young man. you are my hero. I'm not quite sure where you are from, but you should, and quite earnestly, thank your teachers for what is a wonderful pronunciation of american standard english. Your polishing skills rival that of the best polishers in Chicago's financial district. I ought to know, when I was there, I was one of them. :-) Cheers and yes, I am subscribed. All the best, M
Thank you for this video - such detailed, informed advice. It's very kind of you to create this content. Have been a long-time fan of shell cordovan. Bought my first pairs almost 25 years ago. Alden slip-ons and Allen-Edmonds wingtip, both in Color 8. I really loved the Alden slip-ons, but didn't take care of hydrating them. Even with that abuse, they lasted over 20 years. I didn't wear the Allen-Edmonds wingtips as much, but luckily smartened up on shoe care a few years ago, so they are still going strong, after almost a quarter century of use. I also have a custom watch strap in black shell cordovan from Ashland Leather, a small group of young artisans near Chicago, who use Horween leather. Really nice, understated work. Recently, I bought more Alden - a Blucher Plain Toe in black shell cordovan, and a Mocc Toe Blucher in shell Color 8. This time, thanks to your video, I will take care of them properly. I'm confident they'll make it past the quarter century mark looking great!
I too just found a vintage 1978 pair of florsheim imperial shell in black, longwing bluchers. it has a weird model number because it was a special order probably after they stopped offering black shell in catalogs and such. Glad I found this guide for care :)
I have been having a habit of polishing my shoes daily .. the mirror finish in the front .. in India we call it as CHISSEL TOES .. today I learned something new from you how to use tea spoon to fill up cracks and creesies from shoes ... I have even started using shoe tree .. I used to polish my shoes normally .. it made a difference .. Thanks
Shell cordovan is soo beautiful. I believe everyone should try to own a pair, they will last a very very long time and pair well with many different colored pants/trousers. I tried the deer bone but it looks like it gets scratched more than smoothed out. Maybe its due to their age. The thing that really works is the horse hair with some cordovan cream with a damp rag after its dried.
I got my first pair of Florsheim Imperial Wingtips in January 1982, a fine pair of black Scotch Grain shoes. I still wear them. I got my first shell cordovans in October 1987, a fine pair of Hanover wingtips. I still wear those too, although I found the beginnings of cracks near the vamp. Both have had many trips to the cobbler for soles, heels, even linings. A fine pair of shoes can last decades. I've added a few more pair of shells over the years, and I am confident they will outlast me. Thanks so much for a fine video, I learned a few things!
I just acquired my first pair of shell cordovan shoes, a pair of vintage Florsheim Imperials, and I refuse to put them on until the Venetian shoe cream arrives. :-) They join 3 other pairs of Florsheim long wings in my collection, but I can see they're going to be my favorites of all my shoes. Thanks for a very helpful video!
Hi Preston. Really enjoy watching your work. I just bought 2 pairs of AE brown shell cordovan. One pair of Park Avenue and of course, the Strands. You and Kirby both use the saphir Revovateur instead of the 1925 medaillr d’or special cordovan line. My local cobbler suggest the neutral or the brown. I dont want to damage the shoes or do anything to the structure of the shoes. So you recommend renovateur only?
great tutorial, thank you -- question: @6:58 re the rolling/wrinkling on the vamp: do you recommend using this technique for non-cordovan leather as well? I
Thank you, this was very helpful. What if I get a hold of a beautiful vintage pair and assume there are old waxes and cremes that I want to remove? Should I use Renomat or saddle soap like I would with calf?
Hi Preston, great channel!! Little question: as you pointed out that old cordovan is difficult to re-hydrate and can crack at the shoes first use as it happened to you how to spot a too dry to re-hydrate cordovan? Many thanks and great channel!! makes me wanna buy 1000 shoes..I now understand women on this..lol Hasta pronto con otro video!
