Shoe Stretching. Part one

[hoverfly]

Ok so I had nothing better else to do. About a year ago I discovered Firefoxe's web page Aesthetic High Heels Men's Fashion. Under the Modify / Repair section http://freespace.virgin.net/firey.fox/stretch.htm he has a section on constructing some shoe stretchers. So when I got laid off recently and with time on my hands I set up my work shop for some projects to keep my self out of harms way. Hehe, yeah right!! One was to build my R/C airplanes, and two, build some shoe stretchers.

Some of the boots and shoes that I bought over the past year were a bit tight in some places. So I put them aside for when I had to time to experiment in stretching them. Also I needed to address the fact that finding any thing above a size 11 U.S. was going to be a constant problem. Payless has up to a 13 but starting at size 9 options available in stiles start to shrink. So when I decided what kind of foot wear I would like to wear in public, boots with no pointed toe boxes were decided upon. Half of the problem was solved. Boots generally run a bit big and ones with a square toes tend to have a clown shoe effect. So there is plenty of room length wise in smaller sizes but width needed some work. Even if I find a wide width they will also need some work done.

When I constructed my shoe stretchers I first used them on 4 pairs of boots one size 12 U.S. mid calf with a 2” chunky heel. Another is a 12W bellow the ankle “ bootie” (that’s what Payless called it) with a 4.5” chunky heel and a .5” plat. The third one was an ankle boot with a just under a 3” chunky heel. All three were 100 percent man made materials I had good results with all three except the top of the foot is still a bit tight on the mid calf and ankle. But after a couple of tweaks I created the desired width for my foot. I haven’t addressed the problem with the top of my foot still being tight but I think I can stretch it enough by hand or modify the foot stretchers to be a little more thicker where needed. Now you properly noticed that I only mentioned 3 of the 4 boots. Well……. Lets just say at the moment the 4th one did not make through it's transformation in one peace.

Now I had the same two problems as Firefox did as described on his web sight with the foot stretchers. One was more of a problem for me then it was for him. The toe box around the foot after stretching was much more distorted that I wanted it to be. I will discuss this in this part. The other was the difficultly stretching of man-made materials; this will be discussed latter in part two.

Now if you take a look at the picture below (this is boot # 3). You will notice that the boot on the right is distorted badly around the toe box area. (Before) The inserts are an out line of my foot, so when the boot got stretched the first time around, it left a bulge big enough to make the boot unattractive. So I decided that if I could stretch to accommodate a bigger foot I most certainly stretch the upper most part of the toe box to blend in with the bulge. See the boot on the left; also take notice to the smaller toe box on the right at the very top as well. (After)

Now the second picture shows the shoe stretchers. The one to the right is just the out line of my foot; the one on the left is a little bigger for final tweaking for the width and the desired shape of the toe box. The out line on the left shoe stretcher shows the original out line of my left foot. Now you can make two sets, but for me it worked out fine in just swapping the toe box area of the first one for the one that is going to give the boot it’s final shape. Just make sure you round of any sharp corners of the stretchers including the ones between the joints. This is where the 4th pair of boots comes in.

The 4th pair was size 11 U.S. soft leather ankle boots with a 3” chunky heel. I did not use the whole stretcher just a wedge to form the toe box. Leather is easy to stretch. But…. If you don’t keep some kind of device in to keep the desired shape around the rest of the boot, leather can shrink just all most as good as it can stretch. After I let the boot dry over night (I use water to help the stretching processes) the leather that was not being stretched, shrank around the wedge making it a problem to remove. After I realized I had one problem I discovered another. The backside of the wedge had corners that were digging in to the sides of the boot. When I attempted to remove the wedge they were acting like barbs on a fish hook!!! I am not going in to details what methods I tried in order to remove the wedge but after awhile I decided it was all or nothing. I used a pair of vice grips to get a firm hold on the wedge and just used brute force. As I was pulling really hard to get the wedge out, all of a sudden Rrrrrrrrrrrrrip!!! I put a very, very big tear across the top middle part of the boot!!! Oh well. At least I got the wedge out. Any way I got the desired effect I wanted and I was able to wear the boot to see how was the fit. Being satisfied with the end results (except the tear) I took boots off and put them in a closet. Then making a mental note to use them for future experiments and parts.

