[tmgaus51]

Hi All, I have a pair of Quoddy Tukabuks in toast suede. Over time I've noticed some of the suede strands look to be snagged or pulled. In the below pics, you'll see this on the side of the shoes and by the quarters (not so bad on top).

Is this normal wear and tear for a decent quality suede? Is the only way to address these by burning them off with a lighter or is there some deeper issue I should be worrying about?

Thank you,
David

 

[Flanderian]

Hi All, I have a pair of Quoddy Tukabuks in toast suede. Over time I've noticed some of the suede strands look to be snagged or pulled. In the below pics, you'll see this on the side of the shoes and by the quarters (not so bad on top).

Is this normal wear and tear for a decent quality suede? Is the only way to address these by burning them off with a lighter or is there some deeper issue I should be worrying about?

Thank you,
David

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Yes, for some suede it is. Your shoes are ultra rustic, so I don't find what you've identified out of keeping with their general aesthetic, and it wouldn't both me. Shoes are meant to be worn, and wearing inevitably leads to signs of wear. Obviously suede with longer and/or softer nap will be more prone to this.

If it really bothers you, you could acquire a pair of mustache scissors, which are small, sharp scissors designed to allow you to very precisely snip off an errant mustache hair, but which serve equally well for an errant bit of suede nap. But should you elect this, please be careful!

 

[215339]

Yeah that looks about right. I have wingtips in a similiar colour and they're also getting hairy in some spots.

 

[Peak and Pine]

Is the only way to address these by burning them off with a lighter...?

.
Yeah, that's the ticket, get a flaming lighter real close to your shoes, preferably down wind so the flame blows into the shoes.

NO! Where did you come up with that idea? At www.setshoesonfire.com? There are different grades of suede, the worst comes from cows. Like yours, rough and ready. Leave 'em alone.

 

[215339]

.
Yeah, that's the ticket, get a flaming lighter real close to your shoes, preferably down wind so the flame blows into the shoes.

NO! Where did you come up with that idea? At www.setshoesonfire.com? There are different grades of suede, the worst comes from cows. Like yours, rough and ready. Leave 'em alone.

I've heard of people burning off stray stitches and fibres with lighters.

*have not tried this, never will.

 

[tmgaus51]

Ha, I'll stay away from the lighter then. I've gotten impatient and ripped out a loose thread or there, but that's as far as it's gotten.

 

[EclecticSr.]

Those are roughout not fine suede. I'm not sure it will work but you might try one of those gizmos that are for removing pilling from wool sweaters, works pretty much like an electric razor.

I have roughout boots and that doesn't bother me.

 

[Kyle76]

As stated before, shoes are made to be worn, and rustic shoes like these are not supposed to look new -- they should acquire a lived-in look, much like a Barbour jacket does after several years of wear. I might snip some strands that are especially long, but I'd leave them alone for the most part.

 

[tmgaus51]

Yeah, these don't have that much wear on them which is why I was concerned in the first place. But if this is the natural tendency of this kind of suede, I guess I'm not surprised that they've worn this way so far.

 

[JBierly]

These are fairly casual and not overly expensive shoes so it doesn't surprise me to see this kind of wear. I think if you have higher end leather you probably won't see that kind of wear (the point is you shouldn't expect to see this on all suede - I suspect you would never see it on Nubuck for example which technically isn't suede but looks like it)