Right , ! so about 7 weeks ago I shipped a pair of 7 year old oxfords , Church's , custom grade from here in Northampton , UK to these 2 young men in the US of A , I could have had them re crafted at Church's for a bit less , and today they are here .I believe in brevity so here it goes 1. communication :receptive and prompt 2.worksmanship :excellent 3price:justified 4 overall experience :very good . Thank you , chaps.
Ashutosh Sharma Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to work on them! We’re so glad you like them. Hope you enjoy! Please let us know if we can ever help in the future.
Exactly! Why would anyone pay for a shoe restoration on a cheaply made pair. That's kind of embarrassing. But they were restored much better than they were made
I’ve been needing some conditioner and stuff for my new AE Strands, so a few days ago I bought a few Saphir products from your online store to get the work done. I decided to get it from you guys because you’re one of my greatest influences that got me into shoes alongside The Elegant Oxford. So thank you for making me have a good taste in footwear and knowing how to treat it
1:05 "No, I'm not gonna slice my thumb off, it's okay." Seems like more people than I have watched that procedure and wondered when we'll get a video that has a bleeped out curse, a cut, and then the next shot features a massive band-aid on Heath's thumb. 😂
Your pronounciation of the French "Beauté du cuir " is ok , as long as you maintain this quality work . Even ugly "shoes" deserve the best , once in a lifetime ... Merci Messieurs et bonne soirée ...
This is why I like Italian shoemakers like Antonio Mecciarello, Bontoni and Paolo Scafora to name a few. You get consistent high quality quality craftsmanship for the money.
I am an orthotist so we do a fair amount of shoe modifications (lifts, flares, rockers, etc.). This video is a lot more like some of the shoes we have to modify. We cut the soles off on the band saw, and it's really a surprise to find out what's inside the shoe. With different rubbers primer and roughing up the surface is a must otherwise the shoe won't stay together. Fun to see you adapt to this less than ideal shoe style!
I couldn’t find a cobbler here in Portland Oregon to repair a pair of Tiger Woods foam filled golf shoes. Nice work guys. I wish you were here to fix my favorite golf shoes!
Nice to see you again. I hope you are both well & safe. I checked out Southern Polished, nice style & I intend to buy when I have the cash. I know they will be with me for years to come because of the quality.
Removing junk, I mean form, and replacing them with cork and a smiley face (with two round eyes, a round nose and a smiley mouth) heel in the end. Epic.
What a challenging piece of sole filled with foam. Reminds me of cars that have foam filled bumpers. Poor man’s light weight illusion of quality. These shoes are 10 fold better than original. Great job guys. Take care guys.
Your videos remind me of a quote from one of the great philosophers ; “You can’t tell what’s in the pickle barrel till you get the lid off” - Foghorn Leghorn. Always enjoy watching the lid (sole) come off.
you have to choose well. I always get their blake stitched loafers (preferably hidden) with leather soles. Lasted me years and easily the most comfortable shoes I've owned.
I really wish you guys would go into greater detail and produce some longer videos. It's a joy to watch you work and I'm sure you have many followers who would love to watch you doing some in a longer form.
Great video! Hey, have you ever refurbished a worn off JR sole? I’m curious about how they look like when useless. Congrats on your first year and on the new workshop. You guys are amazing!
Wow, those are funky thick soled shoes. And to hear about the uppers and to see the foam............think I'll stick with my Allen Edmonds. Love Saphir products and your vids as well.
I'd never heard of this shoe brand before so had to google them - 500 quid for a crappy loafer with a foam filled rubber sole and what looks like 'patent' leather uppers!
lmao I did the same thing. I've heard of Ferragamo and knew they were pricey but am blown away by how much they charge for poorly constructed shoes. They're like the Italian version of Cole Haan.
I had heard of the brand but didn't realise how expensive these shoes were. Bearing in mind they are made to be thrown away. I know now my next pair off shoes will be a decent Goodyear Welted shoe.
They are a total mixed bag. I have some Ferragamo’s that are among the nicest, and most beautiful shoes I own. Super comfortable, very elegant. Just gorgeous, with high-quality leather, and hidden stitch sole. Then I’ve had others which look like they were put together In an auto body shop. As the brothers say, you never know what you’re going to get with them. I have purchased all of mine secondhand, so I’m not out a lot of money. I can say I have owned at least two pairs of suede Ferragamo Monk straps which are very well done and quite beautiful
MarketAndChurch they are renowned for their High Heels in the fashion industry. The rest is just parts from South Asia assembled in rural Italia by seasonal migrants workforce which give them the right call their products _Made in Italy_ . I visited some of these factory many European luxury brands use the same factories
Great content! I agree with all the comments that these shoes left your shop better than they left the factory. Ballpark, how much would this cost, and how long did it take you actual work hours. No matter what you charge the customer got their money's worth! Lastly, I did register on the Southern Polished site, and left a question before I purchase. I know that you're busy so I'll wait patiently for someone to reply. Thanks again for keeping informed and entertained.
Geez ... closed pore leather. These guys always manage to teach us something new. It's looking like an enormous amount of patience went into this video and shoe repair. No surprise that the results make the pair look better than brand new. So I'm thinking some bourbon relief would be in order, eh guys?
I have little clue as to the why, but these videos are soothing to me, maybe it was time spent in Fred's Shoe repair shop while my dad and he and a bunch of guys played Tonk .....when you applied glue I smelled 'Barge shoe adhesive' and when you used the side cutting sole shaper I kinda shuddered as a 8 year old curious as 10 8 year olds should be I decided that after watching Fred sole a shoe I surely could, right? One sole trimmed on a pair of shoes he had started went great, second sole about 3/4 of the way through there was something slick on the shoe, I looked down and saw that I had halved one of my fingers, didn't even feel it Fred kept those wheels sharp!!!! Cleaned up all the blood, stopped my finger from bleeding to death and finished the sole ..... my dad (you had to know him, the finger was nothing compared to what he would do if I bothered him for something stupid while he played cards ) came out of the back room, with Fred who immediately knew and wisked my dad out of the shop. Fred came back and was like "how bad? " , I showed him, he liked to fainted but didn't tell on me.......... lol. These videos, you never know how they stike a chord in someone, but I had forgotten all about, Fred, barge cement and leather cutting wheels till now, wondeful memories from 50 years ago! Thank you a million!
Great video. I've seen you guys pound cork from a sheet into soles with a hammer, and I've seen you spread cork from a can into a sole (like you do in this video). How do you decide which method to use on a given pair of shoes? Please keep these great videos coming!
I have a pair of thurogood work boots that are in need of drastic repair the tounge has come un stiched from the toe and it is in need a resole would really like you guys to rebuild them and make a video if possible love your work and craftsmanship!
The Funny part was Trenton saying "Don't Correct Me, I Don't Speak French". I laughed when you said that. Maybe it's the way it sounded. Whatever it was, it was funny
Is it worth putting the right heel caps on the left boot and the left heel caps on the right boot to get more life out of them? My local cobbler says that it would be bad for your feet to do that and that it would wear the heel block too much to make extending the life of the caps worth it. This doesn't fully make sense to me so I was wondering what y'alls opinion on this is. Thank you very much
Hi guys! A question; when you cut the access of the sole leather, you use a machine at first and then a knife to finish. I have seen other cobblers use a machine that cut all way through. Why are you using a knife to finish instead of letting the machine do the complete job? (Old machine or is it on purpose?)
Peter Krenander Haha...good eye! 😉 Our blade on the tool hasn’t been sharpened in a while and doesn’t always cut completely through. It just needs to be changed our or sharpened.
Another fascinating video guys. Have you ever done repairs to or had requests to convert a regular pair of shoes to elevator shoes and can it even be done ?
I know people are knocking the construction of these but one of the comments here made me think more about he why’s of the construction. It does look like it was made to be more waterproof which would explain the sole and leather choices and made to be a combination of dress shoe looks with country/sneaker style water resistance and comfort. If that’s the case then I think the construction and materials make sense and would make this both practical and stylish. Don’t get me wrong, I do find Italian shoe construction to be less to my taste than the traditional construction from the country of my birth, the UK but then Italy is hotter and more stylish so the shoes match the country.
Nathan Knatcal unfortunately, we only do sole repair and shines. We do full and half sole cowboy boots. Check out Brian the Boot Maker for upper repair.
whiskey5jda sorry. Unfortunately not. In the five years we have been selling them, we’ve only had 3 or 4 folks want a size 14. Maybe if the demand picks we will start offering that size.
I think I've watched all your videos (and others), but I still don't get one thing: where is the "other" side of the sewing of the sole? (8:12) Invisible inside the sole? How on earth does this machine work? Only knowing how a regular sewing machine works this appears like magic. Thanks for the great videos. Would have liked to order a pair of your sandals, but I'm a size 8 while yours only start at 9. Greetings from Austria!
Do you guys know any other brand that curves their heel like that? I really like the idea of my heel sinking further down in my shoe. This blew my mind for some reason
Sounds about right. I have a pair of Church's loafers I bought off ebay for $30. Its corrected leather and I thought, blake stitched. Turns out it was glued as I learned when the sole started to separate 1/2 way though a work day. I thought they were done but my local cobbler was able to reglue and save them. The sole itself was still in good condition. For $30 ($40 with repairs) I've more than gotten my money's worth.
You guys did a better job than the manufacturer. Adding a dainite sole and the cork upped the value of these. These were $100 shoes that they stuck the brand name on and sold for many times that. Seriously, what quality dress shoes have a thick layer of foam and and a thin layer of rubber on the bottom? And that leather? Come on, these are Dr. Martens quality but ~5 times the price.
hello! question.. how can I send you my shoes to be re soled and polished and maybe minor repair? have some old crock skin square toe single monk strap shoes. need some tlc and a shoe tree possibly. they are about 15+ yrs old. a cheap Mexico maid shoe, seems to have soles glued on since one of them on the tips is starting to split. but they are still gators! and hoping to revive them. let me know please and thank you.
Video idea!! Get a pair of donor shoes and each of you redo 1 shoe putting your own design and flair on the shoes. Different soles, different stitch color etc. literally design freedom. Then show the viewers how they look as a pair. Would show us the difference in your personality and design. Would be cool if they were VERY different or almost funny
A lot of the big name higher end, especially Italian and spanish, shoes feature pretty subpar construction. Even more so on their trendy shoes such as the chunky loafers.
I would never buy a pair of Farragamo shoes, just from all I've seen here about them. Shameful they cost so much made of bookbinder leather, foam and rubber.
I never buy Ferragamo from a department store: The GYW tramezza line runs over $1000. However, found amazing deals on Tramezza’s on eBay. The Tramezza and Tramezza special edition lines from Ferragamo are respectable.
Can you do a video on best Italian (or European) shoe brands out there? (I always seem to Google what are good Italian shoe brands, but never seem to get any specific answers)
Any chance you can review Hartt's mens dress shoes, particularly their two cap toe Oxfords, the Beaverbrook and the Director? They are an old Canadian Brand from Fredericton NB that sold throughout Canada that went out of business in the 90's and the name has been revived. They are "designed" in Canada but made in Spain.
everyone complaining about the shoes these are loafers that is how Gucci Prada make them also they are supposed to be confotable and light my Ferragamo boots are traditional constructed and totally worth the $2k price tag ..
awesome video,,,,, learned something new, How do know when buying shoes of the leather having close pores and u can't even shine, reminds me of china shoes when I see that.
Also if you look closely you won’t be able to see any pores or natural imperfections of the hide. It will be one uniform shiny coating. Some companies will imprint a pore design to trick consumers as well.
