Obenauf's on shoes?

[lum gim fong]

Does it make leather dress shoes look nice or is it a more utilitarian finish to it?

Interested because it is a one time application for weatherproofing.

[Brian Campbell]

I use it on my Redwing work boots. Works great. I am not sure what the outcome would be on dress shoes. If they are lighter in color I imagine the would darken considerably.

[Deacon Patrick]

It’s not a polish, which “lives” on top of the leather and gets buffed. It is an oil/wax, which goes into the leather to condition and soften it, as well as leave the wax on the surface to protect against both wet and dry. It is not a one-time application, but one that should be renewed as needed, which on shoes in weather is fairly regularly. Keep in mind that in the day’s of using rendered bear fat to condition leather, outdoorsmen would condition their boots daily, same as their gun. We make our own “bear grease” from beeswax and coconut oil. Same recipe for our lotion and lip balm, just different proportions (less beeswax for softer uses, more for a more solid finished product). Add essential oils as desired.

With abandon,
Patrick

[drew]

Yep. Way better than mink oil.

[Mark in Beacon]

I use Obenauf's on my work boots, too. Put some on my locally made leather wallet, too. I would stick to a good shoe polish for dress shoes, though. The polish will protect against a stroll in the rain down a city sidewalk. Anything more and you might want to get a pair of galoshes. Good gosh, a good day, when you can get in the word "galoshes!"

[Tim]

Mark uses Obenaufs on his work boots. I'm retired so my work boots just sit these days, but did you know that Obenaufs makes the VERY BEST boot laces I've ever had in my life. I wear Red Wing 877s (they used to be called Irish Setters) and of course the laces they come with break within a few weeks, so I used leather laces for many many years, they last longer but still break, always when you're in a hurry. Anyway, these laces are the bomb. I just wish I'd learned about them sooner than 2 years ago.

http://www.obenaufs.com/boot-laces-s/113.htm

[Andy C.]

I agree that Obenauf's works great on hiking boots and the like. On my regular shoes, however, it proved to be a little trickier. Because of the seams on the shoes, it was difficult to wipe off all of the residue that wasn't fully absorbed by the leather. Though the shoes didn't feel sticky, they were soon had areas covered in a fine layer of dust and other small particles. I did heat up the shoes a bit with a hair dryer to promote absorption but still had the problem a few times. Never had this problem with lighter weight treatments. I could just be doing a really bad job and/or we might just not notice this "ankle dandruff" on our work shoes.
--AC

[Tim Butterfield]

I did similar, setting them near a heat source to improve absorption and also repeating application until it would absorb no more.  I found that if you get really good absorption, some of that will later be squeezed out of the leather by flexing resulting in an increase of wax showing on the surface of those areas.  It's not an issue and easily wiped off though a bit unsightly until then.  I have had this with both SnoSeal and Obenauf's.

One thing that may help with seams is to brush the boots after the application has dried a bit.  Similar to brushing a polish on dress shoes, brushing after a sealer application has dried can remove a bit left on the surface and in seams.  This will not eliminate the above, though.

Tim

[bo richardson]

It is importand to saddlesoap the leather first. otherwise the oil carries grit into the leather and it
acts like an abrasive. that at least is the theory. i always do a three step of Murpheys,
obenaufs and a good cream polish. this is a shoe routine but i do boots the same way.

[bo richardson]

it does darken brown shoes considerably. no matter what brown you started with, after a while all your brown shoes are the same dark brown.
the shade of polish doesnt matter much.

[Justin, Oakland]

I have some Red Wing Heritage (model 2955) boots with Black “Spitfire” leather. Sort of a rough out leather that’s not sueded. I’m thinking of hitting them with a coat of Obenauf’s before/as the rain finally comes to the Bay Area.

-J

[lum gim fong]

UPDATE:

I just put it on my Lems Russett Leather Boots and didn't darken the color much, so the color still looks nice. 1.8mm full-grain leather. Gives a shine to the leather and looks good. So I would say will be good for boots.

Will try my Lems dress shoes next. I think they are same leather so should be good.

[lum gim fong]

Update:
Looks good on brown Lems 925 dress shoes.

[Tim]

Lums Lems

[lum gim fong]

Haha!

Will update about my black pair next.

[Greg Bellinger]

Obenaufs oil works great on the inside of dress shoes to keep the leather soft. I also use it on the outside of my Allen Edmonds dress shoes, let it sink in and them polish as usual. It prevents the leather from cracking after repeatedly getting wet in Seattle.