All, I really appreciate the comments here - I feel like there is a LOT of good constructive feedback and additional knowledge being shared!! The most notable point is that Saphir makes a product “Saphir Edge Dressing & Renovating Recolorant Repair Cream” that “is a resin-based cream used to repair deep scuff marks, scratches, and cigarette burns on smooth leather (dress shoes, clothes, leather goods, and furniture). It is also a very effective edge dressing for shoes.” Although I’ve never actually used it, I noticed the description does NOT say that it will fill or repair CRACKS. As of 5/9/19 I have now worn the shoes four times for 12 hours each time since shooting this video, and so far so good! 🤞🏼 Here’s a more current photo after moisturizing and polishing them again and wearing them: instagram.com/rvp_bob_powers/p/BvupxhVDgSB/?igshid=1blmmkr8ddmli Another noteworthy comment was that a professional cobbler might place a thin piece of leather behind the cracked area of leather, then fill the crack.
One of the things I truly enjoy and appreciate your videos is that you don’t edit out anything and you jump right into a project and we all learn as you do. Case in point is in this video when some of your viewers had a suggestion, which it seems like you accepted and we all learned from this experience. My point is: Kudos to you for always producing excellent impartial videos which provide great value to your subscriber base. Nice job!
The integrity and functional structure of a shoe is more significant than visual appearance in my opinion. Better fixing a shoe with minor defect than the crack turning into a rip and pop and crackle, if you will. With further wearing and patina, the mark will blend in well I think (hope). If anything else, the marks will tell the history of the shoe and it's a good story to tell. I love marks and imperfections of leather because of this reason.
Saphir renovating cream works best. It's a resin and pigment based cream to fill in the crack and harden. Then you can polish over it. It would bring your grade to a B+ or A- and look more like a patina than a hard line. I use it often to repair cracks for others. 400 grit sandpaper, dye, renovating cream, cream polish, then wax to make magic happen. The problem with superglue is that each time you polish the shoes the moisture from the polish will enhance the darkness of the glue itself (in essence, it gives it new life) with the renovating cream the "new life" is given to the same color as your polish so nothing stands out. Just a helpful tip for future reference.
I will DEFINITELY have to check it out! Thanks! It’s amazing, I could have searched for days on the Internet & never found information like this. It’s amazing what one video like this will flush out and direct me towards.
Jerry Covington that’s great info. I’m looking to restore a wallet that has lots and lots of cracks but they are very fine. Do you have a TH-cam channel or website etcanyway that I could contact you for some further advice?
I think it's definitely worth trying. I see tons of high end shoes on eBay with these issues but I've been too timid to give it a shot. I'm eager to see how this repair holds up over time and multiple wears. Great video! Thanks!
I think they look good and it was important to stop the cracking. In a perfect world, you wouldn’t want the darkening but these shoe are starting to show an excellent patina and it works nicely with the look. Brave man, you!
Robert Powers - I hadn’t thought about that. It is an interesting consideration, however. It’s somewhat counterintuitive to put on a polish before the Renaveteur, but in this case I can easily see how the polish might not have allowed the conditioning cream to soak in and darken the area. Have a pair of A-E Clifton’s (when they were balmorals not derbys) in burgundy with a small verticals crack on the outside of the vamp, that I might try the superglue trick with. Since I’m starting with a much darker color, I may not see the darkening issue. I also have the sapphire renovating cream that I might try. I keep it for nicks and youREALLY have to be careful putting too much on at a time or you’ll cover a much bigger area than you intended. We’ll see. Great content, keep it up!
I think it is an improvement and will minimize future cracking in those spots. My advice is you freely wear those shoes and enjoy them. They are a nice pair of Polos with a bit of seasoned character.
