hart88

Another concept that describes a shank, is it is like a bridge... A quality made shoe or boot should have a metal shank. Imagine a piece of blue steel that has some flexibility, and usually has a rib molded into the metal that helps make it more durable. The shank begins at the middle of the heel block and goes lengthwise to behind the ball of your foot. Think of it like a suspension bridge, holding up your foot. A wood clog or sandal doesn't need a shank because the wood is intended to be strong enough to act like a shank. The problem with economically made footwear, they skimp on the quality of materials. Instead of leather insoles, they have paper, or plastic. Instead of a leather heel seat, they use screws and large staples instead of nails. When you have the triad of badly made materials like vinyl soles, paper insoles, hollow heels, you end up with poorly made footwear. Mass Production, = "Mess production" The other side of footwear are the stiletto heels that are mostly plastic, and have a small surface in which to nail the heels to the shoe insole. So when they decide to just staple the shank down with no nails, eventually the heel "worms" loose, and if you don't pay attention, you will have a broken shoe very soon. Unfortunately, taking the shoe apart can cause some damage, so the decision is in buying the shoe, and deciding the purpose of how you are wearing it. If it is for just a certain "costume, or Dress up" then it is worn less frequently. If you decide to wear them daily, you will find out that they will wear out more quickly.

The heels in the picture are a manufactured style, I happened to have the pair she wanted in stock. They come in white blocks and I covered them in black Kid skin. The biggest problem that started about 4 years ago, is, I used to be able to get them drop-shipped directly from the supplier. They had a minimum order charge, and I was willing to pay that as a part of business. Now they have upped the minimum order and for some of the small neighborhood style shops, it has become kind of difficult. If I was in a Mall where about 5,000 people a day walk by, I could have a display, and the job would sell itself. In my small shop, I just have pictures, and the web to show them what I can do. Any way, I keep trying, the new tall stilletto heels aren't hard to get, but to get the older style blocks, is like a treasure hunt. Shoe repair business is fun when everything works right, and not as fun when it doesn't Gene

I wouldn't object to you trying, just be sure about the heat, the tubing isn't that expensive, to try it out. Make sure that you know if the heel covering is leather or vinyl. If it is vinyl, you may ruin the heel covering real quick. as they say over here, measure twice, cut once, inother words, work your way up on the heat, to make sure. You can use a knife and cut it on the inside of the heel where it doesn't show, so you can try again. good luck Gene

Greetings, Happy New Year first of all, To prevent damage to your high heels try Heel shields. They are a heat shrink plastic sleeve that can be applied to stiletto heels. They are best for the tubular spike heels, not any of shaped heels, because the sleeve is cylindar shaped. We slide them on, and use a heat gun, or hair dryer to shrink them onto the heel. They come in Black, white, and Clear. They are about an inch and a half in length. I only install them. I still have them, but I don't know if they are still being made. (I see a few people who have used clear tape, and black tape to accomplish the same idea) It is best to apply them immediately before wearing your heels. They are usually applied to the heel tip area, sometimes we include the heel tip, and cut around the edge of the heel lift just about halfway up the heel lift, covering the gap between where the heel and the lift come together. I have a picture of black ones on black heels. They seem to work the best. the clear ones work for any color, but to be truthful, they don't age real well. they get cloudy and sand can eventually get underneath the plastic. Also when you decide to cut them off, sometimes the color of the leather heel can come off. (in this case, a bit of polish, or dye will make the heel look better right away). The white ones work great, but when you have black sole edges, and black heel tips, it changes the look somewhat. They can also be used as an ecomical repair for a slightyly damaged heel tip. Since they are only an inch and half, they won't repair a gouge that is on the upper part of the heel. Some shoe repairs also have stick on heel savers, that can be stuck onto the back of the heel, either straight up the back, or you can maybe apply it to where you are wearing the hee( like driving). I show a picture of the heel shields on my website: hartlandshoes.us go to the topic of high heels are back... the link is at the end of the topic. Gene

I'd be surprised if it was just glued. 99% have some mechanical fixing, either nails or screws. It's feasible in principle, but I wouln't go down in height much more than 1/4" Around 3 5/8" to 3 3/4" would be best because the shank and uppers need to accommodate the new heel height.

