Product Review - The Kiwi Leather Care Kit

Is a job interview in your future? If you want to put your best foot forward, you'll want to have well-maintained and properly shined shoes. The Kiwi Leather Care Kit stuffs almost everything you need to do a good job shining your shoes into a compact, zippered, transparent bag about the size of a small toiletry kit. The kit contains a 1-1/8 ounce tin of black kiwi polish, a 1-1/8 ounce tin of brown kiwi polish, 2 kiwi sponge applicators, 1 kiwi shine brush, 1 kiwi shine cloth, and 1 Express One Shine applicator. Neophytes will also find that the cardboard insert in the kit provides solid instruction on the ancient art of shining shoes. Since the Kiwi Leather Care Kit is so compact, you'll find it easy to take along on job interview travel or on business trips.

Like a classic revolver or a vintage Playboy, the Kiwi Leather Care kit just looks like it belongs in a man's dresser drawer. In a summer filled with phone screens, I shined my wingtips for a recent interview following the instructions in the kit. In our business casual world, it's been a long while since I shined any of my shoes so I proceeded with caution. First, I cleaned my shoes to remove dirt and dust. Next, I applied black Kiwi shoe polish with one of the enclosed applicator sponges. After letting the polish set for a little while, I wiped off the excess polish with the traditional wooden handled Kiwi shine brush. Next, I set about buffing my shoes until they shined. For my first attempt, I didn't try any splashes of water in an attempt to reach a shiny, mirror-like, sheen. However, I might make such an attempt in the future. I was just glad not to stain the carpet, bed linens, or clothing. I was pleased by everything in the kit and the very nice clean and uniformly black look I attained with my shoes.

Of course, everything worked in the Kiwi Leather Care Kit worked well. It's not a surprise since Kiwi has been the leading shoe polish brand since 1906. The shoe care products in the kit work well. I just have to refine my techniques. Fortunately, there is no shortage of shoe care tips out on the web. There are a few things that will help in my next shoe shining attempt. First, I'll be laying out an old towel or newspaper wherever I shine my shoes. It'll help alleviate the fear of inadvertently staining something important and allow me to concentrate more on my techniques. I found some great ideas on the Kiwi website and an interesting website called The Art of Manliness. With good advice and a little experience, I think I'll equip myself with some extra shoe laces and remove the laces from my shoes. This will allow me to make sure that the tongues of my shoes are clean, that the laces won't be stained, and that any damaged laces can be replaced.

The deliberate mechanical processes of shining shoes are soothing to the soul. Plus, if you wear clean, shined, and well maintained shoes, you be more comfortable and you'll make a better impression on your next job interview.

Sources:
"Thirty Days to A Better Man Day 2: Shine Your Shoes," The Art of Manliness.
http://artofmanliness.com/2008/07/29/how-to-get-the-best-shoe-shine/
"Shine Your shoes Like A Soldier," The Art of Manliness.
http://artofmanliness.com/2009/06/01/30-days-to-a-better-man-day-2-shine-your-shoes/
Kiwi Brand Website www.kiwicare.com