A small tip about cleaning brogues ... use precision screw drivers which are slightly smaller than the hole of the brogue. Insert a flat head screw drive, turn it to reverse any polish or debris which may have accumulated. Then I use a philips head to further remove any thing that might remain. A variety of sizes of small screw drivers is needed to clean different sized holes. I am telling you about this because I have learned so much from you about shoes; how to repair them,how to polish them, how to take care of them. It is possible that you might find this interesting and you would be the one to share it so that others could learn about it. After polishing my shoes one time I noticed that my wingtips did not look as good as they should because of polish that had gotten into the brogue. Finding a pair of precision screwdrivers that I use for tightening my glasses and other very small screws, I came up on the idea that the small screwdrivers would fit into the holes and I could clean them. It worked really well. Thank You Bob! Charles Alan Clark
It could be the possibility that it is tanned incorrectly. I work with a lot of leather because I do reenactment equipment. I find a lot of foreign leather is inferior. I find that I have more success with tanned leather when I buy from the Tandy Corporation. You're right the shoes have no manufacturing date so they could sit on the shelves for 20 years, dry out without conditioners. It's definitely a beautiful shoe and worth trying to correct the issues.
I just found a pair of Edmond Almonds at the thrift store yesterday for an incredibly low price. The back soles are worn, and one side has some cracking where they bend. They are black Park Avenues. Not my size, but I great project. I like that you are trying things outside the norm and putting it out there. I restore and sell old tobacco pipes, and there is always a debate with techniques etc, but I find it best just to do what works for you. As with anything there is always more than one way to perform a task. I am interested in the mentioned Saphir cream also, so I may end up trying both methods. I like to see all the methods of doing something. Great content Robert!
I have some old boots I used when i worked with concrete that were / are extremely cracked. Saddle soap and polish a few and repeat a few times actually made a big difference.
The shoes are light in colour. Rather than lightening the blemish could you not just darken the entire colour of the shoes? As it stands the fix you did is fantastic. I absolutely believe that people notice your shoes. Shoes make the difference. The closest that people can see your shoes is what? 4 feet away? They will see a crack. It will look horrible. The fix you have just shown wouldn't even register. If I am travelling in a circle of people who are going to notice a few small lines on a man's shoe, then I think I would be able to afford to get the crack professionally and invisibly repaired. I think you did a great job.
Lighter would have been better, but I'd wear them if they were mine. I going to try some black Shoe Goo on some expendable shoes. If it works I will use it on my Johnson & Murphy shoes that I bought in the 80's.
Interesting video, Bob. A professional cobbler can repair cracked leather. Essentially, they glue a thin piece of leather behind the crack. Then they fill it in. I think using super glue is a novel and creative approach. I think it is worth it because the shoes are structurally better.
Savvy Life Strategies - that’s a good idea... but would be tremendously labor intensive as I assume you’d have to take apart the stitching holding in the lining??
Thanks for uploading this very informative video. I tried this repair today and it works a treat. Great idea using a knife for gluing otherwise the glue would be everywhere 😀. I do think as one of the comments suggests though, putting a patch on the inside would be a good idea 👍. cheers.
peter rathbone - thank you! And BTW Bespoke Addict youtube channel - he restores old shoes, and he uses the technique you mention of putting a patch on the inside. I’ve got a pair of shoes I will try this technique with. I didn’t want to do it with these Polos as they just weren’t bad enough.
Thanks for another VERY informative video. What would we do without TH-cam? We would all have to come to your house and watch you do it in person...lol I believe that you made an improvement to the functionality of the shoe. Those cracks would have gotten bigger if nothing was done. In the end, its still a SHOE. It is in contact with all of the harsh elements of the ground and being they are 5' away from most peoples eyes, I dont think the small dark lines make a huge difference.
You sealed the crack and that makes it an improvement. You've changed the color of shoes before, have you considered dying the shoes a darker color? Dark brown perhaps or even that maroon you've used before.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained! They may not look perfect but at least you have extended the life of the shoes. Nothing wrong with a few battle scars, just like us when we get older!!🤣
It has been my experience that the super glue area doesn't flex and a new crack will form beside the super glue. Hope it doesn't happen to those polo shoes. Maybe try something that can flex next time?
