I have got a cobbler to add to several of my leather-soled shoes: 1) a rubber anti-slip sole (which totally covers the first half of the whole sole) 2) a metal piece at the tip of the sole to reduce wear and tear and "chipping" when you accidentally kick your shoes against the stairs. For several of my other leather-soled shoes, I took the advice of purists (and the manufacturers) not to stick anything. What do you guys think? The usual arguments against adding the rubber soles are: 1) It distorts the "balance" of the shoe 2) It prevents the shoe from "breathing" and you end up with feet which are more moist/wet On point 1), I find my shoes equally comfortable to wear with/without the rubber soles and walking has never been a problem. Looks wise, the add-on may add perhaps 2 or 3 mm to the thickness of the whole sole which in most cases seem quite harmless On point 2), the leather soles have been bark-tanned and hammered and I wonder if the pores in the sole really still "breathes". Or do you suspect this whole anti-rubber sole thingy is really a form of shoe manufacturers wanting to protect their interest (to get more business from you re-soling your shoe or buying more shoes when these soles wear out)? Rubber anti-slip soles are really practical because walking on slippery floor (such as well-polished marble flooring in office lobbies, pedestrian walkway after a rain etc.). If anyone has had an experience of slipping and falling due to slippery soles (in the process, dirtying his beautiful shirt/pants not to mention making a fool of himself), he will probably throw out the whole "purist" idealogy and attach rubber soles to all his shoes. Comments anyone?
