Its commonly said that cedar is the best material for shoe trees, does anyone know how lotus wood compares? There are some very nice lotus wood shoe trees up on ebay for cheap :
Shoe trees : Lotus wood vs Cedar?
Question
1 - 20 of 27 Posts
Those are not shoe trees. Shoe trees are used to help preserve the shoes shape. Your link is for shoe stretchers, which you would use on a pair of shoes that are too tight in a particular area of the shoe. These do look like a good deal (although I don't know the exchange rate between Australia and the US). If you think you might ever need shoe stretchers, I'd say get them. Just be aware of what they're used for.
Joined
·
988 Posts
Those are trees, not stretchers, in the Woodlore Epic style. Looks like a pretty good price, actually! Here are the same trees on Amazon I think:
https://www.amazon.com/Lotus-Wood-Stretcher-Shaper-Women/dp/B008CAABCW
I have no idea what Lotus wood is though.
https://www.amazon.com/Lotus-Wood-Stretcher-Shaper-Women/dp/B008CAABCW
I have no idea what Lotus wood is though.
Incidentally i ended up buying this instead :
Because it was cedar and i wasnt sure how well lotus wood performed. But given the price difference and the fact that the lotus wood one does look better...i might have made a bad choice there. Does type of wood even matter much?
Because it was cedar and i wasnt sure how well lotus wood performed. But given the price difference and the fact that the lotus wood one does look better...i might have made a bad choice there. Does type of wood even matter much?
Joined
·
988 Posts
I think you did fine. Most of my non-lasted trees are Woodlore Epics, which are basically the same style with a brass knob instead of a grip: https://www.woodlore.com/mens-epic-twin-tube-shoe-tree-pair/
I've never heard of "Lotus wood" before and it doesn't show up in "The Woodbook," a giant wood reference book I have published by Taschen. (I do a bit of amateur woodworking.) I'm not sure how much the type of wood even matters for shoe trees, but I'd take cedar over the mystery wood.
I've never heard of "Lotus wood" before and it doesn't show up in "The Woodbook," a giant wood reference book I have published by Taschen. (I do a bit of amateur woodworking.) I'm not sure how much the type of wood even matters for shoe trees, but I'd take cedar over the mystery wood.
I stand corrected. I thought they looked like the nicer shoe trees, but the description called them stretchers. Live and learn.
Wouldnt they also functions as shoe trees in the sense that they keep the shape and wick moisture?
Joined
·
988 Posts
Stretchers are different. They can be used to stretch the width or bump out a small area to relieve pressure.
You can't really stretch a GY welted shoe in length.
You can't really stretch a GY welted shoe in length.
Joined
·
27,866 Posts
These look like trees to me, irrespective of description. I also wouldn't be the least surprised if they turned out to be cedar too.
Concerning the difference between cedar and other woods, cedar may have a bit more fragrance, but unless the wood trees have be sealed with a finish, the performance of each should be very similar.
I have a very similar pair of English trees, and they're very well made, and work fine. The one drawback is that as with just about all current trees, they do not really allow for the proper shape of shoes. I.e., well made shoes should be shaped like commas with the toe curved inward from the center axis with the heel. This double piston version tree does not allow much lateral movement of the forefoot piece to better conform to the shape of a properly shaped shoe.
Concerning the difference between cedar and other woods, cedar may have a bit more fragrance, but unless the wood trees have be sealed with a finish, the performance of each should be very similar.
I have a very similar pair of English trees, and they're very well made, and work fine. The one drawback is that as with just about all current trees, they do not really allow for the proper shape of shoes. I.e., well made shoes should be shaped like commas with the toe curved inward from the center axis with the heel. This double piston version tree does not allow much lateral movement of the forefoot piece to better conform to the shape of a properly shaped shoe.
Not related but I noticed Woodlore now carries size petite. Woohoo, I could probably use shoe trees properly now. XS shoe trees seem too big for my size-6D shoes.
Joined
·
1,937 Posts
I heard from a fairly reputable source that the main reason cedar shoes trees are popular in North America is due to the availability of cedar and not due to the fact that they are any better than other woods.
Joined
·
7,064 Posts
Joined
·
560 Posts
In this picture, it is pretty obvious to me that the wood is not cedar:
What we would call persimmon trees are called lotus trees in some parts of the world, according to wikipedia. From my rough google of persimmon wood, I would say that it is possible that these are made from that.
ETA, to clarify, these are the more tropical persimmon trees, also called date palms. They look like this as opposed to the larger, single growing persimmons:
![Image]()
What we would call persimmon trees are called lotus trees in some parts of the world, according to wikipedia. From my rough google of persimmon wood, I would say that it is possible that these are made from that.
ETA, to clarify, these are the more tropical persimmon trees, also called date palms. They look like this as opposed to the larger, single growing persimmons:
Joined
·
7,064 Posts
Sounds plausible... I am many things, but a botanist is not one of them.
Joined
·
560 Posts
Because it doesn't look anything like cedar...
Cedar has a pinkish hue, is often bicolored, often has knots, and is never, at least that I have seen, varnished when used for shoe trees (like the picture appears to be). Varnishing it would defeat the purpose of using cedar as it would be both odorless and unable to absorb moisture.
Cedar:
Persimmon:
Regular shoe trees are fine for boots. I'm not aware of any special "boot" tree.
Joined
·
988 Posts
I just use regular shoe trees too, but you can get special boot trees. Here are some shots of Jakezero's boot trees for his Vass boots he posted on SF.
Joined
·
560 Posts
I knew as soon as I typed that that someone would come along and show me what I've been missing. :biggrin:
Those are pretty cool, and I can see why they might be useful for boots that lace that high. I generally only wear chukkas, chelseas, and jodphurs, and my regular shoe trees seem to work just fine for those. If I were to throw my boots in a pile or stack them on top of each other, I guess I might need something to protect the shape of the upper part, but I've never had them lose shape up top under normal care.
1 - 20 of 27 Posts
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
