cottontop

I agree with much of what you said, however, I will have to respectfully disagree about buying (shoes and boots included) on line. If people did not buy on line (shoes and boots included) then this very forum would suffer and might even cease to exist. I would love to be able to visit various stores in person and shop for shoes and other things, but from where I live, in the middle of the Smoky Mountains of east Tennessee in the USA, I am many miles from good stores that have any kind of expansive ( yes, expansive, not expensive) inventory of decent shoes and boots in stock. That leaves on line shopping as my main option and i feel that on line shopping is a real blessing. I have bought lots of shoes and boots on line and this is the first time I bought shoes that did not fit, but I knew going in that these might not fit so I took a chance anyway. BTW, I just found a pair exactly like the ones that caused me to initiate this thread in a size and a half larger that will work so I ordered those. Anyway, thanks for your comments, they are appreciated.

I took the shoes to the local cobbler and a week later I got them back. They were stretched out some, but still too small. I was afraid of that. Lesson learned. I will pay more attention to sizes; i.e., EU to U.S., men's to women's, etc. from now on. I'm sending them to my daughter in Florida. Being that the shoes are unisex, they should work for her. If she doesn't want them, they will go to the blessing box.

Thanks for the positive comments SUP. I do appreciate it.

I'm trying to upload a little larger photo. Hope it works.

I tried to upload another photo of the above shoe, but the "choose files" thing says my photo is to many MB's or something so i will have to settle on the one above. In the photo, the dark portion of the shoe looks almost black, but it is really a nice dark brown. This is a before the coloring job photo.

Here is a photo of the end result of dying a portion of this pair of shoes with Startso Dark Brown Balm in order to have contrasting colors in the shoe. The photos are not great (I am not a very good photographer) but I think you can get the idea.

I just received my jar of Startso Leather Balm, dark brown. This stuff is very easy to use. It is also water soluble so easy clean up. I used it to darken the "saddle" area of a pair of shoes that were all one color of a light tan. The contrast of the two parts of the shoe looks great to me. I used plain old masking tape to protect the areas where I did not want the balm to reach. For me, I can't see using any other method. However, if you are a professional cobbler and have the products and the experience and are coloring shoes for a paying customer, then I can see the need to dye the shoes using the acetone and whatever other stuff a cobbler would use to do a professional long lasting job. But, the Startso worked for me yet YMMV. Will post a photo later today.

Anyone ever use Scotchgard spray on boots or shoes? It says it is a protector for leather, suede and nubuck. Does it actually repel water? Does it change the color of the leather? Does it make lighter colored leather darker? Just wondering what others experiences might have been when using this product. If it lives up to the claims made on the can, I just might give it a try.

Do you mean leather dyes and treatments?

I am not really looking for a variation in a shade. I just want to darken a couple of small sections on a couple of shoes. As long as there is a contrast between sections of the shoe, I am happy. Notice the second photo I posted earlier of the Jim Green vellie shoe. I achieved a slight contrast with just an application of Cobbler's Choice Cream. The Startso Leather Balm should darken the leather even more and a contrast either slight or not so slight is what I am after.

Thanks for your comments SUP. I am one who does not want to get into leather dyeing. The whole "dyeing" process sounds way too involved and messy to me for what I want to do. If I was a pro and doing something like this for the general public, it would be a different story; but I am not a pro and i am only doing this for little old me. Like we say on the Banjo Hangout Forum, "It's your banjo, play it any way you want." BTW, if you go to Amazon and look up the Startso World Leather Balm, the description states that it is a DYE, and "Restores new life into old worn leather."

There is the old saying, "There is more than one way to skin a cat." What is "properly" to some may not be "properly" to others.

