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Church's Recrafting - $160 anyone have experience?

swoobie

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Has anyone used Church's for recrafting? What is included? The cost is pretty high at $160, but the Tasmania boots are some of my favorites...
 

randallr

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Never done it but Im sure it's worth it
 

gregaz

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I have a couple of Church's that I love, and I have thought about recrafting when the time comes. If you search the archives, the common thought is that UK recrafting is not a good value with our conversion rate. I have considered B Nelson recrafting for this reason, but have not tried either yet. (It appears the B Nelson website is down right now).

BUT, if you want original, from the original craftsmen ... there is no better option.

Cheers!
 

lizmasc

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I haven't used Church's for recrafting and I probably won't be using, at least not in the near future anyway. I know there are some charging over $100 for recrafting
boxing[1].gif
smiley2.gif
 

Kaplan

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I recently had a pair of Consuls that I bought 15 years ago shipped to England and recrafted.

Current exhange rates considered, I paid about $170, which I find pretty fair when a new pair would cost $700 here.

The work done on them is beautiful and the shoes came back in a new box with new shoebags and a nice 'Rebuild by Church's Craftsmen' stamp on the new soles.

My only complaint is that the new soles seem to be slightly larger than the old ones - you can see more of the sole surrounding the toecap when looking directly down at the shoe.

All in all I think this service is worth it and I would be glad if more makers offered something like it.
 

swoobie

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Originally Posted by Kaplan
I recently had a pair of Consuls that I bought 15 years ago shipped to England and recrafted.

Current exhange rates considered, I paid about $170, which I find pretty fair when a new pair would cost $700 here.

The work done on them is beautiful and the shoes came back in a new box with new shoebags and a nice 'Rebuild by Church's Craftsmen' stamp on the new soles.

My only complaint is that the new soles seem to be slightly larger than the old ones - you can see more of the sole surrounding the toecap when looking directly down at the shoe.

All in all I think this service is worth it and I would be glad if more makers offered something like it.



Thank you Kaplan - what was included in the rebuild? Soles, footbed, etc.?
 

Kaplan

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Completely new soles and new 'heel pads' (the piece of leather on the footbed, that you see when you look directly down into the shoe, which usually has the makers name in gold lettering).

And I'm pretty sure they gave them new shoelaces. And a new shine
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Now, old as they were, these shoes weren't in great disrepair, so they really only just needed a resoling. I'm assuming Church will replace and rebuild as necessary, as long as the upper leathers are pretty much intact...

Btw, if you haven't, you should see this.
 

Chips

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God, I need a pair like that. My only brown wingtips are cordovan, and too bulky, cloggy looking. Those look amazing. Especially the transformation.
 

juniper

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Also shows that corrected grain can last, and age well, even if it cracks a bit.
devil.gif
 

Geoff Gander

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General recrafting question - does anyone know if the higher-end shoemakers can repair small holes in the uppers? There's a pair of Church's oxfords at the local thift store (my size) - solid construction, lots of life left in them, but each one has a very small hole where the crease would be. Just wondering.

Geoff
 

bengal-stripe

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Originally Posted by Geoff Gander
General recrafting question - does anyone know if the higher-end shoemakers can repair small holes in the uppers?

Well, they can't really close a hole that is there already.

If you go for a proper re-crafting, once the shoe is taken off the old sole, they could place a patch from underneath (between upper leather and lining) to prevent the tear from opening any more.

Whether these shoes are worth the cost of a proper re-craft is debatable. Although they might fix those particular tears, there is a possibility, tears elsewhere will open pretty soon.

As a rule, once the uppers get damaged, the shoes have had it.
 

swoobie

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Originally Posted by Kaplan

Btw, if you haven't, you should see this.


Great article that describes all the work done by Church's. Thank you!
 

Leather man

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I have had about ten pairs recrafted by Church's. The cost nowadays is £85 so I am surprised they are quoting $170 - does that include shipping?

To answer the question what will they do - anything that is needed within reason. I recently had a pair of Perths done and they replaced the sole, heel, insole, heel lining, and toe puff. I was very impressed! They always charge the same amount no matter how much work they do. The minimum is sole and heel.

The one negative experience I've had is they split a pair of Guildfords which are not very old at - and t his on the first recraft. However Church's have been very ready to replace them for me with a brand new pair - can't say fairer than that!

Not everyone thinks manufacturer recrafting is worth it - and better cobblers say they can do a better job for less money because they don't take the whole shoe apart.

You pays your money and takes your choice.
 

Leather man

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Originally Posted by juniper
Also shows that corrected grain can last, and age well, even if it cracks a bit.
devil.gif


Although the shoes in question are Burwood ( I think) and today all Burwoods are made with corrected grain leather those shoes on the video look like they were made with full grain leather.

That is not to say properly cared for Polished Binder won't last - I've had a pair for nine years which get worn regularly and still going strong. But lets not start THAT discussion again!
 

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