Uploaded October 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This video documents the transformation of a pair of size 13D Johnston & Murphy "Heritage" Semi-brogue Oxfords (MAde in US, 270 degree Goodyear Welted) that I thrifted for $7.50 back in March of 2021, over 1.5 years ago. I started on them, but then gave up. I stripped them with acetone, and started sanding out the cracks in the vamps of the uppers. The cracking on the right shoe was far worse than I had initially realized, so I started filling them with Saphir Creme Renovatrice, a leather repair cream. This was my first major mistake... I used a light brown, which was the wrong color. I've learned since that you really cannot re-color Creme Renovatrice after adding it, but I was too impatient to purchase the correct color and wait for it to be shipped in. I also found that the leather on the vamp of the same right shoe wass wrinkling oddly and severely because of the deterioration. Lastly, the color in the vamps was now patchy & t didn't match the rest of the shoe, nor the other shoe. I didn't think it was salvageable, so I shelved them for over 1.5 years.
The recent ascension of HRH King Charles III re-surfaced some old pictures of a couple pair of his black John Lobb cap toe Oxfords. These Oxfords have perfect mirror shined toe caps, but the vamps are cracked, and have 3 different patches sewed onto them! Here's an article:
the-shoe-aristocat.blogspot.com/2012/04/hrh-prince-charles-and-his-old-bespoke.html
I realized my shoes are not in as bad condition as his, so they're still viable. I got re-interested in them, and gave them one more round of sanding on the right vamp. In hindsight, I would have defenitely used a different leather repair product, or at LEAST the correct color product. I think the final result is pretty decent! These shoes are unique. I don't recall seeing another pair adorned like these. Having broguing on the toe cap is not unusual, but the way the eyestays have a line of broguing along the trademark J&M "swan's neck" IS unusual. This unique broguing combined with the new mahogany color makes them unique and special in my wardrobe. Even though I'm a size 11.5 EE, they fit me quite well.
They looked like they had rubber protective half soles applied at one time, then had them removed , then were walked on, so re-applying a new set of them was in order. The edges of the soles had "mushroomed" out, so I squared them up by sanding. The secondary reason to do this is to get the edge of the soles square, rather than rounded, to get good adhesion of the new rubber protective half soles. The top lifts had been replaced at some point with thicker ones, upsetting the heel balance. I replaced them with thinner rubber leather combo heels I created from 9-10 oz heeling leather & 5mm thick rubber sheet I purchased from Landwerlen Leather in Indianapolis (317) 636-8300 phone (the last time I checked, they had a Facebook page, but no website).
The Pure Polish Products I used are available at:
ww.PurePolishProducts.com
0:30 The before condition
1:15 Explanation of Cap toe vs Quarter Brogue vs Semi-brogue vs Full Brogue
2:12 Soles condition
2:54 Heel balance problem
3:54 Creasing & cracking on the uppers
4:35 Stripping the uppers with acetone
6:45 How to learn to do a Patina/dye job
7:52 Sanding out cracks
9:22 Spectator? Airbrushing the uppers. I tried for a tan & brown combo, but it didn't pan out. Again, this was in early 2021.
11:27 Moistruizing uppers Pure Polish Products Cleaner Conditioner
12:16 "Time out" - why the 1.5 year gap, & how the coronation of HRH King Charles III re-sparked my interest
14:53 Sanding sole edges & bottoms
15:40 Polishing the uppers (I didn't record all of it) with PP & Saphir
16:35 Creating leather-rubber combo heels from 9-10 oz leather ?& 5mm heeling rubber
19:03 Sanding sole edges
19:26 Trimming/sanding the heel breasts
20:13 Cutting & gluing the 2mm thick rubber sheet (Chic brand)
21:07 Trimming the rubber soles
22:50 Polishing/brushing the sole and heel edges
23:25 Removing some color from the toe caps & quarters
24:54 Shining the uppers
26:38 Problems w/ the right vamp & re-hydrating
28:15 Mirror Shine with PP High Shine wax (with Tips!)
36:20 Shining the heel counters
36:40 Removing the paint penned price
37:05 Polishing soles/heels
37:35 The final result?
39:05 Re-stripped the vamps and re-polished
40:21 The REAL final result
42:47 Outro
Other relevant videos:
"Leather Talk with Andy Vaughn from Pure Polish Pt 1"
youtu.be/h0DH-AHwKcY
"Leather Quality explained: Aniline? Full Grain? Corrected Grain?"
youtu.be/fJ8EQ3HnDj0
"rEVERSe Patina on Thrifted Allen Edmonds Woven Derby!"