Here is one pair of the shoes in question. Thanks for the responses. As I stated in my OP, I don't want this to be a complicated project; just a wipe on wipe off affair. Using a stripper and dye seems to be a complicated process, at least for me. This conversion does not have to be permanent as I can always paste it again if the new color starts to fade. In the second photo, the side panels were darkened slightly with Cobblers Choice conditioning cream and it provided a slight contrast which is what I was after with these shoes. Of course light brown (or tan) colored shoes are much easier to darken. Amazon has a product called Startso World Leather & Vinyl Recoloring Balm, dark brown. I think I will give that a try. It will either work or it won't. Joe

What is a product that when applied by hand will make brown shoes a darker shade of brown? I have tried Mink Oil, and it darkened the shoes slightly, but not dark enough. What I really want to do is this: I have some shoes that are various shades of brown and are all one color. I would like to darken just the side or saddle panels a darker shade of brown so that the shoes become a sort of two tone, or really, two shades of contrasting brown on the same shoe. On some of them the toe section is a separate piece of leather and I would like to darken that section also and thus match the side panels. I might not be using the correct terminology for the shoe parts so i hope you can understand what I mean. You could say that I want to do it the easy way, i.e.; wipe it on, let it dry or soak in for a while, polish it off, and done. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Joe

Tastech, will post some photos after the shoes arrive. Thanks for your comments. Joe

Mablung, I think you are right, however, I also think it depends on the style of shoe and how much you want to increase the size. I think trying to go up a full size would be stretching things (pun intended), but it might be possible to get close to that. I haven't received the shoes in question, but they should be here is a few days. I bought them off an auction site because they were a pretty expensive shoe for about a third of the original price. They are close to my size so I thought I would take a chance. If they don't fit or if they can't be made to fit I will donate them to the town blessing box. I have been able to slightly increase the size (up to 1/2 size larger) of tight fitting shoes by spraying them with "Foot Matters Shoe Stretch" and then inserting a wooden shoe stretching block and letting them set for 24 hours or so. The sole didn't seem to be affected at all. But, if these shoes are too tight, I plan to take them to the local cobbler to see what he can make of them. If it can't be done, I will not lose much; if it can be done I will gain a lot. Will let you now how it works out. Joe

I am wondering if any of the cobblers on the forum have some experience in stretching leather shoes. My question is how much can a shoe be stretched? Can a shoe be stretched one full size larger? Joe

This may be true in many areas, but here in southeast Tennessee, it is not true at all. I have counted more than 20 bonafide authentic shoe repair cobblers here (the old fashion kind); at least one cobbler in every town, sometimes more. One of the best is only 18 miles from me in Maryville, Tennessee (I live in the Smoky Mountains out in the middle of nowhere and Maryville is the closest town of any size to me). There are cobblers in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Seiverville, etc. You name the town and more than likely there is a qualified cobbler there, and none of them are the kiosk type. Joe

Thanks for all the comments and videos. You all are very helpful and have lots of resources and experience. I appreciate your responses. One thing I have wanted to do is to convert some of my existing watch straps into Pilot straps. Mainly, this just means that I needed to install some rivets to the lug ends of the straps; a single rivet for straps 20mm and under, and two straps for anything over 20mm. I have tried to up load some photos but my files are too large. If I can find a way to reduce their size, I will post some. Joe

Hi Kwaaked! I am also a newby from Tennessee. I live in the Smoky Mountains in the little town of Townsend. I am about three miles from the southern entrance to the National Park. I retired from teaching high school and coaching wrestling in Florida to east Tennessee four years ago. My main interest in leather working is watch straps (bands), making them and altering existing ones. I am a watch collector and making leather straps would really broaden my hobby. Joe

Thanks Mike. That was very interesting. I think I could do it. I'll start investigating tools, templates, and more videos and will let you know how I am progressing. Joe

OK mike02130. Thanks for your input. Will do! Joe

Anyone here into making wrist watch straps? I am just trying to get started and I don't have any tools or materials yet as I don't even know what to buy. I was thinking about some of the various kits I have seen on line and I wonder if they are any good? I think I could learn from the kits without investing a lot of money just starting out. Joe

I wish I could say that I am accomplished and experienced in leather craft, but I am not. I am interested in seeing work from some of the excellent craft persons here. I am 70 years with arthritis in my hands so my dexterity is very limited. I am also a wrist watch collector so making watch straps (bands) is my main interest, though I have not personally made any straps yet. Hope to learn a lot from the forum. Joe