So what did I learn so far? One, make sure you use the whole shoe stretcher right down to creating the final shape. This makes easier to pull it out and to prevent shrinkages where you don’t want it. Two, don’t just use a wedge to form the toe box , it can be difficult to pull out. Three, when you put a larger piece on the shoe stretcher like I did for the toe box. Round off any corners that might get caught in the material. This way it will slide out easer with out getting caught.

(Edit By Firefox: To get the pics to display, you need to give the pic name and it's file type extension when specifying a URL eg hoverfly1.jpg, not just hoverfly1 )

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: hoverfly on 2002-04-05 01:48 ]</font>

[Firefox]

Good to see you made use of some of my ideas there Hfly. I find the width stretchers useful as I have a size 41 width and a size 40 length, so the fashion toe boxes often need some work, but if I buy the bigger size boots then they slip at the back, so I prefer to get a custom fit. I'll post some photos of my GRP last as used for stretching.

[hoverfly]

I find that a size 12 U.S. is a bit lose in the back of the shoe. 11's seem to be good enough for a snug fit. I don't know about a size 10 and above a 10 there is no half sizes. My wife wears a 10 and some of her boots seems to have enough length. But if I am going to stretch a 10 then I need them to be leather. Firefox: Thank you. For your help with the pictures.

[Dr. Shoe]

You can stretch plastic as most kinds (PVC and PU) tend to hold a stretch shape quite well. Some plastics though such as PCP (polychlorateplastomer) are a form of synthetic rubber so will just spring back as will neoprene.

[Firefox]

Agree Dr Shoe. I do find that even PU does not strecth and mould as well as leather. Another reason for buying leather.

[hoverfly]

Ahhhhh but there might be a solution. I haven’t not gotten to part two yet.

[Arctic]

Something which I have been about to try now for a while already is heating them up... Would some moderate amount of heat not make plastics more likely to take a new shape? Bert

[Firefox]

You'll have to be careful with that. Some plastics can shrink with heat, but I think moderate amounts of heat up to 100C may work. To this end, immersing in hot water and then wearing could be OK (I haven't tried this, it was only a thought!)

[hoverfly]

Bingo that's part two!!! However I been busy and had not a whole lot of time to write this one out yet. Warm weather is here and things need to be done around the house. Also I start my new job tomorrow. My method has been done only on a heavy material. I used the boots in part one. But some parts of that boot have a stretchy material around the ankle so I had to be careful. Using heat and the width stretchers I was able to get what I wanted. I used a heat gun that is used for striping paint. It only has two heat settings. The best way to control the heat in this case was to hold the gun about 8" to 10" form the boot and constantly keep the gun moving around the area to be winded/shaped. Then after a while I shut the gun off and worked the stretchers in a little bit at a time. I applied more heat when needed until I got the stretchers in completely. After I got the stretchers in I applied more heat to make it easier for the material to stretch around the stretchers and take permanent form of its new shape. Then I let the boots cool at room temperature before removing the stretchers. Slow cooling less shrinkage. Now how did I figure in the ideal stretching temperature? Well if it doesn’t produce a strong smell then you are fine. I did TLAR (That Looks About Right) the glue will go first if you are working around the front of the toe box. That can be repaired easily with some glue. All you want to do is to soften the material enough so it will stretch. This is going to have to be done a little bit at time until you figure an ideal duration and temperature. Also the stretching temperature of this cretin material was very hot. I say it would burn you in seconds. Be careful!!! _________________ Hello, my name is Hoverfly. I am a high heel addict…. Weeeeeeeeeee!!! <font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: hoverfly on 2002-04-15 05:06 ]</font>

[terayon]

i may try this sometime...not on my good boots though...dont wanna wreck em

[hoverfly]

I got the ones I use here on this thread on sale for $20. I would not halved any regrets if I destroyed them. I try not to pay full price. _________________ Hello, my name is Hoverfly. I am a high heel addict…. Weeeeeeeeeee!!! <font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: hoverfly on 2002-04-17 04:58 ]</font>

[gj]

hi where do you get shoe stretching fluid from? and whith what do you lubricate the wood with? I'm working on a 3d strecher to get the uppers done aswell any hints? GJ

[hoverfly]

