Introduction

Japan’s Championship of Shoe Shining allows competitors to use their own brushes. The most commonly used brushes are made by Edoya. Both Brift H and The Way Things Go sell custom Edoya brushes that look top notch. I don’t think you can order anything from The Way Things Go without a proxy service and whether or not the online Brift H store has something in stock is hit or miss. So, I looked for alternatives and noticed that some competitors used these small almond shaped brushes made by Shoji Works.

Lineup and Experience

There are multiple websites that sell Shoji works but I ordered mine from Senkels last year. Currently they sell 4 types of brushes

1. Dark Horsehair cleaning brush
2. Pig Bristle Polish Brush
3. White Horsehair Polish Brush
4. Soft Horsehair Shining Brush (finishing brush)

I personally have #1, #2, and #4 as they fit into my normal shoe care regimen.

What I Liked About The Brushes

The shape and small size of the brushes make them a joy to use. I’ve realized using larger brushes is clunkier and I have to think about not bumping into the shoe when brushing. The longer bristles of the pig bristle brush makes it more comfortable to polish shoes with aprons. It also makes it more comfortable to polish the big toe side of the shoe on curvier lasts. The cleaning brush gets the job done but if you like the comfort of your current horsehair brush, it might not be worth getting. I’m impressed by how the brushes have not shed hairs at all. They are attached by hand similar to other high end shoe brushes.

I’ll probably eventually buy shoelaces from Senkels and might try out the #3 brush which I think might be for people who mostly just want to spread out wax or use neutral products and don’t care about pushing color into the leather.

White Horsehair Polish Brush

update on 2025-07-09 After trying out the #3 brush, honestly I think you can buy the pig bristle brush or this one and use them interchangeably. It’s definitely more stiff than the dark horsehair cleaning brush (#1) but not as stiff as the pig bristle brush. I would just buy whatever is available. If you have a completely neutral color or conditioner setup you could have just a single #1 brush, #3 brush, and then optional #4 brush. Having a completely horsehair setup is also nice and simple.

Finishing Brush

The #4 finishing brush is definitely not as soft as a goat hair or cashmere brush such as the one sold by Boot Black, but after some break in I can definitely see it being a more affordable drop in replacement. Horsehair brushes in general don’t have the ideal texture when brand new. They will soften a good amount after a few months of use.

Price

Shoji works brushes are definitely more affordable at 80 dollars for brush #1-#3 and 90 dollars for #4. Most sane human beings could probably just get by with a single dark horsehair brush and then 1 pig bristle brush per cream polish color. I think these brushes are a great value and worth considering if you already have seen the brushes from Brift H, The Way Things Go, and don’t want the larger brushes from Paul Brunngard.