The Essential Shoe Care Brushes You Need for Leather Shoes

We all want to take care of our beloved welted shoes and boots to the best of our ability and part of shoe care is having the proper shoe brush and brushes. I go over a wide range of brush from the most basic and versatile to the more premium brushes that look like they could be kept in a showcase. I include these new shell cordovan inlay brushes with Beachwood handles, horse tail hair and beautifully crafted anatomical shapes to ensure the most natural comfort while caring for our leather shoes.

0:00 - Essential Shoe Care Brushes for Leather Shoes
1:00 - The Types of Shoe Brushes
1:40 - Horse Hair Brushes
3:30 - Pig (Boar) Bristle Brushes
5:00 - Finishing Brushes
5:30 - Shell Cordovan Brushes with Custom Cordovan Handle
6:30 - Shoji Works Brushes
7:30 - What are the 2 Essential Shoe Brushes we all need?

Favorite Links & Resources:

Equipment:

#shoegazing #horween #horweenshellcordovan #shellcordovan

I always love to hear your thoughts and questions in the comments.

@shellvedge on Instagram

[claudetteh]

I'm a suede boot lover and have only owned one cheap brush! I thought I'd finally educate myself on proper leather maintenance. Thank you! Very informative.

[les-chouans]

love your channel! Great content by an authentic person. Just perfect entertainment for shoe enthusiasts!

[davidedmonds]

Thanks for sharing on the different types of Shoe Brushes, and I just love the Loafers in Grain Leather, just MAGNIFICENT!!!

[patrickmiao]

I love your content, really detailed and useful info. Thanks

[mauriciolacruz]

Great review! 👍🏻

Would you say that the goat's one could be used as a sole brush (to remove dust + to homogenize the polish after creaming and waxing)?

[DianaPeters-et]

I knew I needed a shoe brush. My cousin gave me a pair of black military boots so I didn't have to by boots for my security job. It's been so tedious to only have a cloth for boot care. I didn't know anything about shoe brushes! I'm glad you're sharing your knowledge. My brush is a vintage two in one horse hair brush, I think it will be perfect. 🐈‍⬛🐿

[mickosullivan]

Great video as always ! I went to the Solegarb link but did not find those brushes available for sale ? Perhaps I missed something ? Anyway I still thought you did a good job of explaining the difference between brushes and what they are used for . Keep up the great work !

[CroqueMadame]

Hey, i want to know for cordovan wich shoji brush is the best. The dark horse, white horse, pig horse or sweet horse? Thanks

[galou]

I love how you join photography and shoes! One video I'd like you to do is what to expect when wearing shoes. After wearing my Cobbler Union shoes for about 30 times, I've noticed that occasionally a lot of dirt, grass and little rocks get into the welt and its a pain to get them out with both brushes and a toothpick. I was also surprised how quickly the sole edge got banged up and a bit deformed due to my clumsiness. I also was suprised to see how quickly the leather on top of the closed channel stitching on the sole became unglued and I had to cut it off. Now I don't really care for closed channel soles; open channelled soles are what I actually prefer. Thanks for your commitment to the community!

[musicfashionstyle]

Does the horsehair come out easily when you brush your shoes? I used to use a Saphir brush when I brushed all my shoes and the horsehair came out easily.

[rickysazonsalazar]

Hi,

Do I need to use a different for a black shoes, brown shoes, and tan shoes? What are the pros and cons of using only one brush especially when applying shoe wax? thank you

[Jaran_E]

Can you make a list of all of the brushes in the video? Thanks!

[MrDaveguz]

my favorite brush would be a yak brush(didn't find a yak emoji) I don't own one but it looks fluffy buttery smooth.

[i.o.]

I definitely prefer Japanese approach to brush selection: horse hair for dusting and general dirt removal, pig bristle for brushing off excess cream and waxes and goat for final polishing. The most important is pig hair. Fro those who hasn't seen it, it's not much stiffer than horse. It's so important because with expensive leather you want to show its natural texture and keep all of the excess cream and waxes off the shoe. Pig bristle really nicely distributes applied cream and cleanses alongside seems, perforation etc. Goat? Well, not really needed, but if you have money and mood for that sort of indulgence, why not?
Absolutely with the author about brush sizes. Not a fan of large brushes. If you have some combination brogues or something, you'll know awkward and imprecise they are.
I now buying some new brushes and considered Shoji, but then I thought, what the hell, let's go all in and ordered fully handmade ones.
Thanks for your thoughts!

[It_swill]

I've always felt my shoe care supplies were lacking compared to others, but now I'm assured my two brushes are more than enough! Now I need to acquire some more cream and wax polishes, only have neutrals rn. Definitely checking out Solegarb too.
Favorite animal: 🦤 (pretend that's a capybara 😆)