youtu.be/q5ShufO31AI
"Why When & How to Condition Shoes! Calf & Shell Cordovan"
youtu.be/Dh00wY0qjU8
Music/Audio Credit: YouTube Free Audio Library & Mixkit.co
"Again" by Density & Time
"Salgre" (YouTube Audio Library, artist unknown)
"Bluesed and Abused" by Quincas Moreira
"75 Lower" by DJ Williams
"Island Coconuts" by Aaron Kenny
This video documents the transformation of a pair of size 13D Johnston & Murphy "Heritage" Semi-brogue Oxfords (MAde in US, 270 degree Goodyear Welted) that I thrifted for $7.50 back in March of 2021, over 1.5 years ago. I started on them, but then gave up. I stripped them with acetone, and started sanding out the cracks in the vamps of the uppers. The cracking on the right shoe was far worse than I had initially realized, so I started filling them with Saphir Creme Renovatrice, a leather repair cream. This was my first major mistake... I used a light brown, which was the wrong color. I've learned since that you really cannot re-color Creme Renovatrice after adding it, but I was too impatient to purchase the correct color and wait for it to be shipped in. I also found that the leather on the vamp of the same right shoe wass wrinkling oddly and severely because of the deterioration. Lastly, the color in the vamps was now patchy & t didn't match the rest of the shoe, nor the other shoe. I didn't think it was salvageable, so I shelved them for over 1.5 years.
The recent ascension of HRH King Charles III re-surfaced some old pictures of a couple pair of his black John Lobb cap toe Oxfords. These Oxfords have perfect mirror shined toe caps, but the vamps are cracked, and have 3 different patches sewed onto them! Here's an article:
the-shoe-aristocat.blogspot.com/2012/04/hrh-prince-charles-and-his-old-bespoke.html
I realized my shoes are not in as bad condition as his, so they're still viable. I got re-interested in them, and gave them one more round of sanding on the right vamp. In hindsight, I would have defenitely used a different leather repair product, or at LEAST the correct color product. I think the final result is pretty decent! These shoes are unique. I don't recall seeing another pair adorned like these. Having broguing on the toe cap is not unusual, but the way the eyestays have a line of broguing along the trademark J&M "swan's neck" IS unusual. This unique broguing combined with the new mahogany color makes them unique and special in my wardrobe. Even though I'm a size 11.5 EE, they fit me quite well.
They looked like they had rubber protective half soles applied at one time, then had them removed , then were walked on, so re-applying a new set of them was in order. The edges of the soles had "mushroomed" out, so I squared them up by sanding. The secondary reason to do this is to get the edge of the soles square, rather than rounded, to get good adhesion of the new rubber protective half soles. The top lifts had been replaced at some point with thicker ones, upsetting the heel balance. I replaced them with thinner rubber leather combo heels I created from 9-10 oz heeling leather & 5mm thick rubber sheet I purchased from Landwerlen Leather in Indianapolis (317) 636-8300 phone (the last time I checked, they had a Facebook page, but no website).
The Pure Polish Products I used are available at:
ww.PurePolishProducts.com
0:30 The before condition
1:15 Explanation of Cap toe vs Quarter Brogue vs Semi-brogue vs Full Brogue
2:12 Soles condition
2:54 Heel balance problem
3:54 Creasing & cracking on the uppers
4:35 Stripping the uppers with acetone
6:45 How to learn to do a Patina/dye job
7:52 Sanding out cracks
9:22 Spectator? Airbrushing the uppers. I tried for a tan & brown combo, but it didn't pan out. Again, this was in early 2021.
11:27 Moistruizing uppers Pure Polish Products Cleaner Conditioner
12:16 "Time out" - why the 1.5 year gap, & how the coronation of HRH King Charles III re-sparked my interest
14:53 Sanding sole edges & bottoms
15:40 Polishing the uppers (I didn't record all of it) with PP & Saphir
16:35 Creating leather-rubber combo heels from 9-10 oz leather ?& 5mm heeling rubber
19:03 Sanding sole edges
19:26 Trimming/sanding the heel breasts
20:13 Cutting & gluing the 2mm thick rubber sheet (Chic brand)
21:07 Trimming the rubber soles
22:50 Polishing/brushing the sole and heel edges
23:25 Removing some color from the toe caps & quarters
24:54 Shining the uppers
26:38 Problems w/ the right vamp & re-hydrating
28:15 Mirror Shine with PP High Shine wax (with Tips!)
36:20 Shining the heel counters
36:40 Removing the paint penned price
37:05 Polishing soles/heels
37:35 The final result?
39:05 Re-stripped the vamps and re-polished
40:21 The REAL final result
42:47 Outro
Other relevant videos:
"Leather Talk with Andy Vaughn from Pure Polish Pt 1"
youtu.be/h0DH-AHwKcY
"Leather Quality explained: Aniline? Full Grain? Corrected Grain?"
youtu.be/fJ8EQ3HnDj0
"rEVERSe Patina on Thrifted Allen Edmonds Woven Derby!"
youtu.be/q5ShufO31AI
"Why When & How to Condition Shoes! Calf & Shell Cordovan"
youtu.be/Dh00wY0qjU8
Music/Audio Credit: YouTube Free Audio Library & Mixkit.co
"Again" by Density & Time
"Salgre" (YouTube Audio Library, artist unknown)
"Bluesed and Abused" by Quincas Moreira
"75 Lower" by DJ Williams
"Island Coconuts" by Aaron Kenny
