Bending the shank

[Ionic]

I searched on a few of the old topics but rather than revive one, I decided to start a very specific one on this: The old threads have various warnings about not doing this or otherwise but no discussion or tips on how to do this correctly and successfully. I have a couple of faults to deal; in one case one of the pair has a slight kick out on the heel with a hint of wear on the front edge of the heel tip, and a second pair which has the right boot with a slight kick under. Both are slight but enough to feel while wearing. The actual bend required is pretty small. Without having factory jigs and lasts, safely clamping a shoe or boot isn't easy although I reckon it would make this a much safer operation and less likely to break the shank fixing. A supplementary point: is bending the shank at the toe-spring less risky to do? /I

[Dr. Shoe]

Firstly the shank does not extend as far as the toe spring because the whole point of the shank is to keep everything rigid and the toe-spring has to flex hence its name.

You don't need vices and things to bend the shank but note that you will have to bend further than the distortion you desire because it does spring back a bit.

I do not advocate bending shanks or altering heel heights!

A heel "kicks out" because the factory has probably put the wrong heel on, i.e. one to large for the style. A shoe maker would advocate cutting a bit off the bottom but that is far from satisfactory. The opposite is true for kick under heels.

[Firefox]

A shank bend to raise height, by making instep steeper, can be acheived by folding back the toe of the shoe under finger tips. Then place the base of your thumbs on the heel top and your thumb tips where the heel attaches to the shoe (your thumbs lie parallel on the heel pointing up). Put the fold of the toe/instep on the floor and lean down with your bodyweight, bending the shank steeper (take it easy). I have had good success with quality shoes, but not raising by more than 1/2 to 3/4". The shank is often glue/sandwiched between two layers of paperboard or riveted to the sole. Bending it can loosen these bonds and although you may achieve the angle you require in the static position, the heel will flip back a few mm under the forces of walking which not only look awful but ruins the best feelings of a confident walking style in heels. It can be like adding 12 months wear in a few seconds The poorer the sole contruction and the greater the bend, the more the risk. The stiffness can be replaced by injection of flexible epoxy or bolting through the sole layers with ultra thin nut/bolts. I have even used pop-rivets. However, these are more advanced techniques, and for a simple shank bend, success is not guaranteed.

[Dr. Shoe]

That's how I would do it (not that I would).

[Firefox]

From a purists point of view you are certainly right. Altering the way the vamp sits or the toe spring dimension is sacrilege to a well designed, well balanced shoe. But there are many shoes which you can buy in the £30-50 range which although well made could benefit from some design tweaks and the addition of an extra 1/2" could be welcome.

[Dr. Shoe]

I don't think that 1/2" makes much of a difference it's when you try to add 4" is when things go awry.

[Ionic]

I thought I would report news on hawking them around my local repairers. The story so far..........: First I took the pair with the kicking out right heel to the local heel bar in the covered market. They refused to touch although it would be a simple bend, muttering rubbish about it being manufactured that way. btw I used the gambit, "I get the engineering jobs in my household" [true], rather than "these are my wife's"... [untrue]/ Then I took the other pair with the slight kick under defect to a traditional cobbler run by an elderly Greek couple, one of the few left anywhere near here. These have a modest 2.5" heel in a single rubber moulding but without a separate heel tip and only a hint of a line faking the appearance of one. I requested that they put a pair of tips on the boots thus adding 1/4" (3mm) to the height and virtually correcting the fault on the left foot. Again I couldn't pursuade them to decrease the bend of the shank on the right. I tried the line "it would be ok if they tried, but I would get hell if I broke them" without success either... They are an improved 2.75" now, which permit an easy unmodified gait. Two layers of rubber tip making up 1/2" would have almost corrected the fault completely, I didn't want to ask that. I have tentatively tried standing in the boots with heel firmly planted and leaning forward very slightly against the counter ~ then lifting toes slightly. This could be a fairly safe way of doing a small shank bend to correct a kick under ~ I will try again with more 'welly' soon. I think this pair is going to become my experimental 'modification learning' pair as they are going to need plenty of stretching too.... /I

[Dr. Shoe]

If you're still coming on saturday bring them along and we'll see what we can do to help.

