Nostalgic Shoe Shines

Finished this yesterday, almost done with a couple other projects and starting a couple more today. Been searching for a design that I like but has a little of my unique twist on it... I like this one and will do another but the next one I will had a pattern stamped out on it and antiqueed as well.

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I absolutely LOVE my Olights!!! Have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS Olight World!!!

Merry Christmas EVERYONE!!! Been waiting for my last day of work before Christmas break for this carry! Our company shuts down every year until after New Year's day! Which is so awesome considering for most of my life I worked Christmas Eve then back to the busiest week of the year the day after Christmas. So I especially appreciate this time of year and the company I have been working for now for the last 5 Christmases.

So I am in Orlando on Business through Friday and I didn't really prepare with pics planned for posting while traveling. So I grabbed this one taken this past Monday showing a Slip-Sheath on bottom that I used and posted on Tuesday along with a set of slips and leather worry stone that I am working on. At this point I am down to deciding on some colors and perhaps carving some kind of design as well as edging... They will all match once completed .

I had to make a slip sheath big enough for this brick 😆 I actually love this pure copper handle knife from which is my largest over all, including the weight. Sometimes I want to feel it more and this one delivers. I am super impressed with the action on it which is butter smooth and has a "finger saver" in the choil for gravity drop closing. This was my 1st Kershaw in years which has renewed my interest in the brand as they have been really moving away from the Made Cheap for Walmart type of knives and releasing some really badazz stuff again! One thing I know is Kershaw knows how to design and produce quality knives as it was what they were founded on back in the day when they were regarded as a USA Premium Knife Manufacturer, (long before Walmart).

is a similar story and they are putting out some of the best Pry Tools in the market as well as some really nice EDC knives!!!

So I really try to take out and put away the tools and products as I need and use them but over time as I am hyper focused on the progress of the project, this happens!!! I really prefer to do my leatherwork in the living room instead of the shop, where I can watch TV in the background, be around the fam and take small breaks to lean back on the couch to give my bad back a break... My wife understands but isn't a fan. I have no idea why 🤔🤔🤔

Am I weird, or anyone out there do the same thing???

I just had to repost an old post of mine now that Instagram offers music in our posts. This was a photo of some of my antique Saphir Collection along with some newer products of theirs. I love Saphir and have litterally spent thousands on their products over the years. I actually could probably go into business as a full-time Shoe Shine Artist and not run out of product for 2 years or so LOL.

Once again, I simply brought this pair back to health. A good cleaning, fully hydrated them, and restored the leather's nutrients. Then, I added a Tabacco Light and Dark Brown Saphir Pate de Luxe Creme. NO WAX.

Pebbled Leather isn't really made to be highly shined, in my opinion. It's a simple but classy look. Don't get me wrong, I have seen some amazing shoes with Pebbled Leather that look amazing with a mirror shine. But when I was given a loafer style shoe with Pebbled Leather, I knew what I had to do. These were definitely very dry, with heavy creasing beginning to form. So after a good cleaning, I fully hydrated them with a Heavy duty Grease to replenish the leather's nutrients. Then, after fully absorbing the Grease and drying, I actually used Navy Blue Saphir Medaille D'or Creme. Buffed the Shoes good, and this photo is how they began and ended. They look and feel much healthier.

I absolutely love my EDC backpack! It's an Elements x50 Limited Edition XPAC. It's a heavy duty Nylon exterior 500D Face with 1680D on the bottom and sides. It's lined with a Blood Orange Honeycomb Ripstop Nylon known as XPAC. It's meant for Pouch Packing as I have done and has many molle style places to hook items, which they call an internal modular system. It has a hidden pocket on the front outside and front inside along with a net style pocket. It also has a laptop compartment. At 24L, this backpack is the perfect backpack for my EDC needs. This is the best backpack I have owned, and I have owned hundreds and several high-end backpacks.

Added a coin to my pocket pouch. I have had it for around 7 years; carry it often, and I will now carry it in my EDC pocket pouch.

Finally, I completed my new front pocket carry pouch. Blade ✔️ Light✔️ Prybar✔️ Pen✔️ Paper✔️ Clippers✔️ Lip Balm✔️ Lighter✔️ It's light and fits✔️

I decided I wanted to get into Paracord Crafting, and my wife came through for Christmas, loading me up with lots of tools and materials to get started in my new hobby. I have actually been into Shoe Makeovers for years as a hobby and eventually want to get into hand stitching leather soles. But for now, I am just starting with some Paracording. This is my first bracelet. A very simple snake weave bracelet with a metal clasp.

My Stepson's Timberlands that we bought for him for Christmas. Oiled, Waterproof Waxed and sprayed. Today was his first day back to work, which coincidentally it poured rain all day, and his feet stayed warm and dry, not to mention he said they were super comfortable! These are definitely some good-looking workboots!