Yes, we will see, I saw Steve at Bedo’s leather works use epoxy mixed with leather dust. I tried that before, but I thought the superglue would be better at pulling together the crack.
I would leave it at the 24:02 point. I wonder if the tools that modelers use would help you out? They have these very fine rasps and sanding sticks that are like toothpick sized.
It was indeed a bold experiment, nice try! Have you considered maybe lightly applying acetone or Saphir Decapant on the surface? For light cracks, I'd use Saphir Creme Renovatrice in the same color accordingly.
Interesting application of super glue, this issue here is the shoe is such a light color you should try to find a matching color repair product from saphir. It is not a total loss IMO maybe dye the shoe a much darker shade of brown maybe chocolate brown. That will hide the blemish more effectiely.
SORRY for missing your comment!! Yes, I've used Saphir Creme Renovatrice since. If I re-did this repair today, I'm not sure if I'd use it though. That product seems to me to be a good filler product, but seems like it has almost no strength to it. I could be wrong, but since the leather was cracked all the way through, I didn't think it would hold. I could be wrong though, thus the "disclaimer" at the beginning of my videos "I'm not a professional".
I did this on a cracked kangaroo leather boot. I followed your tutorial with the super-glue but added one more step: I put a piece of duct tape on the other side to act as a band-aid or buffer to prevent further stress on the sealed area.
Being cautious, I would have cleaned the areas around the cracks with a leather cleaner, then filled the cracks and the area around them with a matching pigmented cream polish, followed by your leather cream conditioner. This would not close the cracks, but might keep them from growing. Also, if you wanted to glue the cracks, Elmer's Glue-All or Tight-Bond wood glue will work on leather, and excess can be easily scrubbed off.
Robert, I noticed you’re using what looks like a cotton t-shirt to shine the shoes.....? If so, what are you thoughts on that versus a cotton “chamois”? Trying to see if they’re worth the money.
ttapeX - it’s so hard to say without seeing them, and like I said in the video I’m really not a professional on this stuff. I hope my videos entertain people and can give you some ideas. If you’re mechanically inclined, you might want to try and it repair yourself, but if they’re expensive shoes and/or really valuable to you, you may want to send them to somebody? Check out Steve at Bedos Leatherworks. He’s on TH-cam and Instagram. Also check out Cobbler Sunny on Instagram.
Give yourself at least a B. Definitely better than letting the crack spread. Have you considered the Tarrago or other filler pastes? I was hoping you had the key to repair my pair of old Ferragamos - the right perfect and the left badly cracked. Considering sanding them, but maybe just leave them for casual days.
I think it was interesting and it was fixed. It might be a good idea to dye these a dark brown then it would be indistinguishable And also a good video
Thank you! Yes and no... yes, the areas I repaired are holding up, but I think there is something wrong with the leather itself (maybe the tanning process was off and they pH (acidity level of the leather). New micro-cracks have developed on more areas of the shoes even though I barely wear them and have moisturized them many times =/ It has been over a year since I did the repair though, and they're still very wearable. I don't think anyone but me notices the flaws at this point.
Hello Robert you killed me @5:33, I commend you for your bravery omg! I would have taken a bit of a different route and tried a combination of Saphir leather repair gel plus a little bit of sanding of the leather to feel the crack, obviously I can say this after trying to superglue a pair myself and not working as I would have wanted it. Perhaps you might need to moisture and conditions this ones a little more often to avoid more cracking. Keep the videos coming and thanks for sharing. P.S. I also have now a youtube channel for just polishing and the pleasurable sounds it produces. Still trying to improve camera, light and sound, if you have a minute check it out is called ourshoeshine blog hopefully more people will add videos there of how they do their shine.
The repairs have held up! There are some new small cracks developimg all over, even though I only wear these shoes a few times a year now. There doesn't seem to be anything I can do to stop it. They still look nice enough to wear out on the town though.
