#bootblacker

[dykepuffs]

Bootblacking is top level kink because it's one of the few I can think of where the nominal sub is treated as a thoughtful, knowledgeable technician from the outset.

Like, a flogging bottom might be praised for their ability to take pain and know their limits, or a rope bunny might be recognised as keeping themselves in good physical shape so they can hold complicated stress positions for longer than a novice, but even the most beginner of beginner bootblacks has learnt a little bit of materials science (Will this type of brush scratch this patent finish?), a little bit of basic chemistry (If these were last polished with a silicone wax, how do I remove that to start to bull them?), a little bit of leatherworking history (Is that natural fibre stitching on those surplused Warsaw Pact boots, will my polish rot it?) and spent time practising techniques on their own boots.

And it's one of the few kinks I can think of where the top is so immediately physically and emotionally vulnerable to the bottom in that way: I put my foot in the hands of a stranger bootblacking at a party, and I trust that they won't damage the boots I was gifted by my long-dead Master when I was 17, that they won't soak the stitching and start the rot of the boots I was wearing when I first fucked the love of my life, I trust that they'll carefully work around and treat the cuts and scuffs in the leather that I picked up wearing these same boots marshalling at a dozen prides and going toe-to-toe with strikebreakers and scabs on twenty years' worth of picket lines. The experienced bootblack can look at my soles and where my boots crease, and see that I have a weak hip, that I'm slightly bowlegged, that I don't drive and that I walk even in the weather where I'd rather not. And I trust that they'll see that worn-out, poor, slightly sad old man and still call me "sir".

It just feels like a lot.

[danskjavlarna]

Source details and larger version.

Here's my modest collection of vintage sharks.

[sen-thebootmutt]

What basic things should people know about caring for leather?

Oh, how I love all the questions /genuine 💞💞

Okay!!!

So, leather is a skin, right?? It’s a hide. How do we care for our own skin?? Your basic steps:

Rinse

Clean

Rinse

Moisturize

A light spray of water, clean with a gentle soap (non-scented glycerin soap or saddle soap and a small horsehair/badgerhair brush), rinse and wipe off all the soap residue, and moisturize!

“Sen,” you say, “how do I moisturize leather?” Good question!! It’s going to depend on the type of leather.

There’s two big categories of leather; oil tan, and high shine. Oil tan leather is matte, soft, and more flexible (think of old leather dress shoes or casual boots). High shine leather is, well, self explanatory lol (shiny, less flexible, more glossy).

With oil tan leather, you’ll use a leather conditioner! Most bootblacks recommend Hubberd’s Shoe Grease (a heavier, denser conditioner), Obenauf’s Heavy Leather Preservative (more waxy), or Aussie Saddle conditioner (like Obenauf’s, but has a higher beeswax content). These are all pretty easily available online, and can even be bought in bulk and put into other containers!

For high shine leather, you use polish! There’s lots of different brands, but most folks get their start with Kiwi shoe polish (not super high quality, but readily available at big box stores like Walmart and Target). Most experienced bootblacks will use Lincoln or Angelus polish (your choice will depend on things like local humidity, altitude, experience, and technique). Apply a thin layer of polish to the boot, mist with a light spray of water, buff with a horsehair boot brush, and finish with a fine cotton buffing cloth!

I love bootblacking, and I love teaching. If anyone wants, I might record myself the next time I do my boots, so y’all can see these techniques in action!

[bluejay-makes]

Self-study 🐰🖤

[pissedoffpossum]

sometimes there is nothing more intimate than shining the boots of someone u love

[bootsoullicker]

[theriverbeyond]

one of the hardest things for me as a dyke existing within a normie social environment is not falling to my knees and begging to condition my classmate's boots

[spitfaggot]

another fun thing about bootblacking — it's as much of a kink as it isn't.

and by this, i mean: it's labor!

we have to look beyond kink into the vanilla/non-kink world to see the only remaining examples of shoe care as a job. the only examples i can think of are shoe-cleaning mall kiosks and, maybe, a chair or two in an airport terminal or fancy hotel. but these places are dwindling, if they even still remain at all. consumerism and planned obsolescence has invaded fashion so much that most people aren't concerned with the upkeep of their actual leather shoes, let alone sneakers or pleather boots.

