When I was a child in NYC I would absolutely LOVE when my mother had to go to the neighborhood cobbler and as I went everywhere with her, this was such a treat!! ..I could have stayed there for hours watching him work. It was both fascinating and relaxing and I had such respect for this little man, our shoemaker, who I would, as I grew older, bring my favorite shoes and boots to, on my own, when they needed resoling. He had a heart of gold, enjoyed the work and lit up as he would lose himself in his craft and while he showed you, with gracious pride, the completed repair. I literally grieved years after having moved away and when one day while visiting my mom, finding out he was no longer in business..He was an older man, so surely he had passed away and had no one to leave the business to. I would definitely have become his apprentice, given the opportunity...Shame on me, I should have thought to ask..How fascinating it would have been to be trained by him! Truly a shame that he is gone. There is NOTHING to compare to the old time businesses...These days there is little to no appreciation for those, of days gone, who were so skilled and took pride in their craft...
Those are some of my favorite Allen Edmonds. Living near port Washington where the factory and factory store is…I went there as a kid a lot with my dad. When I got to buy my first pair to wear as an adult it was a dream come true. What a great pair. Love the videos as well! Keep up the good work
This is really interesting and looks great. I like it that he explains the what & why of what he is doing. I wanted my cobbler to put a sole protector on top of an original rubber sole protector that was still in terrific condition and came with the boots, to prevent it wearing down, but he disregarded me and tore off the original sole protector without telling me beforehand he did not want to do it that way. It makes me nervous now leaving my shoes with cobblers.
WOW!! You guys were young, at least in utube years! Both of you have certainly grown up! Who would have believed, at this point, that you'd be where you are now?! Your subscribers are proud of you!!🤗♥️
Excellent tutorial! I have learned so much about shoe repair and maintenance. I am also glad to know Potter and Sons use and sell Saphir Shoe Cream. Saphir shoe products are the best!
@@TrentonHeath what kind of of sole replacement would be best if I wished to use sole savers/top lifts exclusively on my Iron Rangers from this point forth? I imagine there's a fair number of people that have considered this option. If it is an option. In summation, I'm referring to never having to resole again is that a possibility? Thanks in advance for your educated opinion.
I'm a new subscriber and really enjoy your videos. I have a pair of Allen Edmonds that I sent back to them for refurbishing just before I found your channel. They haven't been returned yet, so I hope they turn out. You guys do great work. Thanks for sharing your talents on RU-vid.
“Back in the old days,” my father used to use to use ”skivers” to build up the heel block that the top lift wore through it. Saved money by not replacing the entire heel block with a new one. Also, he used to use “half heels” made by Biltrite, O’Suliivan or Cat’s Paw which proved longer wear instead of the top lift. These heel products also came in “full” which replaced the entire heel block/top lift scenario. The skivers were a sort of “cheat.” Sizes for half/full rubber heels ranged from 9-10 to 16-17. Ancient history.😊😊😊BTW, those companies also made a “loafer” heel which I believe was about 5/8” in height.
I wish I had someone as skilled as you nearby, a bad cobbler replaced my platform heel rubber that was 3/4" thick with 1/4" rubber and now I can't walk in them... I've been to 2 other cobblers who didn't understand what the issue is!
I have that same problem too--no good cobblers where I am. I have dealt with so many that are not good with the basics that I get nervous at just the thought of having to take my boots in for a heel pad or sole cover replacement.
Trenton, you did a good job, good result, but in my humble opinion, before cleaning your shoes, you should take off your shoelaces and put on the shoe trees.
gorgona6969 Thanks! We agree. The reason we don’t always do it in our videos is because these are actual customers shoes. We have sooo many shoes to repair everyday that we don’t have the time to remove all of the laces. In our shoe shine tutorial videos, we’ll often remove them and use shoe trees.
I found your channel looking for instruction on how to replace my own top lifts/ heel tread on my Nicks. I am so inspired by you guys. What you are doing is a art that could be lost. Thank you for the video Would you ever consider doing videos to mentor DIY’ers ? Is it possible without those machines to do some stuff by hand ?
I have two pair of Allen Edmonds (a longwing derby whose name escapes me and some Strands), and despite (because of?) the toplifts being all-rubber, they’ve worn through faster than combination heels on my other nice shoes. The soles are fine; it’s just the toplifts.
I found this video while looking to learn about shoe repair. The only cobbler in a radius of a hundred miles just closed-- The Town Cobbler in Williston, Vermont retired at the age of 81 (a couple of miles from Burlington), leaving us without anyone to repair shoes. Is there no younger person who knows shoe repair and wants their own business in a beautiful state?
Should there always be a rubber piece nailed to the heel for the top lift to adhere to? I just got some boots resoled last week from another cobbler, and both the rubber heels fell off today! They glued the rubber top lift right to the leather with no nails
I've recently seen a video of a cobbler cutting and gluing vibram oversoles over combination toplifts. What do you think of this? Is it pointless or is it actually logical, as in allowing for less reheels so that less nail holes are made in the heel or something?
Hello I'm new to the channel excellent video on the top lift replacement however i have a question. I noticed that the the outsole needed to be repaired as well. Do you have a video on that repair as well?
Turned out great! Kinda wish you showed the buffing / shining process before the final product. Also would be cool to see how you'd bring a brown burnished shoe back to life (or maybe even how to burnish a pair yourself)
is this real allen edmond? I see the way it has the logo on the sole it seems like a nordstorm product vs from Allen edmond site. i want to know how bad are the Norstorm rack shoe compare to the actual store.
My cobbler can get authentic top lifts from Allen Edmonds. Were they available when you made this video and is it better to use them on Allen Edmonds shoes to keep them more original ? I'm a new subscriber to your channel and like your content. I have a more profound admiration and respect for your craft.
ttop64 Thank you so much! In short, no, the actual top lift brand doesn’t matter. Well, some brands are better than others, I should say, but it doesn’t matter whether or not you’re using AE branded top lifts. Vibram, for example, will last much longer than original AE’s. It’s more important that the correct size is used when replacing so that the shoe sits correctly. We carry authentic AE heel blocks, but that’s just in case some AE owners want them.
