How to make a Kolhapuri chappal last ten years

A Kolhapuri is vegetable-tanned leather. It is not finished with a plastic coating. It is alive. It needs care.

Rule one: rub neem oil into the leather once a month. Not coconut oil, not mustard oil, not mink oil. Neem oil. It keeps the leather supple and repels the fungus that lives in humid storage.

Rule two: never dry a wet Kolhapuri in direct sun. The heat cracks the leather. Stuff with newspaper and let it dry in the shade.

Rule three: when the sole begins to wear thin — usually after two or three years of regular use — take it to a cobbler and ask for a resole. Do not wait for the stitching to give. A resole is a hundred rupees. A re-stitch is a thousand.