Shoe care

[Tobus]

Yeah, unfortunately local cobblers are getting harder to find. There are still lots of them where I live, because folks still wear cowboy boots and tend to get them resoled regularly.

Personally, I've never actually worn out a leather-bottom shoe simply through wear on the bottom. Mine always fail by cracking all the way through the bottom at the ball of my foot.

[Nathan]

Yeah, unfortunately local cobblers are getting harder to find. There are still lots of them where I live, because folks still wear cowboy boots and tend to get them resoled regularly.

Personally, I've never actually worn out a leather-bottom shoe simply through wear on the bottom. Mine always fail by cracking all the way through the bottom at the ball of my foot.

That's usually a sign that the leather used for the sole wasn't the proper quality. Traditional shoe leather will tend to wear out with holes where the most pressure is, rather than by cracking. A horizontal crack across the balls of your feet means the leather was too stiff and didn't flex properly with the foot.

[Tobus]

I agree with repair when possible but the last time I went to a cobbler and asked him to resole my shoes, he quoted me $130. That's a whole lot to spend to resole a pair of shoes that cost me $14.99 - $19.99 at the thrift shop.

I want to go back to this reply for a moment to address two points.

First, no disrespect intended, but it is precisely this mentality that is responsible for the demise of the cobbler trade. You want "throw away" shoes that you can buy cheap and get rid of them when they wear out. Granted, you're buying used shoes, but it has the same effect as if you were buying new shots of lesser quality, in terms of keeping that trade alive. You are shocked by the price of a resole job, so you'd rather throw them away than give an artisan your business, which of course makes the problem worse. Less demand for cobblers.

That leads to my second point. Forget what you paid for the shoes. Are they quality made and comfortable? If you had originally paid $300 for them, would you get them resoled? I know $130 is a lot compared to buying another pair of thrift store shoes, but are your shoes worth investing in to get more years out of, especially if it helps support a local business and keeps an old tradition alive? I know that dollars matter, but there's more to the equation than just the dollars.

[Nathan]

I want to go back to this reply for a moment to address two points.

First, no disrespect intended, but it is precisely this mentality that is responsible for the demise of the cobbler trade. You want "throw away" shoes that you can buy cheap and get rid of them when they wear out. Granted, you're buying used shoes, but it has the same effect as if you were buying new shots of lesser quality, in terms of keeping that trade alive. You are shocked by the price of a resole job, so you'd rather throw them away than give an artisan your business, which of course makes the problem worse. Less demand for cobblers.

That leads to my second point. Forget what you paid for the shoes. Are they quality made and comfortable? If you had originally paid $300 for them, would you get them resoled? I know $130 is a lot compared to buying another pair of thrift store shoes, but are your shoes worth investing in to get more years out of, especially if it helps support a local business and keeps an old tradition alive? I know that dollars matter, but there's more to the equation than just the dollars.

I don't disagree with this sentiment but even the shoes I buy new don't usually cost $130. The reason I take good care of my shoes is so that they last as long as possible. I have had my shoes half soled before for a reasonable price which is a good option if you catch them in time. That said, I'm not going to spend money just to keep a trade alive. I spend money when I see value, if I can help an artisan - bonus. The idea of a business transaction is that it should be mutually beneficial. It's not charity after all. If I can get a new pair of similar quality shoes for far less than I would pay to repair them, the repair is not a good value equation. While I respect the work of the cobbler, he has to price his services for what the market will bear or else cater to a niche that I'm not currently in.

Assume I was buying new because I sometimes do, I'll pay $30 dollars at a cobbler without batting an eyelash. $130, not so much. Money does matter. I know what I get compensated for a day's work and I know how much I can pay for a day's work of another. Repairing something is an attractive option because it's supposed to be less costly than replacing it. If that stop's being true, the only reason left is if you have a sentimental connection to an item.

