r/oddlysatisfying The Sub's Regular 1d ago

Shoeshiner at work

1.9k Upvotes

139 comments sorted by

315

u/mudd2577 1d ago

Explain the lighting the shoe on fire part for me.

85

u/krendyB 1d ago

I’ve seen this guy’s videos posted here before & another commenter swore this is what they did in the marines to get a mirror shine and that nothing else worked as well. 🤷‍♀️

60

u/cam52391 1d ago

My dad has told me about lighting the polish on fire in the Marines to get his shoes shiny. I think it melts the polish and smooths it out to get rid of brush strokes

42

u/rcktgirl05 1d ago

This is why. Did it in the Air Force as well. Not just brush strokes though, the leather has a slightly nubby texture to it and melting the polish into it creates a smooth surface faster than how it would build naturally.

-6

u/Kooky_Ice_3762 16h ago

This exactly. The heat creates a better shine due to the chemical reaction

77

u/Hi_Kitsune 1d ago

I’ve seen people do that to get a gloss, but that’s after polish is applied, so I’m not sure what its purpose was in this case.

71

u/Majestic_Courage 1d ago

Showmanship!

40

u/shupadupah 1d ago

Sometimes he also sprinkles some salt on it from a couple feet above 🤏

9

u/SomaliOve 1d ago

He also kissed it at one point

-2

u/ExpensiveOne6321 1d ago

Salt Bae 😂

1

u/-HydrogeN 1d ago

Aesthetic!

22

u/True_Structure_3870 1d ago

I'd rather someone explain why he kissed the shoe.

17

u/FluffyFry4000 1d ago

LOL I thought so also, but he was blowin on it to get rid of debris

59

u/Huge-Acanthisitta485 1d ago edited 1d ago

It's to warm the leather so that the surface is more supple and is more receptive to cleaning and conditioning.

EDIT: The same concept applies to getting a clean shave. Leather is skin and though it's no longer living tissue, some of the rules of skin preparation and moisturizing still apply.

10

u/DeliberatelyDrifting 1d ago

It heats up the leather a bit so the wax goes in easier. Used to use a Zippo on black leather because it both heated the wax and added carbon black. I'm not sure the carbon black did anything, I was at military school and it was just something we did. The heat does help though.

6

u/DeekanKwaz 1d ago

A showey flash that also heats the wax and oils so they penetrate and cover better.

6

u/man-in-a______ 1d ago edited 1d ago

The caress and bean-flick at the start are also questionable

Edit: I had not yet seen the kisses. Caress and bean-flick justified

2

u/Binksyboo 1d ago

I’ve seen people do that to custom-made hats and I think it might have to do with hardening the leather after it is formed in a new position or something. That’s only my guess because I’ve seen someone using it on a bad ass, handmade leather hat.

1

u/ravi226 1d ago

Its show bae!

1

u/Biancas8Lua2501 1d ago

For a good quality of shoes sir

1

u/XelaLuu 1d ago

According to google: Some shoeshiners use a flame to quickly melt wax polish, level out uneven layers, and create an ultra-smooth mirror shine

1

u/Critical_Text_2067 15h ago

Maybe a way to heat the leather but also a cool show.

1

u/pAsSwOrDiSyOuRgAy 43m ago

There are 2 different ways to shine shoes that we use in the military and that is spit shining and fire shining. Idk the science behind it but Fire shines last longer. I don’t really know how it works but it is a legitimate method for shining shoes

-1

u/Smiling_Tree 1d ago

There are multiple videos of this guy, keep getting reposted. All showmanship of a deliberately made dirty brand new shoe. Downvote and report stupid fake content.

123

u/brbgonnabrnit 1d ago

Now go get your fucking shine box.

Billy batts

19

u/darthmarzzz89 1d ago

“No more shines, Billy.”

4

u/Daygone_Mustard 1d ago

You literally read my mind holy shit, time to watch it for 100th time

3

u/unknownRealitys 1d ago

Ahh culture the man has .

1

u/Aromatic_Fail_1722 6h ago

Watch your mouth, kid. You're talking to a made guy here!

1

u/Armageddis22 5h ago

Took the words right out of my mouth

179

u/ReeferTurtle 1d ago

Did he lick/kiss the shoe there?

39

u/Free-oppossums 1d ago

It's great to have a passion for your craft, but he's taking it too far.

