Shoe Repair

[ct2272]

I just added 2 new pairs of shoes to my collection.  

I purchased a pair of Grenson Footmasters from Chris @ Bennie's Shoes as well as the C&J Aintree from PLAL.  Incidentally PLAL's new shipment from the C&J factory arrived last week and I received them today.

Assuming sometime over their lifetime I will need to have these repaired, I have searched through the forums and have not found what I was looking for.  Basically a cobbler who can fix Goodyear welted and channel soled shoes (hopefully got the terminology right).

I brought up the idea to a cobbler locally and he had no idea what Goodyear welted even was.  Now I don't necessarily mind that when he's working on a 3 year old pair of Johnston and Murphy shoes, but I want to keep these things perfect. That to me means original replacement parts for the things that need to be repaired.

Incidentally the 11.5E Aintree on the 337 last fits my 12D feet perfectly. I read that sometimes people go 1 full size down because of Handgrades but took my chances and stuck with the 1/2 down, 1 letter up formula to much success.

Regards,
CT

 

[drizzt3117]

I imagine Allen Edmonds could fix them...

 

[AlanC]

I think the only way you'll be getting original replacement parts as such would be to send them to Grenson or C&J for refurbishment.

Reports on Allen Edmonds refurbishment has been positive around here.

 

[shoefan]

While a shoe repair person may not know what Goodyear welted is, I have to imagine that they've seen and repaired many Goodyear welted shoes over the years, unless they are extremely new to the business.

Now, to the issue of a channeled sole; this feature is pretty rare, relative to the number of shoes sold. Moreover, American manufacturers don't feature this on their Goodyear welted shoes, so finding a shoe repairman who has the skill, inclination, and equipment to do a channeled sole seems unlikely in all but the most unusual circumstances. Finally, of course, only the manufacturer can resole the shoe on the original last, which has some benefits.

So, if you want a channeled sole redone to original standards, I think you'll most likely have to send them to the manufacturer for refurbishment.

 

[Thracozaag]

I'm going to eventually have to send my C&J's back for refurbishment. Anyone have experience with this in terms of pricing/time of repair?

koji

 

[Super Fly]

Not to hijack this thread, but I was wondering about the same thing- but in the SF Bay Area. Any recommendations for a cobbler that would be good enough for C&J or EG shoes? I would prefer not to send them across the pond.

 

[ct2272]

To Koji's point, what are the steps involved in a factory return. I believe Chris @ Bennies can do Grenson refurbishments so that leaves me with C&J and their website only caters to sales and product descriptions.

Regards,
CT

 

[Lomezz]

I'm going to eventually have to send my C&J's back for refurbishment.  Anyone have experience with this in terms of pricing/time of repair?

I called the London shop a while ago, and they offer a full refurbishement service for 90 GBP plus 30 for shipping back.

They also have a local cobbler who will only replace soles for about 60 GBP, but if you bother sending your shoes back, you might as well go all the way.

You might want to coincide the refurbishement with one of the C&J sales - then you can save on the shipment, which is pretty steep.

 

[cjl1013]

This doesn't specifically address the problem of shoe repair, but can anyone give me advice on the proper way to shine/polish leather shoes? Do I use saddle soap first, last, or not at all? Mink oil, yes or no? Any recommendations/suggestions?

 

[ct2272]

I strongly suggest a search on the matter with regards to shining/polishing.  My technique is below that I just used on my Black C&J Aintrees:

1.  Cloth to remove the dust from the shoe.
2.  Leather conditioner applied to shoe and allowed to dry.
3.  Without removing conditioner I apply on top a black paste wax.  I prefer Angelus because of their particular blend of waxes but have noticed Kiwi spreads easier.  You will find a differing opinion on this as Kiwi contains alcohol and has been known to dry out the leather after long-term use.  I have not personally experienced this problem yet.
4.  Apply the heat of a blow dryer to warm the wax and allow it to work its way into the leather.  When the wax appears to be translucent after warming that is when I stop and let it cool.
5.  Once cooled, brush with a horsehair brush.
6.  Repeat steps 3-5 twice more.

The above is what I call a brush wax.  It is perfectly adequate, but I prefer a really glossy shine to my shoes.  To do so I add the below which is referred to as a spit shine. There also has been a debate that discusses how a spit shine seals the pores of leather in the shoe. I have seen just as many counter arguments that dispute this.

7.  Repeat steps 3-4 once more and do not brush off.
8.  Wet a cotton rag, old tshirt or something soft.  Wrap the rag around your index and middle fingers and add wax.
9.  In a circular motion proceed to work the wax on the wet rag into the shoe.  You will not notice anything but then suddenly the shoe will increase significantly in shine.
10.  Use less wax this time on your rag but repeat step 9.
11.  For the 3rd time, use even less wax but repeat step 9.
12.  Use a dry cotton towel to wipe off the excess water.
13.  Go over the shoe with a nylon sock to remove the extremely minor defects.

Depending on how often you wear your shoes, after 3 - 4 wears it will be time for me to repeat this process.  I now have 2 black pair and 2 brown pair of shoes and wear once a week (no more than twice).  This would mean this process would be applied once every 3 weeks.  Time to clean is about an hour per pair.

Regards,
CT