Proper leather shoes

1/1/2 inch wide black Italian leather 3.5 mm thick, with the fittings exactly as shown would be about £40 including uk postage. Without the brass D ring and with a plain leather belt keeper (as opposed to the plaited thong) would be about £35.

My boy has bought some new boots for work and their first outing will be for the ex-inspector’s funeral. I’ve spent about an hour and a half on one of em, but am going out on the bike now.....

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I wouldn’t go overboard on them. They look like the polish could crack. Good enough job so far.
There is a lot to be said for having ‘number one’ boots for various occasions.

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I've got a pair of William lennons that are my work boots. I clean them and apply boot oil (pine and mink I think) once a week. However, due to the crap that ends up on them throughout the working day (boric acid, paint, 2k thinners, cutting fluid, tears etc) they seem to have dulled quite a lot. This doesn't bother me, I just want to check I'm doing all I can to keep them going for as long as possible.

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And what they originally looked like.

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Feel like @adroit and @pdlouche are too guys that could help here

I would suggest using Sedgwicks leather feed. Rub it well in when everything nice and warm and it has softened a bit.
It won't bring back the shine, but it will protect the leather and keep it supple / prevent it cracking. Leave it for a few days, then polish with boot polish in the normal way to smarten them up if you want.
Lennon also do the these Rufflander boots for workshop use. £59.95. Hand made. Impervious to most workshop chemicals and dropped hammers. I've never polished mine, as the impervious surface is impervious to leather treatment too.

once a week...
I just want to check I'm doing all I can to keep them going for as long as possible.

Imo once a week with oils sounds a lot and risks clogging the pours. I'd have thought a clean with a brush followed by a wipe with a slightly damp microfiber once a week is more reasonable.

Then every other week maybe a shoe cream after a slightly more thorough clean.

Normally I'd say you should clean shoes/boots with saddle soap once or twice a year, followed by a good moisturising routine. Given these take a beating maybe every 4 months - as an eg my casual motorbike boots are prob washed 3-4x a year, depending how much winter / salt riding I do.

One sure way to extend their life is to wear another pair / alternate each day and use shoe trees in the evening.

^ edit - just thought you'd probably have compressed air, right? Blow them off at the end of each day.

Only just got a pair of external toecap Rufflanders so cannot offer first hand experience yet. Looking at the construction I would certainly recommend a stiff brush every day after work (or compressed air as above), they are unlikely to need care products applied as often as weekly.

I get the feeling that these kind of shoes are so heritage they are built from the era of trenchfoot, so boots would be lucky to get a polish on parade days.

Good effort on those....
These are magnums, and they almost have a scotch grain type finish when you’re working them. They’ll do, as I won’t get a bollocking if they’re shit!😂

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They look great. Mine were a bit dusty in the pic. Not unlike the owner!

Anyone interested in some Paul Smith Pinkerton boots?
Not worn much, bit of scuffing on one heel

9.5 but they come up a bit bigger than that.

Pics...
https://imgur.com/a/NyiaoN9

~£240 new I think.
£80...

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Anyone got a pair of meermin 101610? How are they?
Cheers in advance!
Oh and anyone interested in some uk9 C&J Grasmere for £120? Not worn in the last few months and they feel a bit small now 🤷‍♂️

Anyone interested in a pair of Red Wing chelsea rangers (2917) in a uk8?

New new, but in great condition and very well looked after

About to pull the trigger on some Meermin - can anyone comment (again) on how they size? Say compared to Loake or C&J, even nike!
Cheers in advance,
Mart

Ha! Just given mine a quick kick for a colleagues funeral today...

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Those look good. Pity about the reason for wearing them though.

I have a pair of Meermin 101341 double monks in my true EU size.

For reference I’m a EU 44 (UK 9.5) pretty much across the board (Tricker’s, Church’s, Clark’s, Superga etc.) yet remember being very confused when cross-referencing Meermin’s foot measurement guide and other forums when ordering along with the fact that Meermin’s EU 44 are considered a UK 10 which resulted in shoes too small and a very expensive shipping bill to exchange them for the correct size.

Hi, thanks for the info - so to clarify you are a uk9.5 and you ordered a uk9.5 from meermin and they were a size too small? (I don’t want to confuse issues by converting to EU sizes as their site doesn’t give that info on my phone when adding them to basket)
Cheers again,
Matt

Hi, thanks for the info - so to clarify you are a uk9.5 and you ordered a uk9.5 from meermin and they were a size too small? (I don’t want to confuse issues by converting to EU sizes as their site doesn’t give that info on my phone when adding them to basket)

Cheers again,
Matt

Hey Matt, no worries at all.

I am a uk9.5 in the brands listed above and in all of those that translates to a EU44 in their respective size charts.

UK9.5 on Meermin size chart is EU43.5 but cross-referencing their measurement guide that I believe they emailed me when I initially contacted them, along with information I found online, I somehow convinced myself that I need to size down to a UK9 / Eu 43 which were clearly far too small when they arrived.

These were exchanged for a UK10 (Meermin do not pay for returns postage and sending shoes to Spain is expensive!) which turned out to be the correct size.

TL;DR figure out what your EU size is in the shoe brands you mentioned in your original message (Loake, C&J etc.) and order this

Side note: The above-mentioned shoes have little wear and are no longer wanted. Drop me a line if anyone is keen

Ah-ha! got it 👍🏻
Much thanking!
Matt

Which Meermins are you looking at? I have some black Oxfords in 9.5 as new that are a bit small (same scenario as Estelle Getty)

101610 dark brown grain to replace C&J grasmere I think...