Vintage Allen Edmonds Brogues Cleanup

In this video I strip the old polish off of, clean, moisturize, polish, and put a mild mirror shine on a pair Allen Edmonds “Boulevard“ wingtip oxfords that I found at a thrift store. These shoes were produced somewhere between 1963 to 1982. I explain in the video how I know the age of the shoes too.
Videos I refer to:
“How to Date Allen Edmonds Shoes”
• How to Date Allen Edmo...
“Saddle Soap: Why? What’s in it?”
• Saddle Soap: Why? What...
Music Credits:
KZbin Audio Library
“Funky Junky” and “Tennessee Hayride” by Artist Jason Shaw
Artist_website audionautix.com...
Artisturl freemusicarchiv...
Boxid OL100020219
Identifier Audionautix_Acoustic-9870
Source freemusicarchiv...
“Rise!” used with permission by Aq Xico, produced by Alegal
Available on SoundCloud: / rise-clean-version

[@CobblerBob]

If any my subscribers/Watchers can post links to COPYRIGHT FREE music to use in the next video, I’m open for suggestions! Remember artists still need to be credited.

[@SPNKr16]

You should go for a jazz bebop tempo, would feel less dated and go with the fast forward sequences perfectly. Jazz is timeless just like the shoes, and your channel.

[@SPNKr16]

@BScN Student I was just offering a suggestion. There's always something better especially with music, I'm just a music nut LOL.

[@markgillum5709]

Wow, Robert.! Fantastic, especially for another shoe fanatic like myself.! Your video makes me want to go diving for all the vintage AE's I could find, made me feel stupid for all the ones I passed on, and absolutely fantastic about the vintage ones I have kept and worked on. I was very lucky to have connected with a collector who helped me get started by letting me buy some vintage AE's that he owned, never worn to worn less than perhaps five times in decades.! I had no way of accurately dating them until your video and they are several decades old, but in much better shape than a lot of shoes not even a tenth of their age. I gave away a few pairs to some young professionals who were just learning about quality in footwear. I so cherish my 30 year old Strands in Pebble Grain even more once your video let me know just how old they really were.! So many people cannot even distinguish the ages and are mind blown when I tell them. Thanks so much for your work and please keep it coming.!

[@CobblerBob]

Mark Gillum 🙏🏼 thanks for your kind words, and you’re welcome! Find this thrift stores and dive in!

[@dutchwilson8642]

Awesome channel. I found a pair of Crockett and Jones at Goodwill for $3.50 about 8 years ago. Best shoes I ever owned.

[@edf2953]

Excellent job Bob! They look like a pair of new shoes. Keep the great videos coming. Always enjoy seeing a notification that another of your videos has been posted on KZbin.

[@CobblerBob]

Ed F 👊🏼

[@florianrothbrust6027]

Great Job right there. Greetings from Germany

[@alexrad9570]

I find these beauties in the trift store and the insole was too damaged and i couldnt read anything, so, AE Boulevard! Thanks!

[@elusana]

Minimum 36 years??? I thought they were at least 10!! That is the power of great quality

[@proximaducentaure9506]

Well done Robert !

[@CobblerBob]

Thank you! If you like this kind of before & after see my channel (click on my picture) and go to the "Playlists" and there is a "Before and After" section.

[@steventrosiek2623]

Those shoes look absolutely beautiful!! Awesome job, as always. I sure enjoy your videos, and I have learned a great deal of information from you.

[@brittanymcdonaldbarr1106]

How is this video four years old? Great content. I’ve been bing watching your informative videos when I get a chance. I appreciate your hard work and time put into these shoes, no matter the price you paid for them.

[@rhdtv2002]

I got some old Sears from the 70s..hardly even used and they shined up so nice then I gave them to my 15 yo son

[@charliekroll5427]

Very inspiring just scored my first pair of Allen Edmonds McClains in burgundy

[@craigmurley5115]

Great job! They are good to go for another 20 years!

[@LuckyStrike-ov9cd]

Nice job man

[@mikeflores1556]

Nice job! Pretty sure Allen Edmonds have the heel base made out of fiber board, not leather. Those are probably original.

[@alvinprettyman1802]

thanks for posting ... enjoy your videos ... make a treasure out of something nobody else wanted ... noticed new production updates nice touch

[@CobblerBob]

Alvin Prettyman 🙏🏼 thank you! I’m trying to improve a little each time.

[@harveyts3]

AE does use a paper composite for the heal base on all their shoes. I'm not sure about from the era you are working with here, but that is true of modern shoes.

