Can A Cobbler easily convert a full welt to 3/4?

[Doug C]

Does anyone know if a cobbler could (if asked), replace a fully welted sole (stitching around the entire shoe's sole) with a 3/4 welt (no stitching around the top of the heel)? BTW, I know "easily" probably shouldn't be in the equation, but is it something that would be within a good cobblers abilities?

 

[bigshoe]

Depends. Is it a true welt or American welt(mckay sewn mid sole sewn outsole) Look on the medial side in the shank area and see if there is a skived lap joint. If the upper is inseamed to the welt around the heel then there may not be enough material to keep it fastened to the insole. What can be done is to remove the heel, pull the outsole stitching and resand the heel narrower. In most cases the sole will be sewn to the rand. You can tell this by seeing if there is a skived lap joint on both sides of the heel if so then the rand can be replaced after removing the heel. If your tradesman gives you a blank stare find some one else. It will be a full sole and heels in any case.

 

[Tomasso]

Can A Cobbler easily convert a full welt to 3/4?

Why would you want to have this done? Just curious.

 

[bigshoe]

Yea what he said.

 

[Doug C]

Thanks for the info bigshoe. As for why - well, I'm thinking about buying a pair of fairly cheap boots that have a full welt which I've always hated the look of (big goofy modern heel). These boots also have a cork/rubber sole that I assume will not take too long to wear out... though I completely intend to do BEFORE the sole operation, of course. The quality of the upper doesn't seem too bad to me at all and I'm fairly easy on footwear anyway (they'll be for around town, etc). So, I'm just thinking these could be a cheap pair that I can consider improving later. BTW, the boot in question is Todd's outdoorsman boot (Indy boot wanna-be). http://www.toddscostumes.com/product/357500/Coyles-Outdoorsmans-Shoe/

 

[bl@ster]

Doug: This might be a silly question, but are those Goodyear welted?

 

[bigshoe]

I am in doubt as to the construction of these. I do not belive they have a welt. What seems to be a welt is not attached to the the insole and upper. It is really a piece of trim.

 

[bigshoe]

It looks much better from this side

It is most likely a combination unit sole that is simply glued on to a slip lasted upper. For $75 you don't get much.

 

[Doug C]

Bigshoe, are those pics that you post of the kind of sole that you're thinking is on these boots OR are they a kind you think would work for replacing the originals? I'm confused. I doubt it's goodyear welt though. If that's the case - I suppose the only option would to be glue on a replacement when the time came?

 

[bigshoe]

I am pretty sure that is the type of sole that is on there. I belive that it is a slip lasted shoe which means that the upper and lining are sewn to a piece of fabric the shape of and slightly smaller than the last bottom. Then the sole is applied with cement in one piece with the heel as in the pictures. It is an extremely common method of shoe construction used in many work boots, cowboy boots and shoes by some pretty big name factories. It does not have an insole as such.

 

[Doug C]

OK, good explanation thanks. So, is replacing that with a welted sole out of the question then ?

 

[bigshoe]

not a chance

 

[Doug C]

I"ll probably skip these then. I've read that they might be improving this boot to include a genuine Goodyear welt sometime in the future, but who knows when - thanks again! Here's a quote I just found about these boots while scouring the net:
"One bit of exciting news was she said that they were looking into making the boots better quality, and the new ones will have better soles/heels. She also mentioned that they were looking into adding actual goodyear welted construction (just like Aldens)."