Leffot Blog » Shoe Care

Horns

steven — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:28:38 +0000

Abbeyhorn hand carved shoehorns are carved from Oxen horn. Each horn is uniquely different due to its color and texture. The process requires considerable skill of the horn worker from the first cut of the horn to ensure that the resultant shoehorn becomes a much-cherished item. Therefore the carver must work with the horn while carving to bring out the special quality of each, and no two are exactly alike.

We have received a reorder of these beautiful shoehorns plus a few new items. The Stag shoehorn features a handle made of stag antler for a solid grip. The dauber brushes are carved from bone and come in two color bristles. They’re excellent for applying polish to those hard to reach areas. And lastly this handsome brush with inlaid horn is ideal for shining shoes or for use as a clothes brush.

You wear quality shoes why shouldn’t you have quality accessories to go along with them?

Long Horn $105 – 18 inches

Stag Handle $120 – 16 inches

Medium Horn $70 – 12 inches

Small Horn $35 – 7.5 inches

Daubers $15 Brush $90 6.5 inches

*No animals are ever killed solely for the horn; they are a by-product of the meat industry.

Clean Your Suede

steven — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:37:03 +0000

My son just returned from spring break in Paris where the weather was cold and rainy for ten straight days. His go too shoes were the Alden snuff suede chukka’s (1493) and I can’t blame him. I wore mine all over Paris in February and loved them. These are great traveling shoes; they’re lightweight, soft and pack flat. They’re equally great because they survive all kinds of elements.

They returned in rough shape and needed a good cleaning. I’m not suggesting they don’t show signs of wear because they do, but I prefer these boots with some wear on them.

In my opinion suede gets a bum wrap, a lot of people tell me they can’t wear it because it’s so delicate. For some reason that used to bother me but now I just smile and think to myself “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

If you’d like to watch our video on washing suede click here.

Pre-wash

Post wash and wet

Post wash, dried and brushed

Tokyo Shine

steven — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:39:49 +0000

A good friend and client wrote to me to share his experience at a shoe shine bar in Tokyo. If you’re looking for a great shoe shine in Tokyo this is the place to go.

On my recent trip to Japan, I received a fabulous shoe shine from the guys at Brift H. It was counter style, where you took off your shoes, had a drink and they shined your shoes on the bar counter. Anyway, I recommend that you try it, if you haven’t already, when you are in Tokyo again.

Thanks to Spencer C for sharing this with us. Good stuff, I”l definitely make it a point to visit next time I’m in Minami Aoyama.

Polishing Cordovan

steven — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:59:58 +0000

Polishing your own shoes is a very gratifying experience. It need not be overly complicated and it should not cause you stress, relax and enjoy. Your shoes will mean more to you than ever if you have a little sweat equity invested. Remember how proud you felt after you washed and waxed your car in high school? Polishing your shoes is no different.

This tutorial is a “basic overview” of how to clean and polish your cordovan shoes; we hope you find it helpful. Like everything else there are many variations and everyone has their own personal preferences. It’s kind like asking how you like your steak cooked to each his own. The point is start with the basics; keep working at it and in time you’ll begin to develop your own technique.

Boot Dressing

steven — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 03:22:05 +0000

So many have asked us how to treat and protect their boots for winter that we’ve decided to put together a short video. Caring for your boots is not very difficult and if you take a little time to work on them it’ll go a long way to help protect your cherished pairs.

The frequency of dressing your boots depends on the weather. You can’t over do it but you don’t have to go gonzo either. If it’s very wet do it more say once a week, if it’s not then once a month should be fine. If you live in a cold area the dry heat in your home will require you to dress them more often. There’s no definitive schedule but you’ll begin to know when just by looking at the condition of your boots.

Montana Pitch-Blend

steven — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 04:19:52 +0000

The folks at Montana Pitch-Blend have been producing some of Americas finest leather care products for over 20 years. They take great pride in handcrafting their products using pine pitch, pure mink oil, and natural beeswax, no artificial ingredients, no chemicals, no silicone, and no petroleum. That means optimal conditioning and weather protection for your rugged footwear.

