Allen Edmonds repair -vs- my cobbler

[Tyrone MacStiophain]

My AE Lexingtons are getting a bit of a squishy sole. I know AE is famed for their recrafting service, but the uppers are actually pretty good - it's just the sole and heel that need work. The previous owner had them resoled, and it looks like a bit of a shoddy job. I, however, have a cobbler that I trust. Is there any reason why I should send them to AE instead of him?

 

[MyOtherLife]

Get the Prestige package and they'll not only put the shoes back on their original last while recrafting,
but you'll get a new welt, as well as soles and heels. They'll also give you new shoe bags and trees.
Their Regular package omits the bags and trees and is otherwise identical (less $$).
No cobbler will beat AE for full recrafting on AE shoes.

 

[entrero]

FAIK Allen Edmonds won't recraft if your shoes were fixed somewhere else.

 

[rdaws]

E uses the original last, that way you know they'll fit exactly the same way when they come back.

 

[cioni2k]

Originally Posted by entrero

AFAIK Allen Edmonds won't recraft if your shoes were fixed somewhere else.

+1 I don't think have a choice here since they've already been recrafted by someone other than AE

 

[tgt465]

From what I understand, AE may choose to reject shoes for recrafting if they cannot undo what another cobbler has done, but they may still be able to recraft shoes even if someone else has worked on them. In the FAQ on their website, they say they will just ship the shoes back to you if they find they cannot recraft them, so you can try sending them the shoes and see what they have to say about it.

 

[Tyrone MacStiophain]

Thanks for the replies everyone. It seems like my original question was misguided, actually. I thought that one could send shoes to AE just to have them resoled, without the full recrafting package. But they don't actually offer that service. According to their FAQ:

"In many cases, prior work on Allen Edmonds shoes by other cobblers may prevent us from Recrafting a pair of shoes. Many cobblers are not capable of reconstructing our shoes as they are done in our own facilities. As a result, alternative methods of resoling are used by cobblers, and in many cases this prevents us from being able to disassemble the shoes."​

The cobbler who resoled these didn't replace the whole sole - just sliced a layer off the front part and glued a new layer back on.

Probably can't be fixed.

 

[well-kept]

Why not let AE decide?

 

[rebel222]

Es policy is that they won't resole those. I don't know if they make exceptions.

That's called a half sole. It's a fairly common resole job for customers who don't want to spend any money..

 

[hohneokc]

I had 2 pair of AE's that had half soles done a few years back. I sent them to AE, and they were able to recraft both pair. It depends on how the work was done.

I would send them in and see what they say.

Here are some pictures of one of the pairs before and after sent by AE.

Chris

 

[Fred H.]

Send them back to AE. They will not only redo the soles but strip the leather down, add new cork to the footbeds, etc. Much better deal for shoes in this condition. THEN have your cobbler add 1/16 inch rubber half soles (topys or zipps) and you'll never need to have these resoled again.