Many competant shoe repair people might take on this job. You'll need to ask. I don't think it's worth sending away overseas because the costs of two way shipping can outweigh the value of the work and the boots put together.

I have changed heel styles for people Here is a picture of a pair of boots that I did recently. The biggest problem about changing heels is how it is attached originally. I don't like the ones that are just attached with a big staple, because that is a cheap way of doing the heel, and most of the time the entire heel and shank area is suspect and doesn't hold up to being taken apart, so if you can pull up the insole and it is just nailed on, then in my book you are ahead.

http://hartlandshoes.us/recover2.jpg

my email is hartlandshoes at yahoo.com

Gene

Some patent leather shoes are leather, with the patent process and some patent leather shoes are Vinyl. If they are leather, with care, they will stretch some. If vinyl, they won't stretch as much. With any patent leather, I would stretch them very carefully, and with patience. In other words, leave the stretchers in a longer period of time, maybe a week, and each day turn the handle of the stretcher just a bit. Some shoe guys use a heated stretch with vinyl or patent leather. Be care full if there are seams that would complicate things. see previous posts. Gene

The shoe stretchers at shoe shops are usually the best kind, harder wood, and real metal gears. I have seen shoe stretchers in gift shops or othere stores that are made of light weight wood, and have plastic gears instead. Also there are flat stretchers for flat soled shoes, and High Heel stretchers for High Heel shoes. We also have a Ball and Ring stretcher that just stretches spots (like bunions, etc) Unfortunately stretchers only come in one in a box so if you need to stretch a pair of shoes, you need to go one at a time. While applying stretch solution, I always wet the entire shoe or boot (make sure not to be around dirt) because if you only wet one area, it could discolor that one spot (in rare occasions) I usually only wet the outside, because I am fearful of a inside wet shoe causing problems. when you wet the outside of the shoe, I suggest wiping the liquid totaly into the leather, and then wiping the residue off. Anything to keep from spotting the shoes. Some shoemakers use a heated stretcher, but if you use a hair dryer, make sure that you know that HEAT DAMAGES LEATHER if abused. You could use a bit of heat from a hair dryer if you fan the hair dryer back and forth on a low setting, while the shoe is still wet. Stop immediately when the shoe looks dry. In the lasting process when leather shoes are made, the leather is usually wet and warm when the shoemaker lasts the leather. For best results in stretching you should leave the stretcher in long enough that the shoe is dry. Overnight is good. If you have a seam down the front of the shoe, be real careful not to stretch too much. Any seam can stretch along with the leather. Zipper seams, back of the leg seams, can all stretch too much. If unsure, do a bit at a time.

To fit a new heel to a boot, first we need measurements The first measurement and most critical is across the width of the heel, the part that is facing the sole- the straight line...that is the first measurement. The rest of the measurement is just basically the shape of the heel where it is attached to the boot. The second challenge is the way the heel is nailed, or attached Some heels are attached with a Big Staple, and those are harder to remove because the staple is a substitue for a quality job, and sometimes the rest of inside of the heel is cheap and difficult to work with. The 3rd challenge that I have, because I am a small shoe shop, and the jobber has changed their small order process. That means it is more difficult to purchase heel blocks in a small order. (few at a time) One of the companies that I deal with is called SoleTech.com (USA) On their website they don't show many heels like yours, but I do have some older styles on hand that are somewhat cowboy and wider at the bottom where the heel meets the pavement. If you still might be interested, you can email me and then I could take a picture of the heels, or you could email me with a jpg and I could tell you if the heels might work, (and price) Gene

They will stretch over use and time.

Go back to the shoemaker, and ask them for a shoe stretch spray.

Apply liberaly, wipe it totally into the leather, or even use a hair dryer to warm the leather, (BUT DON'T BURN THE LEATHER!!! just fan the leather back and forth with the heat) just warmer than body temp, and wear them for a lengthy periods of time. The natural heat of your body will help mold them to your leg. Also, if you could purchase a set of boot shapers either in plastic, or if you splurge, cedar wood and they will also keep the boots in good shape.

