Crack in the sole of my Edward Greens

[forseti6]

So I recently dropped off my pair of Edward Green Chelseas to have steel toe taps installed by a reputable shoe repair company in NYC. I've had them do all the my toe taps in the past and I have nothing but praise for them. But my latest pair of shoes came back with an issue. After wearing the shoes for an hour I noticed the the sole on the left shoe had developed a crack. Inspecting further, the crack goes through the entire sole:

Now judging by the vicinity to the toe tap installation, I can only deduce it was caused by that.

Is this something to worry about? The crack actually moves like tectonic plates when I walk on it. I feel this crack has compromised the integrity of my sole and might require a resoling prematurely. Should I bring this up with the shoe repair store? Has anyone seen this before?

 

[gyasih]

I can't comment as to whether or not it will have an affect on the shoe, but I would definitely mention it.

 

[forseti6]



I would be careful with that. It is probably a good idea to ask EG for an opinion, but it might mean having the shoe resoled, which is better than discovering that the shoe has become entirely ruined as a result of wearing them with the damage.

How old is the shoe?

Did they have a lot of wear before you sent them in for toe taps or were they unworn?

If they were new, were they not perhaps a little dry from being left in a dry retail storage area for a long time? If this is the case then the cobbler really should have noted this before installing the toe taps and he should have treated the leather before installing the plates.

Are the toe taps screwed in or are they nailed in? How thick are the screws holding them in? Where are teh screws / nails placed vis a vis the stitching?

When you say the sole "moves like tectonic plates" are the leather pieces making up the sole moving horizontally? Or is the movement confined to the vertical crack visible in the image?

I bought these shoes in the summer. Probably wore them two or three times tops before I decided to get the toe taps installed. I'm 100% certain there was no sole crack when I brought them in. The shoes had very little wear on them.

These taps were screwed in. I would say the screws are fairly standard, place near but not on the stitching.

The sole isn't move horizontally, but it is moving vertically along the crack.

From what I gather I suppose I'll bring it into the shoe repair store and ask them for their opinion on Monday.