Crockett & Jones recrafted Polos

[texquire]

I had two pair of shoes in need of recrafting. They're both Polo Benchmade in England, circa mid-to-late 1990's. One appears to be a jodhpur style boot with leather sole, and the is a suede split-toe boot with Danite sole.

The jodhpur was through its second heel, and the forefoot sole was starting to become de-stacked at the edges.

The split-toe had a nasty chunk of missing sole, and the heel was getting uneven from wear.

Internet folklore indicated that, based on the writing inside the shoe and the nail pattern on the heel, these were Crockett & Jones made, but I couldn't find the styles in C&J's current catalog or in various message board photo lists. I sent photos of the shoes to Huqstable at C&J on Royal Exchange, and he confirmed that they were C&J and that he could recraft them in approximately 6-8 weeks. So off they went.

I sent them USPS trackable, and I think the total was about $35-40 to ship. Time in transit was about 7 days or less. Not bad for government.

Nine weeks later, Huqstable writes to tell me that the shoes are done. I send a CC#, and he shipped them back via private parcel and USPS. The recrafting was 100 pounds per pair, and shipping was 30 pounds per pair.

Here are the results. The shoes have been resoled, rewelted, reheeled, and have new heel insole liners. Strangely, one pair's heel liner says Peal & Co., and the other says C&J. I guess it's whatever they have around. The jodhpur originally had a channelled sole, as you can see it came back with exposed stitching. On the suede boot, the Danite sole looks sharp and I got new laces. Despite wear from less careful sliding of shoe trees in and out, there are no new leather linings on the upper for either pair. I assume it could be replaced if worn through. Both pairs look dressed and shined. The suede pair look brushed and restored.

I'm happy with the work, price, and service. I look forward to another 10 years with these shoes.

 

[edmorel]

That is a very nice job but I am going to have to be a wet blanket and say that for a bit more than 100 pounds, you could have gotten something very similar, new.

 

[glowell222]

Why get something new? One of the reasons to buy a shoe made by bootmakers such as C&J is so that you can enjoy the shoes for pretty much all of your life.

 

[texquire]

Originally Posted by edmorel

That is a very nice job but I am going to have to be a wet blanket and say that for a bit more than 100 pounds, you could have gotten something very similar, new.

I didn't want new. I know where the shoe store is. I wanted my shoes, ready for another decade.

 

[polar-lemon]

Originally Posted by texquire

I didn't want new. I know where the shoe store is. I wanted my shoes, ready for another decade.

For a lot less than what you payed, couldn't a cobbler have simply recrafted them? B Nelson does it for ~120, and I doubt that the work is inferior to what C&J does.

 

[texquire]

Originally Posted by polar-lemon

For a lot less than what you payed, couldn't a cobbler have simply recrafted them? B Nelson does it for ~120, and I doubt that the work is inferior to what C&J does.

Probably.
I felt there was value in going back to the original lasts and welting. Also, if I had any complaints later on about the shoes as they originally were, I wanted to head off any retort about how the manufacturer can't account for work done by someone else. [Worst. Sentence. Ever.]

 

[Bellum]

$420 and 10 weeks for resoling two pairs of shoes.. hrmm.

 

[mr monty]

Both pair look great. They did an excellent job restoring the suede.

 

[greekgeek]

Looks like they did a nice job.

I think if you have already indulged in fine footwear you might as well go whole hog on the once every ten years refurb. Marginal perceived value FTW!

 

[srivats]

They have done a great job. The suede shoes look fantastic after the recraft!

 

[Sebastian]

The outcome looks really great.

But still, I have the feeling, the price is a little bit high. Or is this just me?
Don't want to hijack the thread, but how much do other shoe companys charge for their recrafting services?

 

[cwh812]

Originally Posted by Sebastian

The outcome looks really great.

But still, I have the feeling, the price is a little bit high. Or is this just me?
Don't want to hijack the thread, but how much do other shoe companys charge for their recrafting services?

I think AE charges around $80US.

 

[Ich_Dien]

Originally Posted by Sebastian

The outcome looks really great.

But still, I have the feeling, the price is a little bit high. Or is this just me?
Don't want to hijack the thread, but how much do other shoe companys charge for their recrafting services?

More than C&J.

 

[bigbris1]

Both look fantastic & well worth sending them to their manufacturer for the refurbishment. Thanks for posting.

 

[bengal-stripe]

Originally Posted by Sebastian

............but how much do other shoe companys charge for their recrafting services?

Ever since the year dot, English manufacturers tend to charge about 1/3 of the price for a new pair for a full recrafting.
In the old days, when a pair would cost 3 quid, it would have been a pound or 19s, 6d.)

Currently Loake or Barker will be about GBP 50; Church's will be near GBP 100;
Edward Green GBP 155 (that's what I paid recently) and John Lobb (RTW) will be above that.

Getting your shoes refurbished by the manufaccturer, is, I believe, money well spent.