johnnyhooks
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Damn, this was awesome.
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DW, so this should never be done?
While we're on the subject, should the heels on a new pair of shoes sit flush/level to the floor or should there be a bit of a bevel/pitch, sort of like the heel equivalent of toe spring? Iirc, a member (ajv?) mentioned that he has his cobber adjust the heels on all his new/unworn rtw shoes to have them lay flat (can't find the thread/posts).
Wes,
IMO, never...without the original last never.
Most shoemakers will build the shoe with the heels flat. Some shoemakers will allow a tiny amount of heel spring...enough that you might slip the edge of a dime under the back of the heel.
always taught to make the heel flat, some companies do not build their own heels up, they buy pre made from outside companies, you can request certain dimensions but when you have so many different lasts being used, each with different heel pitch and toe spring size its never going to fit all the lasts perfectly, some places scour it flat after putting the first heel piece on and then building up from there, some places just scour the top piece flat, but it should be made flat either way, but most places are hammering out as many pairs as possible and just putting pre made's on, sometimes ive noticed that when heeling a pair of bespoke hand welted shoes that having the shank and filler in only a shallow depression in the insole gives it that extra bit of shape that can make the front of the heel lower than the back, which doesnt have the shank, only the upper thickness, could possibly be why those rather expensive shoes posted have the wrong pitch on the heel, its only a problem if you feel it though when you walk i guess
But either way...even if the shoe has become broken down or distorted, when worn it is functioning as it was intended. If the cobbler cuts the breast down it can never regain its original shape not even when worn.
In fact, whatever distortion has been created in the shoe by wear is only exaggerated by leveling the heel without the original last reinserted.
I think this practice is one of the most misguided that shoe-repairmen fall prey to. And it suggests, to me at least, a deep, critical, lack of understanding about the shoe, lasts, and even the foot.
Iirc, most/all my rtw shoes and boots had some heel spring when new. Only the front of the heel and an area near the ball of the foot make contact on a flat surface. This might explain why:
always taught to make the heel flat, some companies do not build their own heels up, they buy pre made from outside companies, you can request certain dimensions but when you have so many different lasts being used, each with different heel pitch and toe spring size its never going to fit all the lasts perfectly, some places scour it flat after putting the first heel piece on and then building up from there, some places just scour the top piece flat, but it should be made flat either way, but most places are hammering out as many pairs as possible and just putting pre made's on, sometimes ive noticed that when heeling a pair of bespoke hand welted shoes that having the shank and filler in only a shallow depression in the insole gives it that extra bit of shape that can make the front of the heel lower than the back, which doesnt have the shank, only the upper thickness, could possibly be why those rather expensive shoes posted have the wrong pitch on the heel, its only a problem if you feel it though when you walk i guess
Despite all that, without the original last...even if there is some real distortion that has occurred during wear...the cobbler is guessing how much to remove from the breast of the heel. The chances of simply making both heel identical in height are slim ti none.
I don't believe anything should be removed unless the repairman has done such an amateurish job as to leave the outsole thicker under the breast of the heel that it originally was. In any case, this would only apply to full sole jobs where a splice was situated under the heel.
Barring that, if nothing is removed the shoe ends up fitting and feeling like it did when it was made. But in the absence of the original last, if any material is removed, the shoe is taken out of its original configuration and will never fit as it was designed to fit again.
Could a brand new heel be added and this leveled one cut off to fix the problem of leveling without a last?