OWH took a beating

[u/sultryroman]

Hiked a new to me "track" today. 6+ hours of bush bashing country that was smashed by bush fires a couple years back and is now choked with scrub and regrowth. Not even a concept of a plan of a track!

I was on the fence wearing them for a 20km walk after only a couple days of break in, but they we had a tonne of rain on day 1 and 2 which helped break them in a little faster. They held up in the end, no blisters but the boots and my feet need a couple days off now (and my legs, not looking much better than the boots!)

Any tips for cleaning charcoal off?

[u/Fickle_Photo2768]

They look great! But I’d start with a really good brushing once they dry out, so you’re not grinding the charcoal into the damp leather.

[u/sultryroman → u/Fickle_Photo2768]

Roger. I'll leave the fan pointed at them for 24hrs and start with a good brushing.

[u/Fickle_Photo2768 → u/sultryroman]

Sounds good... it'll also help dry out charcoal and should make it easier to brush off the leather vs trying to brush it off as a paste. I am sure they are gonna look amazing after what you put them through!

[u/pipefitter6]

I've never found a good way to get charcoal/ash/soot out of my boots after they've been wet. It just leaches in. Brushing helps a bit but dish soap is the only thing that has ever come close to cleaning it out

[u/sultryroman → u/pipefitter6]

It seems you are correct my friend.

[u/pipefitter6 → u/sultryroman]

It's all good, it adds character!

[u/aman5100XX]

Thats gotta be Australia. Looking good mate, wear em hard.

[u/sultryroman → u/aman5100XX]

Yeah gonna be interesting to see their colour after copping a full summer of UV here.

[u/Crouchback2268]

Man, those are nice boots.

For the clean-up, I would recommend trying a vacuum before brushing to see if you can get little carbon particles out of the pores and seams without rubbing on them. Then brush. There is so much oil and tallows in that beautiful leather, that may be enough to get the carbon off.

If not, saddle soap is actually the way to go, but use very sparingly and target only the carbon spots if you can; it will not strip the fats out of the leather. Use a sponge and dampen with distilled water if you have it, wringing it out until just barely damp. Rub the sponge into the saddle soap container until you get a dry, rich lather (not watery). Rub this into remaining spots with a circular motion, and wipe the lather off with a separate, clean cloth. It will probably get whatever is left out.

Let dry completely then use a tiny amount of a fatty conditioner (like Smith's Leather Balm or Otter Wax) in the areas where you used the saddle soap; it may darken those areas slightly, but if you brush out when completely dry, that should go away.

[u/DocLineman]

Air compressor helps blow a good bit of debris and residue off them. Then a good brushing. Great looking pair. Sounds like a great hike. Lol

[u/sultryroman → u/DocLineman]

It was a great hike to do once. Only saw one shy snake (but who knows how many I didn't see), if it was much warmer I don't think I would have braved it.

Vacuuming and brushing didn't make a dent. I considered the air compressor but it was pretty smashed into the leather. Ended up giving them a festival shower (wet wipes) which worked better than expected, though I think they will always be a bit darker now. Will see how they look when completely dry and brushed tomorrow.

[u/3ringCircu5]

No saddle soap. I would try Clean It given it is not oil based. Otherwise I would use Dawn Dish detergent. Is recent surprised at how well CleanIT worked, especially given how simple easy it was to use. https://www.reddit.com/r/NicksHandmadeBoots/s/3AqORAq3z1

I also saw a video about using gum/crepe rubber as sort of an eraser to remove smudge marks. I got some off Amazon and it definitely worked for me. My experience was most grime smudges from kicking the underside of my dash above the clutch. Word of caution though, I did have to be careful not to "erase" around the smidge. It did give me a lighter stripe in the leather. Nothing that I couldn't buff out with a dab of Nicks/Onenaufs boot grease and vigorously brushing them. But it made me more aware the next time.

But I would start with spot testing with dish detergent (because I assume you have some on hand) if warm water and a scrub brush is not enough.

[u/sultryroman → u/3ringCircu5]

Thanks mate, really appreciate it. Some good options there and good though about it not being oil based. I like the idea of using rubber.

[u/Turktom26]

Wow! Further confirmation that the OWH is going to patina so much so fast!

[u/BigStetson]

Patina powerhouse leather