Shoe Repair

[DeaconKC]

One thing to beware of, when you do get them resoled. Specify leather or you might wind up with a rubber/compostion sole by assumption.

 

[pgoat]

I'd recommend having at least one pair of shoes with soles and heels in new or near new condition to use as a benchmark - when your other shoes are noticeably worn (in comparison), they're ready. For most people the heels go sooner and more often than the soles.

 

[Dinerman]

If, when wearing them, the soles feel thin, it's time.

Here's another question: Is there any point at which it is too late to resole?

 

[Doug C]

Can you add a second layer of leather on top of any leather soled shoe (original leather sole is still in good condition)? So that you have a double thick sole? I'd like to get that done to a pair of original officer low quarters, if it's possible.

Doug C

 

[anon`]

I am apparently much harder on my shoes than any normal man ought to be (or so I've been told), to the point that I'll have to resole a pair or two at least once a year, even if I'm cycling between four or five pairs.

Clearly, I don't think that it makes good ecomonic sense to pursue this route. So I get halfsoles put on all my shoes, first thing. I get these in rubber, but I see no reason why you couldn't have them done in leather. Up here in the rain, though, rubber seems more sensible.

Nice thing about this option is that you can have the rubber stripped and replaced, which can extend the amount of time needed between resoles.

 

[bigshoe]

Since I do this for a living I will through in $00.02 worth.
There are 3 makers of rubber toplift, Topy, Catspaw and Vibram they run fron 1mm to 1.5 mm thick. A toplift half sole is glued on with contact cement. Of the three makers I prefer the vibram as it is more abrasion resistant. Depending on the price where you live it should run between $15 and $25.
Topy is better for barnyard acids I have used a lot for horseshoers. Catspaw seems to be the thickest and also provides excellent traction.
For leather soles try to replace them with either full or half soles before you wear into the welt.(usualy at the toes depending on how you walk). For almost all shoes made in the last 20 years repair at the first sign of a hole in the outsole or when the stitching starts to get worn through as most factory shoes use synthetic insoles and one or two days of use will be all thats left.
If you pronate or wear down the out side of your heels rapidly I sugest plastic heel taps they are cheap and are mostly self stick. Otherwise you will break down the heel stiffener. If this is you when you replace heels use Vibram heels. A lot of repair men don't like Vibram because it is so hard to sand but they wear great.
Tom

 

[Tomasso]

I get halfsoles put on all my shoes, first thing. I get these in rubber.....Nice thing about this option is that you can have the rubber stripped and replaced, which can extend the amount of time needed between resoles.

Actually, if you were diligent about replacing the protective sole in a timely manner you might never need a resole.

BTW, ask your cobbler to use Topy brand sole protectors.

 

[anon`]

Actually, if you were diligent about replacing the protective sole in a timely manner you might never need a resole.

BTW, ask your cobbler to use Topy brand sole protectors.

Agree, but I have an uncanny knack when it comes to damaging the uppers, which makes a resole (or rather, re-craft, as I'll send my shoes back to the maker for this) seem like a good idea =)

Now then, is this "Topy" the taps, or the sole itself? Depending on where I go, my shoes wind up with either a Vibram or Catspaw sole, and if the heel needs work, a Vibram heel. And how does it compare in terms of both traction and sound (yes, I still like my shoes to sound as close to leather soles as possible)?

 

[Doug C]

Hey thanks for that info bigshoe (et al.), very interesting. What about if I chose to get a leather half sole... that wouldn't be just cement glued would it?

Doug C

 

[bigshoe]

A leather half sole should be sewn to the welt or if the shoe has no welt or a false welt like many loafers it should be mckay stitched to the insole as well as glued.
Tom

 

[Max Flash]

Bigshoe will know better than I, but I was told by the salesman in the Union Square, NYC branch of Florsheim that gluing a rubber oversole has the effect of pulling apart the stitching on the leather sole over time and is very bad for it. It may be rubbish - that's just what I was told.

I swear by Blakey's (metal tips on the front and heel of my dress shoes).

I have had a leather half-sole replacement and find it splits very quickly - much better to have the whole sole replaced.

Finally, Frank Sinatra used to polish the soles of his shoes as well as the uppers, saying it was the attention to detail that counted. Let that be a lesson to all of us!

 

[cookie]

but I was told by the salesman in the Union Square, NYC branch of Florsheim that gluing a rubber oversole has the effect of pulling apart the stitching on the leather sole over time and is very bad for it. It may be rubbish - that's just what I was told

That's the best line I have heard for ages for a salesman trying to make sure you returned regularly for a new pair of shoes.:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Max Flash]

That's the best line I have heard for ages for a salesman trying to make sure you returned regularly for a new pair of shoes.:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Possibly true, but he was on a losing streak as:

1. I live in England and don't tend to pop over to New York every time I need a new pair of shoes; and
2. I was specifically buying leather-soled shoes so that I could have the soles replaced, rather than needing to buy new shoes!

As it was, the uppers split after about three years anyway!

 

[Tomasso]

a rubber oversole has the effect of pulling apart the stitching on the leather sole over time

I've never heard that one before. As for the deleterious effect of sole coverings on wear, the most common one heard is that it restricts the breathability of the sole and therefore the ability of the shoe to dry out properly after use, leading to premature aging. The cobblers that I've asked have rolled their eyes at the theory.

Frank Sinatra used to polish the soles of his shoes as well as the uppers, saying it was the attention to detail that counted. Let that be a lesson to all of us!

I bet he didn't have white carpeting at home.

 

[bigshoe]

From a Florsheim salesman thats a real laugh. I see about two to three pair a month of Florsheim's that are completly glued together, carboard insoles, split leather outsoles and fake plastic welts.
Tom

 

[DerMann]

The pair of Stacy Adams Madisons that I have/had were worn until there were sizable holes in the soles. I decided against resoling them because the uppers were basically worn to hell. Kid skin does not really age very well in shoes, at least in my experience :/

I own a pair of brogues made by Dexter, and I really like the way they look. Only thing is that they originally came with traps built into the soles, which slipped out. Had them resoled and reheeled (I destroy heels), which was huge fiasco. After I had asked specifically for leather heels, the cobbler put rubber heels on. Waited another week, and found that they had gotten blacking where the upper meets the welt. I pointed this out to them and they said it would rub right off (never did, fully). Now, after four months of rotating with four other pairs of shoes, the stitching has completely failed. The soles are held on at the tips of the toes and right around the heels.

Hopefully I can find a local cobbler that does better work

Can anyone give me a source for Blakey's? On my pair of ammo boots, I have full heel and toe irons, and they have done marvels for my heels and soles. The site I got them from does sell heel and toe irons separately, but they only fit ammo boots. Would a cobbler have them?

 

[DeaconKC]

BigShoe, thanks for the answers. I'm sorry to hear Florsheim's quality has fallen off. If you get any "abandoned" 12 EEEs there PM me!

 

[bigshoe]

Their top of the line still seems a fair shoe. The lower end ones have really gotten abysmal. I had a full brouged wing tip oxford recently that was glued together. In a shoe factory it would take about an extra 8 minutes labor to mckay stitch the whole thing together. I myself have mckay sewn 60 pair in a day. Bean counters destroyed the shoe industry.:rage:
Tom

 

[Tomasso]

Bean counters destroyed the shoe industry.:rage:

Ain't just shoes, Buddy.

 

[cookie]

Bean counters destroyed the shoe industry.:rage:
Tom

That and issues of price can be the only answer to the reality of the destruction of the US shoe industry with 350 million people to be shod.