Should I get these shoes fixed?

[forbritisheyesonly]

I have no idea what it entails to bring shoes to a cobbler or when shoes should be fixed, but do you think I should get these serviced?


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cap-Toe-Oxfo...item1c235c5fb8

[nicholascrawford]

Is there something wrong, specifically? Or are you picturing a tune-up for shoes?

[alan]

The soles appear to be in great shape, though the top of the left shoe has a painful crease in it. It can be lessened, but not completely removed. Structurally, though, the shoes appear to be quite sound.

[Cannon]

Seems handsome for the price.

[forbritisheyesonly]

How much does it cost to get taps installed? Worth it for these shoes?


Yes, the crease is quite severe, but I paid 40 for them so I'm not complaining =]

[alan]

I'm not sure what taps cost to have installed, but it seems like just about the easiest thing you can do to a pair of shoes so I can't expect it's much. Heck, it's probably possible to do it yourself if you buy some online (though I won't accept any liability if you jack them up).

[grasking]

I bought a pair of taps at Ocean State Job Lot for two or three dollars and installed them myself. I'm sure a cobbler wouldn't charge more than that.


Would recrafting take out the severity of that crease?

[forbritisheyesonly]

So I've never worn a decent pair of leather shoes before. I was "breaking them in" today, and noticed that the shoes left marks on my tile a bunch. My shoes even marked the carpet. I noticed that these black marks came from the sides of the shoe. In addition, the rubber heel left marks too. Is this normal or is this shoe a fake?


It feels great once I put it on, though I think I need a shoe horn. It's odd, both shoes only have 4 eyelets and I wanted to do straight lacing, but I couldn't find a diagram of it on fieggen.com so I had to improvise.

[LesserBlackDog]

It almost sounds as though someone might have used shoe polish to redo the shoe edge. I'd clean the edges with some saddle soap and a damp cloth. If they need it, you can buy some Kiwi edge dressing for pretty cheap from Target or Wal-Mart and redo it yourself. Just be sure to do it over newspaper - the edge dressing dries quickly, but it will stain anything it touches when it's wet.


FWIW, ordinary dress shoes should not leave marks.

[forbritisheyesonly]

Thanks, BenR. What do you make of the heel, then since it seems to be making marks too?


Are the two Kiwi items you mentioned available at Walmart? And is there a particular guide you recommend for doing the above?

[bruschetta]

forbritisheyesonly, I wear leather shoes every day and I have never had my shoes scuff anything. I agree with BenR - it sounds like the seller coated the shoes in polish and didn't brush them afterwards.


Edit: the heel shouldn't be leaving marks either. Have the shoes been resoled? Can you tell? If you show us a picture of the bottom we'll be able to tell.

[forbritisheyesonly]

@Bruschetta,

The original link has pictures of the sole. If I don't currently have any saddle soap, is there anything I CAN do to prevent it from scuffing the tile or the shoes from scuffing each other?

[bruschetta]

forbritisheyesonly, take some warm water and polish them. Short of that, there's not much you can do.


Zappos carries the shoes that you purchased: http://www.zappos.com/johnston-murph...x-brushed-veal if you check their sole pictures you'll see that their sole and heel looks different than the ones that are on your shoes. I don't know if that's because yours have been resoled, or because Johnston and Murphy changed their design at some point.

[forbritisheyesonly]

I'm not sure if that's the one, because it has a different number of eyelets. Speaking of which, I spent half an hour today trying to find my shoe design, but couldn't. all of them have 5+ eyelet pairs. Will the water damage the leather?


Update: so I just used a cloth and warm water to wipe down my shoes. Lots of brown came off of the sole. Nothing from the upper leather portion. Side of soles still mark my tile, but no longer the heel. What's up?

[alan]

@forbrit: Can you describe these marks? Are the flaky? Sticky? Dry? Wet? Scuffs? Whatever it is, they're not behaving normally.


If you can supply a picture of the sole and the mark, that might help.


If you're struggling to fix it, you can always thrown in the towel and take them to a cobbler. Having them reconditioned would include a cleaning. Plus you have fully reconditioned shoes for your effort.