... but.... I did finish the 2nd shoe..... they actually came out pretty not bad.

The straps stay the same...... cuz you know....THAT would be too much ! hahahaha

[masraum]

They look great. Now you can't wear them because that would crease them again.

[KFC911]

Next!

[PRE-H20]

Steve..... hahahahaha that's too funny... I was just thinking the same thing.......

KC..... dammit, that's not too funny.... I've already done 6 or 7 pairs of newer shoes.......

I gotta admit, I'm not hating the process too much....

the others have been pretty easy I take much better care of the other shoes compared to these old ones......

[KFC911]

I'm like that big ol' bass ... I got hooked by the thread title.... sorry!

Tabz would tell you not to use Melatonin on them tho.....carry on

[herr_oberst]

Your boss at work, the next time you wear those shoes in:

"Johnson! I don't know what's gotten into you, but I've never seen you as confident and capable as I have today! Come up to my office before you leave tonight, I want to discuss your future. We can start by discussing your new parking space! Keep up the good work! I've got my eye on you"

[Steve Carlton]

This seems more like a Tabs thread.

[GH85Carrera]

I still have the shoes I was married in. Ben married just a month shy of 33 years. They still look like new.

Hanover brand, 10 EEE shoes.

[wdfifteen]

I’ll bet Milt knows how to do that.

[Scott Douglas]

So let me get this right.
You soak the towel in water, put it on the shoe, and put the steam iron on the towel while it's on the shoe.
Have I got that right?

I've got some Sabego moc's that have some creases I'd like to get out of them.

[A930Rocket]

Nice work!

For my last two pair of topsiders, I soak them overnight in water and have an expanding device that slips into the shoe. Turn the knob and it expands. Then I wet the shoes again and wear them, to make them fit just right.

I’ve got some expensive dress shoes I’d like to expand, but I think after 20 years my foot has gotten wider and they won’t fit.

[PRE-H20]

Herr....... normally I would be very encouraged by what a shiny shoe can do for career....... unfortunately the boss with the big office upstairs IS me, and he/me is a real arsehole.

Steve, NOPE not a Tabs thread at all, that's why I commented on the write-up how silly this thread was.... I was really watching these stoopid youtuve videos on DIY dress shoe stuff and it kept me intrigued, so I tried it on these OLD shoes...... they look not so bad now. I was cracking up at how well it worked. I ended up "Tuning Up" several pairs... turns out leather is pretty easy to work with AND with basic items to work with.

Scott...... no... that's not what I did, the video I saw had the guy wet a hand towel (small 9x14) pretty damp, then on the OUTSIDE drape the towel over the top of the shoe, then with a household Iron (SHIRT IRON) hit the shoe with steam for a while, then IRON the towel thats sitting on the shoe... the leather gets damp and hot, i put alot of pressure down on the iron and kept the steam going, i removed the towel to check on the progress and sure enough you can see the creases coming out. (you 100% need a shoe tree in there to support the pressure from the iron ONTO the leather to flatten it out) I ironed more and more (5min or so) then, I let the shoe sit and breathe, put them in front of a fan to hurry up the cooling. Then..... the polishing and process kick in..... its takes several passes to get the shoe to let out the shine but it down come back and they end up looking like the final picture I posted. SUPER easy.

A930Rocket.... that's waaaayyy more fancy shoe work that I've done. Sounds comfy though!

[red 928]

Got me all inspired, I wonder what I can do with these?*







*pics lifted from the interwebs.
But the last time I wore real shoes, DJT had just got elected.
the first time.
Pretty sure I still have them.



I hate wearing shoes. Did I mention that?