@ 1:50 If you take a look at the "Marlow" which is a Ralph Lauren branded Crockett and Jones Cardigan IV, you will see the Cordovan, doesn't match. To get a pair of shoes with so many different pieces of Cordovan in it's construction, this is what will happen. If any of you see such a shoe made from many different pieces of cordovan and everything matches perfectly, either you are the luckiest guy in the world or most likely that is not cordovan. I happen to own a pair or Cardigan IV Crockett and Jones. The Cordovan looks different on almost every panel. Some of the shoe is an almost metallic flake looking deep dark gold, some of the shoe is a dark cinnamon and some is a milk chocolate brown. Up close the material looks 3d under some Saphir mirror gloss. Very beautiful shoe. One of my shoes was darker than the other, on average. Someone tried to add polish to even out the colour and that hides the finish. I used saddle soap and was greeted with a lot of brown suds. Moisturized the shoe with renovateur for cordovan , mirror glossed the toe box and heel counter and brushed the rest of the shoe to a shine. I wear them in wet weather as they have a Dainite sole (Marlows have leather). If I get spots on the Cordovan, they are concentrations of wax around the water drop area. Wipe with a cloth and reapply the renovateur and wax. DO NOT wax over the spots or they will never go away. To fix the darker shoe, I left it in the window all summer and now the colour matches for the most part. A trick I found on the internet from the people at Horween.
I work in the corporate world and do a lot of "shoespotting" at the office. I'm anticipating the day I run into someone wearing shell cordovan and can give him a little acknowledgement.
Would it be possible to use a sheeps hair glove to "buff" the shoes - in stead of a horse hair brush? A polishing glove like this creates a lot of heat/friction and is often used to renew "mirror shines" etc. (as you most likely know!) :)
Just bought new shell cordovan from crockett jones but the white bloom/haze is so much after 5 steps it does not look nice. Is there a way to reduce this? Easily brushed off but 5 steps further and there it is again. Hope that someone has a solution. Ps ❤️ the elegant oxford’s posts!
The shine looks really interesting I wounder if anyone has used cordovan on opera pumps? Seems like a step up from patent leather for sure and might be better than calf since you can fully shine the whole shoe.
@@TheElegantOxford Your the man it's awesome to get a response from you! I was wondering if you could do a video on chromexcel? I know Saphir has some products for it but it would be cool to get your tips and incite on it.
I just got a pair of meermin brandy cordovan boot, it doesn’t look as shiny, what is your advice with the exact products or should I just brush?. Should I add cream and wax initially?
Thanks for another fine vid. I have a pair labeled Horsehide Chromexcel. do I use a Cordovan crème because its horse or do I use Saphir Greasy Leather. On the other hand Horween seems to favor Venetian Shoe Cream. thoughts, comments appreciation in advance
Hi Preston :) Adore your videos! I can forsee that brushing sound in my future 😂. I wanted to ask however, in the video you mention how this pair of shoes are cracked and are on the way out. However I do not see any cracks 🧐 I don'y know if you'd be able to point me to timestamp where you see those cracks? Thanks a plenty!
Shell Cordovan doesn't have pores. A coated calfskin that seemingly doesn't have pores will feel like plastic. Cordovan also doesn't show creases and has a unique gloss to it. If you had a genuine pair in your hands once, you will spot a fake immediately.
great video! One question - do we really need a deer bone to smooth out the crease (as i recognize there is this so called natural oil)? Or using a spoon also do the work?
Walked into an Allen Edmonds to buy some shoes (strandmoks). Going through the checkout and saw a pair of cordovan boots sitting there. They will be my next pair.
Hello Preston , question. Can you hydrate shell cordovan ? You say because of the non pourus nature very difficult to hydrate and I agree. I tell friend don’t waste renovator on shell , just damp wipe down and brush. Later you say use renovator to condition then brush. Am I missing something ? Also Alden sells color 8 shoe wax. What do you think of using wax or cream on shell cordovan ? Yes ? Or do you go commando and just brush for 20 minutes ? Thanks.
Soon I am getting my first pair of shell cordovan shoes, but I'am a bit worried about how I should take care of them.. Is the regular Saphir Renovateur which you also use for calf leather really all you need to do the job?
I have a pair of Allen Edmonds Bradleys in Shell Cordovan that I got from a thrift store. They look to be in good condition, but they have what appear to be very light scuff marks on the side. Do I just use conditioner on those and brush or do I need to get a colored shoe cream?
I have absolutely no interest in shell cordovan shoes. The excessive cost coupled with the possibility of tearing make them a waste of money, in my opinion. I’d rather have two pairs of high-quality calfskin that can be mirror polished. And I can’t imagine brushing that much! Thanks for the explanation.
Question.. What if you ... uuuhhmmm... marinate vintage shell in conditioner? Would that revive it? From the looks of it, it's not like it's impossible to recondition the leather. Just very difficult.
I tend to get water spots on my shell cordovans [1 pair AE Randolph & 1 pair AE Leeds]. For this reason, I don't wear them in wet weather. How do I avoid these water spots? Thank you, Nice video.
