Hi I'm Kirby Allison.
Thank you for all your comments
and questions that you guys have posted
on our YouTube channel.
After reading them all
and answering as many as possible.
I've selected five that we're going to feature
in today's Q and A video.
Each of these individuals I have selected
will receive a complimentary pair
of our Sovereign Grade shoelaces
as a token of our appreciation for their participation
in our channel.
In today's Q and A video I'm going
to be answering your questions about
how to care for cordovan shoes.
Remember if you have any comments
or questions while you're watching one of our videos
please ask them in the comments section below.
I tried to get back to as many of these questions
as possible.
Our first question today is from Frederick
Hess Fang
and it reads.
How do you strip clean a pair
of Quarterman shoes.
Reno'Mat rubbing alcohol.
I don't want to ruin my newly acquired
vintage crock
and Joan Bradford so a first
Frederich. Congratulations on
those new Crocket
and Jones Bradford shoes
Crockett and Jones as many of you know is
really one of the premier shoemakers
operating out of the United Kingdom
or Northhampton so absolutely
high quality great pair of shoes.
If you're really looking to strip the shoes
you can absolutely use a product
like the Saphir renovateur completely
safely without any concern
on your cordovan shoes.
This is going to be a strong stripper.
It's not going to take any of the original finish
off especially off then
but it will pull anything that's been placed
on top of that leather off any
polishes
or anything else.
So this would be my recommendation.
Now if you're looking for something more gentle
maybe save for occasional cleaning.
You could also use the Saphir leather
cleaning soap without
any concern either you just would shampoo
the shoe at the dauber.
That's good for a nice light cleaning if the
shoe becomes dirty.
It will take a little bit of the polish off
and it won't pull as much as the
Reno'Mat off of that shoe.
Our second question today is
from infokids
and it reads. How do I distinguish between
a calfskin shoe
and a cordovan shoe.
So this really gets to the heart of the question
of what's the difference between calfskin
and cordovan
and they really couldn't be any more different.
Fundamentally,
calfskin is a leather It's a skin
of a cow whereas cordovan
is not skin.
It's not leather it's actually a membrane
from a horse from the rear
quarters for the shells
of the horse itself.
How is that different.
Well it's not a skin so it doesn't have an
open port structure
like what you have
with calfskin Shoe shoes
and it's a tightly woven membrane
that actually during the tanning process
at Horween in Chicago
they actually roll
and further compress the
cord even with glass bottles.
And what that does is it further compresses
and tightens that fibrous
structure to create a unique
kind of Quarterman look
and also to create
a leather that is just has incredible
longevity and durability
and that's really what Korovin is known for.
So in terms of visually identifying
cordovan versus calfskin there's
a few things that you can look out for
first and most easily identify
is just that you know kind of iconic
Quarterman number eight color.
I mean that's probably what
80 percent of Quarterman shoes are made out
of. That's a beautiful kind of
Burgundy.
And so that's the first thing I look for second
quarter it really has a unique just
appearance to it.
You know if you're looking at a Auld in
a Quarterman pair of shoes it's treated
so it has a high shine.
But if you're looking at say a more
naturally finish Quarterman like something
that you would get from Lincoln.
Edward Green
or George cleverly it's going
to have more of a matte finish.
You know the natural finish a quarter
and actually is not very shiny.
You know that all day in China
I bet you see on their Korovin shoes is actually
an applied finish.
And then the most technical way to really
identify cordovan is to really
pull the shoe up close
and look at it.
If you're looking at a pair of open green leather
calfskin shoes you can actually
see small dots
or holes in the leather itself
and that's the porous structure if
you pull the cord even up really close
you're not going to see any of those open
pores because Quarterman
is not an open
or another.
Quarterman shoes are incredibly unique.
I've got a pair in my wardrobe
a pair of my Carmena boots I had made out
a quarter then you know it is
kind of a colt leather
and has a really
loyal followership from
people that love cordovan it Quarterman
it's just a unique and special material it's not
something that I have all my shoes made
out of that
but it certainly is kind of a nice
leather or nice material to
have at least one shoe.
Question number three is from Simon's
service and it reads Hi Kirby
thanks for this great video.
