Wolverine 1000 mile boots resole recomendations

mattface · Sep 18, 2014

With well under 1000 miles on them, my 1000 mile uppers are holding up fine, but they are in need of new soles before the winter hits. ( I bought them the middle of last winter) I'm going to be sad to see the leather soles go, as I found them exceptionally comfortable with the leather soles, but they lasted me less than a year, so I'm thinking it's time for a toppy.

If I had a halfway decent local cobbler I wouldn't even be asking for opinions here, but sadly my local cobbler is a hack. So I'm probably going to need to mail them somewhere. I'd be happy for recommendations about what to do with them or where to send them. Thanks!

Whislerm · Sep 20, 2014

I've had B. Nelson do my vintage Florsheim shoes and they do top notch work. I can't recommend them enough.

mattface · Sep 22, 2014

Thanks Whislerm, they definitely look good. I am tempted to go with the JR Soles which purportedly are the longest lasting leather soles available, would be worthwhile if they really are long lasting. I really do like these boots with leather soles, but if they wear out anywhere near as fast as the originals, that's too much money to spend on a yearly resole.

I hate to say it, but in spite the fact that these are beautifully made, the durability of the soles was somewhat disappointing.

Does anyone here have experience with JR soles? Are they significantly more durable than other leather soles? I'd kinda like these boots to last forever, but unless I can find a better sole, they'll be trashed in a couple years. The other option B. Nelson offered is Dainite soles, sounds like an appealing alternative, but the cost to convert is $180, which is more than I paid for the boots (STP seconds)

mattface · Oct 3, 2014

I was not actually that impressed with the communication of any of the online cobblers I could find. B. Nelson was actually the best of the 3 I contacted, but they are quite expensive. I wound up bringing them to a semi-local cobbler. I'm going to have them to The Town Cobbler which is not too far from where I work. https://www.facebook.com/towncobblervt

I asked them to do a full leather sole with Vibram mini-lugged half sole. They are less expensive than B. Nelson, more expensive than NuShoe, but I expect better quality from them, and I don't have to mail them. Here's the "before" I'll be sure and post up the results in a couple of weeks.

DSC_0001 by mattface, on Flickr

KyleK · Oct 6, 2014

Good luck with the resole, I hope it works out! FWIW, I have the Vibram Mini Lug on a pair of Whites that are just getting close to needing a resole after 3 years of wear.

stmike · Nov 24, 2015

I know this topic's a year old, but just in case you're still looking, a good friend of mine is the owner and namesake of Dan Freeman Leatherworks in Middlebury VT, which is moderately local to you. He does handmade shoes and boots and is well known among those who can afford his work. I'm sure he can make your soles better than new, but it'll probably cost you.

bond · Mar 23, 2017

A good cobbler is worth their weight in gold.
I finally found a good guy in Milwaukee, Boot Corral, that actually knows how to resole welted boots how I want them. I picked up these wolverine 1000 mile boots on eBay recently for 75. And had them resoled for 100.
(I was inspired by Brian the Bootmakers videos on utube)
I also added a new balance insert for arch support and for a bit of cushion inside and now these are very comfortable .

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dnewma04 · Mar 23, 2017

bond said:
A good cobbler is worth their weight in gold.
I finally found a good guy in Milwaukee, Boot Corral, that actually knows how to resole welted boots how I want them. I picked up these wolverine 1000 mile boots on eBay recently for 75. And had them resoled for 100.
(I was inspired by Brian the Bootmakers videos on utube)
I also added a new balance insert for arch support and for a bit of cushion inside and now these are very comfortable . View attachment 70341 View attachment 70342 View attachment 70343

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lovely boots. Looks like you found a quality cobbler, there.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

bond · Mar 23, 2017

Thanks . Yes struck out with (2-3) other shoe repair guys here in Milwaukee before finding this guy by chance. He's young but experienced and has all the tools needed to do the work plus he's willing to listen to my ideas and that's a big plus.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Fifty150 · Aug 19, 2023

Danner, Red Wing, Alden. Allen Edmonds, and Thorogood will recraft their own boots. Rocky Boots and Wolverine do not recraft.

I have a pair of Wolverine 1000 Mile Montgomery boots. These were the 1000 Mile line boots made in China. Almost 20 years old. A pull strap broke free from the stitching. Wolverine paid to have a cobbler stitch it back. I took it to the shoe repair guy. Wolverine sent me a check.

1000 Mile boots are 270 degree Goodyear welted. Any decent cobbler should be able to resole it. You can always send them to a cobbler if you don't have a good local shoe mender.

A bad shoe mender could shave and sand down the worn part of the sole, then glue on a rubber sole. Sometimes, that's really all it takes. Sort of like a plug on a tire. It's not good, but it'll work. You will be able to walk on that glued on sole for years. Sole protectors are simply a rubber piece glued to the leather sole. A lot of shoes, like Timberland, are made with glue. Timberland shoes have decorative stitching.

Fifty150 · Sep 8, 2023

mattface said:
but sadly my local cobbler is a hack

I did my own hack job at home. Why pay someone else to do a hack job, when you can do it yourself?

What I could have done, if I had all of the training, experience, and professional equipment:

Fifty150 · Sep 16, 2023

I could be doing it all wrong. I use the same process with all of my shoes: saddle soap, mink oil, and lotion.

Sometimes I use shoe polish. Because I believe, and I could be wrong, that a wax shoe polish protects the leather by beading off water, rain, spilled drinks, BBQ sauce, blood, etc.

Some people choose the very expensive shoe polish brands because they believe that those brands are formulated with ingredients which nourish and condition the leather. I believe, and I could be wrong, that I already nourished and conditioned the leather with mink oil and lotion. I just use whichever wax paste is least expensive. Most shoe polish is what? Carnauba wax? What else could they put in there that's so special, that the mink oil and leather lotion did not have?

Horween recommends neatsfoot oil for chromexcel.

Wolverine has their own recommendation:

handymike · Sep 16, 2023

Fifty150 said:
I could be doing it all wrong. I use the same process with all of my shoes: saddle soap, mink oil, and lotion.

View attachment 546402

View attachment 546401

Sometimes I use shoe polish. Because I believe, and I could be wrong, that a wax shoe polish protects the leather by beading off water, rain, spilled drinks, BBQ sauce, blood, etc.

Some people choose the very expensive shoe polish brands because they believe that those brands are formulated with ingredients which nourish and condition the leather. I believe, and I could be wrong, that I already nourished and conditioned the leather with mink oil and lotion. I just use whichever wax paste is least expensive. Most shoe polish is what? Carnauba wax? What else could they put in there that's so special, that the mink oil and leather lotion did not have?

Horween recommends neatsfoot oil for chromexcel.

View attachment 546399

Wolverine has their own recommendation:

I use Blackrock on mine. It's full of Carnuba wax as well, but doesn't leave my boots looking "polished" just spruced-up with the patina/worn look.

Fifty150 · Oct 14, 2023

As for the original topic, resole recommendations, consider a wedge sole like Vibram Christy.

Wolverine now offers a wedge sole version of the 1000 Mile Boot.

I used to be the guy who wanted lug soles on all of my shoes. I could be wrong, but I believed that lug soles had the best traction. Now I'm the guy who wants wedge soles. Wedge soles "feel" a lot more comfortable. If it were at all possible, I would get wedge soles on cowboy boots.

Wolverine 1000 mile boots resole recomendations

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