Rebuilding the $70 Bronx Dekimo Double Monk
“We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was before. Better…stronger…faster.”
DISCLAIMER: Don’t do this on shoes you really like. In fact, if you have a friend with busted shoes, try it on theirs!
If you remember the Bronx Dekimos from last fall, you may recall that my biggest beef was that they creased easily and the leather seemed rather thin. I also said that time would tell whether they would hold up or not. Well, the creases did get a little worse with time, and for some reason, the shoes actually started to lighten with age. I still liked and wore the shoes, but I wanted to do something about the turn they were taking.
I found methods online to reshape shoes by steaming, heating, or ironing, but I decided to go with ironing because, “Hey look! I have an iron!” Following directions I found online, I put the shoes in trees, wetted them, placed the wet rag over the area with creases, and pressed down with the iron on its hottest setting. No guts, no glory, right?
Not gonna need the spray-starch for this job.
The good news was that it actually reduced the creases. The not-so-good news was that it completely removed the finish! I was literally left with a bald shoe. Well crap…
My first thought was, “That answers that. There go my shoes.” But before I got to the trashcan, I had another thought. “What if I just keep going?”
I spent the next 30 minutes completely ironing both shoes, and wiping away the finish as I went. I was left with two completely bald, desiccated shoes. I applied two layers of Meltonian Shoe Cleaner & Conditioner
Baldy on the left, with a layer of burgundy shoe creme applied on the right.
I decided I wanted them redder and darker so I applied two layers of Meltonian cream
This was not your average shoe shine job.
Since the shoes only have Meltonian cream applied, they are still prone to scuffs. I intend to add a layer of wax polish to hopefully harden them up. Otherwise, the end result was surprisingly good. The creases are mostly gone, the color is much richer than before, and the finish looks much more natural. It’s an accidental upgrade!
The whole process probably took several hours of work spread throughout several days so I don’t recommend starting it if you’re not willing to finish it. For that matter, I don’t recommend doing it at all on a pair of shoes you’re not willing to lose. But if you’re feeling lucky, you might just turn the shoes you sort of like into the shoes you wish you had.
The Final Result: A richer color, a more natural finish, and less creases.
Editor’s Note: This article from Alan was started as a post on Threads, which is Dappered’s Forum. Head over here for the original. Many thanks to him for passing along all the extra pics.
That’s really impressive. I definitely have some shoes that have been faded from wear and tear… might be worth trying with a cheaper pair of shoes.
Keyword: “cheaper”. Not only do you risk losing the shoes if it doesn’t work, I’m not sure it would have worked on shoes with a better finish.
If they were Allen Edmonds or even CH or J&Ms, I’d rather trust it to the company themselves to fix it.
Very cool…and thanks for sharing the tips.
I feel like it’s cheating to show the non-crease of shoes while they’re still in trees…
Trees get rid of most creases in even my cheapest shoes. Once the trees are out, or they’re on my feet, that’s the real test.
I have another pic without the trees if you want it. The trees just provide better presentation for photos. That, and I had them inserted while I was working. But the end result actually looks less wrinkled than the very first photos from the original Dekimo review when they were only a day or two old. *shrug*
This is a great idea and now I know how to handle my Brutini Double Monks that are probably the same caliber.
I have the same pair of Arbiters (the Brutini Double Monk). I would go as far as to say the Arbiters are even cheaper in construction (very disappointing) even though they cost about the same.
Very thin leather, easily creases, and scuffs are permanent.
Great article, the shoes look great.
It’d be nice to see how bad the creases were to start with. Kind of a “before and after”
Unfortunately, I didn’t start taking pics until I had destroyed the shoes, which was after the creases were removed. I never set out from the beginning to write an article. It just became one.
Wonder how this would work on some beeswax Clarks Bushacres (cheap desert boots). I’ve got a pair that I love but they have tons of wrinkles in them that bother me.
I would probably stay away from that, the leather seems like it would be too soft to take the heat.
Personally, I think a beat up pair of clarks looks better than a clean pair.
Hard to say without the before photos, but looks like this turned out pretty well. For most people though, you’re better off just buying a better pair of shoes to start if you value your time because at the end of the day it’s still a fixed up $70 shoe. I’m not sure how many hours is “several,” but let’s say 6 hours. Let’s assume you make $50K a year, meaning 6 hours of your time is worth ~$144 in terms of salary. Add the original $70 cost and you’re looking at $214 (not including the cost of the supplies). Might as well buy a pair of AEs (seconds, on sale, etc.) for that price and not have to deal with this and you still have a much higher quality pair of shoes at the end of the day.
The problem with your reasoning is: 1. If you were salaried then you would not get paid extra for the extra time you put in at the office and 2. Even if he/she was paid hourly you are assuming he/she spent their time restoring a pair of shoes rather than working and making money. People have disposal time for a reason and just because they choose not to use it toward making more money that doesn’t mean they are in fact “losing/wasting” money.
You have a completely valid point, but it’s not like this was all expected up front. If a buyer knew up front what they would go through down the road, perhaps they wouldn’t do it. But none of this was expected.
Plus there are those out there for whom money is more valuable than time. And for them, spending the time is less of a problem than spending the money – either because they don’t make much or simply by choice.
Also, these are double monks. Sure, some people will lay down hundreds on double monks, but I personally reserve that price point for dressier or more versatile shoes. Dressier shoes can go into a board room where such status symbols can matter. And more versatile shoes will get worn much more often with a variety of outfits. Double monks don’t fill either of these niches so I choose not to spend much on them.
And finally, there’s the “beater” aspect. Everyone will have a different approach, but I like having several pairs of beater shoes that I can wear under bad weather and not damage the good ones. But I also don’t want my beaters to look like beaters.
I recommend http://www.sneakershields.com/ They have dress shoe shoe shields that keep the creases from getting too bad.
I’ve never heard of those, but they look great on the site. Have you used these personally, and can you feel them in the shoe / do they inhibit your walking at all?
I have them personally. They’re an absolute requirement for all my Jordan’s, the dress shoe ones have more give but imo my dress shoes have less creases from using them. They don’t keep me from walking normal and they can be felt but its not a big distraction.
Thanks for the information
I tried it on my Bushacres and it didn’t work at all. The wrinkles seemed reduced at first but after 1 day of wear they’re back to the way they were.
It did take a ton of dirt out of them though, so I may try using a steamer to clean them some more (I’m due for a new pair anyway, so I’m not too worried about ruining them).