I wondered when should one choose
says Shell Quarterman shoes
and they come in many forms ranging from
the penny loafer to bood is
there any advantage to go for this kind
of leather instead of a more traditional Kaffe
leather your insides would be
much appreciated.
Kind Regards from Brussels Belgium.
So thank you Simon for your question.
You know Quarterman shoes
you know are really kind of fall into
the category of just kind of
the cold classic I mean it's just the
material that is
more rare it's more expensive than
calfskin.
Whenever cordovan shoes became popularized
it really was the de rigueur for
you know certain classes of lawyers
because it was so easily
and instantaneously identifiable
with that very special kind of burgundy
color that Horween cordovan
leather is so well known for.
And so.
It's difficult to give a specific answer
in a court of has really appreciated.
In many ways because it's such
and durable long lasting leather
I mean it's incredibly strong
and hardy because the membrane.
It's not a scan so
it's just tougher
and a pair of shoes can easily
last a lifetime if they're well cared for
or even if they're not well cared for
quite honestly
and so that is one of the things that really attracts
people to Quarterman.
Now terms of which style
would I choose
or recommend you really kind of
depends on your personal preference I mean I have
a pair of Carmena Coard of in boots
it's a Cateau about moral
Pappe but you know a pair of Korovin
loafers is equally
iconic so I think it really
boils down to how you're going to wear the shoes.
I mean if you're someone that wears a lot of loafers
then maybe go for Quarterman
penny loafer from Alden.
There's really no style of shoe that I'd say Quarterman
isn't right for.
Our fourth question today is from our
71 0 6.
It's on our world championship
and shoe making.
Our interview with Pete Bultitude if
Graziano and Gerling
and his creation reads Am
I naive in thinking cordovan shoes
are made from leather of that colour
that the colour goes all the way through
the leather whereas the color just
applied to the surface during the shoe making process.
So great question.
I mean certainly that iconic
Horween kind of number 8 cordovan
color is what most people associate
with Quarterman shoes.
But that is actually an applied
dye to the leather.
I actually had the opportunity to visit the four
wheel factory back in June of this year
and you can see from some of these photographs
of the Quarterman shells drying
I bet that natual color
of Korovin is
actually a light brown.
It's just kind of an untreated leather
and is really similar in color of
the crust.
Calfskin so any of the colors
of Quarterman that you're seeing
made by shoemaker either be
the Quarterman liberate black dark
brown isn't applied
dye.
And our last question today
is really a more generic question
and how should Korovin be cared
for differently than calfskin.
So again cordovan is not
a leather it's totally different.
It's a membrane that is
highly compressed
and has a very tight poor structure
and so it's important that you care for your Quarterman
shoes differently than you would care for your calfskin
shoes.
Now the reason that you don't want to use traditional
Saphir shoe polish is designed
for calf skins is because the
solvent of a standard shoe polish is designed
to really penetrate into the leather to
deliver those nutrients.
You really don't want to use a solvent based shoe polish
and Quarterman shoes because you don't want those solvents
penetrating into the court of membrane
and causing that otherwise
tightly compressed fiber structure
to expand.
Whenever you do that over time
you're actually compromising the integrity
of that core Quarterman skin.
And because no longer are those fibers
extremely tightly compressed.
So Saphir actually
has a shoe polish that is designed
specifically for the minister Quarterman
shoe polish
and it's a cream polish.
We recommend for the primary care
of your cordovan shoes.
It's available in several different colors
because again you can buy several different colors
chorded than leather.
I've got right here you know the number
eight which again is
the most iconic kind of Quarterman color.
Now what makes this shoe polish different
than say the Saphir palm
and ear modality or cream polish
is that it doesn't have any solvents.
Actually the basis of this is Neitz
food oil which is still going
to condition nourish that sort of
in leather to keep it soft
flexible
and hydrated.
But it's not going to
penetrate that Quarterman so
deeply to cause those fiber
structures to expand.
So it's a great Polish staple to work up
a nice soft shine in the same way that a
Quarterman cream Polish would
and is absolutely what we recommend
here at the Hanger Project for the primary
care Quarterman letter.
Now that said a lot of
Coard event aficionados really
enjoy using the Saphir win of the tour
and the Saphir run of a tour Daoudi
or is safe to use on Quarterman leather shoes.
Also because it is
a Waterberg
and not solvent based.