[@williamconoremberley697]

Jeez that's some old shoes. Thanks for the video Robert. Getting excited to up my shoe game

[@CobblerBob]

👊🏼

[@HoglyStevenson]

Always a pleasure to wake up and see a notification of one of your new videos Robert. Great job on this pair. Wishing you and your family a happy Thanksgiving.

[@CobblerBob]

Hogly Stevenson thank you! LOL. That was my goal! With T-day 🦃 plans it was a little bit of extra effort to get it out! I’ll have another one about Bostonians before the weekend is over.

[@ninobrn00]

The shoes look great. Those Biltrite Cat’s Paws used to be all of the rage back in the day.

[@sirthom3275]

I just wanted to say your video have been exactly what I need. I mean exactly, lol. I wear a size 12 shoe, also shop at thrift stores and live in Missouri. It's like this is just for me, thanks. P.S. Much better music. Well, till 15:30.

[@CobblerBob]

sirthom 🙏🏼 thank you! I’ll tell you, the music is a little bit of a struggle. It’s not easy to find decent copyright free music!! By the way, if any my subscribers/Watchers can post links to COPYRIGHT FREE music, I’m open for suggestions.

[@paulbrady701]

Hi Robert you did an excellent job on them and of coarse quality shoes just need that little extra bit of attention to detail and they emerge looking beautiful again.👍🏻

[@Kriti98]

Beautiful clip, thank you very much for your effort. Is there any reason why you didn't use wax after you applied the cream and before the mirror finish?

[@CobblerBob]

Kriti98 - I guess I don’t see the need... here’s what TheHangerPeoject.com says about the Saphir Medaille D’Or creme polish: “The Saphir Médaille d'Or Pommadier Cream Shoe Polish is an all-natural cream polish based on beeswax, turpentine, and carnauba wax with six other nutrient waxes and twice the amount of pigment of ordinary polishes. The cream polish has a higher concentration of pigments than the Wax Polish and is exceptional for restoring finishes and achieving soft polishes.” Also, I don’t have Saphir‘s paste wax in the can (only the afore mentioned creme polish and the Mirror Gloss). Maybe I’ll purchase the paste wax in the tins and try it out...

[@markoduvall]

Bob, it's funny. I smell my saphir too. That was actually what made me switch; I smelled the Saphir and then Kiwi. Kiwi smells like a pile of chemicals. Good job on the restoration.

[@markgillum5709]

Saphir smells like it does because it is all natural oils and few, if any chemicals. Natural pines, mink and other oils.

[@walkermorales337]

Mark Duvall the saphir renovateur in its own does a good job at making shoes look good, you can give it a slight shine with buffing, and it’s matt otherwise, made some old Johnson and Murphy’s I found at a thirft store look pretty good making a number of scuffs and wrinkles less noticable

[@siclucealucks]

Would be interessting if current production AE will also last that long. Somehow I got the impression especially when it comes to leather: it was better in the past ....dont like this thinking in general. but in this case it might really be the true

[@up3371]

Hi, can you once make a comparison between vintage, semi vintage and actual Allen Edmonds? I feel the leather and the details were better in former times. Thanks for considering

[@CobblerBob]

Great idea

[@benfoust7424]

Robert, if you call Allen Edomnds recrafting and give them the serial numbers from inside they can tell you when they were made! Good job.

[@CobblerBob]

Ben Foust NO KIDDING??!! 🤯

[@benfoust7424]

@@CobblerBob You really didn't know or think about that?

[@CobblerBob]

No!!!

[@SPNKr16]

Amazing results for an amateur/den cobbler! ;) Hope I can muster up to that skill.

[@CobblerBob]

SPNKr 🙏🏼 Thank you! Lots and lots of practice!

[@SPNKr16]

@@CobblerBob Welcome! [edit] I think those are at least from the mid 70s, no way they're from the 60s and maybe 1981 the latest.

[@Jac176]

Do you have a video of how to wrap the cloth around your hand like you did with the saphir polish?

[@CobblerBob]

Christopher - no, I don’t think I do... I’ll have to show that soon! You basically just keep wrapping around until you get the tension right. You can end the last loop either on your thumb or on your pinky depending on how tight you need it.

[@danjoe22]

Robert, great job what a difference!! You transformed those shoes into something desirable to wear. What are you going to do with them? Sell them on ebay? I continue to be amazed by your conditioning and polishing skills.

