If there's one thing soldiers are taught, it's how to shine a pair of boots. We won't get into why it is important that a soldier's boots be shiny, we will simply accept that it is. And then we will reap the benefits of having such a skill in the household.
Did you see what happened to my favourite leather boots while I was in Toronto?
 |
That is some serious salt damage right there.
The tips of the toes are sopping wet with salt water. |
I was a little distraught because I do like these boots - they are extremely comfortable, great for walking, and they look unique with their foot-forming shape. (They kind of remind me of those old "Earth shoes.")
As soon as I could, I covered the salty spots with moist paper towels and was pleasantly surprised by how much salt came out. (Yay, osmosis!) But the leather still looked rather sad.
So this past weekend, I paid Brian (who is an Army cadet) to give those boots a good cleaning and polishing.
 |
| Clean and smooth |
Isn't that kind of amazing? I immediately applied a fresh coat of waterproofing. Then I gave him two more pairs of boots to treat.
Yay Brian!
ReplyDeleteSo far as shiny boots: it is very important for soldiers to keep their feet dry and their boots in good shape. Before the advent of silicone and other wonder-chemicals, people used to waterproof their leather boots using dubbin (fish fat) or wax. Both of these are slightly shiny, so it's a small style-step to shininess. As soldiers' uniforms became more ceremonial in appearance in the 1600s, shiny boots became de rigeur. This is one of many military traditions that has stuck!