(edit: cobblers and shoe repair most certainly count, but in this instance i'm referring to chairs or kiosks that maintain the footwear without disassembling it, although there are many bootblacks that can provide services like these.)

this, compounded with the cost barrier to leather gear and a much smaller community post-AIDS of the 1980's i believe has made bootblacking much more scarce in kink circles. i mentored under a bootblack that primarily works bars and club events, and have gone on to do the same myself, and... not many people even know what a bootblack is anymore. i've met people in full cow at the local Eagle who have never even heard of our existence. i was in the right place at the right time and met the right people in order to be able to sub/apprentice under one, and that in itself is a privelege nowadays. instructional videos are lovely, but there's nothing like working with the real thing to practice.

getting booked at events is a headache in and of itself, which is where the talk of labor comes in. if you are bootblacking, you are doing physical labor. it doesn't matter if you're working a pup social at a leather bar, or a private residence party, it is labor. on average, i scrub and polish a shift at a bar event for 5 hours (8pm to 1am) with very few breaks. on a good night, i can polish usually 6 or 7 customers in that 5 hour shift, and that's if nobody comes to me with a Langlitz project or a full set of chaps. tipping your bootblack is crucial, because 90% of the time, that's how we make any money at all.

bootblacking is how i have kept my boyfriend, my cats and i fed many times. and it is very hard to find an event nowadays that will pay a bootblack up front to be there for the night — most just "allow you to keep tips" and maybe comp you a drink or two. at this point i just have a menu of my services that i provide, and i turn away folks who cannot pay or barter. (i, personally, will take coffee as payment for boots and harnesses.) this often means i make less than minimum wage for 5 hours of physical labor.

my point being: bootblacking is a kink, but it will likely be found today more often as a job leatherfolk will take up at an event, much like a vendor. the more public adult spaces where we can actually express it as a kink the better, and those are growing incredibly scarce. and the people willing to pay us even more so, despite how much upkeep leather gear like boots and jackets should be getting.

[arsenicflame]

Bootblacking is my favourite kink to give Izzy, because of course this guy would get his rocks off doing precise, repetitive, manual labour. OF COURSE he gets off on what is essentially just another chore on his list.

[sthrnboot12]

Polish them so I can see myself in them!

Good boy!

[nofatclips]

Boys Keep Swinging (David Bowie cover) by ACTORS and Bootblacks featuring Leathers - Video by Dan O'Connell

[eldritchmochi]

i have somehow managed to put together the *horniest* christmas gift i possibly could. the horny is truly exponential. there is no end to the horny because of who i am as a person

clearly, i bought my bf a pair of boots

(hes been wearing the same beat to shit pleather pair his sil got him from like, Nordstroms in college. theyre gross and peeling, and he walked in the other week and gleefully showed me how the sole is separating from the upper so one boot has gone full muppet because hes a shit)

the original plan was to grab a pair of docs during their usual 40-60% off quarterly sale, but i had a specific style i wanted. that style was not part of the sale alas. i figured if i was gonna buy a pair full price, I should give solovairs a shot because theres a marked quality difference (this is so fucking correct holy shit)

they had the style i wanted: a soft, matte, black leather with a slim, tapered toe box that could be incorporated into business casual wear to an office but wouldn't look out of place with just jeans and a hoodie either; their classic astronaut boot in greasy leather. the thought and intent in the choice alone is super horny given my whole Thing with clothing and leather but

we wear the same shoe size

and if there is one kink i love more than anything, its bootblacking

so clearly im going black them and break them in for him

i have leather friends who assure me this is the hottest thing ever

but

solovairs black friday promo, instead of % off, was free swag

which means i have a key tag version of the woven tag in my boys new boots, specifically chosen, bought, and lovingly blacked for him

and lads, i keep thinking of ways that keytag could be used, and they are *so so horny*

[sen-thebootmutt]

What do you love so much about bootblacking?

When I discovered bootblacking, one of the people I found online described bootblacks as “the storytellers and history keepers of leather.” As a historian and lover of community storytelling, that really resonated with me. To get someone in the bootblack stand, asking them where they got their boots, and hearing so many different interesting, sexy, hilarious, and heartbreaking stories really motivates and moves me 🖤

It’s also an act of service!! A lot of leatherfolx don’t actually know how to care for and maintain their leathers, so being able to provide that service and education tickles a part of my brain. And providing service is one of the ways I show submission, so it was a great confluence!! I get to be submissive and serve a Dominant (if they want our time in the stand to be erotic), and work on gear that people love and have had for 5, 10, 25 years?? Sign me up!!!

(Having a major boot fetish definitely helps, too, but it’s not a requirement lmao)

[leatherfag]

Bootblacking with Geoff Malard (and Pup Amp) - Mr S. Leather

[newyorkthegoldenage]

A young bootblack plying his trade near Trinity Church, July 25, 1924.

Photo: Lewis W. Hine via the LoC

[daddydicktampa]