shoerepairer

yes you can go the other way, but as with the previous post, only by 6 - 12mm (¼ & a ½ inch) or you will feel as if you are stumbling forward all the time. the strain on the shank is in the other direction & the heel could collapse outwards. On a stiletto type heel you will in almost all case's have to replace the entire heel block to achieve this safely & this more often than not out ways the cost of simply buying shoes the correct height. On other heels this can be achieved in various ways with few problems. Its also worth remembering that any footwear design is based around the height of the heel block being put on it, this is often the starting point of the design. Altering this will always be a compromise between design, comfort & strength altering the height of your heels should always be given considerable consideration as it can be a fruitless exercise. Lee

Hi Marion

this is in fact my own handy work & I posted the link up for you Yesterday

here

If you want any advice on any of the "ways" let me know!

Lee

if you building up many layers, drill holes in each one one as you go. Try to drill each layer in a different place to form a grid of holes, this will aid strength. By doing this you can reduce the overall weight by a significant amount. Lee

there are in general 5 heel tip sizes

101. 110. 115. 120. 125 pins

115 & 125 pin sizes where used mainly up until about 3-4 years ago when the 120 pin took over & is pretty much the universal size off today ( 2008 ). I am currently buying in heels with 120 pins in their thousands as apposed to 115 & 125 which I am buying in 10 or 100's at a time.

the 101 & 110 pins are the dark horses of the bunch used in very fine stiletto designs as they fit a much slimmer tube, but can appear in all variety off shoes & catch you out at any time. there are other sizes out there & some clever skills are needed to maintain these shoes.

Finally you pay your money you get what you pay for, replacement heels can be brought very cheaply on the internet, BUT you will be replacing them far quicker, potentially giving you grief along the way.

I would well advice ESPECIALLY if your doing these yourselves to spend a little more on your heel tips!

Lee

Take a look here, this is something I did on my own forum

http://shoerepairer.info/bb3/viewtopic.php?t=1766

Ten ways to clear a Stiletto heel pin.

If it ain’t easy then leave it to your repair man!

Lee

thank you for the welcome, the links are not designed to be adverts, just to let you have an insight into me! My forum doesn't sell anything its just something I'm involved with just like the owners of this site. My business link doesn't sell online & in general footwears to expensive to post to make it economical just thought you could see what I get up to. Feel free to remove the links, I wouldn't want to breach the sites terms & conditions so early on! Lee

A competent cobbler will try some sort of solvent to loosen up the leather a bit and then try to, ever so slowly, stretch the shoes. He may need a week or so, as the stretching force will have to be applied very slowly. This is one job that, if it's to be tried at all, must not be rushed.

Firstly, when you stretch patent it tends to go a little grainy because you are stretching the plastic coatingYou need to decide whether you'd tolerate a little damage to the finish that few people will notice so that you can wear it.

I have been stretching patent shoes for over 20 years, I have never damaged them & they have NEVER gone “grainy” I have also never used a solvent on any shoes, this is not good practice & could be the very reason your repairers have made them end up grainy!

Also with any leather the tension is put on in stages, but this is over a period of a few hours with the shoes being left on the machine for a time after this to settle to the new shape. Generally it’s a 24-48 hour task.

Lee

Patent (provided its genuine & Not synthetic) can be stretched as it has an elasticity to the surface.

However there is a bit of a feel to it! this is one which I would defiantly recommend to your local repairer.

you can buy a spay leather stretcher which you spray inside the shoe, this retails (UK prices) at about the 3-4 pound mark. this is fine on "most" shoes but as mentioned before for patent it require a certain feel for how much.

A repairer will put them on a machine ( http://www.brilee.co.uk/hhplace/003.JPG ) which is far superior for 2-3 pounds. with the machine you can stretch lenght, width & even attach attachments for bunions & such like!

Lee

What you are “technically” talking about is the Balance of the footwear. The biggest problem’s with altering the balance of any footwear are in fact the uppers (the part your foot goes in!) design & shape, this can not be easily altered! So if you have a boot (in this case) with a 4 inch heel, the upper would have been designed around this height & your foot will sit in it with bent toes accordingly.

If you was to take off say 2” you would find them almost impossible to walk in as you would “feel” as if you was falling back with each step taken.

The second issue here is the part that makes the boot rigid at the point where the heel is attached to the upper, called the shank. This would be placed under tremendous strain & would after a short period of time break causing the “Kick under” as mentioned.

As a rule of thumb you should be able to place your finger under the toe for correct balancing, most footwear has a “tolerance” (see pictures)

Picture one shows the shoes correctly balanced.

http://www.brilee.co.uk/hhplace/001.jpg

Picture two, shows how the same shoes would sit with a 1cm lowering, which would be within acceptable limits

http://www.brilee.co.uk/hhplace/002.jpg

As a rule of thumb most stilettos can be altered about this amount. & boots as shown in the images can be lowered between ¼ & a ½ inch, any more & you risk breakages.

Lee

Hi to hhplace

My Name is Lee I am a Footwear recycler (cobbler, shoe repairer etc) here in the UK & whilst doing a little Google search came across your site.

Noticed some of the advice on shoe repairs was a little wayward, so thought I’d post up some replies to point some topics in the right direction (if that’s OK!)

My credentials on the subject are:-

• Holder of the Waterford crystal shoe repairer of the year award.

• Site owner & administrator of the shoe repair industries trade wed site www.shoerepairer.info
• Small shoe repair shop owner ( http://www.cobb-lees.com/shoerepairs ) with over 20 years experience in the field!