[@goaztecs7549]

Beautiful job as usual. You should consider showing off your work on Instagram. You're as good as the other guys on there. Happy Thanksgiving!

[@CobblerBob]

Go Aztecs - Thank you! I actually do... @rvp_bob_powers

[@goaztecs7549]

Very cool, just followed you now!@@CobblerBob

[@danjoe22]

Robert, could you have started out with acetone to remove the wax instead of the saphir reno mat?

[@CobblerBob]

joseph plumber - I have used acetone on shoes a few times. Once it removed a lot of the color, a couple times it did not. I don’t have enough experience and understanding of acetone to know when it will remove color and when it won’t. I’m not 100% sure, but I think acetone will remove more color from corrected grain leather than from full grain leather. Either way, if I’m not recoloring the shoes I’m hesitant to use acetone.

[@danjoe22]

Robert - fair enough!

[@ewhibs]

Loving these vids. Try lacing those with straight bar lacing, makes the worst shoe look better and those would look awesome.

[@CobblerBob]

Edward Whibley thank you! 🙏🏼 The reason I re-laced these weave is there was a pattern worn into the uppers from being laced the other way so long.

[@ewhibs]

I run into that as well, makes perfect sense. Digging your videos. I particularly love the old beat shoes coming back to life.

[@SPNKr16]

@@ewhibs It's generally best to keep them laced as they always were, due to the lacing dents. My AE's from the early - mid 90's came straight bar and I didn't like that at all (derby). I relaced them criss cross and the dents disappeared LOL. ALSO - non-straight bar lacing on oxfords (closed and casual) is badass!

[@wojciechpietka5329]

Great video Robert! I´m just wondering about one thing. When you get these shoes, how do you deal with the smell? After few years of use, some of these shoes will smell quite bad right?

[@CobblerBob]

Wojciech Piętka actually they very rarely smell. Odor is caused by bacteria, which generally needs a damp environment to grow. Generally these old shoes are very dry and don’t smell at all. I spray them inside with a 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and water to be sure though.

[@BFT-to6by]

Cool vid. Going off the code on the lining these were made in 1976, making them 43 years old.

[@CobblerBob]

BFT9000 I’d LOVE to know how you know that? I figured out how to estimate dates based off of AE logo/font changes, but not exact dates. Do you have a link to info and explanation on date codes???

[@BFT-to6by]

@@CobblerBob On these older pairs you usually have two four digit codes. The first one is the model number, in this case 6375. The second number following COMB is the production date code. In this case 0856 if I remember correctly. The first two digits correspond to the week, the third to the day of that week, and the last one to the year. This means that the shoes were made in the 8th week, 5th day of week, of either 1966, 1976, or 1986. Production date codes stopped appearing in the early 90s iirc. Like you noted in the video, the Ostendo heel text on the insole and the old AE logo on the outsole tells you the shoe is likely from the mid 1960s to early 1980s, which narrows down the year to either 1966 or 1976. Going through the old catalogs AE never made a Boulevard with style number 6375 between 1966 and 1968, however we do see that model being produced in the 1976 catalog - #6375, in Burnt-Oak Heather Calf. Hope that helps.

[@BFT-to6by]

Quickly went over some of the shoes you showed codes for in your "how to date" video. 5795 Antique Brown Calf, Fifth Avenue, from 1987 9558 Brown Cashmere Grain Calf, Leeds, from 1988 Cool collection!

[@CobblerBob]

BTF9000 - 👊🏼😲👍🏼 🙏🏼

[@MilFalcon]

My Allen Edmonds are slightly pinching my little toe. Any ideas of low key stretching that area to make it slightly comfortable?

[@edf2953]

Woodlore is a company owned by Allen Edmonds and they sell a variety of top quality shoe accessories, primarily made of cedar wood. They sell shoe trees, shoe horns, shoe polish and in reference to your question they sell a shoe stretching device which might help make your shoes more comfortable. The device is on sale as of November 24 for just over $17.00. There are a number of 5 star reviews and I just purchased the device myself, yet haven’t received it, thus cannot personally comment on its usefulness. I do know that Allen Edmond Stores use this device to stretch shoes, if an when any customer shoes need a ‘tweaking’. Woodlore also sells Friedburg liquid in a spray bottle which softens the leather and aids in the stretching process. You may wish to visit www.woodlore.com and check out these products to see if they might suit your needs. Good luck.