12

u/Rupyro- 1d ago

I came here to ask the same question. He def kissed it

5

u/veggie151 1d ago

There's quite a bit of...suggestive fingering of the shoes as well. The whole thing feels very fetish motivated

5

u/Thebelisle08 1d ago

yeah, he sure did. I noticed it too lol

75

u/TheTaoOfMe 1d ago

I dont know why but i love when he uses the sharp metal tools to dig out the crevices.

31

u/iDestroyedYoMama 1d ago

Then you would love horse shoeing videos. They use metal tools and scrape the bottom of their hooves.

5

u/TheTaoOfMe 1d ago

Oo i love those too, but theres something about the sharp metal tool against the soft leather, it’s like scratching a good itch and really getting in there or something

1

u/Rough_Idle 1d ago

I have a love/hate thing for the ones where they have to attend a wound. I'm glad the animal is getting care and their technique is interesting but I'm not into pimple popping videos and that's the emotional hit x20

66

u/the_nebulae 1d ago

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: WE NEED A SHOESHINING SUBREDDIT!

10

u/DeekanKwaz 1d ago

The "Flaming Moe" of shoeshines.

8

u/czarslayer 1d ago

I bet this feels so good for the shoe

46

u/RobertaMiguel1953 1d ago

They never do the heel and it’s wildly enraging!

17

u/dementorpoop 1d ago

It’s not a real person sitting. It’s just content

4

u/RobertaMiguel1953 1d ago

It doesn’t even matter! These videos get thousands of upvotes without even completing the whole job. I hate Reddit so much.

3

u/greenGBP 1d ago

Let's do a test, i will save this video and repost in a month, let's see how many karma can get from the same repost.

0

u/RobertaMiguel1953 23h ago

I love it! I’ll bet you could literally do it today with the same results.

11

u/Louieyaa 1d ago

All this for some Hush Puppies

11

u/fuckwithsushi 1d ago

Stupid question. That’s someone wearing the shoe right? Isn’t it easier for everyone if it wasn’t being worn and on a shoe horn of sorts? Is there a good reason for someone to wear it while the shoe is being restored/shined?

24

u/Cosmic_Quasar 1d ago

It's quicker. And back in the day it was also more like a barber. You'd make a routine of seeing the same person every so often.

And honestly, I think it was kind of an ASMR thing for people. I had my shoes done like this once, and it was the same kind of relaxing ASMR experience as going to the barber was.

Between those two things, it's just kinda one of those things that people still do "traditionally" lol.

4

u/MKE_likes_it 1d ago

Not exactly the same, but my old school barber had a shoe shine person on site to shine your shoes on a buck/platform while you get your haircut.

I’d bring in a pair of shoes or boots every other haircut.

They discontinued the service because there wasn’t enough demand.

People just wear sneakers now.

I wish we still had this service at airports. It used to be a staple at O’Hare.

Now it would be like making a call from a pay phone at an airport.

3

u/fuckwithsushi 1d ago

Ahh that makes sense. I’m too scared of having someone with a sharp tool next to my foot and also don’t know why i feel embarrassed about having someone doing this on me. I think it’s me not being used to this more than anything though

2

u/Rough_Idle 1d ago

I used to be in the county courthouse at least once a week for work and there was an old school shoeshine stand. A truly relaxing and chill experience. I'd occasionally wear dress shoes to the courthouse on purpose just to drop by

20

u/cc882 1d ago

Keeping your foot inside the shoe while polishing helps warm the leather. The warmth opens the leather’s pores, allowing the oils in the shoe polish to absorb more effectively.

2

u/fuckwithsushi 1d ago

Oh this makes sense!

5

u/TigerUSA20 1d ago

I guess if you have the time and this is at an airport or train station, you wouldn’t likely have an extra pair of shoes in your pocket to leave them there….. but otherwise i agree. Just drop them off and come back later. It would probably be easier for both parties.

2

u/acemonsoon 1d ago

Walking through the airport and the shoe shine guy notices my crusty shoes ‘hey brother, come on over here and I’ll get them shined up real good!’ I wear suede skate shoes so im sure it would have been a great experiment on how long it takes to shine suede shoes, lol. I told him that and we had a good laugh.

