Proper leather shoes

My pair of Cheaneys have now officially started saving me money - I paid £600 for them a while ago, and that replaced my habit of buying a new pair of ~£100 shoes every three months or so.

The Cheaneys are still barely worn in.

Pair of size 8 redwing moc toes in mind in east dulwich

What style did you get? Wasn't aware they cost that much!

Glad you're enjoying them but lol @ the #manmaths

Having some serious problems getting my desert boots resoled. Got rejected by two cobblers at lunch, one in Oval and one in Vauxhall. Why does nobody wanna do them? Not bothered about sticking another crepe sole on, any old vibram number will do.

It's an epic job if they're proper soles, if you're willing to pay for it go ask in Timpsons, ask for the cost to send off to get resoled. They probably won't do it in the shop.

(Caveat emptor, whatever your opinion on Timpsons, if they hash it and you complain then you can get a new pair for free, that's the guarantee)

I don't get why though, don't you just cut the stitches off and slam a new one on the bottom?
If it's that much a problem then I might as well just ditch them as it'll probably cost more than a new pair.

No stitches or nails that I can see originally, so it's been done either entirely with glue, or by using a hidden channel. I have been hunting for an 'old man' as you put it, but everywhere I have enquired so far just seems to be tooled up for doing straight swaps on shoes with a Goodyear welt.

Someone else told me a place called Tony's heel bar are quite handy, so will look them up too.

I'm gonna cut the soles off tonight then give the suede tops to a cobbler tomoz

buying a new pair of ~£100 shoes every three months

Dude?!

What do you do to them? TRI, winter training, waters ports?

My cheap Loakes are still fine after a good year and a bit of solid use. Now I'm better St rotating with two pairs of almost identical Oxfords plus some others for variety.

Quite drawn to a pair of Bexley Chelsea boots as they've got some on discount. Also hankering for a pair of one peice(?) black Oxfords and Mermin seem like good value.

How have people got on with theirs? Elton last?

Depends on the construction, most/all are glued and stitching is decorative. Main issue is that it doesn't just pop off, the rubbery soles are a mess when being removed. You gotta use the rough band and it stinks and makes a mess.

Different soles glue better than others, and all must be shaped after attaching.

Also stuff like vibram and commando are more expensive cos of the branding.

Just see what timpsons say. But yea... post some pics as you DIY them later.

Tldr: rubber sole desert boots aren't made to be repaired.

Yea they may just be a stuck on through-sole. Or originally two thin layers of leather. A pair of moccasins I found show stitching inside but nothing outside. Really subtle layers of leather.

Quite drawn to a pair of Bexley Chelsea boots as they've got some on discount. Also hankering for a pair of wholecut black Oxfords and Mermin seem like good value.

How have people got on with theirs? Elton last?

@jaw has gone for the Meermins in the past, I believe.

I think the stitching was functional, was a real bastard to get off. They're both done now. I'm looking forward to what they'll say in the shop when I present them with the floppy suede tops. Probably 'get out'.

@31trum - fancy that challenge?

These soles please

Let me know how you get on, I have some Barney Nahkle Desert boots that I picked up for very cheap in the sale ages ago and wanted to do this to, the uppers are amazing but the soles are like a 90's buffalo platform.

You know when someone posts about trying to fix something where they removed a part with the wrong tool and now it's jammed and broken and there's someone carving up a gravestone in memorandum? Well...

So yea that stitching was functional but it looks like you left the inner and mid sole part stuck onto the outsole. You've left the comfort part what your foot rests on, stuck to the durable part that touches the ground.

Normally a cobbler would never deconstruct a shoe like that. They would leave the upper and midsole together by sanding off the outsole with the rough band, so never touching the stitching.

If you found someone feeling really adventurous, I guess they could glue your upper to a new one-piece sole and heel, and you could place a new midsole/insole yourself, for comfort.

If you found someone with time and desire, they would use a thin oversized insole as mid, and glue the upper to it before stitching the whole thing to a new outer... but you're really risking the shape of the upper being wrong now.

Where's that GT track end thread?

You've just ruined them, the sole itself was not stitched.
only the mid to outers.
Now you have no footshape for a cobbler to try and copy/mend etc...

Bin 'em.

Ahhh yeah I see what you mean. In that case removing the correct part was out of my league. RIP desert boots you (sort of) served me well.

as @pdlouche say, the crepe is a right PITA to remove, it has to be ground off, makes a huge mess, and then they have to find something to stick to whatever is left.

Not worth doing.

Dude?!

What do you do to them? TRI, winter training, waters ports?

Just walking around in them, as soon as the outer sole holes through I binned them.

in circles, like?

The holes were generally circular, yes.