I have never used oil based dyes. I have used Fiebings alcohol-based dyes, but not on these shoes. I’ve done nothing to these shoes but moisturize them and polish them with Saphir. I Purchased them when they were in nearly new condition (again, but I don’t know how OLD they are) and have only worn them 5 or 6 times. And what I have said corroborate what you said, I believe there was a warning on the Fiebings website about the fact that the alcohol-based dye can affect the leather, but I did not have that issue with any of the 3 pairs I’ve dyed.
@@CobblerBob thanks for your reply. Sorry I haven't been very precise in my question. Fiebings is considered as far as I know as mild dye. Because it not only contains colour compounds and solvent. It has also some oils to renurture the leather. Once I screwed around a bit with old light brown shoeleather stripes of a distroyed santoni. Full grain calf veg tanned. I have used too much fiebings (light brown) on it and you could definitely see that it became oil saturated - like spilling some olive oil on them. P.s.: sorry for asking the question. In your previous videos I could see what dyes you are using.
My take at this point; time for Operation bird phoenix. Give them a dark brown polish, remember that the sapphire cream doesn't cover as thoroughly, as a flat can shoepolish. Perhaps try with a cream first, then a polish from a tin can. And then, black shoepolish, cream I'd use here. Trying to see what happens, hopefully this: th-cam.com/video/z_a0e7XpSqk/w-d-xo.html Basically, it's not a fault it's a feature.
What I read was that it’s a byproduct of the fur industry. In other words I don’t think they kill minks just to get the fat, the fat and flesh is scraped off of the pelts when they are processed. I’m no fur expert so I can’t tell you more than that.
Rigo, I'm certainly NO expert on the line, but I would disagree with that as a blanket statement unless you mean what they CURRENLY sell. I am NOT up to speed on their current offerings so I have no opinion on their current offereings. Sven Raphael Schneider on "The Gentleman's Gazette" and styleforum.net have some great info on what of theirs is good, etc. Some of their shoes were made by Crockett and Jones, one of the world's best shoemakers. Their info will help discern what's gold and what's junk. Take care and thanks for taking the time to write!
All, I really appreciate the comments here - I feel like there is a LOT of good constructive feedback and additional knowledge being shared!! The most notable point is that Saphir makes a product “Saphir Edge Dressing & Renovating Recolorant Repair Cream” that “is a resin-based cream used to repair deep scuff marks, scratches, and cigarette burns on smooth leather (dress shoes, clothes, leather goods, and furniture). It is also a very effective edge dressing for shoes.”
Although I’ve never actually used it, I noticed the description does NOT say that it will fill or repair CRACKS.
As of 5/9/19 I have now worn the shoes four times for 12 hours each time since shooting this video, and so far so good! 🤞🏼
Here’s a more current photo after moisturizing and polishing them again and wearing them:
instagram.com/rvp_bob_powers/p/BvupxhVDgSB/?igshid=1blmmkr8ddmli
Another noteworthy comment was that a professional cobbler might place a thin piece of leather behind the cracked area of leather, then fill the crack.
One of the things I truly enjoy and appreciate your videos is that you don’t edit out anything and you jump right into a project and we all learn as you do. Case in point is in this video when some of your viewers had a suggestion, which it seems like you accepted and we all learned from this experience. My point is: Kudos to you for always producing excellent impartial videos which provide great value to your subscriber base. Nice job!
Ed F 🙏🏼 thanks again!
The integrity and functional structure of a shoe is more significant than visual appearance in my opinion. Better fixing a shoe with minor defect than the crack turning into a rip and pop and crackle, if you will.
With further wearing and patina, the mark will blend in well I think (hope).
If anything else, the marks will tell the history of the shoe and it's a good story to tell. I love marks and imperfections of leather because of this reason.
