Do you have a shoe-shine kit?

Ronni

Ronni

Well-known Member
Location
Nashville TN
I've always had one. When Ron and I started living together, we combined them and now the stuff is stored in a small chest. He has several pairs of leather cowboy boots and some loafers and other leather shoes, and I also have boots (both cowboy and regular) and a couple pairs of leather flats, all of which benefit from some polish and a good buffing occasionally.

One of my boys, just the other day, told me that he'd mentioned HIS shoe shine kit to a friend, and they had no idea what he was talking about!!! All my kids were raised with the stuff...the little tins of polish, the rags for application, the soft rags and brushes for shining and buffing. I think shining shoes is becoming a lost art!!
 

Yes I do have a shoeshine kit. It's the same robust little hinged box that my family used when I was a boy in the early 1960's. I still use the same "Kiwi" brand shoe polish and buff my brown leather oxford shoes ('Best' pair; 'Class A' pair; 'Class B' pair' 'Class C' pair) with the same 'Brown Only" brush that I used when I was in elementary school. I agree, shining shoes may be becoming a lost art.
 
Ronni said:
I've always had one. When Ron and I started living together, we combined them and now the stuff is stored in a small chest. He has several pairs of leather cowboy boots and some loafers and other leather shoes, and I also have boots (both cowboy and regular) and a couple pairs of leather flats, all of which benefit from some polish and a good buffing occasionally.

One of my boys, just the other day, told me that he'd mentioned HIS shoe shine kit to a friend, and they had no idea what he was talking about!!! All my kids were raised with the stuff...the little tins of polish, the rags for application, the soft rags and brushes for shining and buffing. I think shining shoes is becoming a lost art !!

Seems like brushing your clothes is going the same way Ronni !
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One of my chores when I was a lad: (Yes, I can just remember 😊)

After the family had had their tea (evening meal, dinner whatever), I had to gather everyone's shoes and polish or 'dubbin' them, football boots too, then we were all well shod for the following day. I've still got that large 'Jacobs Biscuit Tin' with all the brushes and polishes etc.
 
Pepper said:
What's the best way to wash sneakers? Temperature of water, setting, drying tips? When I wash my sneakers, they seem to wear out faster than normal. Thanks.
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DON’T EVER PUT THEM IN THE DRYER.
Cold water, gentle cycle. Have had sneakers for years treating them like this.
 
Ronni said:
DON’T EVER PUT THEM IN THE DRYER.
Cold water, gentle cycle. Have had sneakers for years treating them like this.
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That IS what I do but I'm losing my sneakers! Seems to deteriorate any mesh, and as for other materials on the sneaker, they come out looking dull and eventually separate from the main material.
 
Pepper said:
That IS what I do but I'm losing my sneakers! Seems to deteriorate any mesh, and as for other materials on the sneaker, they come out looking dull and eventually separate from the main material.
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Wow that's really strange. Are you using bleach? Fabric softener? What kind of detergent? Are you washing them with other things, and if so what?
 
Ronni said:
Wow that's really strange. Are you using bleach? Fabric softener? What kind of detergent? Are you washing them with other things, and if so what?
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No bleach or fabric softener. Only a small amount of some normal liquid detergent. Washed alone, except once I remember washing 2 of the same type pairs at once.
 
Pepper said:
No bleach or fabric softener. Only a small amount of some normal liquid detergent. Washed alone, except once I remember washing 2 of the same type pairs at once.
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I think that’s your problem right there. They get very banged up when they’re tumbled around in a washer, even on the gentle cycle. I always throw several bath towels in there when I wash mine. It helps cushion them so that the agitation of the wash cycle doesn’t beat them up.
 
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Shoe shine kit, I was in the Military, of course I have one and it has grown quite a bit as different colored shoes found their way into our house.

Every few months I drag all the shoes into the garage and set up a production line. It can take an hour and a half to polish all of my shoes and all my wife's shoes. All shined to meet U S Navy Standards. …. A special dinner normally follows.
 
I do have a shoe shine kit, although it's not well organized anymore, and its components are separated. My father shined his shoes and passed on the habit to me. You can see in public a disturbing number of people who never shine their shoes, and it shows! If shoe polish was more reasonably priced, perhaps more people would have the habit of using it...
 
don't understand, always had one, still do, how you gonn'a shine your boots, leather soap required for all leather goods: purses...
 
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