Leather and Care

Background

We use premium leathers from world-renowned tanneries including hides from free-range, grass-fed cattle raised in North America and Europe. All of our leathers are or come from full grain hides and are tanned in their most natural state from tanneries such as Horween, S.B. Foot, Seidel and C.F. Stead. As of Fall of 2022, Parkhurst will have it's first very own leathers made to include waxy suede's to start out along with our signature smooth grain Mahogany leather.

We don't have our hides sanded down, over-dyed or overly processed to cover up leather imperfections. It is our belief that the best leathers are left in their natural state, then tanned by the tannery and cut at the factory. We do not apply dyes or synthetics to our leathers in house to try to change the color, as is a common practice in this industry. This entire process as well as incorporating around 200 manual steps in making a single boot, help to make the perfectly imperfect pair.

Our Cutting Process

Leather hides may have some natural scars and imperfections as well as coloring which may not be perfectly consistent from millimeter to millimeter, inch to inch. Leather is an organic material and due to this, these characteristics may be present. Naturally though, we try to minimize the presence of these imperfections on each pair. Our cutting priority is the vamps/toe-boxes of the pattern first. We try to ensure this part gets the cleanest-cut part of the hide which is often the part of the hides which comes in the smallest cut-able amount. From there we prioritize the quarters, then the heels or tongue. While we monitor these natural imperfections on every hide, there may be subtle, yet tasteful instances of these which may come up on a pair and these are considered part of the boots' overall character for two reasons:

1. Because they represent a story and the environment from where the leather came.

2. Parts of the upper pattern may be too large or too small on any boot size pattern to avoid cutting into an area which may be scarred or have an imperfection, or a group of imperfections. What does this mean? For instance, a quarter panel's pattern size may be so large as compared to the available cutting space on the hide with reduced or zero imperfections, that it is sometimes impossible to cut the quarter panel pattern portion without grabbing some of the area which may have a small imperfection. Otherwise, we'd have the discard the rest of the hide, which is still perfectly structurally sound leather. In this case we do our best to limit exposure. The only other option in this case is to discard most of if not all of an entire leather hide, and cut into a new hide to make a single pair of boots. The waste becomes staggering and we don't believe in discarding perfectly sound leather. We see ourselves as having a responsibility to the hides and where they came from by maximizing our cutting capabilities, while cutting out structurally sound pieces of the hide.

Characteristics

Leather is skin. Skin has texture, grain, flex points etc. Therefore you may see this in your leather as well. We discard structurally unsound pieces of leather such as loose grain.

Chromexcel - soft, smooth supple leather tanned with oils and waxes. This leather will have much pull-up to it and exhibit many natural characteristics as a result of the environment from which it came. As soon as it's tried on, you can typically see the pull-up and variations come through to the surface. Some of the variations may include veining and grain and are characteristic of this style of leather. Some CXL is known to have loose grain, we cut around this and it is not incorporated into our boots or shoes. Should we have a pair with loose grain, it will be priced with this in mind and placed into the Sample + Seconds section of the website if it is decided to be sold.

Parkhurst Mahogany - soft but sturdy custom Parkhurst pull-up leather. This article is most similar to Chromexcel in that it is hot stuffed and combination vegetable tanned and chrome tanned. Our care recommendations would be the same as CXL.

Dublin - soft, smooth veg tan leather which can be a bit stiff initially. This leather is a rugged side leather which has much character to it along with natural variations, scars and pull-up. As soon as it's tried on, you can typically see the character and variations come through to the surface. Some of the variations may include veining and grain and are characteristic of this style of leather. The color of Dublin can vary from pair to pair depending on what area of the hide is cut to make the pair. Some may be slighter, others may be slightly darker.

Kudu - genuine antelope leather from Southern and Eastern Africa. Very soft, supple and conforming. The backside is finished with a suede. Expect this leather to have many scars and conform to your foot quite rapidly.

Moose - genuine wild/free-range moose leather typically from the Scandinavian region. This leather is thicker, but has a soft feel to it. Similar in temper to kudu, moose has a more rugged, less smooth feel to it and possesses natural scarring and texture variation.

Waxy Commander - a shrunken fiber, tighter grain heavily waxed suede. A traditional waxed flesh provides wax just on the surface. This article is waxed both on the surface and in the tannage to provide a double barrier protection from the elements. This leather can be re-waxed easily at home with wax and a blow dryer or heat gun. If you prefer, we can also do it for you. Wax content and coloration due to wax may have variances sometimes.

Parkhurst waxed suede - our custom version of shrunken fiber waxed suede leather. We suggest the same care instructions as Waxy Commander noted above since it is the same article.