Water........Yes water, Natures stretching fluid and lubricant. All I have done was used some very fine sand paper on the width stretchers and make the wood baby bottom smooth. If you have no sharp edges on the width stretchers pulling them out is no problem. It helps also if you round of the edges to something like a 1/4 radius. If you are stretching leather just slowly work it in, if you need to, make several different sizes to stretch the shoe out in stages. I under stand you are working on a third set of width stretchers, but for me those three things mentioned above, makes it much easer to push them in and pull them out. So I have had not needed to use any thing else to lubricate the wood. Now as for the uppers... All my footwear that I have bought, some have been a little snug on the top of my foot/ankcle area, but my ankles and calf are on the small side so I have had minimal trouble here. But it seems that after going through the stretching process for width, it also solved my uppers problem. I usually wear an 11 US women's and up so I have not needed to do any major stretching in the uppers area. But I do have two pairs of boots that are going to need such a job. They are a size 10 US women’s where both the toe box and the uppers are going to need a major stretching job in order for me to wear them. But I have not really had the time to do any serious thinking or experimenting my self, but winter is coming so I will have plenty of time then. Maybe when Firefox reads this thread he might have some thing tell us to help the both of us out.

[Slim]

I have found that rubbing alcohol works on leather. Just pore it in and them put the boots etc on with sox you don't mind getting wet. I had a pair of size 8's that were tight in the ankle and it worked wonders.

[hoverfly]

I don't know about using rubbing alcohol, it might dry out the leather in the long run. But as you found out it works out to use on problem areas, shorter drying times, and you would not have to wet the whole boot down either to do it. But I think on whether to use alcohol or not depending on how much stretching you have to do. When you have allot of stretching that needs to be done, it's not good to use your foot as you can end you high heel career in a short time. It's better to really soak the leather in water or so you have plenty of work time, and reduce the risk of ripping the leather. In my case I got two boots that are two sizes to small, but there is plenty of length for the toes but not for the width of the foot or ankle area. I would start stretching them with the width stretchers, and my last one is just a tad on the small size so I can have a snug fit. Also if you work with hot water (just out of the tap) this seems to make things easer. Now I got a question...I hear that mink oil work well in stretching. Dose any body have experience with it?

[gj]

So i should buy some shoe strechers for my size and not make them myself? My wife bought some hiking shoes. She has a small bulge on her foot. The shop used a bulge tool to stretch a part of the shoe. Before applieing this tool they sprayed a fluid on the shoe which made the leather a bit hot and more flexible, do you guys/gals have any idea what that was? or could be? GJ

[hoverfly]

So i should buy some shoe strechers for my size and not make them myself?

My wife bought some hiking shoes. She has a small bulge on her foot. The shop used a bulge tool to stretch a part of the shoe. Before applieing this tool they sprayed a fluid on the shoe which made the leather a bit hot and more flexible, do you guys/gals have any idea what that was? or could be?

GJ

I built mine because I had the time to do it and it was made with stuff that I had all ready paid for a long time ago. Plus you can make custom fit and alter the shoes physical appearance slightly to suit to your tastes.

I have seen foot stretchers for high heels on E-bay that included stretching fluid for $30.00 US. If you fit into the commons women’s foot sizes you should be able to find something for your self. If you have a large foot, forget it. I have seen them only go up to a size 10US. Come to think of it, I should look futher into that but I am quite sure this is the case. If any body know where to get one that can do a women’s 11/12 US, let me know. From what I have seen, because you are stretching a high heel shoe that bends much sharper at the ball of the foot, a men's foot stretcher will not fit in the shoe properly. Maybe it can be altered??

[gj]

Great tip that helps GJ

[Tom-NL]

Came across a website that included among other things some information on stretching:

http://www.heelingtouch.com/?page=shop/howto2

[hoverfly]

Nice, very nice indeed!!! Ouch...$61.00 for the western boot stretcher. Obviously this is the one you would use on regular high heel boots as well. The only question is how high of a heel will it accommodate? I just bought another pair of boots that I have that I like so much, so funds are a little low right now. Maybe I will get my GF to get me one this Christmas. Mmmmmmmm...maybe a down payment.... Thanks Tom!! Any way you might need to still make one of your own or alter the stretcher for toe boxes that do not come to a point. For those who don't know most western boots have a pointed toe. But buying this will reduce the need to make one or several width stretchers. What's else got my interest is that they have them to stretch length wise to. I found a few pairs of boots I liked, but the toe box was a little to small in length.