Another Pair of Nike Shoes that we got for our 13 year old for Christmas. I can't actually recall specifically what model they are but they are made of suede, and are a throwback (1970s). They have 2 laces for each shoe, blue and white but my son wanted to use 1 lace of each color for each shoe. I conditioned and Waterproofeded these good as well.

MY VERY 1ST PARACORD LANYARD and added a Titanium Bead. I actually got this Leatherman for my wife for Christmas. She got me some paracord crafting tools, jig, and accessories for Christmas, so I am creating some lanyards for my EDC as well as for some of my family's things.

My 13 Year Old's Dunks we got him for Christmas. They are the LeBron James, Nike, and Frutty Pebbles Collaboration. I conditioned the leather and Waterproofed them good! We put Cap Inserts in them to decrease the creasing on the Upper Toe Box. I will admit that these are pretty cool shoes of my absolute favorite cereal!

A co-worker and good friend had me clean, condition and waterproof his old favorite shoes. He didn't want a shine, so although I put some natural color back into them, I did as he requested and left them dull but with a lot more life in them now.

These were a pair from good friend of mine who allowed me to experiment on a pair of Cole Haans. It took me 18+ months to complete LOL. Word to the wise, don't try to strip a pair of Cole Haans. They use some kind of chemical that saturates their leather that makes stripping them an absolute B*tch!!! Then, once I had "mostly" removed the color, a whole new problem arose, and that was getting the leather to take the new dye!!! I actually walked a way several times for months at a time due to how frustrating it was. But I never gave up, LOL.

Getting the red back into the broguing's decorative perforations was just another tedious job that I ended up using acrylic. After so much harsh abuse, I put these shoes through, I ended up taking lots of extra time to replenish the leather's nutrient using both pine pitch and honey to replace the chemical saturation with nutrient saturation. The upper color is a dark Navy Blue, the under leather showing through the Broging is RED, the Rubber Sole is Red and I had in mind to use White Round Waxed Dress Laces but not until the new Dye wears in more.

I make sure that I care for my leather bound Scriptures, Church Songs Book, and my Leather Church bag, as well as I do my Shoes.

Here is a painting titled “Shoeshine Boy,” an 1891 painting by Karl Witkowski. I have seen this image, but up until now, I wasn't sure where it came from. I was super excited to see the year. It's a very clear reference showing the Brushes, the Box Design, and the Foot Rest. Everything dated much earlier than I had previously thought. Finding old photos and the handful of old videos from the late 19th Century that has a Shoe Shiner and especially a Shoe Shine boy is challenging, even more so depicting clear images of their Brushes and Products being used. I have several old items in my collection that exactly match these designs that I have always suspected to be much older than Early 20th Century, which they had been described when I acquired them. Although, in some cases, these designs were used into the Early 20th Century, now having some clear evidence that they are likely older is a huge moment for me.

The Shoe Shine Boy is an Iconic Symbol of American and European History in so many of our very first photos and videos of so many downtown area from New York to Chicago and from London to Paris. It was a time when the big city streets were littered with the world's first autos and the last wagons and horse-drawn carriages, along with Trolleys. The people all dressed up; women in huge elaborate hats, men and boys wearing a variety of hats including the Iconic flat hat. But, in the background of many of the world's earliest images and videos, you so often see Shoe Shine Boys. Getting a clear image of these Shoe Shine Boys Pre-1900 is extremely difficult. It was very cool to have finally dated this image.

#1900

My entire collection is for sale. I feature around 75% of it here on my Instagram except for I only show very little of my many Gilded/Victorian Era Trade Cards. This collection took a ton of effort, energy and money to gather. 95% of it is in great to excellent condition with lots of NOS. For now I am looking to sell the whole collection together to either a dealer or collector.

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Hmmmm... This looks much better in person than in photo. Perhaps it's a bad angle.

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I have always found it interesting in just how difficult it is to find Pre-WW2 Kiwi Tins considering the fact that they have been the #1 Shoe Polish Company since around 1910... Here is one from the 20s-30s. I only have a few old Kiwi Tins compared to many in other brands. Crazy!

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These AE's get a ton of compliments. I own shoe worth 3-4x their worth and IMO these definitely aren't that special... But I think some shoes just look better on one's feet than they look alone (as in this photo)... If feedback means anything, these Shoes get more compliments than all my others combined. I actually stripped these and redyed them, so perhaps it's my choice of dramatic contrasting colors instead of a blended burnish.

Here is a rather unique Die Cast Collectable Truck which is a Replica of a Nugget Boot Polish Advertising Truck (30s). I have quite a few of these now and need to start posting more.

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I actually have a Mason's Blacking with a Label, Cork and Box but sometimes to see the glass bottle naked can be just as beautiful (or more).

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Bixby's Best Blacking. I actually have lots of these, with cork, label and box too. However, this is the only one I have in the rare Purple.

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My 7 Year Olds Boots. Shampooed and Conditioned... Cleaned the Insoles as well.

Simple Tin and for some reason this Tin feels like 70s-80s... Not really sure but I like it!

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