Shoe polish: thoughts, fun facts, questions

[Farmer Jones]

When I started my military service our Warrant Officer taught us to use a hot spoon to melt the wax into the boot. This worked very well and I have continued to do so. Polishing boots and cleaning my tobacco pipes because a sort of quiet contemplative thing to do. I like to lay everything out on a table, sit comfortably and work away in silence.

[Tobus]

Funny that you revived this thread today, of all days. I happened to be wearing my brown jump boots with my kilt today, and had given them a quick brush and spit shine on the toe cap/heel before dashing off to run errands. As I was conversing with a fellow at a shop (former Navy man), he stopped in the middle of a sentence to compliment the shine on my boots. Nice to know there are people out there who still appreciate a decent polish job.

[KMCMICHAEL]

Regarding using different color polish, I have some light tan shoes that I was unable to really fix the scuff marks on so I used darker brown polish on the toe. It looks pretty good to me.
I have some full brogue brown shoes that I often wear with a kilt but my sporran (chosen by my wife)is black. I am considering applying some black polish to the toes and heels, sort of a subtle spectator I would probably us the Safir cream polish as it is touted to have more pigment.

I do like your brown jump boots and had a pair once. I do not think that the flex part of the shoe looks good with a mirror shine. And preferred your first effort.

[Jock Scot]

Regarding using different color polish, I have some light tan shoes that I was unable to really fix the scuff marks on so I used darker brown polish on the toe. It looks pretty good to me.
I have some full brogue brown shoes that I often wear with a kilt but my sporran (chosen by my wife)is black. I am considering applying some black polish to the toes and heels, sort of a subtle spectator I would probably us the Safir cream polish as it is touted to have more pigment.

I do like your brown jump boots and had a pair once. I do not think that the flex part of the shoe looks good with a mirror shine. And preferred your first effort.

There is nothing wrong with brown shoes----not so sure about light tan shoes with the kilt though --- and a black sporran, or vice versa, in a casual setting if thats what you wish.

[KMCMICHAEL]

There is nothing wrong with brown shoes----not so sure about light tan shoes with the kilt though --- and a black sporran, or vice versa, in a casual setting if thats what you wish.

I agree and consider yours an expert opinion that warrants deference. I still have an aversion to black leather due to it being a required uniform item for many years. But, in a formal situation I would definatly wear black leather.

With brown shoes..forgive the hat.
89CAAA19-11C8-45E6-B002-B58286D49384.jpg

I do like tan leather shoes and wear them with a suit other than funerals.

[Jock Scot]

I agree and consider yours an expert opinion that warrants deference. I still have an aversion to black leather due to it being a required uniform item for many years. But, in a formal situation I would definatly wear black leather.

With brown shoes..forgive the hat.
89CAAA19-11C8-45E6-B002-B58286D49384.jpg

I do like tan leather shoes and wear them with a suit other than funerals.

Steady on! All this praise might go to my head! But thank you for the compliment.

I have had the advantage of spending an awful lot of years with countless knowledgeable and not so knowledgeable, kilt wearers in traditional and not so traditional settings and all I try to do is to pass on a wee bit of my experience based on my observations and conversations with my peers. It is not a matter of just rigidly sticking with right or wrong, or being modern, or traditional, or even historical, for me its a matter of wearing the kilt to best effect to fit the occasion. Sometimes my observations are well received here and sometimes not, hey ho! Such is life!

[tpa]

I never mastered the art of getting a decent polish on my boots in school cadet days. Since whatever I achieved was never good enough, in the end, I stopped bothering and just sported a decent mud coating every week. That of course was equally unpopular but saved a lot of time. Eventually, it was decided that I'd be better doing something else. Nowadays, my efforts aren't much better, though I do manage to get the mud off and some semblance of a shine on my brogues and my grandson's school shoes.