I get alot of customers who also ask me how to quiet their noisy heels. Many times the noise is from the very hollow heels, with hard plastic heels on the bottom...(we call the rubber piece at the bottom of the heel- the heel lift in usa) some people call them tips. I usually ask them If I can pull the heel lift off, and see how hollow the heel is, then if so, I cut up pieces of the crepe rubber scraps I have and cut them in strips and cover them with glue, and stuff them into the heel cavity...Then I usually put a newer, more rubberier heel lift on, sometimes I put a thicker one on, like Jim C said, but maybe only up to 1.0 cm or 3/8 at most. Also the thickness of the outside wall of the heel block determines how or what kind of heel lift I can replace the original with... The Flash black product I agree can work, but we in the shoe repair business have a spray that hardens the super glue quicker, but I don't think it is availible to the public at this time. The Flash Black also because it is more rubberier, I use for toe tips on the very pointed shoes and boots that have black rubber or plastic soles...The toes are too pointed to nail any toe plate on, so the Flash Black works real good to make a coating that works like a toe plate or toe protector.

Yes, have seen the pronged plate on budget models. I spent half a minute trying to explain this concept to the owner of leatherworks, but such construction seemed too cheap and nasty to be within his expereience or indeed contemplation.

I think the answer here would be another thin plate maybe cut from a tin can with metal snips. The plate is then screwed down with 1 1/2" pilot drilled screws, two or three each side of the shank. Drive the screws well down to produce a sunken head in the plate and liberally cover with foam/tape/cardboard/insole to protect the bottom of your foot.

that "plate" is a HUGE staple. with 4 prongs...sometimes one of the four prongs breaks, or is bent under and then the staple starts coming loose.

as a shoemaker, I remove that huge staple, then, re nail the heel unless the shank has broken, then I have to take the heel off, replace the shank and then renail the heel back on. Usually the "budget" shoes have this staple, but I have seen them in many styles.

If the hooks bother you, you can have the local shoe repairer remove them and install normal eyelets instead. If you keep bending the hooks, they will eventually break, and then you won't have anything. Good Luck,

I don't like dyeing suede. It's not like you can paint it like leather you have to think more in terms of soaking it. Even then, penetrating coverage is difficult to achieve.

I know that people who dye cloth, like jeans, literally soak them in it, I haven't had the want to, to try...maybe some day, when I don't have any other work to do,... I might try it.... I have been in many medical studies where I tested new drugs, so I might have to consider this a test...Gene

I am in the shoe repair trade, and I have never been satisfied with dying suede. The suede leather has the mat material like scuffed leather, or little blades of the leather. ( how else do you describe leather that has a nap?) the surface is not stable, it moves It is hard to make the finish get down into the deepest parts of the suede. in other words, sometimes some of the suede gets rubbed off, and then the under color shows through. The best results for dying suede is to dye black-black, Brown- brown, etc There are fewer suede colors of dye than dye for smooth leathers. FIEBING's Company has many shades for suede or rough- out leathers. I don't know if it is availiable in UK Fiebings.com (their Web site is currently under reconstruction, so keep checking....)

This works for me, I don't know if it will work for you, practice on a pair that you think is ruined, not a regular pair, first!!!!! Use carefully!!!! I just found out a quick fix for black shoes or boots (you have to get this before you wear them into the leather or suede or vinyl material) I started using Flash Black® (BLACK super glue)...Some people are aware of shoe goo (goop), but I am not talking about goop...this black super glue that has some rubber quality to it. (most super glue is real hard when it dries.) You always have to be VERY CAREFULL with super glues. Read this all the way through first before attempting this procedure. 1) the odor, and sensitivity to your eyes...don't ever touch your face or eyes while handling super glues (have some ventillation or fan to blow fumes away from you, DON't SMOKE! or use near FLAMES!!! 2) have a clean magazine under you, or Grocery bag to catch drops of glue, so you can throw it away 3) always have space while using it, so you don't knock something else down, and get distracted and find you have to start all over. I use a flat object to use as a smoothing instrument like a popsickle stick, or scrap rubber or leather (something you have to throw away). I squirt a drop of super glue about 1/2 inch from the toe, and use the flat stick to "paint" towards the toe. NOTE- Avoid getting the super glue on the surface leather of the shoe-it will damage the leather! don't let the shoe touch anything before it is dry! (let dry, and reapply as needed.) Find a hook that you can hang your shoe on or make one. I hang the shoe by the heel counter with the toe facing down. Because of gravity, it has the tendancy to flow or get heavier toward the toe. That is what you want it to do. (it will be thicker toward the toe, if it looks irregular, just use a knife or sandpaper to smooth around the edge.) I don 't use the clear super glue on any shoe yet for this procedure because it is too visiable , dries cloudy... )

