Proper leather shoes

Thicker socks, ‘kinesiology tape’ (for sports injuries) minimum two layers over the ankle. Shoe stretcher spray, or spritz a little water if you’re too cheap to buy a jar of cobbler’s cream. Manipulate the leather with your hands or a bone (see prior cordovan remarks), rather than your weak ass ankles.

Wouldn’t recommend wearing out in the rain unnecessarily, besides it’s the inside that’s giving you the grief not the outside. You want to soften and break that leather. Water alone risks drying out the leather and making it harder, since the water displaces the oils (hence nice shoes with cracked shitty flex points), so you want to be adding oils or moisture to stretch the leather membrane without killing it.

Possibly wait til you’re in agony again and just decant your tears onto the offending area.

@Tenderloin 's advice has worked for me. Wear 'em indoors for a week pottering around the house and at the office.

Fed up with damp and cold, picked up some grain leather heavy brogues with dainite soles. Tried Grenson, Barker, Trickers, plumped for NPS in the end, nicest looking, nicest feeling, best price. Shop is around corner from me near Liverpool St.

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You wanted dry feet and bought shoes with holes in them?

fashion brogues. Shrug.

Do I leave shoe trees in permanently? Or at least until I need my feet in them?

Drainage yeah? That is if they actually have holes that go all the way through to the interior, I don't think most modern ones do.

Leave them in for 24hrs after wearing the shoes. After that it doesn't matter so much.

The aim is to draw the moisture out while holding the shape.

Although if they're left long term you might want something to hold the shape.

Sure did. But @withered_preacher is right, they don’t go all the way through. Now where’s my drill?

:D

Do I leave shoe trees in permanently? Or at least until I need my feet in them?

I leave them in, easiest option and to my mind can't hurt things.

Yep, trees in always if they're not being worn. I learned that lesson the hard way and basically wrecked my pair of Japanese Sander's. Which is a shame as they're very nice indeed.

I'm going to need more trees

Nice. NPS are very good value it would seem.

hammered daily at work

They look great. What do you do at work, out of interest? Think I might go for a pair. How's the sizing?

Got the last pair of the red wing oro russet oxfords on here for £137 delivered with 15% first order code also applied. Few more sizes in the black left at same price. Good for half price if your size

https://www.dapperstreet.co.uk/Other/Red%2DWing%2DClassic%2DOxford%2DShoe%2DIn%2DBlack%2DChrome/DS%2DRW%2D8106/product.htm

If you've got heel rub, it's mostly caused by the heel of the shoe not following the movement of your foot as you walk. New shoes/boots have pretty stiff soles as they've never been walked in.

For breaking in a pair of new shoes, last time I was in C&J, the guy there was explaining to bend the shoes a few times before you wear them as the soles are just too stiff and won't follow your heel movement. The amount he flexed a pair of £450 shoes made my eyes water! Almost in half. But following his advice has really worked, and heel rub is a thing of the past! Apparently you're supposed to keep bending the sole a few times before each wear until they've become supple.

What happened to them?

I’ve always thought trees wouldn’t do much so never bothered. Just found a 17 page debate thread on ask andy 🤓

https://askandyaboutclothes.com/forum/threads/the-shoe-tree-myth.113948/page-8

Just stupidly creased. Sander's obviously don't make the best shoes out there, but they're certainly good but mine look.... well, awful.

Just imagine these with two huge creases on the upper...

http://sanders.shop-pro.jp/?pid=111102599

They've all arrived. Kitten has taken a shine to brown suede Russel and Bromley's:

Two pairs are great bargains.

The Church's consuls on Danite soles are an F which seems a little tight and they are also the most worn of the three pairs, and are also the pair I paid the most for!

In fact it's not a Danite sole, it's a Church's rubber on leather thing. But it's as per the sellers pictures so I can't complain.

Edit - in fact, they say 95F in them. Isn't that technically a 9.5? They were listed as a 10. The other pair of Church's say 100G in them.

One pair is a tad tight, the other a tiny bit loose.

Ha! Glad the cat likes them!

I bought these well used Church’s from the forum (gulp) four years ago and now they need some love. My wife says they’re brown but I think it’s quite red. Any harm in using an Oxblood polish? I fear brown polish will lose the tint.

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Any recommendations for neutral (as in colourless) shoe cream?

https://www.afinepairofshoes.co.uk/products/saphir-renovator-cream?variant=338219008&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQiAtrnuBRDXARIsABiN-7DP5lpHyTbSOVUqlbwWvnpqESRWMOmsXFnwZ7CJQyL99Nc3viMW1IwaAi-lEALw_wcB