Yuya Hasegawa's passionate shoeshine dojo Part 4

This is the "Yuya Hasegawa's Ardent Shoeshine Dojo" series. In the fourth installment, Yuya Hasegawa talks about the "first step" in the shoe polishing process. Yuya Hasegawa talks about it passionately.

Autumn is coming to an end, and the mornings and evenings are getting colder and colder. Are you catching a cold? There are only a few days left in this year, so let's enjoy the Year of the Tiger 2022 with Gao to the end! Now, this is the fourth installment of the Ardent Shoeshine Dojo, and since we talked about the three major processes last time, we will finally talk about the first process of the total 16 processes this time.

The first step is to "remove the laces. Or, in the case of shoes with buckles, "unbuckling". When polishing the entire shoe, remove as many accessories as possible before polishing. It may go without saying, but you will be able to polish every corner of the shoe, and the accessories will not be stained with cream. Also, by removing the strap, you can notice the deterioration of the strap itself, which is a good opportunity to replace it as soon as possible. There are four main ways to thread a string. There are roughly 4 patterns.

1、Parallel
2、Single
3、Overlap
4、Underlap

The first and second are often used for dress shoes, and look like a ladder, but the way of threading inside the shoe changes. The parallel threading method is more popular among those who like real leather shoes because it prevents the laces from slipping out of place.

Single threading (2) is simple and easy to do, so it is also recommended. However, in most cases, the method of threading is the same as that used by the original shoe manufacturer, so it is recommended to refer to the method used when you bought the shoes.

3 and 4 are often used for casual shoes such as boots and sneakers. 3 overlap, as the name implies, is threaded through the lacing hole from the top. Personally, I feel that this method gives a stern impression because it looks like a series of V-shapes, so I recommend it for work boots and the like.

The underwraps of 4 are threaded through the bottom of the lacing holes, so they look like an overlapping "C" and give a softer impression.

The tightness also changes depending on the way the laces are threaded, with the stricter overwrap being more constricting and the underwrap being less constricting. It is interesting to note that the look and the feel of the shoes are the same.

First, remember how to thread these laces, and don't forget which way your shoes are threaded. If you think you might forget, it is a good idea to take a picture of it. If you want to know how to thread the laces in more detail, you can find many videos on YouTube that explain how to do it. There is nothing particularly difficult about removing the buckle, so I will skip that part.

Put the removed shoelaces in your shoes when you polish them so that you don't lose them. It would be nice to change the laces to fashionable ones while removing them. Changing the color of the laces a little or changing the tips of the laces to metal ones will make them sparkle and look like accessories. All of my shoes have steel tips. Personally, I recommend the smoked gold tip called "antique gold" because it is austere.

So, I have told you about the first step of the 16-step process, "removing the laces. In the next article, we will talk about lining care. That's it for this ardent Shoeshine Dojo! Let's all clean up this year's dirt before it's too late! Oshinobu ！！！！！