#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.

[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

[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.

[nofatclips]

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

[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.

[bunnygrl-femme]

Bootblacking at my local leather contest weekend tonight!!! Gonna lick some boots, listen to stories, and get All up in some lovely leather!!

[sthrnboot12]

Polish them so I can see myself in them!

Good boy!

[newyorkthegoldenage]

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

Photo: Lewis W. Hine via the LoC

[daddydicktampa]

[notbecauseofvictories]

good morning, I've been up for hours and already had my plans completely derailed by THIS IS CHICAGO, a podcast that's just 7 minute snapshots of various Chicagoans talking about their jobs, or something that means something to them, no voiceover or even framing device beyond the bing-bong sound that the El doors make when they're about to close.

I've been sitting at my kitchen table with a cooling cup of coffee for hours now. Who knows if I'll get back to my actual paying job today.

[sludgevomit]

Your knees trembled as sensitive skin was ripped open. Miniscule pieces of broken glass pierced through raw flesh. The pile of shards was sprinkled about the floor by Sir as he commanded you to kneel before him. The pain first startled you, the feeling as if you were being bitten by small fire ants. Yet, it turned into a delicious sensation of ice and eroticism. Pushing your body to the edge as gravity forced your knees deeper into the sharp material. Blood began to spill around in puddles that threatened to flow underneath the couch. Sir’s legs were crossed in front of you; his boots level with your eyes. You admired the intricate overlapping of laces that formed a ladder cross. Silver eyelets revealed the residue of dirt and blood that stained the once shiny leather. You let your vision flutter upwards, noticing the squint in Sir’s eyebrows. The message was clear, he wanted you to clean them. A ritual that has been done many times between the two of us in the past. You delicately took hold of the closest boot. Tongue wet and heavy with saliva. Tastebuds making contact with the bitter and salty grit, shaking with excitement as you allowed your brain to go numb. Pleasing Sir as you washed away the dust, leaving sleek black in its wake.

[cxntpxppy]

ugh bootblacking + intox …. i’m not usually a subby bootblack but imagining being passed around my friend group taking hits & shining their shoes…. them pointing out any mistakes i make, which of course become more and more frequent bc of all the weed they’re feeding me. not that they care, i’m their bootblack, even when i’m a little stupid

anyways if you know me in real life shhhh or i’ll hit you w my car <3