1

u/fuckwithsushi 1d ago

Makes sense. I’d much prefer to drop them off and not need to wait and also not smell the leather cleaning products

2

u/Onicc 1d ago

It’s a fake foot. No one is wearing the shoe. This is filmed for social media.

1

u/nye1387 1d ago

These videos almost always use a fake leg and foot. 

16

u/slowerlearner1212 1d ago edited 1d ago

God I love these videos lol

He’s got like 30min long versions on YouTube. I may or may not spent have a long amount of time watching those.

3

u/SteveEcks 1d ago

Who is it? What's the channel name?

3

u/firesnake412 1d ago

Now do that to my face

1

u/Soggy-Window3940 12h ago

You mean, set it on fire?

3

u/redditnor24 1d ago

Excuse me sir, I want a refund - these are not the same shoes.

5

u/shaithiswampir 1d ago

That is impressive

5

u/AssumeaVirtue 1d ago

He just gave you a new pair of shoes!

-3

u/CaterpillarReal7583 1d ago

Shit looks like a greasy raw hide now

3

u/TheDukeofArgyll 1d ago

Step one, purposely fuck up a pair of shoes.
Step two, make content.

2

u/zoolabula 1d ago

An art form that is being lost

2

u/jadethebard 1d ago

Guess they just leave the back of the shoe looking like crap, huh. 🤣🤣🤣

2

u/TheShredder9 1d ago

Actual good video this time. In a lot of these types of videos they just slather a layer of paint on them, completely changing the color from the original shoe.

2

u/SillyMammo 1d ago

And for an additional fiver, he learned where Widow Perkins goes on her Thursday evenings and why Mayor Johnson spends so much time in his shed in the middle of the night.

2

u/devildocjames 1d ago

Lotta dudes walking around with one really nice shoe.

2

u/SirNortonOfNoFux 18h ago

Those were some ashy ass shoes

4

u/Duke_mm 1d ago

Is this the new carpet cleaning now?

5

u/Huge-Acanthisitta485 1d ago

This guy finds the ugliest fucking shoes possible to shine. Just toss them things out.

21

u/HuffSquirt 1d ago

Did you see the after? That’s literally the point… buy good leather shoes once and a cheap (relative to your suggestion) shine like this brings them back to new.

-9

u/TimelessParadox 1d ago

The after was honestly still pretty bad. Not his fault. Those shoes are beyond saving.

-1

u/Ani-A 1d ago

Ah yea no, I see the problem! See the video loops back to the start once it is finished, so the "after" that you are talking about was actually the beginning again!

6

u/thaiberius_kirk 1d ago

I said, no more shines. Maybe you didn't hear about it, you've been away a long time. They didn't go up there and tell you. I don't shine shoes anymore.

7

u/mjh215 1d ago

Now go home and get your fucking shinebox.

2

u/IsThereCheese 1d ago

Just once I want to see Chris Pratt doing his shoe shine routine on here

1

u/BoggsBuny 1d ago

That guy went home and got his fuckin shine box.

1

u/OptimistPrime22 1d ago

Man, the foley artist had a time with this video.

1

u/ereinionmithrandir 1d ago

That makes me want to be better at my job.

1

u/BadIdeaSociety 1d ago

He is both humble and lovable.

(Chomps on coin)

1

u/batinyzapatillas 1d ago

That guy's ankle bothers me.

1

u/XelaLuu 1d ago

I bet if shoes could feel, this would feel like an amazing haircut

1

u/anitawithgoodskin 1d ago

Damn, this is a restoration.

1

u/OutlandishnessNo5636 1d ago

What’s the flame for?

1

u/Happy_Bad-_- 1d ago

Spa for men.

1

u/dotified 1d ago

18 hours later….

1

u/No_Tip_1923 1d ago

Nuri Leflef , shoe shines and coloring. The best

1

u/ewilliamsj 18h ago

What about the heel?

1

u/Hanslando 15h ago

I think I have these. Dockers slip ons. They were pretty comfy for the price I paid.

1

u/usrnamchxout 15h ago

I can feel this video.

1

u/Armandiel_Senshi 15h ago

Now he can get into Chudley’s Fine Goods and Fancy Trinkets Emporium in Hyrule Castle Town Square.

