shoerepairer

could you explain what you mean by having a "fine stick" put on the shoe?

Like I said before, do the chicken scratch on the asphalt and they will grip the floor just fine.

Hoverfly's comments are all well & good, but I never assume anything! This will only work in certain instances. All shoes are produced to different specifications & production costs. scratching soles may help, if the soles are resin. but if the soles been produced in PVC, thermo plastic or leather then this may NOT help, as these materials will still slip on wet surfaces regardless as the scratching will smooth very quickly in wear & will only serve to wear the sole out quicker.

What I recommend is a sos suitible for the design of shoe, in the case of most stiletto shoes this would be a fine stick-on-sole with a light grade grip, which will improve grip & wear.

The two images below are a before & after of a pair I've done this morning. As you can see I used a material that would not make the shoes look or feel any heavier, are a similar colour to the original sole finish, so not to detract the eye from the upper & offer a grip over the original soles.

I hope I've explained this appropriately!

Hi all, i bought a pair of shoes from new look - http://www.newlook.com/shop/womens/shoes/patent-bar-platform_233412414

I took them to timpsons to get them to stretch them out a bit

Get a different repairer! Try an independent they tend to invest more on equipment as they are not restrained by a head office evaluating what gives the most profit for the space it takes up!

Most repairers I know have a stretcher with various last shapes & size which can have bunion attachments added (similar to the one in the link) but ours are far, far stronger & precise than those nasty wooden ones!

Good luck!

Lee

Not a good advert for a shoe shop if the assistants end up with feet problems from the products! I hope this time & investment pays off for you though. I'm stretching shoes every day & every night my stretcher works full time. I think this may well be the biggest issue for you. Not the concept this is good, But reaching the target audience. You buy shoes, they make your feet ache, you take them to the cobblers & he sorts them out for you. This has been a historic fact for years. Its a very small percentage of shoe sales that need stretching & then an even smaller percentage who "might" think I wonder if I can get a foot shaped stretcher online. you take 48 hours for return + a bit of time on the strecther. Cobblers can do the same thing in a few hours at a fraction of the price............. IF a demand exists, Marketing is going to be the key to success with this product. Good luck!

the pin was certainly not hardened steel (why should it be?) and an HSS bit was fine.

if the drill snags as it goes through the pin or if it has one of the hardened pins (depends on manufacture) in my experience the HSS drills shatter easier & you end up with the dril tip in the tube as well & they ain't easy to remove! a drill with a bit of cobolt in the mix reduces this risk SIGNIFICANTLY.

Can you post an image of the damage?

if you are drilling stilettos use cobolt drills, not HHS & have a cup of water near by to dab them in for cooling to stop the heat.

Its a great shame, but despite my best efforts (spending over £110 on stock!) I couldn't help on this occassion the tallest heel I could get was 7mm too short & based on this & price I lost the job! You can't say I didn't try! good luck with the cobbler you've found who repairs Prince Charles shoes & still uses that traditional method of banging a load of nails in to hold on soles (10 seconds in on that video you watched!) I hope for your sake they aren't so hand fisted with YOUR shoes! (can you tell I'm bitter & twisted on this one!) Keep us posted on the results, Sorry I couldn't help!

Unbelievable! I'll make some inquiries with my reps & see what heels blocks I can get to suit, they should have been completely replaced. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

This might help?

Ben

If you haven’t already written to Timpson Post the shoes with a covering letter to James Timpson (CEO) at Timpson Head office, which is

Timpson House

Claverton Road

Wythenshawe

Manchester

M23 9TT

Mention that you have been given his details by Lee Ffrench (he’ll know who I am & won’t want to disappoint!) & that I advised you to send the shoes directly to him he, ask if he can have them sent to one of his centres of excellence & I’m sure they will sort them out 100% for you.

Timpson have there best guys in various workshops specialising in specific work & customer complaints.

From a point of law, you can only expect Timpson to give you the shoes value at the point they where brought in for repair, which is less than your e-bay value, because when you purchased them they where wearable & when you took them into the shop they where not! Annoying but in the small claims court that’s they way!

It looks like it has been slightly melted.

This is not the case! Looking at your photos what has happened is they’ve nailed straight out the side of the heel block & then ground down the tip & caught the heel block, sprayed it & tried to cover up their mistake. There is no heat used in the process.

GOOD LUCK

If Mom said it, it has to be right! you learn something new every day!

Or toilet paper, as it is more absorbent. Avoid wearing them wet you'll weaken the middling which is often a compressed cardboard.

what make was it?

Lucky me, if they are new get them replaced, you might solve the problem in the short term, but the stress on such a height heel which is already dropping into the sole will inevitably cause this problem to come back to haunt you in the future.

http://www.algeos.com/

This shouldn't be a problem these are fitted using two components the hook & a back stud. The key is the make sure you ask the repairer to use a bigger back stud or get them to enforce the upper first to stop it happening again by pulling through the same hole as Jarl Ayari experienced.