[Ionic]

If you're still coming on saturday bring them along and we'll see what we can do to help.

Well, we were talking about tonnes and hundredweights in another thread in one of the other forums....

I'll see what I'm able to carry with me, in case I get carried away during the retail therapy outing.

[Ionic]

More on shanks: One of my funnier eBay wins, {and before going further, don't worry I was fully refunded}, was an ankle boot that arrived with the shank detached from the right heel. The vertical fixing bolt was proud under the insole and the first thing I knew of it was a jabbing pain straight up my right leg from the heel!! The seller was a dealer and he said he they had looked in such good condition that he didn't even consider checking any further. He didn't even ask me to mail back the damaged one as proof. There was no sign of the rubber heel coming off from the outside, just a failure in the internal structure. Anyway that pair was a bit nasty at best but it left me wondering whether an effective repair can be made in the case of a detached shank and whether it is likely to be worth it on a favourite pair? /I

[Firefox]

The shank is usually under the paperboard or sandwiched between layers with the heel fixing nails/screws sandwiching it in place between the heel and the rest of the shoe, so I preume it wasn't sticking up, just the fixing? You could try drilling out the shank rivet and screwing it back down, or usng a thin metal plate over the top of it with 4 screws into the heel (two either side) to hold it down

[Dr. Shoe]

I doubt the shank was sticking up becuase it is under 1/8th of tough fibreboard (usually leather fibres) which is a challenge to cut with a stanley knife let alone the relative blunt material from which shanks are invariably made. What you probably had was a raised nail head (or two) any competant cobbler should be able to whip them out and replace them in seconds flat.

[Ionic]

My story slightly confused my attempt to make a question about refixing the shank in general. That is once the original fixing had failed whether getting a fresh thread to hold was likely to be successful. In the pair in question, a small plate about half an inch square lifted and could be felt right through the insole. The plate has two prongs of folded over metal which are driven through into the heel; I can't tell if this is all or whether there is a hidden bolt underneath this too. Either way, this particular pair are not generously sized enough to be worth spending any dosh on; the only reason they are not already in the bin is they might provide an example to experiment and learn on. /I

[Firefox]

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.

[tightlevisandhhboots]

I tried to do the budget HH cowboy boots by having 3/4" addeed to the boots heel, and after several months of continuous use, the laminate on tthe shank borke down and the heel and the shank soon had movement, and that made them very unstable and uncomfortable to wear. That is when I ordered my WR custotm boots. I'll stick with the higher pricee of custom boots,as they wear and hold up so much better. tightlevisandhhboots

[hart88]

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.

[micha]

What the hell is a 'shank'? The heel or the upper part of the heel where it's fastend to the sole? I am not completely inexperienced. I have already built my own heels out of plywood and have repaired the poorly nailed heels of my pointy boots with wood screws. Both constructions will survive easily the first atomic world war May be its only question of terms and my english is still too bad ... is there anybody to enlighten me? micha

[Bubba136]

the "shank" is the part of the shoe at the bottom that runs beneath the arch of your foot. It is usually made of metal or some other stiff stuff that gives that connects the heel box with the toe box and gives the shoe the shape. It is curved or formed to match the height of the heels on the shoe. Usually, if you modify a shoe by attaching higher or lower heels, you must bend the shank to correspond to the new height. Otherwise the the shoes wouldn't look right and would be uncomfortable to wear. (Ask Dr. Shoe. He's the expert )

[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.

[PJ]

What the hell is a 'shank'? The heel or the upper part of the heel where it's fastend to the sole?

.....micha

Although this has already been answered, for an explanation of shoe terminology, check out: shoe terms