Banking. Watches. Cheese. Army knives.

There’s a lot to appreciate from the Swiss. They certainly know their footwear! So, be it a KS90, Austrian Ranger boot, or just your favorite dress shoes, here’s a kit to keep your favorite foot-bearers looking like they just stood up from the bootblack’s chair.

Tested by the Swiss military, these shoe cleaning sets have seen various levels of use, and as such, items have been lost, tossed, and traded for the latest issue of Boys Life. So by the time they get to us, these kits aren't 100% complete. We disassemble each one, check each piece to make sure it's usable, and then reassemble them.

The most common missing items are the leather care cream, Scotch-Brite pads and boot wax. All of things you can pick up at the corner store. It's really the brushes and repair gear that is the real meat and potatoes, so we are offering a lite kit along side the full kits. Each kit is packed in suave rubber cases, nice enough on their own to serve as ideal grooming or toiletry kits.

Note: These kits are designed for leather shoes and boots. Don’t forget to follow our Boot Care Guide for the best results, or contact us if you have any questions using them.

Instructions

1. Stage a shoe-surgery area somewhere with good air circulation using newspapers or cardboard — shoe polish fumes and you don’t want it on your carpet
2. Use the sole brush (labeled “Schuhburste brosse a souliers”) and cloths to clear any dirt or grime from your shoe’s sole and other rubber parts
3. Use the clothes brush (labeled “Kleiderburste brosse a habits”), and do the same for all leather parts of the shoe/boot
4. At any time during steps #2 and #3, if the shoe or boot is incredibly dirty, discolored, or gross, use a scouring pad (or a Scotch-Brite pad) to remove harder-clinging debris
5. Ensure the shoe or boot is dry before continuing
6. Apply some of the cream from the red container (labeled “Creme pour L’ Entretien du cuir”) to a clean cloth and rub it across all surface areas of the shoe, except perhaps the bottom sole (at your discretion)
7. Use a handle (tapered) brush to further apply this cream to any crevices or nooks on the shoe or boot
8. Apply some of the cream from the black container (labeled “Creme pour chaussures”) to a clean cloth and rub this on the leather parts only — this is not meant for rubber
9. Use the gloss and shine brush (labeled “Glanzeburste brosse a briller”) to give the shoe/boot a final once-over

Specs

Full Kit

• 6” x 6” x 2.5” rubber case
• Three polishing brushes
• Clothes brush
• Shoe sole brush
• Gloss and shine brush
• Two tapered polishing brushes
• Two tubes of shoe cream, or one tube of shoe cream and one tube of shoe polish
• One bar of belt wax
• Buff cloths
• Sewing Kit
• Needles
• Two colors of thread on spools
• Extra buttons
• Scotch-Brite Pad
• Bar of boot wax
• Twine

Lite Kit

• 6” x 6” x 2.5” rubber case
• Three polishing brushes
• Clothes brush
• Shoe sole brush
• Gloss and shine brush
• Two tapered polishing brushes
• One tube of shoe polish
  
• Sewing Kit
• Needles
• Two colors of thread on spools
• Extra buttons

Condition

Each kit is hand selected and inspected to make sure they include every item listed. Some kits may have further items as noted above. Some cases have names written on the backs or other signs of use.