That's a pretty good question KK. A lot of people fall victim to over oiling their iron Rangers which can be just as bad as under oiling their iron Rangers. If you're going to use this boot as a commuting boot then you won't need a very strong conditioner you'll need a mild conditioner because these boots are already pretty waterproof I mean the leather stick they have a pretty tough finish I mean they're thick oil tanned leather so waterproofing is not your objective unless you're going to be standing out in the mud in the snow which I highly recommend you buy a more modern work boots instead of the Iron Ranger Heritage series. So Hubert shoe oil mink oil or that obenauf's LP will all really darken your boot it'll turn Amber harness into a chocolate brown even almost black dries out a little bit and it will alter any color the copper rough and tough will turn almost Amber harness the oxbloods turn black so you want to stick with something more mild. I highly suggest either using lexol which I don't like but it will never really turn the color of your shoe very dark and you'll get a very nice patina or BlackRock leather n Rich which I do like or skidmores leather conditioner. BlackRock is the more expensive but it smells the best ad if you can't afford it I'd highly suggest you stick with skidmores. I also put a blend of paraffin and Beeswax and melted into the stitching on the bottom of my shoe to prolong the life of that thread and create a little bit of waterproofness within the thread. Make sure you get a coarse brush to brush the mud off the bottoms and the sides of the Soul and make sure you get a soft horse hair brush to brush the mud off of the leather the course brush will scratch the leather and you don't want that. If you put conditioner on them right away please do so sparingly because they already have oil in them I would wear them a little bit take it easy on them break them in and wait a month or two 1 months should be good. Enjoy them as their new because they'll never look that way again and then try to stay out of the water. The care and maintenance of these shoes I pretty much half the fun. By the way I store my iron Rangers in a Cedar Chest and rotate them often so they dry out properly between wears that's another thing you're probably going to need more than one pair. But luckily Sierra Trading Post is generous enough to allow you to buy three pairs a year.

Answered on 3/27/2018 5:31:17 AM by michael from Buffalo