The only problem you'll have potentially is you'll go to the effort of getting this one doe & another will fail!

Now from a DIY point of view there is a slim chance you could repair it yourself, I've seen many of these where the fitter gets complacent in the factory & doesn't punch them together hard enough, meaning theres movement between them & the upper.

Put the hook back through & if possible (required) poke the upper between the two sections. next find a metal object that fits the hook, to stop it collapsing (handles of spanners are good!) lay the linning on a hard object like a vice & hammer the top of the hook to close the two sections & tighten them.

This may flatten the dome top of the hook, but to be honest no one will notice!

this repair may not even be possible. but I've repaired them this way on rare occasions when I can't match the hook.

Can you publish a photo of the hook & the hole its left?

invalid links?

what type of "leather smithing" do you do?

I want to paint some of my wife's patent/PU leather heels for her.

I am, for the record, trying to color the uppers.

if its patent uppers then disregard my reply! I based this on the topic opener for heels!

there are some great dies for leather & PU uppers but NOT FOR PATENT. what ever you do on that surface, on a flexible upper you WILL REGRET it!

.....and yet it works, granted in the long term it wont aid their life-span but it works ...you clearly don't know how to express an opinion, please direct your ego elsewhere.

A few years ago I was researching a project I started & was looking for sites involving shoe repairs, which is how I came across HHPlace. I actually have no interest in High Heels (other than there money making potentual!) but was aware some advice was given, which in a professional capacity "could be" damaging to others footwear. Giving advice that works is great & it may work in a lot of cases BUT is might also ruin someones beloved shoes as each pair is different! & this is the stand point I've always replied.

I usually give the reason why maybe the advice given is incorrect & the appropriate (in the professional capacity) remedy.

One thing I do understand about forums, is the written word shows no emotion & YES you can upset people from time to time, simply because they can't hear your voice or don't understand your personality.

If I upset you I am sorry, this was not my intention, but it won't alter the way I write!

Incidently if you want to know the qualifications for my "Ego" I run a very well respected shoe repair forum, write regularly in my trades rag, Am a holder of the waterford crystal shoe repairer of the year award & have judged various competitions! O' and I almost forgot 25 years of experience!

Tech & Yozz thank you for your kind words! you never quite know how the wider majority are viewing you!

I've found warming the PU with warm water before you start helps

make the material damp with warm water on the inside and outside

What ever you do don't wet them! if they are PU then the shoes will be manufactured to a budget. this means they will have compressed card middling, toe boxes & back stiffeners. Wetting them will make these go soft & mushy - fine at first but the shoes will suffer long term & not last very long.

then gently nead the material with a small hammer to make the material more pliable

DO NOT hit them with a hammer, PU is not fibrous if you imagine hitting a plastic milk bottle over & over is will have little or no effect. You risk "nipping" the upper this way.

Why not take them to your local shoe repairer? he will have a machine (not just a windy windy thing you get of the internet!) which will give specific pressure to specific areas of tightness!

Good Luck!

if you are talking "Heels" & not uppers, then using these products might be ok, but you have to treat the heel blocks like any other item they are designed for.

If you are respraying a car, you would have to rub down & flatten the surface first to give the paint a key or the paint would flake off.

the same thing applies to patent or any other surfaced leather. use a VERY fine grit wet & dry paper to matt down the surface prior to applying any of the products mentioned.

Again if its on the heel blokes, then flexabiltiy isn't an issue & I'd mask off the upper & spray with a car derived aerosol & the lacquer.

The biggest problem you could have is if the paint reacts with the original surface, spray a small amount in the lid first & brush a small amount on an inconspicuous area to see how it reacts. I have seen many paints "curdle" on the wrong surfaces.

Non of this applies to uppers!

p113fd The problem you are up against is this, Heel tips come in quite a few pin sizes (the securing pin that holds them in the tube of the heel block) I stock 101 pin 110 pin 115 pin 125 pin All in differing top peice sizes etc. Now for me to invest hundreds if not thousands in producing a web site to sell them, knowing half of them will be sent back for being the wrong sizes etc. probably isn't cost effective. Now given that your probably considering fitting them yourself to save money how much are you looking to buy them "online" for? In a national price survey carried out in January the UK average price for stilettos was £6.70. I charge £6.60 for these fitted, done & dusted. By the time I'd added the cost price of the tips, web design, transaction charges, postage & packaging & a bit of profit for the time I don't think I could sell them for this price online! pussyinboots, has by far the best & most cost effective solution.

I sell a product made by Woly (white tube, with blue writing) called Lac Patent there aren't any ingredients written on the product but the side says "Special shoe care preparation for patent leathers and synthetic materials. Cleans, Preserves, Polishes and prevents cracking" All the things you are looking for! I only use it for cleaning customers shoes & for that its a superior product, I haven't seen how it "preserves" or "prevents cracking" but in my experience Woly products do exactly what is said on the tin! (anyone from the UK will be saying that in a workman like, standing on a freshly laid decking type of a way! & will know what I mean!)