Rough-out (traditional nap) - a tighter grain, full grain, longer nap leather which is often thicker and is the reverse side of the hide.

Rough-out (shorter nap) - a tighter grain, shorter nap full grain leather which is often thicker and is the reverse side of the hide.

Oil Tans - leathers which have been tanned with mainly oils and a high concentration of them as opposed to waxes. Oil tanning can bring out the natural grain in leather. Like with any of the aforementioned leathers, it can be lighter or darker depending on what area of the hide the leather is cut from and how the hide comes in from the tannery. Our Mocha oil tan leather is an exception to this logic in that for this boot, the color has come out very consistent.

Vegetable Tan Leathers - leathers tanned with plant oils as well as different types of tree bark oils. Our veg re-tan leathers used feature this type of tan as well after having salts initially extracted. 

Care and Conditioning

Leather should be treated like your skin - use the most natural form of conditioner or balm and be careful not to use too many synthetics or anything with dyes or perfumes. Note that any application of a balm, creme or wax will most likely darken your leather. We typically recommend using Smith's Leather Balm or Bick4 for nearly all models we offer.
 

Due to the leathers we use, our footwear does not need to be conditioned right out of the box but we understand this is subject to personal preference. Note though that if you condition them right out of the box, it will darken the leather. Additional items we recommend using are listed below:

Oregon Trail Co. Boot Wax
Nikwax
Almond Oil
Beeswax
Mink oil - stay away from "blends" if possible as they often contain petroleum and/or synthetics
KIWI waterproofing spray - mainly for suede's and nubuk's
 

Best conditioner for each leather based on our findings (subject to personal preference):

Chromexcel and Double Shot - Any of the above, plus click here for a more in depth guide to care from Stridewise.
Dublin - Any type of boot wax, however note this leather is mainly sought after for its patina which means it's not recommended to apply conditioner too soon or immediately to this leather, as it will change the color of it along with the patina which develops.
Kudu - Smith's Leather Balm, Oregon Trail Co. Boot Wax, Bick4 or any all natural applicant or wax. A nubuk or waterproofing spray can also be used. 
Waxed Commander/Parkhurst custom waxed suede's - Any boot wax or if desired, waterproofing spray.
Moose/Elk - Smith's Leather Balm, Oregon Trail Co. Boot Wax or any all natural applicant or wax. A nubuk or waterproofing spray can also be used to preserve color in place of the aforementioned items.
Horsehide's/Butts - Smith's Leather Balm, Oregon Trail Co. Boot Wax, Bick4.
Vegetable tanned or Vegetable re-tan leathers - Smith's Leather Balm or Bick4 - but don't use immediately if you're looking for patina.
Rough-out/Suede - spot clean with damp rag, brush and/or apply waterproofing spray if desired. A nubuk or waterproofing spray can also be used. 
Waxed Rough-out (shorter nap) - Smith's, Bick4, or any neutral color creme or balm. Beeswax works as well.
Mohawk/Rambler - spot clean, brush then apply waterproofing spray or wax/balm.
Parkhurst Mahogany - Smith's or Bick4.
Parkhurst Mocha Oil - Smith's or Bick4. Any boot oil of choice may work here too since this is primarily an oil tan leather.
Parkhurst Weathered Henna or Weathered Cocoa- Smith's or Bick4.
Horse/Horsebutt - Smith's, Bick4, any boot wax or creme without an oil base.
 
A few quick notes:
 
1. If your primary goal is to preserve color on leathers such as moose, kudu, rough-out's, suede's, etc. we suggesting using waterproofing sprays as balms and waxes will darken the leather color. Typically we suggest balms and waxes on leathers such as CXL, Double Shot, but not veg tan's for sake of patina development.
 
2. Lighter colored leathers including but not limited to Natural CXL or Natural Dublin's and Natural Re-tan's or veg tan's for example, will not require conditioning out of the box. Due to their lighter color, an immediate application will darken the leather and change the color. It is recommended that they be worn for a few months first and assess if you need to condition them at that time.
 
3. Leather is an organic material and is not perfectly consistent throughout every inch of the hide in color or texture. Therefore, it is possible that leather may not perfectly match what is shown in the pictures on the website. Why? This is because the lighting in your environment where you open up the boots will not match the lighting environment where we take our photos. For example, most of our photos are taken in the warehouse or in a studio, which will both have different light. Let's say you unbox your boots in your kitchen. The lighting in your kitchen will be different from the lighting we take our photos in. Therefore, some appearance deviation may be present.