[@CobblerBob]

Sorry I missed this, and, I’ve never really done much with stretching shoes other than just keep wearing them in putting Band-Aids on the blisters until they stretch, LOL. Look up a guy called “Bespoke Addict The Brighton Gentleman” on youtube I know he’s successfully stretched and shrank shoes. Others have sworn that they’ve used the mechanical shoe stretchers EdD talked about above with luck, but again, I have no actual experience with that. Another website www.vcleat.com, he might have something on that too?

[@edf2953]

Thanks for your comments on shoe stretching Bob.

[@FrankGutowski-ls8jt]

Would like video compilation about removing or concealing scratches of different kinds, maybe derived from clips from past projects.

[@CobblerBob]

🤔 that’s a good idea...

[@FrankGutowski-ls8jt]

Robert Powers Maybe inflict some scratches on throwaway thrift store finds. Then proceed to show how to conceal them. Those in your videos appear to have totally disappeared. I mentioned elsewhere that scuffs can be removed with 0000 steel wool lubricated with polish. BTW, on black soft leather shoes and coats I found that a $1 tube of RTV silicone gasket maker applied with a toothpick worked well to fill shallow cuts and to adhere small flaps of leather. Unfortunately, the RTV I last used wasn’t as black as it used to be, so needed a touch up with black aniline dye. It’s well suited to leather repair because it’s flexible and adheres well.

[@sasababa1858]

Hi Robert! Thank you for the awesome videos!! How do you remove mold/fungus from the inside of a leather shoe (especially when they are 5-10 years old)?

[@ga9d]

Hi Bob. Enjoy your videos very much although I don’t really know why ;-) I know you like to be frugal but you put a lot of work into freshening up old shoes, a nice set of fresh laces would go a long way to give these shoes a fine finish.

[@martinfox2244]

Could you comment on how the water enters in the waxing process? I take it this is a spit shine.

[@CobblerBob]

Martin Fox sorry for taking so long to reply, I missed this one somehow. Yes, this is a spit shine, I do have some other videos where I talk about it more in detail, but I think watch the water does is actually helps to smooth and solidify the wax? I don’t think it combines with it. Try it for yourself, I think you will very quickly get a good feel for it. Use cool water. Water and wax works with Kiwi neutral or colored wax, the regular Saphir paste wax, or the Mirror Gloss wax. My video on Kiwi vs Saphir might help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2aso4hrl5x2aNE

[@nickb2883]

Why didnt u use saphir renovateur, it would have been great for these shoes.

[@CobblerBob]

Nick De Bruin I should have purchased some a long time ago😖 but I have some on order that should be in any day!

[@bigstickful]

why not just use acetone?

[@CobblerBob]

john smith - at the time I made this video, almost a year ago, I had not done a lot of finish stripping. Probably the main reason I didn’t use it then was just fear of damaging the old leather or stripping off the color. I just wanted to take off the old wax, not remove the original color.

[@onedead7607]

What? 4 dollars?

[@diavalus]

It's crazy what you can buy in USA for 4 dollars. With a little patience, you can build up an entire collection.

[@JewManGuru]

Where would you find Allen edmonds for only $4?

[@richardbennett8906]

Do you buy and sell shoes? Are you a hanger project fan?

[@CobblerBob]

Richard Bennett yes sometimes, and yes!

[@Mkeeter38398]

Really liked the video, didn't like the outdo music. Doesn't really scream shoe music to me lol, but more importantly definitely doesn't come off as your style. But yeah, other than that was really cool to watch

[@paulmlemay]

Very nice video. Do those fit you?

[@CobblerBob]

Paul LeMay thank you 🙏🏼- not even close! I’m 11.5 3e!

[@camarocarl7130]

I would have used saddle soap first as its a cleaner-as in "SADDLE SOAP" then conditioned with Saphir . Kind of a waste of expensive conditioner as you scrubbed it off with Saddle Soap???

[@CobblerBob]

camaro Carl the Saphir Renomat is to remove the wax. I used it first because Saddle Soap won’t remove wax. Of those 2 products the saddle soap has the conditioners in it like PEG-100, carnuba wax, lanolin, and glycerin. www.whatsinsidescjohnson.com/us/en/brands/KIWI/KIWI--Outdoor-Saddle-Soap The Renomat is more like a mild solvent. Especially in this case where the wax was flaking off and needed to be removed. I apologize, I could have explained the Renomat better.

[@markgillum5709]

As the Renomat removed, it does less of a job conditioning than the saddle soap. Saddle soap followed by either a straight conditioner, or a polish (preferably Saphir) with natural oils would gently recondition the leather without cracking it as you work up to layers of wax.