[Ionic]

I have obtained a width stretcher from a Clarke's Factory outlet for 15GBPs. The large ladies one was out of stock first time around so they are getting to know me there. It seems there are two or three ladies sizes and at least one mens. The toe angle on mine is optimised for roughly a two inch heel so it will only be so much use on a 3 inch pair. It comes with three plug-in bunion/pressure point inserts in different sizes to work on particular problems. The Clarkes spray can of stretching alcohol is slightly better value than Barratts which doesn't say much. I used the alcohol to wet the lining and overcome the surface tension and then squirted some de-ionised water in several times to slowly get them well softened. Our water is so hard around here I noticed the tide mark of salt crystals on my first experiment. The stretcher is sitting inside the left boot now so further reports may be necessary. I put a small poly bag around the toe and then put the whole thing in carrier bag to stop it drying out to quickly and allowing an occasional twist of the screw. _ Oh, and Hoverfly... ...when does part 2 begin??? :sleeping: /I

[hoverfly]

Oh, and Hoverfly... ...when does part 2 begin??? :sleeping:

/I

We discussed part two a bit, stretching non leather materials in this topic. futher down the thread. Maby I will cover it a bit more over this winter.

[Ionic]

There is of course an alternative to stretching... According to one eBay seller this week selling her size 8s, "I lost loads of weight recently and I'm now a 6"!! Don't quite know how she managed that.... _ Also on the one hand Firefox talks on his web pages about how a leather shoe can be extended a whole size or even up to two sizes but in discussions along with Dr. Shoe over the weekend said how difficult is was to do any length increase because that is how the materials are contructed. Can you develop the argument? Of course some toe caps are reinforced and multilayered and clearly won't move much. _ & P.S. this message is bye bye to those horrid 2.5" kitten heels, good riddance to them.... /I

[hoverfly]

This is of course an alternative to stretching...

Also on the one hand Firefox talks on his web pages about how a leather shoe can be extended a whole size or even up to two sizes but in discussions along with Dr. Shoe over the weekend said how difficult is was to do any length increase because that is how the materials are contructed. Can you develop the argument?

Of course some toe caps are reinforced and multilayered and clearly won't move much.

/I

I have to agree with the Doc, the stretching length wise is next to the impossible. Most shoes have a plastic or rubber sole with not much give before causing damage. Leather soles are mostly found in the high end of the shoe market like Kenth Cole. But for the price you will pay for these shoes, you are better off making sure the fit for length is first as we know the width is much easer to stretch. Also your toes are more sensitive to abrasion from the seams of the material connected to the base of the sole than the sides of you foot. It's not worth it if you are interested in daily wear. From the number of shoes I have stretched the only problems I have is unperfected stretching technique :x not from any kind of rubbing from the sole.

My side of the foot sometimes will feel the edge of the sole or even the ground after you have stretch them on some shoes but it's not very noticeable as I try to select sizes close to my ideal size. As a fact I only go down one size to a 11 F U.S. if the my ideal size is a 12 F U.S. for rounded or square toe box. I don't bother to try a size U.S. 10 F since I can find all most any thing I want in an 11 F U.S. Saves me the hassle of additional heavy stretching. But for example Kenth Cole runs a size small. I have a pair of size 12 boots, length is fine, streching for width has been a major :x pain in the ass . :rofl:

Most likely you might get a little more length for the toes if you just stretch the area around the toe box. In this case this technique is better used if you foot needs a little more room if it's slipped forward a bit after some time breaking in the shoe. But I would not recommend doing this if you try a pair on at the store and you toes hit the front for in the first time you try them on. In my opinion, make sure when fitting on a new pair, make sure you have at least a 1/4" between you toes and the front of the shoe/boot when applicable like on rounded and square toe boxes.

With the exception of safety shoes with a steel or plastic toe box, leather shoes toe boxes can be stretched. This applies to womens shoes only. In my experience I have found out that toe boxes are formed by four ways. First one is just using a stiffer piece of leather that seams not to be easily stretchable… but stretchable. The second was just using the outer layer, with a coating of glue applied to the back . The third one is a sepret piece of material that was either made out of some kind of coarsely woven piece of material coated in glue and/or thermo plastic . This piece is placed between the interlayer and outer layer of the shoe to give the toe box shape. These three looked like and acted like they were formed to the desired shape by using heat (maybe steam) and a press. Only the last two you will have to apply heat to if you want to stretch them.

