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8.1.09

Good stuff: Russell’s Chamois Oil and Obenauf's LP.

Mmmm... LP

MP3s have probably saved a couple of my friendships from the irreconcilable differences that have come up when I borrowed and generally destroyed friends’ CDs. I just like to get stuff more than I like to take care of it. My own CDs are scratched, my car is a reliable embarrassment, and although I launder my clothes with care, once they’re clean they’re often stored unfolded in piles on my bedroom floor. I’m not proud of this.

My dress shoes, though, they’re stored on a rack, polished often (suede is brushed), and bagged and treed when appropriate. I haven’t crossed the line into rare or high-end shoe care products—Kiwi polish does it for me—but I did pick up some products for boot care, since my boots don’t get babied like my shoes.

I have Russell’s Chamois Oil for my Russell-style chamois leather upland mocc boots. And I have Obenauf’s Leather Preservative for my hiking boots and any other shoes that may need to repel manure acids. It's kind of relaxing to polish shoes or oil boots--there's a ritual to it that is appealing, like getting a straight-razor shave at the barber. Obenauf's has a mild beeswax scent that is also pleasant. Yes, my significant other thinks I'm nuts. But with luck, my shoes should last until they are waaaaay out of style.

Russell Moccasin's site also has a great step-by-step before-and-after on reviving a pair of their old boots.

EDIT: I SWEAR on my entire shoe collection that I wrote this before I saw acontinuouslean covering some of the same stuff. I may be a cheap imitation, but I'm not a direct rip!

2 comments:

Casey Jones said...

If you're just copying other people, what kind of fraud-once-removed does that make me?

Pete said...

You're like 700+ pages of purple ditto machine copy.