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Scroll down to view the
basic essential steps in the rebuilding of a pair of welted men's
shoes. We chose a pair of Alden French toe bal oxfords for the
demonstration.
 The "Patient"
  Stripping the soles and heels Soles, heels, welts,welt stitches, and old nails have removed   Hand stitching the new welts. All Rewelting is now complete stitches must go into the original stitch holes.   Welts have now been shaped. Cork filler has been replaced
and leveled and steel shanks have been
recemented with hot melt shank adhesive. Only solid sheets of cork are
used - no pieces or gaps here! Shanks are properly positioned and "set"
so that the shoe will sit level upon completion.  New soles have been cemented in place Soles are now rough trimmed and pressed with hand tools so as not to by hand. distort or "cup" the shape of the shoe   Soles have their first
trimming and shaping by high speed cutters.
  Next a channel is cut into the sole to accept the new stitches  Stitching the outsole to the welt. Machine is set to make the same stitch length as the original. Stitches never fall out of the channel.  Heel seats are nailed by hand with the proper size of clinching nails. Nailing machines are never used to shoot nails into the heel seats of shoes.  Soles are now stitched and nailed awaiting the second trimming.   new leather heel bases are attached with cement and nails to prevent any squeaking.They are then rough trimmed by machine  Toplifts are attached
and rough trimmed by hand.
 The completed heel assembly is now carefully sanded and shaped a second time for proper angles.   Toplifts are now hand
nailed with
brass
Heels are complete and ready nails
maintaining the original pattern
for final sanding
 Heels are now sanded
twice more with progressively finer sandpaper to achieve a "smooth like
glass" appearance
   Sole bottoms are sanded twice to produce a very smooth surface with no sanding marks to accept the bottom finish. Bottoms are finished with a clear natural stain.   After finishing the soles with a natural color wax, polish of the appropriate type and color is applied by hand and buffed with horsehair brushes. Following polishing, shoes are are buffed with rag brushes to produce a like new, natural shine. We never use spray products of any kind.   Applying decorative markings to the soles Closeup of decorative markings and heel breastings.  Welts are "wheeled" by a specialized machine using 16, 24, or 32 notches per inch whichever the shoe was originally manufactured with. This is a closeup of the wheeling.   The finished product showing the upper and the bottom Why settle for anything else? |