Saphir renovating cream works best. It's a resin and pigment based cream to fill in the crack and harden. Then you can polish over it. It would bring your grade to a B+ or A- and look more like a patina than a hard line. I use it often to repair cracks for others. 400 grit sandpaper, dye, renovating cream, cream polish, then wax to make magic happen. The problem with superglue is that each time you polish the shoes the moisture from the polish will enhance the darkness of the glue itself (in essence, it gives it new life) with the renovating cream the "new life" is given to the same color as your polish so nothing stands out. Just a helpful tip for future reference.
I will DEFINITELY have to check it out! Thanks! It’s amazing, I could have searched for days on the Internet & never found information like this. It’s amazing what one video like this will flush out and direct me towards.
Jerry Covington that’s great info. I’m looking to restore a wallet that has lots and lots of cracks but they are very fine. Do you have a TH-cam channel or website etcanyway that I could contact you for some further advice?
@@adaminhongkong unfortunately I don't have a TH-cam channel. Feel free to contact me via email: jtcovington87@gmail.com
I think it's definitely worth trying. I see tons of high end shoes on eBay with these issues but I've been too timid to give it a shot. I'm eager to see how this repair holds up over time and multiple wears. Great video! Thanks!
I think they look good and it was important to stop the cracking. In a perfect world, you wouldn’t want the darkening but these shoe are starting to show an excellent patina and it works nicely with the look. Brave man, you!
Peter Van Pelt - thank you! I wonder if I had put polish on BEFORE the Saphir if that spot would not have darkened?
Robert Powers - I hadn’t thought about that. It is an interesting consideration, however. It’s somewhat counterintuitive to put on a polish before the Renaveteur, but in this case I can easily see how the polish might not have allowed the conditioning cream to soak in and darken the area. Have a pair of A-E Clifton’s (when they were balmorals not derbys) in burgundy with a small verticals crack on the outside of the vamp, that I might try the superglue trick with. Since I’m starting with a much darker color, I may not see the darkening issue. I also have the sapphire renovating cream that I might try. I keep it for nicks and youREALLY have to be careful putting too much on at a time or you’ll cover a much bigger area than you intended. We’ll see. Great content, keep it up!
I think it is an improvement and will minimize future cracking in those spots. My advice is you freely wear those shoes and enjoy them. They are a nice pair of Polos with a bit of seasoned character.
👊🏼☺️👍🏼
A small tip about cleaning brogues ... use precision screw drivers which are slightly smaller than the hole of the brogue. Insert a flat head screw drive, turn it to reverse any polish or debris which may have accumulated. Then I use a philips head to further remove any thing that might remain. A variety of sizes of small screw drivers is needed to clean different sized holes.
I am telling you about this because I have learned so much from you about shoes; how to repair them,how to polish them, how to take care of them. It is possible that you might find this interesting and you would be the one to share it so that others could learn about it.
After polishing my shoes one time I noticed that my wingtips did not look as good as they should because of polish that had gotten into the brogue. Finding a pair of precision screwdrivers that I use for tightening my glasses and other very small screws, I came
up on the idea that the small screwdrivers would fit into the holes and I could clean them. It worked really well.
Thank You Bob!
Charles Alan Clark
Great tip! I’ve seen the Brighton Gentleman (TH-cam: Bespoke Addict) use this same technique. He restores old old bespoke shoes.
It could be the possibility that it is tanned incorrectly. I work with a lot of leather because I do reenactment equipment. I find a lot of foreign leather is inferior. I find that I have more success with tanned leather when I buy from the Tandy Corporation. You're right the shoes have no manufacturing date so they could sit on the shelves for 20 years, dry out without conditioners.
It's definitely a beautiful shoe and worth trying to correct the issues.
I just found a pair of Edmond Almonds at the thrift store yesterday for an incredibly low price. The back soles are worn, and one side has some cracking where they bend. They are black Park Avenues. Not my size, but I great project. I like that you are trying things outside the norm and putting it out there. I restore and sell old tobacco pipes, and there is always a debate with techniques etc, but I find it best just to do what works for you. As with anything there is always more than one way to perform a task. I am interested in the mentioned Saphir cream also, so I may end up trying both methods. I like to see all the methods of doing something. Great content Robert!