Now you noticed that I only mentioned three of four. The fourth one is off the leather subject a bit and it’s on manmade materials more communally known as (pleather, kid skin…. ect) It’s simple, when pressure form a press and heat is applied to the material it gets soft and pliable. After it’s allowed to cool, the material will hold it’s own shape with out any additional support. Nuff said :drinking:

So if you use a heat gun with adjustable heat settings you your self can stretch out a toe box. Insert what ever stretching device or mold you will use and apply the necessary pressure to form the material before it’s under heat. Just make sure you don’t cook it to a crisp. If you start to smell something burning or smell fumes you are to hot. Move to another area or remove the heat completely and make adjustments to lower the temperature if necessary. After it cools enough the glue/pleather gives the toe box it's desired shape with out any other support so it can be removed. But for what ever reasoned you stretch out the toe box just make sure you let it completely cool before you remove what ever device you use to stretch it out. But don’t use something to speed up the cooling process like alcohol, water or use a fan. This can make the material brittle and lose it’s flexibility, let it cool down slowly. (:drinking: Have a drink on me...)

On leather, if you want to before you remove the stretcher or mold, you can apply a stretching fluid, water or alcohol to cause it to “relax” :sleeping: over it’s new shape. Remove the stretcher or mold after the leather has dried completely. Do this only after it has cooled down completely.

I hope this helps

Good night :sleeping:

[Dr. Shoe]

There is of course an alternative to stretching...

According to one eBay seller this week selling her size 8s, "I lost loads of weight recently and I'm now a 6"!!

Don't quite know how she managed that....

_

Dress sizes perhaps? I know some people write a "basic" sells pitch and add details pertinent to the item itself perhaps she forgot she was talking about shoes!

[Firefox]

It is much harder to extend the length than do the width because of the grain in the leather. You can get the width up 2 sizes but the length 1/2 sie to one size maybe. I think PU is more uni-directional, but I never really bother trying to stretch that.

[hoverfly]

It is much harder to extend the length than do the width because of the grain in the leather. You can get the width up 2 sizes but the length 1/2 sie to one size maybe.

I don't think you could get use to having your toes hanging over the fornt edge of the shoe. Might even look funny.

[Ionic]

For length stretching I am really only talking about pushing out one spot by 5mm or so to make room for a longer big toe, especially helpful in round toe styles. _ Otherwise a misjudgement of a shop purchase or undersizing of a mail order purchase is the typical situation where a half size adjustment is likely to be helpful. I wouldn't want to get involved in the extreme modifications that some attempt. /I

[Ionic]

News from the stretching front:

Well I went to the pharmacy/[drugstore] and got a 250ml bottle of rubbing alcohol. They didn't think I was from Mars and pointed me to the shelf, shouldn't have bothered to mutter aboout what it was for. Certainly much cheaper than a spray tin from a shoe shop. Nevertheless the spray is handy for starting off a session, it 'wets' the leather surface and breaks down any initial surface tension.

The pair of low heel black boots that seem to have become my 'experiemental and learning' victims have needed quite a bit of width stretching. I've used a mix of alcohol and de-ionised water to be more economical, it does take quite some time to wet the boot through and through.

I also ordered a two-way Dasco stretcher from Shoe-shop.com

http://www.shoe-shop.com/ ~ Go to the accessories dept. (ladies).

This is a plastic unit whereas the Clarke's plain width only stretcher is wooden. It took ages to come and I was keeping the right boot damp while I was waiting - good thing there was plenty of alcohol in the mix and not only water, might have begun to go moldy otherwise. However, the stretcher screw shaft got a bit rusty so best spray that with silicone / WD40 first!

The screw thread on the Dasco length bit seems to max out before a size 8 which is a bit pointless so the modifier had to be modified!! The damn thing is assembled with near tamper-proof nuts and bolts to insert a stack of washers so I improvised with splitting a copper plumbing fitting lengthwise and crimping it around the threaded shaft making a nice one inch spacer. This is not a permanent solution so I need to see if the mechanics across the alley have a miniature socket set to get those bolts off.

In use it can be quite powerful because it pushes equally at the back of the ankle/heel of the boot as at the toe and you can strain the structure of the whole thing. They are dried out now having had a couple of short walks with poly bags over my feet to get them to mould a bit more around a foot.

Result is they are a lot better, though rather pushed and pulled about. They are never going to be very wonderful since the vamp over the top of the foot is not taking much of the strain. It might be possible to try a 1/4" heel cushion or other types of insole for futher fine tuning {see insole thread for discussions about them}

_

I also had a quick go at a pair of slip on loafers today that only needed a tiny tweak as the big toe presses a little bit. Adjustment on this type of shoe is very finely balanced because my heel is now lifting out of the back slightly after treatment. Still early days with these, when dry they might prove to need another treatment.

/I