What kind of soles do I want on these boots?
November 19, 2019 4:01 PM   Subscribe

I just bought these black leather wingtip boots on consignment (only $40!). I'd like to get them re-soled with a sole that has more traction, including when it's wet out (right now even though the soles are scuffed, they're a bit slippery). Can I go to any good cobbler for this? What soles should I get, and what am I asking for?

I don't know the brand, but the sole tells me the shoes are "real leather" and made in Portugal. I love them! But I want them to be good everyday shoes (I work in an office) and right now the soles are slipping sometimes when I walk and ride my bike. The soles seem to be leather with rubber heels.

Do I want rubber soles? Do I need to specify anything with the cobbler? Is there anything else I can or should ask for? And how might the aesthetics of the shoe change? Thanks!
posted by bluedaisy to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (7 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
I think Dainite rubber soles are exactly what you want.
posted by Karaage at 4:18 PM on November 19, 2019


Best answer: Okay, the critical thing to understand here is that you are almost certainly going to get a glued-on sole rather than a stitched on sole, because a stitched on sole would literally require rebuilding the boot on the last, and that's just not realistic unless you've got a very pricey shoe made by a small producer. Dainite is pretty much a stitched-on sole.

What you're going to do is get something glued on. You're either going to get a thinner sole-cover glued on over the existing sole or you're going to get the heel piece knocked off and a full vibram-type sole glued on. This will be more expensive than a sole cover and will create a chunkier profile for the shoe.

A good cobbler will have a range of sole covers to show you. They'll be in the shape of a large, blobby foot and will be trimmed to fit your boot. These sole covers will have different textures and be of different thicknesses, although mostly not thick enough to substantially alter the appearance of the boot. If you have a fancy cobbler, he may have some in fun colors, but most don't. The very thinnest ones are mostly to protect the sole from wear and don't do much for slipperiness. They are often Topy brand and have a texture a bit like coarse sandpaper . You'll want a medium-textured medium thick one, using your judgement.

If you really wanted to preserve the silhouette of the boot, you'd get the Topy because it's the thinnest. A grippier one will very slightly chunk up the boot, but with that shape I don't think it will matter much.

If you ever do get a pair and decide to have the heel piece knocked off, you can get almost a platform effect if you start with a moderately thick sole. If this interests you, I can post a couple of pictures of boots I've done this with - but it is more expensive. It does make the boots cushier and warmer because your feet are further off the cold sidewalk. However, you need a decent cobbler - it's not a difficult job, but many shoe repair places mostly glue separated shoes and apply sole covers now, so they may not understand what you want. My cobbler is good, but he's not some kind of ultra-artisanal cobbler to the elite or anything; it's a regular job for a regular shoe guy with some depth of experience.

If this were me, I would see if I could invest in some nice shoe cream and a black wax - see what the shoe repair place has. That looks like not-corrected or minimally corrected grain leather, which is good; it also looks a teensy bit dry around the ankles. You can go very, very fancy with shoe creams, but I'd start by looking for a full service cobbler and seeing if they have something nicer than what they stock at Target but not quite the Saphir Medaille D'Or.

To polish them, wipe them down gently with a slightly damp rag to remove surface dirt. Rub lightly with a shoe cream, either using a brush to apply cream to the brogued parts or carefully skirting them (otherwise you get clumps of cream or polish in the holes and it's hard to get out). Let them rest until dry. Lightly buff to remove any surplus cream. Using a cloth, rub the wax until it's a bit warm and the cloth has picked some up, then lightly polish the boots, again using care around the broguing. Let them dry. Vigorously buff to a slight shine. If you're in doubt about this process, you can apply polish with paper towels and use a toothbrush for dealing with the broguing, but you can also use clothes and a polish brush if you get into it. If you're out in wet and muddy weather, polish every couple of weeks or when they start to look like they need it. (This is not an orthodox Shoe Guy polish process - it's way easier and your results will not be fit for promenading at Pitti - but it's perfectly decent for the average person.)
posted by Frowner at 4:44 PM on November 19, 2019 [15 favorites]


Further to this: the wear on the sole of those boots could have been prevented altogether by applying a sole cover once they were a tiny bit broken in but basically when they were still brand new. IMO, unless you have very fine boots with a really sturdy, hard leather sole (like English country boots have) a leather sole is a tricky thing - on the one hand, an uncovered sole feels softer and more responsive when walking, but on the other it gets soaked by rain very easily and when it's soaked it's fragile and rubs away against the pavement. If you walk around in leather-soled boots in the wet, you're going to wear them out a lot sooner.
posted by Frowner at 4:54 PM on November 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


I like the Vibram 430 mini-lug sole. You get a lot of the traction of Vibram's more aggressive lugged soles, but much lower profile, like the Dainite. You definitely don't want leather soles in Portland.
posted by sportbucket at 4:56 PM on November 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Those are fantastic! What you have done to them will depend on where you fall on the intersection of what you’re willing to pay vs how long you want them to last.

My cobbler would probably offer me two options:

1. The cheap version: getting a vibram sole glued over the existing leather sole and replacing the heel cap. This would probably run around $60 ($40 for soles, $20 for heel caps), would make the shoes significantly less slippery, and be sufficient to make the shoes last well for another 2-3 seasons of regular wear. But once the vibram wears down (and it will, eventually), you likely won’t be able to replace it because the underlying leather is so thin and weak.

2. The full on lifetime option: Replace the leather soles ($80), which are really quite worn, and the. add the vibram layer and heel cap (another $60). This will make the shoe warmer, as Frowner mentioned, make them anti-slip, AND mean that in 2-3 years when the vibram wears down, you can have that stripped and replaced.

The cheap version is what I do with new shoes that I love - I preserve the original sole before I ever wear the shoes outside. I also need to get heel caps replaced more frequently than soles because of how I walk. My shoes and boots easily last 10+ years this way, even wearing leather oxfords to ride my bike or walk in snow. Do be sure to clean and condition them well, so the leather of the upper doesn’t dry out and crack!
posted by amelioration at 5:00 PM on November 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thanks, all! I was much better informed during a conversation with a local cobbler today. I'm going with a replacement black Vibram sole.
posted by bluedaisy at 3:24 PM on December 16, 2019


Response by poster: Oh! And they're going to clean and polish them and apply a treatment to help with water protection. Yay!
posted by bluedaisy at 3:27 PM on December 16, 2019


« Older The theory of music theory   |   Gift ideas for an avid 13 year old reader Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.