Help me fix some shoes!

I presently have several pairs of very nice shoes which are in need of fixing. Since this is the first time I’ve ever been so attached to any pair of shoes to think it’s worthwhile to repair them rather than replace them, I’ve no idea what to do. I know there’s at least one cobbler hanging around, so I figured this is the place to ask. :slight_smile:

Two of the pairs are heeled boots which are in perfectly good condition, save that they both desperately need new heel taps. (I think I have the right word there – not the entire heel, just the flat, grippy chunk of rubber that’s attached to the bottom.) I gather that fixing this involves prying off the old tap, gluing the new one on, then wiping off excess glue and leaving them the hell alone until everything is cured. Neither boot uses nails; there are holes in the end of the heel, and the tap that’s come off completely has some matching pegs molded onto it. I am not unhandy with crafts and repairs, so I think I can do this myself. Is this a good idea? If so, where can I get the taps (ideally heavy duty, as I walk most everywhere) and what kind of glue do I need? The interior of the heels seems to be plastic; one has a leather upper and the other one is something like PVC.

The third pair are leather penny loafers with a big block heel. They also need new taps on the back only, and one of them is going to need an actual heel, since I’ve somehow managed to knock a corner off where one of the taps wore away completely. The one that doesn’t need an entire heel has developed a tear in the interior lining, which has a lot of foam and quilting in it and has subsequently gotten rather mangled. (I would just buy some drugstore insoles and jam those in, but the foam has wadded up and now there’s a kind of a dent there.) I don’t think I can do this one myself. Is it even possible to fix these? If so, how much should I expect to pay? And can anyone suggest a good cobbler, preferably inexpensive, in the Boston metro area?

I inquired at the one shop I know of nearby, and was quoted a price of $20 per shoe, strictly for replacing the taps. I thought this was patently absurd for a repair that didn’t involve doing any restitching or leather work – I didn’t even pay $40 total for both pairs of boots combined – but then I realized I didn’t know enough about it to accurately judge how absurd it was.

I would also be willing to mail the things off somewhere, if the shipping plus the repairs is inexpensive enough.

If $40 is more expensive than the shoes cost in the first place, I would recommend you just buy new ones. Most of the people who use cobblers these days are getting repairs to expensive and/or fiddly shoes. Cowboy boots that took years to break in, fancy leather wingtips, Louboutin heels, pricey hiking boots, etc. An average run-of-the-mill tennis shoe or boot is not intended to be cobbled in the first place. And in the second place, cobblers charge a premium for their services for a few reasons:

  1. There aren’t many of them these days, so it’s a rare skillset.
  2. Cheap shoes have a huge market share. A lot of people who would otherwise need a cobbler’s services can simply buy a cheap replacement pair for $10-15. This means fewer people patronize cobblers in the first place. And a mall cobbler has to pay the same overhead (rent, electricity) as Payless Shoesource. So they have to charge more per customer to break even.

Your argument seems fundamentally identical to the argument that an electrician shouldn’t be able to charge $100 for a 2-minute repair. You’re paying for expertise. It was only $5 to flip the switch, but it was $95 to know which switch to flip.

I would be happy to pay this for the set of shoes that actually needs repairs to the structure of the heel and interior. Replacing heel taps, however, seems to be a 5-10 minute job. The internet will tell me how to do it. I thought it would be ridiculous to pay someone the equivalent of $120+ an hour to glue things together. Neither of the boots require any kind of leather working or stitching repairs, or even repairs to the rest of the sole, that would require any amount of training or skill past “here is the adhesive and a mallet, don’t glue the shoes to the bench.” Which is why I think it would be worth doing these myself, if someone could point me at where to get the right glue and the replacement taps.

The leather boots would probably have been a couple hundred dollars new; I got them at the local Goodwill for $14. The leather is in excellent condition, but the rubber taps had dried out completely and cracked as soon as I tried to walk in them. The PVC boots, I’m just fond of. I cannot afford to replace either pair. Since they’re unwearable, at least outdoors, as they are, it’s worth my while to attempt a fix on my own.

That’s sad. A good pair of shoes is worth more than the money you paid.

OP - pull off the old rubber, sand them down, apply contact cement to the bottom of the shoe and the new rubber. Leave them to dry and then press them together. Put the shoe on the last (aha!) and bang the hell out of it with a hammer. Without a last it’s a bit clumsy but still doable. The glue adheres on contact - not when wet.

Thank you! :smiley: I am more than willing to pay for skilled labor when it’s called for, but gluing on squares of rubber seems suspiciously like the job you give to the boss’ idiot son to keep him out of worse trouble. “Contact cement” is the stuff you use for gluing down laminate countertops, yes? This sounds like something I can afford.

Now I just need Broomstick to come in and let me know if my favorite loafers can be saved, or if the cobbler will just offer to sell me an attractive shoe-sized coffin as soon as I hold them up to show the damage. :frowning: