JR Rendenbach Closing

[ntempleman]

Hope you’ve got a good repairman locally

 

[dieworkwear]

I would send that back to the maker because of the last.

 

[Nobilis Animus]

At least we know it wasn't gemming failure that killed the shoe this time.

 

[American_Psycho11]

A bunch of pictures in the spoiler

Spoiler: Knife + Allen Edmonds

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What is that insole made of? Some non-leather material

 

[Commisar]

That timeline sounds right for when I would have been buying AE and was a lurker on here and AAAC. Basically 06-'11ish. It would be interesting to see how much they've changed in the last 15 years or so. I'll grab some pictures in a bit but the summary -
Late '00's-ish AE:
2 layers of rubber in the heels with a leatherboard base.
Leatherboard/paper heel reinforcement over the cork - Not sure about this - I would have thought the shank would extend further through the arch but there's nothing else that would be a shank but I know nothing. I’m just a guy with an exacto knife and a pair of pliers.
360 welt
Some sort of composite stiffener in the heel - It's an extremely brittle material. It's not extended beyond the heel cup. There is no support to speak of.
Thicker insole than I expected to be honest - It was also pretty malleable.
Thick layer of cork.
Gemming had an absolute ton of glue and was still pretty solidly in place - It took quite a bit of work to get it up - In addition to stitching attaching everything, there are a bunch of staples holding the gemming, upper, liner etc together.

A bunch of pictures in the spoiler

Spoiler: Knife + Allen Edmonds

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AE doesn't really use shanks and when they do they are usually wood. It's almost random.

 

[Commisar]

What is that insole made of? Some non-leather material

It's leather, lacquered leather. They stopped doing that in 2012.

 

[Zapasman]

View attachment 1686982

Poor shoe!!. I mean... its quality, of course.

 

[Commisar]

That timeline sounds right for when I would have been buying AE and was a lurker on here and AAAC. Basically 06-'11ish. It would be interesting to see how much they've changed in the last 15 years or so. I'll grab some pictures in a bit but the summary -
Late '00's-ish AE:
2 layers of rubber in the heels with a leatherboard base.
Leatherboard/paper heel reinforcement over the cork - Not sure about this - I would have thought the shank would extend further through the arch but there's nothing else that would be a shank but I know nothing. I’m just a guy with an exacto knife and a pair of pliers.
360 welt
Some sort of composite stiffener in the heel - It's an extremely brittle material. It's not extended beyond the heel cup. There is no support to speak of.
Thicker insole than I expected to be honest - It was also pretty malleable.
Thick layer of cork.
Gemming had an absolute ton of glue and was still pretty solidly in place - It took quite a bit of work to get it up - In addition to stitching attaching everything, there are a bunch of staples holding the gemming, upper, liner etc together.

A bunch of pictures in the spoiler

Spoiler: Knife + Allen Edmonds

View attachment 1687043 View attachment 1687044 View attachment 1687045 View attachment 1687047 View attachment 1687048 View attachment 1687049 View attachment 1687050 View attachment 1687051 View attachment 1687052 View attachment 1687053 View attachment 1687054 View attachment 1687055 View attachment 1687056 View attachment 1687058 View attachment 1687057

Old reply but the heel counter/stiffener is celastic aka plastic impregnated fiber

 

[ThinkDerm]

Here’s an example about how these things are obtainable. I have a pair incoming and got some sneak peek pictures from the maker - they’re my last commission for the moment while I wait for my name to come up on a couple waiting lists.
View attachment 1685813
- Java lizard
- Workshop made
- Modified last (this will mainly serve as a wearable fitter for further refinement for my last since it was remote)
- Hand lasted
- Hand welted
- Leather toe puffs and heel stiffener skived down from insole leather
- ** I need to double check on welt strips - I think Bakers
- JR Insole
- linen thread
- felt rather than cork
- JR outsole (Bakers or Duscini was unavailable at the moment unfortunately)
- Hand sewn outsoles using I believe 10spi
- Lasted trees

This pair cost me less than CJ Handgrade. It required me to invest patience (waiting for my turn on the waiting list), thought (we drew the design up together), a little knowledge (to do remote measurements, tracings and stampings) and a little bit of money.

Is it obtainable for people who want to walk into Nordstrom and leave with a pair? Probably not their cup of tea. For a person who spends their days on SF and racks up numerous pairs of Meermin or AE per year? Absolutely.

nice pair. maker?

 

[ThinkDerm]

I've heard lots of speculation as to what caused the demise of Rendenbach.
My information comes from a very reliable source.
Seems like a perfect storm:
1. A steady decline in sales over the past 10 years.
2. The negative impact COVID has had on the demand/need for Men's dress shoes.
3. The German Government is imposing new regulations and requirements in order to combat pollution caused during the tanning process. Those requirements made it cost prohibitive for JR to remain viable.

The same thing happened in the U.S. some 30 years ago. Because of Gov't restrictions and new regulations it became impossible to compete pricewise so the sole tanning industry was forced out of business.
That's why you don't see U.S. made soles these days.

I hear in Italy the Gov't instituted similar restrictions/regulations. Several tanneries co-opted and pooled funds to share the extra expenses in order to offset the added costs.

Peak menswear 2010ish declined the next decade and there you have it. Crazy the german govt was the final nail in the coffin.

Where will soles come from?

 

[ThinkDerm]

Meanwhile:
View attachment 1686284

yup, went to bergdorf today. almost no classic dress shoes other than bontoni

 

[ThinkDerm]

Edward Green charges like, 300 dollars for a resole. It's absolutely nuts, when I can go to my cobbler and get it for 100ish.

have you resoled with Edward Green recently?

 

[Mercurio]

Where will soles come from?

Probably from Kilger tannery:

News - J.R. sole leather recipe sold to Kilger tannery - Shoegazing.com

After the news that the oak bark tanned sole leather tannery J. Rendenbach were to close down, many people hoped for some sort of solution for the

shoegazing.com

Another possible option:

Report - Gerberei Martin, traditional oak bark sole leather tannery - Shoegazing.com

Gerberei Martin is perhaps the oldest still existing tannery in the world, founded in 1645, and run by the same family ever since. They make the most

shoegazing.com

 

[JFWR]

have you resoled with Edward Green recently?

No.

 

[ntempleman]

Probably from Kilger tannery:

News - J.R. sole leather recipe sold to Kilger tannery - Shoegazing.com

After the news that the oak bark tanned sole leather tannery J. Rendenbach were to close down, many people hoped for some sort of solution for the

shoegazing.com

Another possible option:

Report - Gerberei Martin, traditional oak bark sole leather tannery - Shoegazing.com

Gerberei Martin is perhaps the oldest still existing tannery in the world, founded in 1645, and run by the same family ever since. They make the most

shoegazing.com

there’s also Bakers in the U.K. Garat in France, Masure in Belgium and Hewitts from Italy, still a few options for the repair trade