I have some old boots I used when i worked with concrete that were / are extremely cracked. Saddle soap and polish a few and repeat a few times actually made a big difference.
The shoes are light in colour. Rather than lightening the blemish could you not just darken the entire colour of the shoes? As it stands the fix you did is fantastic. I absolutely believe that people notice your shoes. Shoes make the difference. The closest that people can see your shoes is what? 4 feet away? They will see a crack. It will look horrible. The fix you have just shown wouldn't even register. If I am travelling in a circle of people who are going to notice a few small lines on a man's shoe, then I think I would be able to afford to get the crack professionally and invisibly repaired. I think you did a great job.
Thank you! Yes, darkening them is absolutely a possibility.
Lighter would have been better, but I'd wear them if they were mine. I going to try some black Shoe Goo on some expendable shoes. If it works I will use it on my Johnson & Murphy shoes that I bought in the 80's.
Well, it's a great effort 👌🏻
Not leaving it alone was the need of the hour because the cracks might have widened. Great effort.
Thank you.
Robert, I always love watching your videos and learning about repairing and exploring the world of footwear. Thank you for the wonderful content, sir.
Alex Adomeit 👊🏼
Interesting video, Bob. A professional cobbler can repair cracked leather. Essentially, they glue a thin piece of leather behind the crack. Then they fill it in. I think using super glue is a novel and creative approach. I think it is worth it because the shoes are structurally better.
Savvy Life Strategies - that’s a good idea... but would be tremendously labor intensive as I assume you’d have to take apart the stitching holding in the lining??
Thanks for uploading this very informative video. I tried this repair today and it works a treat. Great idea using a knife for gluing otherwise the glue would be everywhere 😀. I do think as one of the comments suggests though, putting a patch on the inside would be a good idea 👍. cheers.
peter rathbone - thank you! And BTW Bespoke Addict youtube channel - he restores old shoes, and he uses the technique you mention of putting a patch on the inside. I’ve got a pair of shoes I will try this technique with. I didn’t want to do it with these Polos as they just weren’t bad enough.
Thanks for another VERY informative video. What would we do without TH-cam? We would all have to come to your house and watch you do it in person...lol I believe that you made an improvement to the functionality of the shoe. Those cracks would have gotten bigger if nothing was done. In the end, its still a SHOE. It is in contact with all of the harsh elements of the ground and being they are 5' away from most peoples eyes, I dont think the small dark lines make a huge difference.
You sealed the crack and that makes it an improvement. You've changed the color of shoes before, have you considered dying the shoes a darker color? Dark brown perhaps or even that maroon you've used before.
joseph plumber yes, that definitely would hide it more. I’ll see how I feel when I wear them.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained! They may not look perfect but at least you have extended the life of the shoes. Nothing wrong with a few battle scars, just like us when we get older!!🤣
It has been my experience that the super glue area doesn't flex and a new crack will form beside the super glue. Hope it doesn't happen to those polo shoes. Maybe try something that can flex next time?
Yes, we will see, I saw Steve at Bedo’s leather works use epoxy mixed with leather dust. I tried that before, but I thought the superglue would be better at pulling together the crack.
Added character to a good quality shoes. Good Job
I would leave it at the 24:02 point. I wonder if the tools that modelers use would help you out? They have these very fine rasps and sanding sticks that are like toothpick sized.
traderjoes - 24:02? That’s the end of the video. Was that posted time in error?
It was indeed a bold experiment, nice try!
Have you considered maybe lightly applying acetone or Saphir Decapant on the surface?
For light cracks, I'd use Saphir Creme Renovatrice in the same color accordingly.
Interesting application of super glue, this issue here is the shoe is such a light color you should try to find a matching color repair product from saphir. It is not a total loss IMO maybe dye the shoe a much darker shade of brown maybe chocolate brown. That will hide the blemish more effectiely.
