Why Shoes Left Unworn for a Long Time Get Broken Easily When Finally Used?

I normally experience this with leather (or fake leather) shoes (men’s and women’s).

And is there any way to mitigate this problem without regularly using said shoes?

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    33
    edit-2
    10 months ago

    Leather dries out over time when left to sit and becomes brittle. It must be treated with some thing like a leather oil rub or “saddle butter”. Fake leather is similar.

    When you wear them regularly from new before they dry out, the sweat and oil from your skin goes a long ways towards keeping the leather pliable.

    Artificial fabrics obviously don’t have this problem, unless exposed to sunlight.

    • @FireRetardant
      link
      811 months ago

      I’ve used mink oil on some of my leather items (belts, knife sheathes) and I found it softened them up quite a bit

      • SolidGrue
        link
        English
        611 months ago

        Linseed oil is good too, but be careful disposing of the rags. 🔥

        • @seth
          link
          -111 months ago

          deleted by creator

      • mommykink
        link
        511 months ago

        Mink oil is good to have but I’ve never found anything to top Bicks #4 conditioner. It took me years and several thousands of dollars of leather products to cave and buy a bottle and I’ll never use anything else. If you’re serious about leather care, I’d recommend it highly

        • @Fuckfuckmyfuckingass
          link
          111 months ago

          Interesting! As a fellow leather nerd, I feel the same way about Obenauf’s LP. Have you heard of it?