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Any cobblers here? Catastrophic boot failure - requesting advice

 
Mercy Pergande
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I have a pair of boots, not work boots but warm for winter. The suede uppers are in immaculate condition. The heels and soles have disintegrated. I asked the maker and they were helpful but say it is caused by age and it isn't in their scope to repair them. It goes against my grain to discard them because the uppers are *pristine*, so if anyone has ideas, advice for how to repair them (or someone who would want to repair them), I am all ears! Last choice, ways to recycle them...
image2.jpeg
swede boots for mending soles
image3.jpeg
broken sole of boot needs mending
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broken sole of boot needs mending

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Judson Carroll
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I have not tried this, but Marjory Wildcraft swears by them!  https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/848636/re-soling-shoes-it-was-easy#latest

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It is difficult to identify the materials from the pictures. I did rebuild a boot once with epoxy.   But, it looks as if much of the sole of your boot is made of some spongy material.   If so, I question if epoxy would work.

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When I took a pair of leather shoes to a shoe repair shop they said they were sorry because my shoes were "molded" and unrepairable. I believe (but am uncertain) that the alternative is having the sole "sewn" onto the shoe. I can't tell for sure, but I don't see a visible seam, so I'm guessing yours are also "molded" and will likely be difficult to repair.

That said, I don't know if you have to give up all hope. You could just re-engineer some soles. The originals had to be attached somehow.

I surprised myself by successfully repairing my 2 year old's shoes with hot glue. I seriously doubted it would hold, but so far so good.

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L. Johnson
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Looking into this a little more, it seems like the reason molded or "bonded" soles, as apparently they are called, are difficult or impossible to repair because removing the old soles also damages or destroys the leather part of the upper shoe.

If that is the case, I wonder if you could cut off most of the existing sole, then construct a wooden heel with a recycled rubber (tire rubber or other) tread, and then either nail it on or use the same type of cement the shoemakers use to attach the new soles. Chances are it will look a lot sloppier than a pro job (at least it would if I did it) but it could prolong the life of your shoes.

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Anne Miller
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I wonder if something like this might work if you cut them to fit and use the hot glue like L Johnson mentioned?



https://www.ebay.com/itm/163464967048


Also, I found this shoe repair service that you might email and ask if they can help, though their service is expensive.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/323813507680


As, L Johnson, mentioned it is possible in trying to remove the old soles there just is not enough of the shoe left to repair.

Those are nice boots so I hope you can figure something out.

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Mercy Pergande
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Thank you all for the great ideas! I think that since it is not a "cupped" sole, the amount of damage removing the old sole will still allow for something to be reattached. It is a weird material but it seems like I could exacto it off enough to get to a more stable surface to bond a new sole to if I had the right materials. I am going to go through the materials all of you have linked to see if one seems the most suitable for this type of shoe (it has a shank and a low heel so it may need something on the firmer side). I am also looking at the cobbler links to see if paying a skilled craftsperson might be the better route.

I'll try to add any progress I make to this thread in case it's helpful for future reference.

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Joylynn Hardesty
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Judson Carroll wrote:I have not tried this, but Marjory Wildcraft swears by them!  https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/848636/re-soling-shoes-it-was-easy#latest



Probably not a good solution to your boot situation, but Hunny has done a similar thing with his crocks. But he used closeout flip-flop soles that were only $1. They did need  a touch of shaping.

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