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intermediate shoe repair questions

random512

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I want to get some shoes resoled with double soles and custom heels. The double sole would just be 2 full length 9-iron leather soles. I'm guessing that the typical process would be to glue these together with a strong adhesive and then stitch or nail these together. Is this correct? Asking for this type of double sole shouldn't create any anxiety with a mid-level cobbler, right?

I bought some JR toplifts but these are just 1/4 surface layers. I'll need to buy 15mm heel blocks. Unfortunately, leatherandgrindery.com doesn't sell JR heel blocks. Can you recommend some good quality heel blocks that would work well with JR toplifts? I'm guessing that a cobbler would use a machine to grind down the surface of heel blocks and toplifts so the edges are flush. Then he would glue the top lifts and heel blocks together and then glue the assembled heel to the sole and then nail it through. Is this correct? Asking a mid-level cobbler to assemble a heel like this shouldn't create any anxiety right?

I'd like to get some toe taps installed in the sole as well. I think that these may be somewhat uncommon in most cities although cobblers probably encounter these from time to time in cities like NYC and SFO. How hard would it be for a mid-level cobbler to install a pair of toe taps in a new sole if he had never done it before? Is there a particular url or YouTube video that would be helpful to refer him to?
 

breakaway01

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What are you trying to accomplish by attempting to teach a cobbler their job and buying the materials on your own when clearly you know very little about the how the job is done? Obviously you don't have a person you fully trust.

If it really matters to you to get it done right (and it should), and if you don't have a local cobbler whom you trust to do a great job, send your shoes to the original manufacturer for a factory resoling, or else send them to a well-known high-end shoe repair service. Why use someone you don't trust, to the point that you want to show them a video on how to install a pair of toe taps? You keep referring to a "mid-level" cobbler. What does this mean, how do you know they are "mid-level", and why would you trust this job to a "mid-level" worker?

I would also add that you run the risk of turning off people with this approach. These are busy professionals who work with relatively thin profit margins, and some of them will (politely) decline the job rather than take on the hassle of dealing with a customer who wants to tell them how to do their job.
 
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random512

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@break - I have a specific local cobbler in mind who has many years of experience. He seems like a pretty smart guy but he also has a very no-nonsense attitude. So I want to make sure that I have all of my ducks in a row before making my request. He told me that he doesn't carry JR but told me that I could supply him with the materials.

I have sent a pair of shoes to a well-known JR resoler in the past but he didn't use a double-sole as requested. When I followed up with him he replied with an answer like "Yeah that wasn't the style of the original sole." I emailed the same cobbler a few years later and asked if he could do a 3/8" sole and he replied and basically said that he categorically didn't do business with picky people like me. I did some research and 3/8" sole is basically just a 9-iron double sole. So obviously this well-known JR resoler is not a good fit for me.

These are old Armani captoes so it's not like AE or Alden who have a strong process in place for resoling and/or recrafting.
 

breakaway01

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@break - I have a specific local cobbler in mind who has many years of experience. He seems like a pretty smart guy but he also has a very no-nonsense attitude. So I want to make sure that I have all of my ducks in a row before making my request. He told me that he doesn't carry JR but told me that I could supply him with the materials.
This guy is asking you to supply him with the JR soles, toplifts, and heel blocks? Again, and I may be reading too much into this, but I get the sense that he is not super thrilled to be working with you either. Do you really think that he can't order JR materials if he wants to? Kinda like the tailor who told you to find someone with an AMF stitcher instead of doing the stitching by hand themselves. And if he really can't/won't get JR soles, find a better cobbler. My advice is to find someone you trust, explain what you want done (not how to do it, but the end result), and if they say they can do it, let them do their job.
 

random512

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This guy is asking you to supply him with the JR soles, toplifts, and heel blocks? Again, and I may be reading too much into this, but I get the sense that he is not super thrilled to be working with you either. Do you really think that he can't order JR materials if he wants to? Kinda like the tailor who told you to find someone with an AMF stitcher instead of doing the stitching by hand themselves. And if he really can't/won't get JR soles, find a better cobbler. My advice is to find someone you trust, explain what you want done (not how to do it, but the end result), and if they say they can do it, let them do their job.

jeez @break, like I said he's a no-nonsense guy and like you said, profit margins are thin. His attitude is that he has no problem doing that for me but he's not going to go out of his way to obtain supplies for a one-off job. I want to make sure I have my ducks in a row so I can make the best use of his time, don't ask questions that I can find the answers to beforehand and am able to give him quick info if he asks.
 

breakaway01

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just don't offer to show him a video on how to install toe taps, lol
 

random512

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just don't offer to show him a video on how to install toe taps, lol

@break it may be possible that the cobbler has never installed toe taps. if he's never installed toe taps but I'm able to give him info then he may say that he'll see what he can do but no promises. Otherwise, if he's never installed toe taps and I don't have any info to give him then he'll probably just say "sorry I don't do that"
 

GBR

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just don't offer to show him a video on how to install toe taps, lol


Well said! Random512 has a habit of trying to teach people their job and asking many questions to help that.

I really don't understand why he should buy all these things and then proceed to ask his cobbler to use them. If the cobbler has no clue about his job and needs to be shown these items, (unlikely), go to another. Were I to be that unfortunate chap, I'd pitch anyone teaching me my job straight out of the door.
 

breakaway01

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@break it may be possible that the cobbler has never installed toe taps. if he's never installed toe taps but I'm able to give him info then he may say that he'll see what he can do but no promises. Otherwise, if he's never installed toe taps and I don't have any info to give him then he'll probably just say "sorry I don't do that"
Honestly, I am just trying to be helpful here. Don’t do this. He is going to say “sorry I don’t do that”, even if he has done it a thousand times, to get you off his back.

One of the great achievements of modern civilization is that we no longer have to be subsistence hunter-gatherers (at least not in developed areas), which allows for specialization. In turn that demands some degree of trust because you can’t know everything your cobbler (or tailor or neurosurgeon) knows. Working well with anyone outside your area of expertise demands some trust in their abilities and knowledge. I’ll say this just one more time and then I’ll get out of your way: just ask him if he can install flush toe taps. If he can and seems confident, go for it. If he says no or is hesitant to do it, find someone else.
 

SeaDweller

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I emailed the same cobbler a few years later and asked if he could do a 3/8" sole and he replied and basically said that he categorically didn't do business with picky people like me.

Your answer lies right there. If you’re that particular, you need to find someone who’s answer will be “of course I can do that for you!” If he’s telling you to supply him the stuff and he said he can do it, then stop worrying. If you’re supplying him materials and you’re questioning his profession, you need to find someone else so that way you don’t ruin a potential relationship with this cobbler.
 

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