That is a good Idea also. I have used the elastic trick for other shoe modifications

you mentioned the laces at the very end...That is the best idea Most shoe repairers if experianced, could take in the back by moving the eylets over (re-align) to tighten the boot tops. Dr Shoe also mentioned the elastic. Some shoemakers call that a gusset. We use the elastic to let out the top of boots that are too tight, but it could work if there is a seam or pattern that you can disguise the work so you can make the cut without notice, to take in the boot. Re aligning the eylets might only require one side of the eyelets, depending on the angle or visual looks. ( It may also depend on if the shoemaker has the same style of eylets, then you may have to replace the other eyelets to match)

You didn't mention the style of the heel. Most of the fashionable heels have a set back ( I call it a "sway back") design, which puts the heel under your shoe, to make it look smaller, or more sexy. If your heel is moving that means it isn't tight, or maybe you have plastic heel tips which can cause the heel tip to slide some. You should take the time to ask the shoe man to brace your heels. That means adding a piece of material that is nailed to the heel, and hand tacked down the shank to the arch. Some shoemakers call it a brace. Some heels are made so that it is hard to nail extra nails into the heel, so sometimes I have to remove the heel nails, and then renail the new shank piece into the heel. Some of the cheaper heels have wide shanks, and a big staple that almost takes up a third of the heel space. They think that a wide shank will help, but it really doesn't if the shoe isn't manufactured well to begin with. ( When YOU by a pair of spikey heels When the shoe salesperson isn't looking, look under the socklining, to see if there is that big staple- if so, realize that this pair of shoes may not be very good, In my opinion of course)

You didn't mention if the boot has a zipper If you have a zipper, it may be fixed rather easily. ( if it doesn't you will have a lot harder time to get into the boot) But keep in mind if you don't do something soon, the shank could break or the heel will come loose also. To fix a loose shank piece (the insole board that Dr Shoe named it) is usually 3 pieces. You have the insole which commonly is paper these days, the metal shank, and the insole board which is also commonly paper. (Only the most expensive boots have leather insoles) Some times you may have vinyl padding on top with a leather insole, socklining, or vinyl insole on top or just a heel pad. (also some inexpensive boots have a piece of tin nailed down to try to reinforce the heel nails-like a washer with a bolt) You have to pull back the socklining , examine the sole board. It usually only goes from the back of the heel to the back of the ball of the foot (arch) If you can get a screwdriver, or any prying instrument to loosen the insole board enough to get some room so you can apply glue to the loose area. It takes some nimbleness to not get glue over everything... (Believe it or not, sometimes I have to dip my fingers in the glue, and curl my fingers inward and slide my hand into the boot, and then use my fingers to apply the glue into the open area- I then have to use glue thinner to clean off my fingers) An all purpose contact cement is the best. Make sure you apply an even coat of glue to both surfaces of the under sole board and upper sole board even the shank, then let the glue dry to the touch. Now press together, and let set for a while and recheck to make sure the glue is dry. Then reglue the top socklining or heel pad down if you are sure the glued shank area is okay. In the shoe repair business, we also hand tack the shank and arch area to make it more secure. We call that Bracing. Go for it, it can be fun!

Usually the brace is copper riveted to the heel area of the shoe...usually the shank area and heel that has a leather insole, and rigid heel counter. You have to remove the heel and find a way to reattach the heel. On Mens or womens orthopedic shoes, that is not usually a problem because the shoes are made with orthopedics in mind, and you can cut a groove into the heel, and reattach the heel and sole. With high heels, the brace installed, there would be practically no way to reattach a heel block, unless you would find a way to attach the brace to the heel block it self.(which would destroy the intended look of the heel, and secondly, high heels aren't very steady)You would have to find a way to attach the heel all the way through the insole, metal brace, and into the heel itself...If you could find a way to do that, You would be a wizard.