9:57 Horween is only producer in the western world? No, there are some tanneries in Argentina and of course Italy. I'm sure France too but I've never had any experience with French leather
@@TheElegantOxford Thank you very much for you quick answer. Look Preston, I have the same exact pair of shoes as those on your vid' and I... I didn't know anything about cordovan before I see it, and I did pretty much everything you should not do with shell cordovan (laugh). Meaning, I put some...makeup remover on it and some brown shoe cream (for calf). It wouldn't penetrate, so I put more and it built a thick cover of cream on the top. It's hard to remove now. I baught the product you use, but I would like to know if I should do anything in order to remove the cream .... before I follow the video's instroctions. I know I should not use acetone, but where do I start from then? Thank you
Just got a pair of Florsheim Imperial Shell Wingtips, from Ebay for $100. Ok condition, outer is fine. But why do people who own these quaility shoes not protect the heels from wear??? Either way, First pair of shells and pretty excited to make them sparkle. Great video, btw !!
@@TheElegantOxford Sir, thank you. wow! I did not expect this gettin' a tip from the master itself. 🙏🏼 I learned a lot from you Sir and still continue learning up until now through your videos. 🙏🏼
People pay that much due to rare shell cordovan colors. Ravello shell or cigar are extremely rare and sometimes require you a wait list of a year or more before purchase brand new. Some people relist them new and used on eBay and they sell quickly. Rare shell cordovan colors are in high demand.
OK, friends, counsel me here. I'm very tempted to now buy my first pair of shell cordovans (some kind of Allen Edmonds loafer, I imagine). But can someone reassure me that the material isn't sourced from some horrible horse farm that breeds horses for slaughter? The material seems amazing, and I'm certainly not a PETA type guy, but any help here would be appreciated!
Hey Brian. Horween sources their Shell from countries where horses are eaten, so they end up using more of the horse than just the meat. I can’t speak to how humane these slaughter houses are because they source them from multiple areas. I’d say it’s no different from any other leather
@@TheElegantOxford Thanks for the helpful response here! You actually emboldened me to move forward and order the Allen Edmonds Randolf loafer in shell cordovan. Now for the long wait as they appear to be backordered. Thanks again!
I never said there weren’t any in Italy. I said they are the only shell cordovan tannery in the United States ie the western world. Even still, no tannery on earth comes close to their iconic 6 month formula. Horween is the absolute best.
Usually western/southern europe considered a part of the western world, so I might misunderstood. Horween is really nice indeed, although I’m not sure if they are the best or just have the best marketing.
Here’s my advice. 1: Stick strictly to this website shellcordovanmodels.com. 2: if a seller doesn’t show these model numbers or the numbers are faded beyond recognition; AVOID THEM!!! 3: If you notice someone is calling a shoe a Shell Cordovan and it’s not. Email them first asking for details. If there’s no response within a day or two. Report them!!! Your knowledge will help future buyers.
I am completely opposed to taking a harsh brush and scraping it over these very expensive smooth hides. I can see the brush marks. I have been using a goats hair brush for some time now and I have found it to be absolutely perfect. It creates enough heat on the shoe to spread the products. Personally, I would never use a brush on shell Cordovan. I have only used brushed cotton or extremely fine microfiber such as a jewelry polishing fabric. The sound of that brush going over those expensive shoes just makes me cringe!! Smooth hide-smooth polishing cloth
The Elegant Oxford I guess what I’m asking is this: Is it part of your regular maintenance for Shell Cordovan shoes as it is for Calf Skin ones? I’m asking because I want to bring out those deep reds in the patina over time and wonder if I should go for the Saphir neutral or the Burgundy to do that if I were to use it.
I don't see a point in the deer bone or spoon method. The shoe will crease the same as soon as you wear it. Enjoy shell cordovan and all it's creases :)
Lets spend 87 times more money on Shell Cordovans than regular calf leather since it is 87% weaker and can rip and tear very easily compared to the cheap regular leather.
Don’t agree with you on that but that’s ok. I love me some shell cordovan. It has low tensile strength but I have found it’s genuinely tougher than calf all around. It’s also only about 25% more expensive than calf, per brand.
@@TheElegantOxford i cant argue with you because i have never owned a pair. Just what ive learned looking stuff up on the internet before ordering some. But sounds like you have experience with those shoes so ill take your word and still order. Im just looking forward to look good as best man at my friends wedding
Yes, good english. Bit please stop referring to shoe conditioner as Containing "nutrients" for the leather. "Nutrients" can only be used when referring to live organisms. Leather is not alive, it is inanimate. Say oils, moisture, whatever.