We’re proud to be the first and only stockist of this fine handcrafted artisanal leather care product in the NY area. We are currently stocking the 4 and 12-ounce tubs of Leather Dressing Paste. This is an exquisite conditioning preservative paste for maintaining and protecting all types of rugged leather. This rich conditioning paste has the very highest water repellency, the ideal product for protecting your 1000 Mile, Indy or Quoddy boots.

If there are other Montana Pitch-Blend products you are interested in please let us know.

Suede Wash Down

steven — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:46:06 +0000

We’re not recommending you follow our suede cleaning method but we thought you might like to see how we do it. We hear many comments from customers about how delicate they think suede is, well guess what it’s not all that delicate.

Alden’s sources their suede from Charles F. Stead & Co. Ltd. one of the most respected tanners of suede in the world. They’re suede’s are velvety soft, yet nice and hardy. I prefer my chukkas with some wear on them; after all they’re not “that” precious.

WARNING; SUEDE FREAKS, THIS VIDEO MAY BE DISTURBING

Our apologies for the less than ideal video quality, we are working on improvements

On Edge

steven — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:36:33 +0000

Polishing your shoes does wonders for the appearance of the uppers, but what about the soles? How many of us take that extra step and dress the sole and heel edges? A small detail to be sure but it makes a polished shoe look so much better.

Edge dressing has always been a tedious and messy project. In the past you’d open a bottle of liquid sole and heel dressing with an applicator attached to the top (if you were lucky) then coat the edges while trying hard not to get it on the uppers, the soles and your hands.

I’ve found a wonderful new way to make this process simple and painless. It’s sole edge dressing in an easy roll on applicator. This should be ranked right up there with Glue Stic, Post-it and Liquid Paper. Seriously, why is it that the most obvious inventions only appear so after their release?

Sole Edge and Heel Polish with Easy Roll on Applicator, in Black and Brown

Cover Up

steven — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:23:47 +0000

The weekend forecast in NYC is cold and wet, be prepared.

Mild Mannered Shoeshine Boy

steven — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:17:09 +0000

Shoeshine Boy was the alter ego of Underdog, one my favorite cartoon characters as a child. I conjured his image recently as I sat peacefully on our Ephtée polishing seat shining up our display shoes.

I enjoy polishing shoes it’s relaxing. I enjoy working with my hands, as well as the turpentine smell of Saphir, and admiring the fruits of my labor. I couldn’t help notice that passersby stopped to watch me as I worked. I’m not sure what the fascination is, perhaps the primordial use of ones hands performing manual labor is enough to provide a moment of reflection and respite in a busy world.

The Ephtée Figaro polishing seat is extremely comfortable and perfectly designed for its purpose. You are welcome to stop by and try it out for yourself. If a polishing seat is not your style you may want to consider a leather-polishing map. These two maps keep your work area neat and clean and roll up for easy storage.

Whether on a seat or not I strongly encourage you to take an interest and polish your own shoes; I think you’ll find the results very satisfying. For you newbie’s be brave, be adventurous you’re not alone, and if you find yourself in a jam, “Have no fear Underdog is here.”

Narrator: One of the city’s most humble and lovable characters was… Shoeshine Boy.
Shoeshine Boy: [finishes shining a man's shoes] All finished, sir.
Man: [gives Shoeshine Boy a silver coin] Thanks, Shoeshine Boy, you’re humble and lovable.
Shoeshine Boy: Bless you, sir.
[bites coin]
Narrator: Little did anyone know that whenever there was a call for help…
Woman: Help! Help-Help!
[Shoeshine Boy's ears perk up in surprise]
Narrator: Shoeshine Boy became, in real life…
[Shoeshine Boy runs into a telephone booth, which explodes, and he emerges as... ]
Narrator: Underdog!