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Your Complete Guide to Shining Men’s Shoes Part One - The Tools

Posted on October 18 2018

How to shine mens shoes | Ed's Fine Imports

Maintaining your reputation as a sharp-dressed man isn’t easy. Let’s face it, anyone with a budget can buy a well-designed and fitted wardrobe, practice good grooming, and generally play the part.

So how does a person who truly deserves the monicker ‘sharp-dressed man’ stand out from the pretenders? It’s all in the details.

Like men’s shoes for example. Yup, any guy with a budget can buy great men’s shoes. But not every man knows how to keep those shoes looking sharp.

How to Shine Men’s Shoes - The Tools

Lots of men shine their shoes. But it’s usually with things like a towel or the back of their pant leg. The first step to an outstanding shoe shine is the right equipment.

Back in the day, and we mean your grand daddy’s day, almost every household had a complete shoe shine kit. And it would have had some or all of the following.

1. Polishing Cloths

You’ll need more than one cotton chamois cloth. They can be used to both apply the polish and buff-in the shine afterward.

2. Horsehair or Pig Hair Brushes

This may be the most crucial tool in your shoe shine kit. There's a fine line between polishing and scratching. And you won’t spot the scratches until you just can’t seem to get the same sheen after a few shines. Use a horsehair or pig hair brush for both cleaning and polishing.
Get a brush with black bristles and one with neutral-coloured bristles, and smaller brushes for detail work and travel.

3. Leather Conditioner

This is another item that you can use to clean and polish your shoes. Not only does it maintain the shine, but the leather that supports it too. If you prefer, you can get a separate shoe cleaning solution.

4. Cream and Wax Shoe Polish

Cream-based shoe polish has more pigment than wax, so you’ll need something close to your shoe colour. It’s best for covering scuffs and blemishes. As you might guess from the name, wax polish delivers the real shine.

Other parts of your kit can include a leather cleaner for tough jobs and a kit box to keep everything in order and ready to go.

In Your Complete Guide to Shining Men’s Shoes Part 2 - The Technique we’ll look at how to use the tools in your kit to get a mirror-like shine on your shoes.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for an extensive line of top-quality men’s shoes for the sharp-dressed man, visit us here at Ed’s Fine Imports.