So again the mink coils will
help condition and nourish the court
and it's got those soft waxes
which is going to provide a nice soft shine.
But it's not going to penetrate deep
into that fiber structure
and cause the integrity of
that Coartem and leather to degre.
Now that said any of these two
polishes are going to provide a nice
kind of soft shine
the natural texture of a Quarterman pair
of shoes actually is not a high
shine of the all shoes
that you see
with that really high glossy finish
that's actually applied finish that
all that applies at the factory.
This skin is from the Horween tannery.
Even once they're finished don't
have a super high shine.
So if you look at a pair of Anthony cleverly
George cleverly Quarterman shoes
or even in Edward Green Quarterman shoes
or Mike Carmena cordovan shoes
you actually see that there's a really kind of soft
finish in the shoe.
Now if you're looking to elevate that shine
even higher I recommend using
the sphere mirror glass I mean the only way you're going
to get the shine higher than
with the cream polishes
with the wax.
And the reason I recommend this if your mirror glass
which is an excellent wax polish
for Quarterman is because again
the mirrors shine has that lower
concentration of those solvents
right. So this is safer to apply
jerkwater than leather shoes
been the Pat deluxe so anyone
that's looking to develop beer Sheiner
a higher shine on their Quarterman shoes.
I'd recommend you know one
or two applications mirror glass
using our Hengel project by Shine shammy
and a little bit of water
and you'll see that you are able to elevate the shine
of your Quarterman shoes.
Now the other item that is essential
for Quarterman care which is
really quite obscure
is the nearby.
The deer bone actually is
strikingly easy to use
and very effective.
Now because Quarterman is a membrane
you often see enhanced
or increased recoiling across
the back of the shoe
and as that fibrous structure
is flexing.
Much more so than what you would see
on a calfskin pair of shoes.
Now Quarterman is a very tough
leather
and so you can use the deer bone
to actually push those
creases out of the leather
and so you rub this you know apply
some pressure we actually have an entire video showing
you how to do this
and it's a very effective at
smoothing those creases out
and really kind of restoring that
natural texture of the court of leather
and the Dearborn has natural oils
in the bone itself which is going to
help lubricate that bone
and then also further nourish the cord
at the level for any questions on
how to care for cordovan leather shoes we have
an extensive library
of videos showing you exactly how
to do that
and if you don't own a pair of Quarterman shoes you
and I recommend at least considering
one pair for your collection.
All of the products you need to take care of your
Quarterman leather shoes of course are available
on hanger project dot com as
well as extensive shoe care
tutorials showing you exactly
how to use these to ensure that your Quarterman shoes
look great for decades to come.
You know once again.
I'd like to just take a moment to thank
everyone for their comments
and questions.
As I always say it's your engagement
on our YouTube channel that make these CUNA
videos possible.
Not only do these Kunas give me the opportunity
to answer in greater depth.
A lot of the questions that I'm already answering
but they allow me to take a moment to just acknowledge
my appreciation of everyone's involvement
in this channel.
I absolutely enjoy YouTube
and how it has allowed us to connect more
directly with all of you.
And I really have fun interacting
with you and answering your questions on
our channel.
If you haven't taken an opportunity to ask a question
or make a comment I invite you to do
so even if you don't have any
questions to ask you just sharing
your opinion
or your thoughts about our content.
Just make this more fun for everyone.
I read all those questions
and comments personally
and really do enjoy getting back to as many
of them as I possibly can.
In today's video I'm wearing WWE
chann Zenia sports
jacket WW Chan is a bespoke
tailoring house based out of Hong Kong that travels
extensively throughout the United States
and has a pretty good product.
Of course I'm wearing it
with my trademark wide shot of a shirt
and today I'm wearing a yellow
silk drakes of London tie.
I'm also wearing a green silk drakes of London
pocket square the trousers
I have on today are a pair of khaki
chinos made from my
tailor
or him or Johnny brothers
and I have these made
with a high waist
and tap trousers so that I don't
have to wear them with the belt
and wearing a pair of my 7th grade socks
and my beautiful bespoke
George cleverly Russian reindeer
split toed derbies says today's
outfit is slightly more casual.
I'm wearing it with my Rolex Date just that
was a gift from my grandfather.
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Kirby Allison
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