Bringing back a beat up pair of Lennertson Chieftain Boots.

Hi all! Robin Carlo here, bringing you another video and shoe-cleaning report.

I cleaned, conditioned, and shined these Chieftain boots for a customer last weekend, made some pics, and thought I'd share the process and care products used.

>> I own the exact same pair myself, but I take very good care of my boots (shoe trees + monthly clean & condition routine). This person does not. It might not seem like much, and it does look less extreme on a photo, but in real life, I was pretty shocked by the amount of wear and tear, considering these have only been worn for 3 to 4 months.

Anyway, I think the creams, waxes, and love shown to them made a significant difference, what do you think?

Here's a picture of how I received them:

>> Some info about the leather for those unacquainted: this is crust calf - together with box calf - two of the most commonly found dress shoe/dress boot leathers in continental Europe. Whereas box gets dyed at the tannery, crust gets delivered undied to the shoe factory. Where it then is lightly dyed by shoemakers and lends itself more to hand painting, burnishing, etc. The color runs less deep, though, which could be considered a lesser feature, or makes for a nice and easy aging characteristic, depending on taste. Quality-wise there are no doubts: this particular leather is top-notch.

In this pair, I see that the heavier wear has definitely dulled out the color, especially when compared to my own pair. The plus side of crust is that it really takes on the color you throw at it with shoe creams. Making for a very satisfying shoe-shining job.

This is my pair:

(Have been worn for months, I now see they kinda look brand new. Maybe I'm a little obsessive with the shoe care routine...)

I have seen this person tie their laces; it looks like they're trying to strangle their arch-enemy or something. I mean just crazy tight. (He's been complaining that all laces always break on him, I wonder why). Notice that he doesn't just have dimples in the french binding but almost cuts in it... I managed to recolor those as well, though.

Step 1: I brushed the dust and dirt off using a (stiffer) horse hair brush.
Step 2: went at it with saddle soap rather heavily;

Step 3: After letting them dry, I applied a first coat of shoe creme, using the mid-brown from Collonil's 1909 line;

(>> This is a gelatinous yet thinner cream, not as waxy or thick as a Saphir. And not the amount of pigment as well. It does work great on this crust leather, working double as a conditioner.)

It's gaining color, but lacks all shine before being buffed up, so:

Step 4: After letting the cream set, I buffed it with this (very soft) goat hair brush;

Step 5: seeing this pair desperately needs more depth of color, I go to the old and trusted Saphir, their cognac color really brings out the orange tones in the tan color;

Photo also includes:

Step 6: On the toe box I add a 3rd layer of dark brown cream to mimic the original burnishing that was on the boot.
Step 7: I add some conditioner to the welt and sole sides.
Step 8: I buff everything using a this glove.

Step 9: I add some clear shoe wax on the toe box and buff, for a tad more shine (Might not really be visible in the photo);

The end result:

Shoe shining = therapy. (Or is that just me?)

Like these boots? Check 'em out:

The Chieftain

Find the right shoe care product in our store:

Shoe Care Products