SORRY for missing your comment!! Yes, I've used Saphir Creme Renovatrice since. If I re-did this repair today, I'm not sure if I'd use it though. That product seems to me to be a good filler product, but seems like it has almost no strength to it. I could be wrong, but since the leather was cracked all the way through, I didn't think it would hold. I could be wrong though, thus the "disclaimer" at the beginning of my videos "I'm not a professional".
I did this on a cracked kangaroo leather boot. I followed your tutorial with the super-glue but added one more step: I put a piece of duct tape on the other side to act as a band-aid or buffer to prevent further stress on the sealed area.
Good idea. Check out Bespoke Addict on Instagram - he glued a piece of thin “chamois leather” on the back of the crack.
Excellent job and repair, Robert.! Absolutely fantastic.!
Being cautious, I would have cleaned the areas around the cracks with a leather cleaner, then filled the cracks and the area around them with a matching pigmented cream polish, followed by your leather cream conditioner. This would not close the cracks, but might keep them from growing. Also, if you wanted to glue the cracks, Elmer's Glue-All or Tight-Bond wood glue will work on leather, and excess can be easily scrubbed off.
very good suggestions, thanks!
Robert, I noticed you’re using what looks like a cotton t-shirt to shine the shoes.....? If so, what are you thoughts on that versus a cotton “chamois”? Trying to see if they’re worth the money.
Just like human skin, leather gets a scar. My conclusion :)
Great effort Bob but I would have left them alone other than the Renovateur you applied
Hi Robert. Watched this video to the end. My opinion, i could have left it as it was b4. End result appeared darker n pronounced.
They are moe than good enough to wear.And look much better than the open cracks. Good job all around.
i cracked my leather shoes on a broken chair. i dont know what to do and can you tell me what i need to fix it?
ttapeX - it’s so hard to say without seeing them, and like I said in the video I’m really not a professional on this stuff. I hope my videos entertain people and can give you some ideas. If you’re mechanically inclined, you might want to try and it repair yourself, but if they’re expensive shoes and/or really valuable to you, you may want to send them to somebody? Check out Steve at Bedos Leatherworks. He’s on TH-cam and Instagram. Also check out Cobbler Sunny on Instagram.
This method works best on black shoes. But you just demostrated that it is not good for light colour shoes.
Behind every scar there is a story. I love the shoes' end result!
Give yourself at least a B. Definitely better than letting the crack spread. Have you considered the Tarrago or other filler pastes? I was hoping you had the key to repair my pair of old Ferragamos - the right perfect and the left badly cracked. Considering sanding them, but maybe just leave them for casual days.
jazzandcocktails7 - another product I absolutely have never heard of, but you bet I will look into it!
Yes....leave and enjoy.
Yes, and option as well...
I think it was interesting and it was fixed. It might be a good idea to dye these a dark brown then it would be indistinguishable And also a good video
Nice solution, are they still holding up?
Thank you! Yes and no... yes, the areas I repaired are holding up, but I think there is something wrong with the leather itself (maybe the tanning process was off and they pH (acidity level of the leather). New micro-cracks have developed on more areas of the shoes even though I barely wear them and have moisturized them many times =/
It has been over a year since I did the repair though, and they're still very wearable. I don't think anyone but me notices the flaws at this point.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Plus you earn a lot of experience!
Hello Robert you killed me @5:33, I commend you for your bravery omg! I would have taken a bit of a different route and tried a combination of Saphir leather repair gel plus a little bit of sanding of the leather to feel the crack, obviously I can say this after trying to superglue a pair myself and not working as I would have wanted it. Perhaps you might need to moisture and conditions this ones a little more often to avoid more cracking. Keep the videos coming and thanks for sharing.
P.S. I also have now a youtube channel for just polishing and the pleasurable sounds it produces. Still trying to improve camera, light and sound, if you have a minute check it out is called ourshoeshine blog hopefully more people will add videos there of how they do their shine.
Humm, not sure I'd give that pass. Defects show more now than at first.
