For the most vaguely interesting man

December 10, 2024 5:02 PM

Help me find a leather care kit for my brother’s nice work bags and other things?

My brother lives a good chunk of the year in an area of Tokyo where they apparently are known for their leather goods, and the rest of the time in San Antonio, Texas. Over the past few years he has slowly accumulated some lovely things like a very hard working computer bag he takes everywhere he goes, some belts, a pair of more formal shoes, various luggage and travel accessories. I suspect he will continue to acquire nice leather versions of stuff as his older gear breaks or is no longer fancy enough for his now-swanky tastes, especially considering his proximity to cowboy stuff in San Antonio when he isn’t in Japan.

He has never been obsessive about keeping his things nice, and doesn’t care for things he won’t use regularly. His things are not getting covered in mud nor are they being left untouched to accumulate dust, but instead enduring airports, lots of travel, regular wear and tear. He does not collect exotic leathers or suedes and everything seems to be natural finishes and colors.

I’d like to get him a kit so he has all the right stuff to maintain his things and prolong their lifespan. Ideally, it would include some instructions and be in a nice package like a bag or box where everything is kept together. All the things I’ve found in my searches have been geared towards either fussy collector handbags, shoes, or furniture, or been for super gritty outdoors saddles and motorcycles and whatever. I can’t find the sweet spot of functional but not covered in dirt and sweat for recommendations.

I think I’m probably looking for at least a cleaner and a conditioner plus some appropriate tools, but I am unsure. Wax? Brushes? Cloths? Budget would be ideally less than $100 but above that is okay for the exact right thing. Hopefully deliverable to Texas by the end of the year. Extra bonus points for feeling fairly high end without tipping to an aesthetic of automotive detailing or fetish gear.

I’m open to getting indivual things and combining into a kit myself, but I really wouldn’t know where to start with that so if you have experience with products you love please share.

posted by Mizu to Shopping (2 answers total)

I have opinions!

I used to be a bit more of a shoe hobbyist than I am now, back about ten-fifteen years ago when prices were better, and the one thing I've retained from then is being into really fancy shoe treatment/leather treatment stuff. Saphir Medaille D'Or is the nicest stuff. It smells good, it's pleasant to handle, it goes on well - and you can often find small jars on eBay for reasonable prices!

There's a kit here, but really what I'd get would be these things:

A cream - Renovateur, lotion, mink oil. I like Renovateur
A cream polish in neutral
A wax in neutral
Some flannels
A cream polish in the most useful color (is most of his stuff black? brown?)
A wax in the most useful color

If your brother is a fussy hobbyist who is good with his hands, you could get him a couple of brushes (and maybe sub in Saphir leather cleaner for one of the colored polishes)

For me, a rough and tumble type, I feel like I don't need a brush to apply polish unless I'm doing brogues, and I like the control you get from applying the polish with a cloth tightly wound around your fingers anyway. I also feel that wiping my boots down thoroughly with a damp cloth is as good as using a leather cleaner any day. Now, if I had truly fine shoes rather than just good quality country boots, I might feel differently, but that seems like it's a bit more like having some nice bags and belts anyway.

You can absolutely look around on the internet for the best prices on Saphir stuff - I buy mine all over the place, including eBay. You can get little mini cream polishes on eBay pretty cheaply.
posted by Frowner at 5:49 PM on December 10 [4 favorites]

(Side note: I have never really felt the need to remove old polish, because I polish my boots every couple of weeks in boot season and they get worn outside in the weather. I think that only if you have fine shoes that you polish frequently and wear lightly are you likely to have layers of old polish and wax build up. I think that if your brother is carrying his bag and wearing his accessories around and just cleaning and polishing them as they start to need it, getting into heavy duty polish removers might even do more harm than good.)
posted by Frowner at 5:55 PM on December 10 [1 favorite]