I now have a jpeg of many styles of pins that we use in the USA

http://hartlandshoes.us/DowelsExample.jpg

The scale of the picture is just abit larger than life size

I put a line around the gold pin to show you that these seem to be used the most at this time. The copper pins are next, and the silver pins third. You can see we have most of our styles in these pins.

I ususally get them in boxes of 3 dozen...other sizes I get in dozens.

We Now have white in only that size you see.

The long platform style is one we use for many of the heels that look wide in the back but skinny sideways. (Strange to me.) I don't like those, the heel blocks don't seem to be very strong, and not much area to nail, or be inforced by the shank.

I hope this helps your discussion about heels.

I will as soon as I can, do a step by step also, with a worn out heel, Ok!

later.

the main thing to know about zippers is that the place it gets caught the most is where it might wear out first...If you get jammed at the start it will fail there, if it gets caught on the material at the calf, it might fail there. The slider (the part that you grab and pull up the zipper) sometimes fails. You may only have to replace the slider, it just has to be taken apart at the bottom, and a new slider slid onto the zipper tape, then glued and sewn back in. (*listen carefully*) some shoemakers don't want to do that because they want the money for a new zipper. (Sometimes it is hard to match the slider to the zipper, if it is a cheaper boot, using one of a kind zipper) Another trick if the zipper is occasionally seperating, is to slide the slider up to where you can see it good, and then take a pair of pliers. Carefully use the pliers to SLIGHTLY tighten each side of the slider equally, (NOT THE MIDDLE Part that holds the handle part) This tightens the slide and may be the reason why it is seperating, because it is kinda sprung. this is a good test to see if it is the slider is bad, rather than the zipper tape good luck everyone

Sorry Scotty, I was gone for a while, I could have save you some anguish The kind of rubber you have probably is Polyurethane. (PU) as it is known by the Techs. ( Some are Thermal Plastic, some are Vinyl) If it were a small area, the shoe goo may have worked, but most people on the street don't know that the principle knowledge to know about shoe repairs is knowing the materials PU needs a PU GLUE It almosts melts into the material, so timing is importent. Also both sides of the material must be CLEAN no dirt, or oil... the PU glue is somewhat hard to use, if you get it on other parts of the shoe, it may cause damage to the surface it sticks to. After we clean the shoe and sole, we apply the glue, and wait for it to be non sticky to the touch. Then we re-heat the glued area not too hot, or you may melt the shoe, and then press the two parts together, not too tightly, but hand pressure firm. let it dry or put a book or something heavy enough or some tape, or clamp...make sure it is not too tight and make sure that it doesn't slide to one side. If that happens quickly re-align the materials...If the glue peeled off, you may have to reapply the glue and start over. Now you know why some of the ole shoemakers don't want to do them. But some expensive shoes have Vinyl soles and Vinyl parts...

Gene, previously Hartlandshoes Thank you for showing the Link, It is instructive, but could be misleading. let me give you all more advise. The repair shown is common, but the shoe that is shown looks like a shoe that has hardly been worn...Be advised, If the shoe you have has been worn alot, the job will be definately more difficult If you twist it just too much, Broken tip... I just took a picture of all the styles of Steel tip/rubber heels that I carry that are from the USA Stay tuned, and I will post a picture of them. As an aside, I have 5 thicknesses of steel pins. In the gold stem which is one of the most used, I have 8 sizes of rubber heels for that stem alone in WHITE, TAN, BROWN, AND BLACK. In the Copper pin size, which is the next one thinner, I have Tan Brown and Black in about 4 sizes of rubber... the Silver Pin size, which is the next size larger, I have Black, And Brown in 3 sizes. Not included are the long silver pins from 1-1/2 to 4". Those come in about 5 sizes of Rubber... As a Buisiness, we have to have all of them as possible on hand to be ready for the next customer, You as a customer want to save money, we do also by buying them in bulk. Then we sit and wait for you to come in. I worked in a Department store that did 150 pair a day of spikes alone, and we ordered them by the thousands. Most shoe shops order them by the dozens. Stay tuned, I intend to show you more in the days to come