Shoe Repair

[jamespowers]

Ok, just when you think you have your shoes broken in to fit just right the soles and heels need replacing.
Then I figured that since I am on this list with the sultans of style, I might as well ask where a person in the Bay Area gets a quality resole job done. I have a regular shoe guy who replaces a mean heel but this is the total job here and I don't want to screw up a good pair of uppers. Anyone know of a good shoe repair wizard in the Bay Area---outside of San Francisco please?
By the way, they are a pair of Johnston & Murphy black oxfords with the toe cap. I do not remember the model.

Regards to all,

j

[jamespowers]

I finally found a local shoe repair guy to resole my Johnston & Murphy Optimas. The guy did a great job too. He even shined them up like new. New soles and heels set me back $40. I don't know if that is about right or not but I feel pretty good with them on and they do not embarass me now so I suppose it is a good thing.
The guy used to be in the hat business with his father in the "old days." He noticed my hat right away. He told me about how they used to clean them and rebuild them. quite interesting. He has a shoe shine stand in there but I didn't ask if he shines shoes. I will have to do that when I get my spectators resoled and reheeled. The guy uses quality products for the rework too. Leather soles and very cool patterned heels. I don't know how many of us live in the East Bay and could use a cobbler but if you do, let me know I can give you a good referral.

Regards to all,

J

[Matt Deckard]

And if so how often and where?

I've' only ever sent my shoes into the actual makers to get them resoled and the only ones I have work in to the cork have been my Allen Edmonds and Aldens.

So tell me what do you wear and have you had them resoled?

I don't need them resoled often as i live in California and drive everywhere. talking to a few friends out of state who walk more I hear getting your shoes resoled is sometiems a half yearly event. It took three years to see the cork in my single layer Aldens... so what's your story? How often do you resole and if you don't resole... what do you wear and why not?

[Fletch]

I routinely had Bass Weejuns resoled by cobblers years ago. Usually half soles, because the sole toes holed after a year or so, and rubber heels, 'cause I tended to slip on shined floors with the leather halfheel.

Bass evidently made some changes, as my last pair have been going strong on their original soles for 15+ years.

[Travis]

Matt, how much did they run to get them resoled?

[vonwotan]

Generally I send my Allen Edmonds shoes back to them for restoration rather than having a cobbler mend them. I did take one pair back when I allowed a hole to progress too far. With too much wear they will no longer repair their shoes. Now that I am wearing other brands, I have to find a solution. Alden will also restore their own shoes.

Now that Allen Edmonds has limited its selection and added a surcharge to shoes in my size, I will need to find a less expensive alternative...

[scotrace]

Mine go to a local cobbler who does excellent work. Last pair I had done (November 06) were Johnston Murphy wingtips, half soles and heels, both pair $35.

[Orgetorix]

I have three or for pairs right now that are showing cork and need new soles. Two are AEs, one is J&M, and one is Cole Haan. I'll probably send one of the AE pairs back to the maker for recrafting and have the other three done locally. Any way you slice it, it's going to be expensive. I have to have this done often, as quite a bit of my daily commute is walking.

[kools]

I just dropped off a pair for resoling at the cobber in my neighborhood. Although I live in AE's hometown, with a few retail locations, I have yet to take any of my shoes there. My impression, possibly mistaken, is that it would be significantly more expensive there than the local cobbler. And while I prefer to be a patron of local businesses like my neighborhood cobbler, AE qualifies as it is Milwaukee owned. (I mentioned once before that my wife used to share an apartment with the daughter of AE's owner).

I don't need resoling done too often...I have a lot of shoes & rotate them frequently. I never wear the same shoes more than twice a week.

[jamespowers]

Mine go to a local cobbler who does excellent work. Last pair I had done (November 06) were Johnston Murphy wingtips, half soles and heels, both pair $35.

Your cobler charges the same as mine here. I had a pair of black Toe caps of the same brand resoled. They came out better than I brought them in. he put one heck of a shine on them. I have only had to brush them since and that was about a year ago! Now that's a shine.

Regards,

J