1

u/skylarskies52 10h ago

Mwuah!! Lemme kiss your feet master

1

u/tsagalbill 1d ago

Whenever I see this guy’s videos i can’t stop looking at the other guy’s cankles

1

u/Blignaut 1d ago

This is a fake leg wearing a shoe being shined for Internet views. Honestly, we have shoe shining influences....

-15

u/Ptomb 1d ago

As someone who spent 12 years in the Navy doing the most absolute least effort in shining my boots just to get them “good enough” for inspection, seeing the effort spent on these shoes makes me so angry thinking that the time spent doing this could be time spent doing maintenance on ship’s barely working components.

-5

u/Brilliant____Crow 1d ago

Don’t know why this got downvoted. As someone who also did this for 6 years I found it hilarious

10

u/M0rph33l Too many bots in this sub. 1d ago edited 1d ago

Cause this is just a shoeshiner doing his business. Why does he have to be doing something else if its a service people are paying for? Because there's other stuff for him to do? You could apply that logic to literally anything that isnt providing food and shelter. And you would be wrong to do so. This person probably takes value their work and takes care with it, even if it's a miniscule thing in your eyes.

0

u/Ptomb 1d ago

Listen, pal, the shoeshine in the video is top-notch and very satisfying to watch and I could have only hoped to be able to do a tenth of as good of a job as this person, which would never have happened as I never had the time. I guess it's an IYKYK situation, but what I was saying above was highly complimentary.

2

u/atari2600forever 1d ago

It does not read as complimentary.

1

u/Brilliant____Crow 1d ago

I don’t get Reddit. People read every comment as if it was meant to be offensive.

2

u/atari2600forever 1d ago

You need to work on your writing skills. You are not conveying your intended meaning.

1

u/Brilliant____Crow 7h ago

I don’t disagree with you

0

u/blaicefreeze 1d ago

Impressive work, but if your shoes need to be shined that badly, it’s time to replace the shoes. If that is what the outside looks like I’d hate to see the inside.

0

u/TechnicalMonitor173 1d ago edited 11h ago

The problem is that:

  1. It makes absolutely no sense to have someone wearing the shoe while working on it. You can work much more effectively with the shoe empty, instead of having the person's foot inside it. This is just some old-fashioned nonsense from the days when you had servants polishing your shoes for you.
  2. The back of the heel is barely touched, if at all, and the operator can hardly even see what's being done there. I seriously doubt the final result will be very good.
  3. The other shoe will be done separately, at a later time, rather than both at once. So there's a pretty good chance you'll end up with two shoes that don't match perfectly.

1

u/Desper8lyseekntacos 21h ago

The problem is that: You've made up an entire scenario in your head that doesn't really make any sense.

Both shoes get shined, they only film one for social media.

Only one camera angle doesn't mean that the heel doesn't get cleaned and polished. I don't see how wearing or not wearing them while they're being cleaned and polished makes it more or less difficult.

Sure, it's left over from the days of servants, but the people who still shine shoes are paid pretty well these days. It's somewhat of a lost art that is a bit nostalgic for when we weren't in such a hurry.

0

u/TechnicalMonitor173 11h ago

Being nostalgic for a time when someone could take your dirty foot and polish it is beyond reproach, and in my opinion shameful. Work has dignity; if I have to polish a shoe, I'll do it, but you take the shoe off and put it on the table, working on it when I say. This social media video is exactly how a shoe shiner works; it's not only something made for social media, since the man lifting his foot will do so one at a time, and on the heel, since you can't rotate the man's foot 360 degrees, the operator doesn't have full visibility. Sure, think of it that way, close your eyes, and relive the nostalgia of those good old days.

1

u/Desper8lyseekntacos 9h ago

Man, you really need to figure yourself out. First you state that work has dignity, then you belittle the work and therefore the worker in a way that suggests you don't think they deserve any. Why are you so angry over someone showing off their craft? Do you get this mad over a chef or a construction worker showing off his or her skills? Or is it just shoe shiners that make you so angry?

0

u/TechnicalMonitor173 9h ago

Your irony is quite sad. The dignity of a job lies in not having to force someone to kneel and take dirty feet on them, but in allowing them to be well paid and stand with the table at a proper height, not on their knees. The same applies to any humiliating job where there's a submissive relationship between worker and customer. But go ahead, get your shoes shined like that; maybe the good times you dream of will return.

1

u/Desper8lyseekntacos 1h ago

Nobody is being forced here dude. Get over yourself