Reddit mentions of Kiwi Saddle Soap, 3.125 Ounce

From what I've read online there are equal camps USE SADDLE SOAP! and NEVER USE SADDLE SOAP ON FAUX LEATHER, but I once wore my new (unwashed) jeans with a Steve Madden faux leather jacket as well as my pale grey leather Cuyana tote...both had black dye marks all over them ): Luckily I got most of it off with a cloth and warm water, but after that, I found that using saddle soap on the remainder (faint, but still present) made the marks on both almost completely unnoticeable. Not perfect, but very nearly - it seems like really only I notice because I know it's there!

If you try saddle soap, I would test a tiny bit of fabric on the inside/some other out of sight part of the jacket to see if there's any adverse reaction. Good luck!

There seems to be quite a lot of variety in regards to care methods, but here are my thoughts. These are shoes that can last, if maintained properly.

I'd suggest you invest in saddle soap, a stiff brush, cedar shoe trees and some mink oil, all of which comes to under $35 USD.

• After a day of wear: Brush any mud or debris off of them, and put in the shoe trees. This will aid in drying and keeping form. The quick drying, combined with the cedar wood will keep odour to a minimum.
  
  
• Every 3 to 4 weeks: Use a soft cloth to apply some mink oil, let it set, then buff it off. This will give water protection and condition the leather. N.B. It will darken the leather, but as they age, this will help the overall patina.
  
  
• Every season, or when they've become considerably soiled: Brush them clean, then give them a hardy scrub with the saddle soap. This will clean off the deeper set dirt and any oil build up. You may lose some of your hard earned patina, but this will come back. After cleaning, dry on your shoe trees and then apply mink oil as noted above.
  
  As for breaking them in, wear them around the house and out and the leather will soften quite quickly. As LabiaMinora mentioned, loafer (hidden) socks are great if you find them irritating, or prefer socks. Also, many have suggested using Gold Bond or similar powders to control sweating and odour. This is fine, just remember to clean the inside of your shoes as well. Particulate buildup will do them no good.
  
  So, that's the brief intro to full grain leather boat shoe care. Good luck!

Get a Kiwi leather care kit and some leather conditioner

• Brush off your shoes with the brush
  
  
• Use a damp sponge to wipe off any remaining dirt (if they are exceptionally dirty you can use saddle soap)
  
  
• Dry off with a rag
  
  
• Apply the leather conditioner, let dry/absorb and buff with the chimois
  
  
• Apply polish with the sponge applicator, let dry for like an hour
  
  
• Brush shoes again, then buff again with the chimois.
  
  Also it looks like your toes are starting to separate, in which case I'd use some Shoe Goo or just some super glue to readhere

Saddle soap? Like this? Is that stuff brown/black like normal shoe polish? Also, I get what you mean by 'brown enough'; dark grey is "earthy" enough for casual purposes.

I am guessing that he cleaned them with a horsehair brush, wiped them down with water, let dry, cleaned with saddle soap, then conditioned with leather conditioner, oil, or shoe creme. Could have polished them with shoe polish and buffed them to a shine.

What's really cool is that you can get the stuff to do this at home (and you should) for something like $20. Then you can do it whenever your shoes need it. It's good preventative maintenance. I also started liking shoes a lot more once I started doing this myself. Here is a shopping list.

• saddle soap - $5.69
  
• neatsfoot oil - $5.94
  
• some old rags.. cotton tshirts or socks or whatever.
  
• shoe polish - $7.50.. but I am sure you can get it cheaper.
  
• brush - $3.50
  
  also check out allen edmonds site. they have cheap shoe care products and free shipping.

I'd go with saddle soap, inexpensive, leather specific, and leaves no residue. For conditioning you may want to be more careful as many of them leave a residue which could prove to be slick.

Here is the desktop version of your link