Care and Resoling

Handsewn shoes ask for very little and reward it for decades. Here is the whole routine.

Weekly

Brush the dust off with a horsehair brush. Dust is abrasive and it lives in the seam.
Use cedar shoe trees between wears, or at least give a pair a day off. Leather needs to dry from the inside.

Every couple of months

Wipe the upper with a barely damp cloth and let it dry away from heat.
Work a pea-sized amount of neutral leather cream into the vamp with your fingers, let it sit ten minutes, brush it out.
Pay attention to the welt line and the seam — that is where the leather cracks first if it goes dry.

When they get soaked

Stuff them with newspaper, keep them well away from a radiator, and let them dry for a full day. Salt stains come off with a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and water on a cloth. Never put a leather shoe near direct heat; the fibres shrink and do not come back.

Suede and roughout

Brush with a brass or crepe brush, always in one direction. Treat new pairs with a water-and-stain protector before the first wear and again each season. Do not use cream or wax on suede.

Shell cordovan

Cordovan does not crack, it ripples. Roll the ripples out with the back of a spoon or a deer bone and the shine comes back. Water spots vanish with a damp cloth and a day of patience. Use cordovan-specific cream sparingly, twice a year at most.

Resoling

When the sole wears through to the stitching, stop wearing them and send them in. We resole in the same workroom that built the shoe, on the original last where we still have it, and we can change the bottom entirely — a leather-soled loafer can come back on a camp sole.

Write to hello@kennebechandsewn.shop for a resole ticket before you ship anything. Turnaround is four to six weeks depending on the season, and the price depends on the bottom. We will quote before we start.

What we will not do