Devious ballet boot modification

[hhdfd]

Hi, I recently bought a pair of Devious 2020 boots. I love the fit of the boots, but like others have found that the heel is higher than the toe, forcing the leg to lean forward and making them almost impossible to walk in. Also, although the lacing holds my feet firmly in place, the toes tend to squish a little, making the problem worse. I have stuffed some old pantyhose into the toes, which helps, and will be ordering some gel toes caps as recommended by others. I've seen suggestions in this forum both for cutting the heel, and raising the height of the toe. I prefer the latter as I don't want to risk ruining the boots or damaging the heel covering, and anyway I want the heels as high as possible (they are nearly 8" in size 12). One suggestion was to glue a rubber door stopper to the toe, but I can't find anything suitable that does not spoil the appearance of the boots. Does anyone have any other suggestions how to do this while preserving the appearance of the boots? I'm thinking about possibly building up the toes with several layers of neoprene rubber sheet cut to shape and glued in place. Any ideas will be much appreciated.

[devab]

I've thought about doing the same with a few layers of rubber. I think it would look good and work pretty well as long as I take my time and make a nice clean cut. To form the rubber platform I would probably use about 4-5 layers glued with Bestine rubber cement and prepped with the Bestine thinner (it's about the best we can get here in the 'states) and then attach the platform to the shoe using Barge cement. I used to have a bunch of small 1/8" thick squares of rubber here but have no idea where they went after moving. I'll certainly post pics if I ever get around to doing it, and hope you do the same. Good Luck!

[chrisr]

I think the cheaper bbs are always prone to collapsing the toebox. The more you wear them the worse it will get. On my first pair after I'd adjusted the heel height to get the heel vertical (see other posts about this) the first time I wore them for any time the toebox scrunched up (by about 5mm) and put the heel all wrong again. I was annoyed. So, I made a flat-s-shaped strip of steel and fitted it into the toe of the boots, bolting it to the steel strip that runs down from the heel. I made it long enough to force out the toe again. This does 2 things: it stops the toebox collapsing and - providing you feet are tight fit in the boot - removes some of the direct load on your toe-ends. Makes the boots much easier to wear. It took me about half-a-day to do.

[hhdfd]

Thanks for your recommendations on adhesives. I am not familiar with Bestine or Barge, but I will try to get hold of those, and will certainly post some pics when I'm done.

[hhdfd]

Thanks for your suggestion chrisr, that sounds like a good idea, and I would like to try a similar modification, although I haven't worn the boots very much and there is no significant collapse so far. What I'm not sure about is how to bolt the strengthening piece to the internal steel strip without the bolt heads protruding inside and outside of the boot. Could you provide some more details - also what guage of steel did you use for the strengthening piece?

I think the cheaper bbs are always prone to collapsing the toebox. The more you wear them the worse it will get.

On my first pair after I'd adjusted the heel height to get the heel vertical (see other posts about this) the first time I wore them for any time the toebox scrunched up (by about 5mm) and put the heel all wrong again. I was annoyed.

So, I made a flat-s-shaped strip of steel and fitted it into the toe of the boots, bolting it to the steel strip that runs down from the heel. I made it long enough to force out the toe again.

This does 2 things: it stops the toebox collapsing and - providing you feet are tight fit in the boot - removes some of the direct load on your toe-ends. Makes the boots much easier to wear.

It took me about half-a-day to do.

[devab]

Thanks for your recommendations on adhesives. I am not familiar with Bestine or Barge, but I will try to get hold of those, and will certainly post some pics when I'm done.

I use the Bestine cement for making/repairing latex clothing, and you should be able to find it at most hobby/craft stores. I'm not sure i've seen Barge available in any national chains, but you'll find plenty of sources with a simple google search. It may be very similar to the commonly available "Shoe Goo".

[chrisr]

The steel doesn't have to be every hefty, as most of the load runs along it lengthways. I used a small piece, about 2cm wide, 2-3mm thick and perhaps 10cm long (from memory). The trickiest bit is getting the two opposing bends just right to fit the boot. I used a countersunk bolt, with the countersink inside. So, yes, you do see a nut on the underneath of the 'sole'. But again, as the load on the bolt is sideways rather than lengthways, the bolt is not a particularly large one and I don't find the visible nut annoying. The other fastening, nearer the toe, was a countersunk self-tapping screw as in that area there is no steel reinforcing in the boot, and nothing particularly solid to bolt to/through. On this the countersink was on the sole side, so it just disappears from view. I had to cut the screw down to a suitable size (after I had cut the threads into the steel piece) so it didn't stick in my foot! Anyhow, the upshot was I regarded it as a 'success'. The boots stopped collapsing and I think they are easier to wear. (Though still a struggle, for me!) I can email you some pics if you want (dunno if I'd be able to post them here).

[chicks66]

i would love to see pics

[cheyenne]

I have the same problem with the heel being to long. I have some MDF (medium density fiberboard) left over from another project that I am thinking of using to sculpt out some platforms for the toes. Two questions occur to me. What material should I cover the new platform with to make it blend into the shoe better (make it look like it was made that way)? And what would be the best adhesive for this material?

[DR Who 3]

Hi cheyenne. If you have access to some fiberglass resin and cloth/matt you can do what I did to strengthen the sole of your bboots. The sole on these bboots is week where they bend up to the toe box. Reg point shoes are strong in this ares not so with bboots. Also the bboots aren't strong across the top of the toe box like pointe shoes either. This weekness (built in because the sole flexes in this area not so on real pointe shoes) causes the front of the to box to wrinkle or collapse. By strengthing the sole with at least 3 layers of fiberglass cloth/matt in this week area keeps the sole from flexing thus helping stop this collapsing in the toe box area. See my picture and avatar. I made this mod. to my boots after I walked a bit in them and the rt. boot started to wrinkle. I was able to stop the lt. boot from dammsge. I have been thinking of putting some fiberglass inside the front of the toe box and take out the wrinkle but haven't committed to that yet. It will be a messy job the out side work isn't messy at all. Polyester fiberglass resin sticks very well to the sole material of the bboots with a little roughing of the area. After the fiberglass sets up a bit it can be trimed with a utility knife before it gets real hard. Since you live in the U.S. A. you can get this material at a local auto parts store or a body shop in your area. You will need a small amt. of resin and hardiner ,aprox. 1 sq. foot of cloth a small can of acetone for cleanup 2 --1" paint brushes ( in case you don't get one cleaned out before the resin sets up) 2 old raggs and a well ventalated place to work, or out side if it isn't too cold/rainy. I have made this mod. to my bboots and I can walk in them quite well and they look great after 1-1/2 years of walking 3 times a week for 1 to 2 hrs. Check out my video. If you have any questions please ask. the best to you and welcome to the bboot challenge. Also if you decide to use this method to strengthen your boots be sure to mask the front of your boots well for the fiberglass resin sticks hard to the leather damaging the boots. Dr Who 3

[chrisr]

Chicks66 Sorry for the delay, I don't browse HHP regularly. Here's some pics of the mod. The first two show my second attempt at this which is rather better than the white pair, which was my first try. But you can see the inside on that pair, the innner sole is back in the others so nothing to see. It might look a bit obtrusive on the inside, but with your foot being vertical, you don't notice it at all.

[ialdabaoth]

What I did was take wheelbarrow wheels, and cut out the tread into the appropriate shape. Not only does it increase the toe height, but it also provides better grip and keeps the toes from wearing!