I'm in, unless I am too late and you have found another unwitting, I mean worthy pilgrim. Such opportunities to toil away at these immensely painstaking tasks such as what you are promising are the only way to achieve inner bliss. I shall start immediately, assuming I can afford your rate.
Shining shoes as therapy
- Thread starter Rusty Blade
- Start date
I'm in, unless I am too late and you have found another unwitting, I mean worthy pilgrim. Such opportunities to toil away at these immensely painstaking tasks such as what you are promising are the only way to achieve inner bliss. I shall start immediately, assuming I can afford your rate.
Interesting post. And painful, as well. Earlier today, my glued on rubber sole shoes fell apart on my way into a local lumber yard. Flop, flop, flop. So......just a few moments ago, I was searching Google for a new pair of leather casual and Goodyear welted shoes that are able to be polished and a pair that can be professionally fitted, locally, to my feet. No luck. Bummer.
Such professional shoemakers and fitters can be found......in the history books!
They are not extinct... Just the local guys are... Unless you live in London, Tokyo, Paris, Milan...
shined all my uncles shoes for 10c to have some cash. during bootcamp I was assigned to do shoes as I was good at it. yes it is therapeutic but detailing cars does it for me now
Thanks for posting the video interview.
It was very interesting!
Well, if you go to a rundown piece of most any mid to large size city you can still find a decent shoe guy. Cobbler? Anyway, I've had a few shoes repaired (new soles, new heels, etc). I shine them myself, lol. Don't you worry about THAT!!
Interesting interview about the stratospheric heights of bespoke shoe making.
It appears that Prince Charles could use a new pair of John Lobb's
It was a habit instilled in me from a young age. I have had my own shine box since I was 6 or 7. Dad was a Naval aviator, and shining shoes with the old man was a Saturday ritual. Had to look sharp on Sunday morning for church. By the time I got to boot camp for the Coast Guard I was an old hand. The shine box always has tins of black, brown, cordovan, and neutral, along with saddle soap, mink oil, applicator brushes, buffing brushes, extra laces, flannel rags, and the secret weapon - panty hose.
Don't even THINK about leaving those laces in, mister.
Don't even THINK about leaving those laces in, mister.
How true. 
Panty hose? Great idea! I used to use old, stained silk neck-ties.
And of course, the laces MUST be removed! Only a slacker would leave them in! How else are you going to polish the tongue?
If the laces are cross-patterned, they must be laced with all the crosses the same on each shoe, and one shoe's crosses should be a mirror-image of the other.
Flat laces must never be twisted, even where they pass through an eyelet. A meticulous process, but one not to be skipped by a pro!
A lace with a broken-down aglet must be replaced, and if so, they must be replaced as a pair. In the old days, the metal aglets could be replaced with an aglet crimper, but nobody does that anymore.
Those in the services know, but civvies often neglect to brush clean between toe and heel.
Finally, bullying the toe and heel cap (if there is one) is the sign of a true perfectionist.
It will all be in my forthcoming book: "How to Earn a Meagre Living as a Nineteenth-Century Bootblack!"
The irony is this: your book could be a runaway bestseller on Kindle.
Where is the pre-order?
- Thread starter
- #54
I thought I would bump this forward since a few of you have mentioned shining your shoes as a way to beat the pandemic boredom. It certainly works for me.
