You are reading a single comment by @ChasnotRobert and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
-
Thanks - interesting.
I think it was a pair of Barkers I bought which came with a note which said among other things, that applying a stick on sole would in their view ruin and in some way misshape the shoes and was not recommended. So I did it anyway.
The cobbler local to me in Walthamstow is good. He uses Italian rubber half soles and heels.
ChasnotRobert-
Can’t quite see in your photo but I assume it’s Svig? Generally pretty good and cheap.
Manufacturers will claim that, previous remarks I made were they won’t touch a shoe after a cobbler has (in their view) butchered it.
The particular type of toe-blakey is called a ‘toe tap’ by the way.
https://www.theshoesnobblog.com/2017/04/additions-to-your-sole.html
pdlouche
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.