You are reading a single comment by @ChasnotRobert and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
-
What shoemaker was against this? Probably one with a view to keep a shoe pure, or with too much experience seeing bad stick-a-sole jobs. Else, someone hoping you keep paying them for a leather through-sole.
Putting a rubber half-sole on top of leather soles is tried and tested, and in Paris if you find a good shoemaker they’d lay a particular type of toe-blakey flush with it. That’s the ‘proper’ way to protect the shoe for the longest time.
So long as the cobbler/shoemaker is skilled, a rubber half sole will not damage the shoe, won’t cut away at the welt, and will really increase the longevity.
Try to match the heel and half-sole material to avoid mismatched levels of grip. So if you get a Vibram half sole, get a Vibram heel block too.
pdlouche
@ChasnotRobert
what is the consensus about sticking a rubber half sole onto a leather soled shoe?
shoemakers are very clear that you should not do this, but I have been doing so with a pair of Barkers for quite a few years and they are still going well.
For work shoes, it's impractical for me to wear leather soles all day due to the amount of walking in my commute. I'd go through leather soles in less than a year, and that's wearing them every other day. So either I have to take my work shoes in a bag and change, which is a bit of a pain to either carry around another pair of shoes or leave them at work, or do the stick on thing.