Supplies - FootFitter
I’m confident in recommending the Kirby Allison Medium Horsehair Shoe Polishing Brush as our top pick because of its high-quality construction. Among our test group, it had by far the best combination of bristle quality, density, and distribution.Shoe care supply The bristles on the Kirby Allison brush were more uniformly and densely distributed in comparison with those on the Kiwi and Allen Edmonds brushes. This design delivers a superior brushing experience for several reasons: First, because the bristles are more densely packed, the Kirby Allison brush removes more dirt and debris per stroke than the others. Second, the uniformity of the bristle distribution on the Kirby Allison brush means that you’ll be less likely to have an uneven distribution of polish when you buff your shoes and less likely to have any pressure points where more-dense spots of the brush smash against your shoes, potentially scratching them. While the Allen Edmonds brush offered comparable bristle quality, we saw more variation in bristle density. The Kiwi brush was neither soft nor uniform. Although the Kirby Allison brush is admittedly a bit pricy, shoe-shine brushes are relatively durable (according to Stanley Mayes, brushes in his shop last several years before wearing down excessively), and you can wash yours (gently!) in warm water and leave it to dry to remove caked-on excess polish. As for user-friendliness, the Kirby Allison and Allen Edmond brushes are each significantly larger than the Kiwi brush, which means that you’ll need fewer strokes to buff a pair of shoes with either of those brushes in comparison with the Kiwi brush. I polled several people around the office of varying hand sizes and genders, and most but not all said that the Allen Edmonds and Kirby Allison brushes were not so large that they were difficult to handle. The Kirby Allison and Kiwi brushes have divots alongside the wooden handles, making them marginally easier to get a grip onto, whereas the Allen Edmonds handle is ungrooved. There’s also the question of accessory shoe brushes. You can find brushes for nearly every special cleaning task, but if you intend to buy just one specialty brush, I have to recommend getting at least one dauber for applying cleaner and an optional one for polish, which you can also apply with a rag. (Conditioner is better applied with a rag.) Because you will need separate brushes for each color, we recommend going cheap. The most cost-effective 100 percent horsehair dauber is made by Kiwi, and it gets the job done as well as anything.