FloridaClay - you’re right, but I was afraid untreated it would just propagate and get worse and worse.
Thx Robert, learned something new.
Leather glue/cement exists too! But good try! Awesome to watch.
Daniel P - NOW I find that out, LOL
What's the update on the shoes 5 years later?
The repairs have held up! There are some new small cracks developimg all over, even though I only wear these shoes a few times a year now. There doesn't seem to be anything I can do to stop it. They still look nice enough to wear out on the town though.
It's an instructive video but the lesson is... leaving it alone might have been better,
I know it didn’t look stellar, but it think it stopped it from growing.
Looks great to me
Btw do you use oilbased dye's ? I have heard that alcohol only based dyes can invisibly harm leather
I have never used oil based dyes. I have used Fiebings alcohol-based dyes, but not on these shoes. I’ve done nothing to these shoes but moisturize them and polish them with Saphir. I Purchased them when they were in nearly new condition (again, but I don’t know how OLD they are) and have only worn them 5 or 6 times. And what I have said corroborate what you said, I believe there was a warning on the Fiebings website about the fact that the alcohol-based dye can affect the leather, but I did not have that issue with any of the 3 pairs I’ve dyed.
@@CobblerBob thanks for your reply. Sorry I haven't been very precise in my question. Fiebings is considered as far as I know as mild dye. Because it not only contains colour compounds and solvent. It has also some oils to renurture the leather. Once I screwed around a bit with old light brown shoeleather stripes of a distroyed santoni. Full grain calf veg tanned. I have used too much fiebings (light brown) on it and you could definitely see that it became oil saturated - like spilling some olive oil on them.
P.s.: sorry for asking the question. In your previous videos I could see what dyes you are using.
This is why I watch, for the unknown result factor...lol
Hello sir
I know this work
Do you need worker ?
Awlad Thuhin - this is just a hobby I document, so no, but thanks!
Inspector gadget?
Just like going to the gym, anything is better than nothing.
Please work on darkening the shoe with some patina.
My take at this point; time for Operation bird phoenix. Give them a dark brown polish, remember that the sapphire cream doesn't cover as thoroughly, as a flat can shoepolish. Perhaps try with a cream first, then a polish from a tin can. And then, black shoepolish, cream I'd use here. Trying to see what happens, hopefully this: th-cam.com/video/z_a0e7XpSqk/w-d-xo.html
Basically, it's not a fault it's a feature.
Just killed me, seems the crack was preferable to the cut and stain made by the blade and glue.
I will not walk by folding the ends of my shoes
I don't even have leather shoes.😂😆🤣 will watch it anyways... What is that fat thing for shining?
Sam LSD - the Saphir Rwnovateur? It’s a mink oil based leather conditioner/moisturizer.
@@CobblerBob Mink oil? do you think that's a synthesized oil? I mean they gotta slaughter many minks to extract fats?
What I read was that it’s a byproduct of the fur industry. In other words I don’t think they kill minks just to get the fat, the fat and flesh is scraped off of the pelts when they are processed. I’m no fur expert so I can’t tell you more than that.
@@CobblerBob Oh I see, I forgot they were used for fur too.Thanks :)
Polo Ralph Lauren has very low quality, they are a fast fashion line
Rigo, I'm certainly NO expert on the line, but I would disagree with that as a blanket statement unless you mean what they CURRENLY sell. I am NOT up to speed on their current offerings so I have no opinion on their current offereings. Sven Raphael Schneider on "The Gentleman's Gazette" and styleforum.net have some great info on what of theirs is good, etc. Some of their shoes were made by Crockett and Jones, one of the world's best shoemakers. Their info will help discern what's gold and what's junk. Take care and thanks for taking the time to write!
Darker shoes much easier
True, but walnut/tan leather is SO gorgeous!
A grade for F for you my friend. I'd rather throw that in the bin. Sorry.
They look poor quality
Shoes are feet prison.
Nemo D333 😂