As an owner of 16 pairs of Allen Edmonds, several of which that have been recrafted I can vouch that they come back better than new brand new sole but the uppers are broken in. Their recrafting service brings them to another level. I have shoes that are 7 years old but look brand new with a good polish. I don’t why I wasted time with other shoes for so long. Love the video
Love this series. Keep up the good work. I had my 2010 Bel Airs recrafted by Allen Edmonds last year. They basically came back new. An interesting thing I noticed in this video is that Allen Edmonds uses fresh hot cork in this process. The same they use when making a pair of new shoes. Also, they use the original last, and replace the welt. It's interesting to see, because as far as Steve from Bedo's Leatherworks and Jim McFarland from the Kirby Allison redrafting program are concerned, they both have mentioned in their videos that most Cobblers do not have access this to fresh hot cork. Instead they use regular cork, and cut it and sand it into the shape of the footbed. They say it doesn’t matter, that it feels and acts exactly the same, but it is interesting to see that since Allen Edmonds has a factory, they can use the hot cork, and they can find your original last for this recrafting service. Which again, those other cobblers say isn't necessary, either. But, it’s nice to know Allen Edmonds does it that way. Regardless.
I suppose replacing the welt as seen on this video would yield a better final looking product, right? Since this is all machine stitching, there's no guarantees that the new stitches would go onto the old holes of the welt, which would make it look worn and unsuitable as an anchor point for stitches after 2 or so resoles. But the same can be said about the canvas ribbing. Once that's unglued or too worn-down by multiple stitch holes, if the welt comes off, the shoe becomes beyond repair. Therefore, the welt should be reused until it can't stitched into anymore, at which point it should be replaced. I hope AE allows customers to decide whether or not the welt is replaced.
Sad that this has less than 5k views, such awesome stuff! I have worn Allen Edmonds for years but haven’t gotten to where I need to have them recrafted yet. Will be looking forward to the day, especially with the option to change the style of the outsole. It’s nice to have shoes rebuilt at the original factory verses another cobbler because they will use the original last in the exact size in order to keep the fit nearly exactly how it was.
Halo from Indonesia, Jon. Jon may I suggest to you the best Indonesian Leather Good : Txture Boots, Sagara Boot Maker, Koku Footwear, Junkard Company, FionnBaxter, Onderhoud Handmade. All the shoes that I mention is handmade by local artisan. Please...just window shopping if you interested. By the way I'm big fan of your channel.
Amazing video and it makes me appreciate Allen Edmonds that much more. I wonder what the process is for restoring the leather portion of the shoe as my Strands really need it.
$125 for the standard recraft with the option to change the type of sole (example: getting danite soles on a pair that were originally leather) for an extra $20.
Can anybody please tell me what kid if boots these are? I love them, I have some old bass shoes circa 1997 of the same exact look and round style as these and have never been able to get anything close
