The Importance of Leather Care

We know that buying a pair of HELM footwear is an important decision, and your pair of premium men's leather footwear will repay you handsomely if you take care of it. Healthy leather ages beautifully and can last for generations. Leather care might seem intimidating, but the truth is some of the most effective care methods are easy to do yourself, and the products are affordable. We've compiled the products we feel are best for HELM, and below we'll take you through how to use them.

Like a lot of investments, you're going to get what you pay for with leather. Not only will a quality leather develop a unique look and feel as it ages, there's nothing more important to the durability of your product than leather quality. Using full-grain leather, widely recognized as the best and highest quality leather, when taken care of properly, should last a lifetime. Read on to learn how you can take care of your leather so it's with you for life. Further below, you can learn more about the type of leather we use and where it comes from.

Cleaning Your Leather

These products will help you clean your full-grain leather or suede uppers. We recommend first clearing away dirt and debris with a shoe brush.

Conditioning Your Leather

As your footwear ages, conditioning your shoes will revive the look and feel of your leather. We offer conditioner in both neutral and pigmented options. Blackrock Leather 'n Rich and Otter Wax Leather Salve are great for softening leather, and can aid in speeding up the break-in process. Pure Polish Cream Polish restores color.

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Protecting Your Leather

Weather protecting your footwear is important to do every wet season, or if you're in a particularly rainy climate. Wax should be applied to full-grain leather along the stitching and seams, where the construction is most vulnerable. For suede, Shoe Keeper spray should be applied generously, and your suede footwear should be left alone for at least 24 hours to let it set.

Bundles and Essential Tools

Our leather care kits are fully stocked and ready to go. The Travel Care Kit comes with a miniature, non-pigmented Pure Polish (under 3.4 fl. oz.) for a quick touch-up.

What goes into our footwear

Our Leathers

  • Footwear: for the main part of every pair of HELM we make, we use full-grain side cow leather, meaning we only select the best part of each hide to be used on our products.
  • Cow vs. Steer Leather: With a focus on durability and comfort, we also exclusively use cowhides for our core products (unless otherwise specified), as the quality is unmatched with thickness and soft-feel. While steer leather can look shiny, it's much thinner and less durable.
  • Leather Lining: To increase the durability and comfort we fully line every product with leather.

We Use Full-Grain Leather

Leather Terms

  • Grain: The outside of the animal hide, the grain side, is typically de-haired, leaving the train exposed.
  • Full-Grain Leather: A leather that is minimally processed so that the grain retains all of its natural characteristics and imperfections. The grain is not buffed, sanded, or corrected in any way.
  • Pull-Up: A characteristic of high-quality, full-grain leathers where there is a temporary lightening of color when pressure is applied. This is due to the natural oil and wax in the hide moving around.
  • Side Leather: Leather from an adult cow, the hide is split into two equal pieces along the backbone, creating two sides to be sold. This is generally the most expensive piece of leather due to the consistency, quality, and thickness.

Leathers we Use

Our Suppliers

  • Krumenauer Leather: used in all non-suede styles except The Hynes, full-grain leather from Texas hides that is hot stuffed, forcing waxes and conditioners into the leather
  • Neymar Leather: incredibly soft leather from Argentinian hides
  • Rusan Suede: suede leather sourced from Brazilian hides that is water-resistant
  • Delle Torre "Crazy Horse" Leather: Develops a tough and beautiful patina, sourced from Brazilian and Uruguayan hides

About Footwear Lasts

A "last" is the solid form around which a shoe is molded. The fit of a shoe depends on the design, shape, and volume of the last. The boot or shoe last must represent the anatomical information of the foot, at the same time giving the product the intended finished style and design. Lasts typically come in pairs and are form various materials, including hardwoods, cast iron, and high-density plastics.

About Welting

The welt is a strip of leather that runs the perimeter of the boot. Its primary purpose is attaching the outsole to the upper, but it affects more than just hwo these two pieces are attached. HELM uses one main method: The Blake Rapid Stitch construction. The Blake Rapid Stitch process is done with a worker-operated machine. It provides a sole that is capable of being resoled and uses fewer layers of leather, resulting in what can be a more flexible boot.

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