The wood used in shoe trees

[Leather man]

Originally Posted by Cary Grant

To any degree that wood might absorb moisture, it's small and irrelevant to drying a shoe. Cedar mostly just imparts it's odor, desired by some with otherwise stinky shoes.

This debate was going on here or at SF a few months back. During a trip to London I asked the follks at Cleverley's, Lobb, Foster's, Green's etc and they all said trees serve one purpose: keeping the shape of the shoe.

Two made an interesting conjecture:

To work "100 % well" a tree must be "lasted", meaning it should be exactly the size of the shoe's last. This is the sort of tree you get with a bespoke pair, with shoes like Cleverley's semi-bespoke etc. They conjectured that manufacturers of inexpensive cedar trees selling the "moisture wicking properties" of their trees do so because "that's all they've got." In otherwords, they can't sell them as lasted so they need a marketing tactic.

Personally, I think it's one of those things that has been said so long that it has become true.

Edward Green no longer make lasted shoe trees - just one shape for all their shoes.

[EmbraBhoy]

Originally Posted by chrstc

"Trees can be of a two or three parts construction and are polished to prevent the inside of the uppers and sole sticking to it as the footwear dries".

Which might explain why my Church's tree have a hollowed-out lower side, while my Clark and Bostonian cedars are solid except for the center-parting.

[chrstc]

Originally Posted by EmbraBhoy

Which might explain why my Church's tree have a hollowed-out lower side, while my Clark and Bostonian cedars are solid except for the center-parting.

Hello,

I think the hollowing is also partly to do with weight reduction which makes the trees easier to carry in a suitcase etc.

Chris.

[MF177]

Originally Posted by Salvatore123

and I do not say that it is not, when one goes to a store such as the cedar tree online store advertised on this board, what size does one get for one's shoe?
One size larger or one size smaller?
Regards,
Sam

The woodlore trees i have come in s,m,l,xl and i dont think come in specific # sizes.

i wouldnt go to larger size unless the shoe tends to be a little tight on your foot when you wear it.

[Thom Browne's Schooldays]

Almost all my "cedar" shoe trees are actually juniper.

[MF177]

Originally Posted by Salvatore123

What makes a shoe "reduce" in size after removing them after the day's use - shoe leather, by nature, contracts?

We usually buy shoes that are a bit snug (at least I do, as I know they are going to "loosen" after wearing a while), so do we want them to continue returning to their original size (if that is, in fact, what they do)?

What do YOU suggest is the best solution for maintaining shoes after wearing them - and I ask this in the hypothetical sense as well (that is, do you/have you thought of something that might work that has not yet been invented or marketed for this purpose)?

I am not trying to be a boor. I have quite an extensive education (not bragging - just informing) in logic/rhetoric and like to engage in this sort of banter for want of a truly correct answer/solution. I know that some say that people such as myself should "get a life".

Well, I am one that believes that finding as many correct answers as possible in the short time we have IS a life .
I simply like to/want to KNOW . . .
Regards,
Sam

Sam,
1) shoes expand for two reasons: a) the natural stretching by the motions of your foot and b) expansion by moisture. As the humidity level in and around the shoe rises, the moisture content of the leather rises and it expands by a relatively predictable amount. The stretching by your foot will of course be greater than the moisture expansion. And the stretching tends to be permanent or semi permanent. Itll never return to exactly the same size as when you bought it. But also remember, the insole and outsole flex, bend, stretch a bit as well. Thats why newly resoled shoes sometimes feel 'tight' the first time you put them on. So it isnt only entirely about the upper

The moisture causes much less expansion. Note- leather is more pliable when it's both moist and stretched which is what happens when you wear it. Thats why afterward is an important time to put the tree in--that plus also that's when you have the recontraction as the leather expirates its moisture. Again, dont let me over state this moisture expansion--your shoes will also gain moisture if you drive from Canada to Miami--not a huge deal -the leather can handle it but must be allowed to have air.

2) my solution? if its not hot out, i take off the shoes and put them in a window ledge for about 20-30 minutes to air or speed the drying a bit. Then i insert cedar trees. I don't have lasted trees, although i may eventually buy a pair for my cj handgrade (as i read here that their trees supposedly are based on the 337) If its my dress boots instead of shoes, i wear insoles in them and i take them out to dry separately. I always try to give a full day of rest between but i seem to develop 1 or 2 favorites that i prefer wearing to everything else which makes it difficult to do any better than that. In fall or winter i would say that given the low vapor pressure, the leather should return to ambient moisture levels more quickly than in humid climates and weather. Plus in hot weather, you're likely to perspire more, adding to the moisture load. So in such cases, maybe the two day rest recommendation is warranted. You could also air them during the day-say if its a weekend and you come home, you could take them off for a while to again reduce the moisture load. But really, the simple approach, although not perfect, is good enough.