[Eric D Scott]

I once needed my brogues resoled and got them done in Thorold at Elio's downtown for $20, however I'm now told they will only fix shoes that were sold there. Seems a bit protectionist, but also cutting your nose to spite the face. Although Thorold isn't yet inside the GTA or GTHA, we expect to assimilated sometime in the next decade.

[crash]

I once needed my brogues resoled and got them done in Thorold at Elio's downtown for $20, however I'm now told they will only fix shoes that were sold there. Seems a bit protectionist, but also cutting your nose to spite the face. Although Thorold isn't yet inside the GTA or GTHA, we expect to assimilated sometime in the next decade.

Resistance is futile.

[Cardinal]

If your local cobbler isn't up to the job, B. Nelson Shoes does a great job of recrafting tired high-end shoes from any maker:

http://www.bnelsonshoes.com/

They'll send you a mailer, and make everything very simple.

Alden (my shoe company of choice) also has a re-crafting service for their shoes.

Since I will soon by living in Tobus' neck of the woods (Boerne), perhaps I'll give one of his recommended artisans a go. Regardless, I prefer my recrafted shoes to replacements. Buy quality, then repair it until it disintegrates from use.

Cordially,
Patrick

[Tobus]

Since I will soon by living in Tobus' neck of the woods (Boerne)

Cool! Let me know when you get here. We seriously need to form a Hill Country group for kilt nights or something. The Boerne-Bandera-Kerrville triangle has quite a few kilties; surely we can get something going!

The cobbler I've used in the past is up in Llano. But there's also a good one in San Antonio that one of my co-workers has used, and based on what I've seen of his work, I'd recommend him too.

[CMcG]

I agree with repair when possible but the last time I went to a cobbler and asked him to resole my shoes, he quoted me $130. That's a whole lot to spend to resole a pair of shoes that cost me $14.99 - $19.99 at the thrift shop.

Do you know a competent cobbler with reasonable prices in the GTA, John?

Here's a list of competent cobblers in Toronto. As with so many things in this city, we're spoiled for choices.

http://www.blogto.com/fashion_style/...ed_in_toronto/

I've personally had some work done by Nick's Custom Boots, who are on the list above:

http://nickscustomboots.com/

Their prices for repairs are reasonable, but the bigger the job, the more you pay. I appreciate their honesty and advice there too. When I brought them a pair of $8 thrift shop shoes to refurbish, their pre-work inspection revealed that the nice looking Oxfords were actually on their last legs and it wouldn't be worth it to do a full resole on them. They did some miscellaneous repairs for $30 and I got another season out of them before the rigours of a Canadian winter caused them to give up the ghost.

If one can regularly find good quality shoes, in decent shape, at a thrift store and they actually fit (haven't been moulded to a very different foot), it wouldn't make a whole lot of financial sense to spend $100 getting them repaired. I haven't had very good luck, however, having only ever found one nice pair of second hand shoes. They're $12 ghillie brogues with a thin leather sole that appear to have worn about twice!

If it is tough to find thrifty replacements, then it makes sense to me to measure the cost of repairs versus buying new. At that point, it might be worth it to resole, especially if the shoes were of superior quality and the uppers are still in great shape. With Nathan's massive shoe collection, though, even if one pair wears out, he's still set up with options

As per the OP, shoe maintenance is key. It pains me to see people running around in leather footwear that hasn't been protected or polished. I use dubbin on my Blundstone boots, seal my sneakers with a spray-on waterproofer, brush polish my brogues, and spit shine my Oxfords. My second hand parade boots came spit shined, which I try to maintain. I even brush shine my pair of Italian leather Vans sneakers

[Nathan]

I'm lucky enough to be a very average sized man. Size 42, 8.5, 9, shoe, 16.5 neck, 38-40 chest, 34 waist. I go thrift store shopping at least once a week and worked in men's wear retail in my University days. The combination of experience with clothing and common size means I can basically get whatever I'm after used if I'm a bit patient. I appreciate the fact that this is not the same for all men.