Cobblers, shoe care, DIY

[ibringdoom98]

any advice for water/snow-proofing leather boots and sneakers, or should I just leave them as is and just wipe off any water/salt stains with a damp cloth? my first time living somewhere with a "real" winter!

I've used sno-seal with good results on boots. It will darken the leather temporarily, though.

[originalhead]

Can anyone recommend the fine cobbler in Sydney Australia, better with vibram sole replacement? Many thanks!

[fireflygrave]

repair on Layer-0 boots

The bottom layer of the sole is separating on my boots:



and a little separation around the sides.



The sole looks to have been nailed/tacked together, and there's no glue residue as far as I can see. Is this sort of damage repairable? I assume the cobbler would retack the sole and glue the sides back together. Should I ask for them to be vibrammed as well?

Also (looong shot here), does anyone know of a good cobbler in the Memphis area?

Kinda miffed that I bought these with the assurance they had only been tried on, wore them about 8 times, and now this...

[magic]

The gule probably has dry up thus the split on the sole. If the sole can be remove it should be able to resole again.. adding vibrame will not help.

[Shucks]

The gule probably has dry up thus the split on the sole. If the sole can be remove it should be able to resole again.. adding vibrame will not help.

this can happen also when water gets in and dissolves the glue - depending on what (if any) glue was used.

[magic]

Seconded.

Also, it can be machine stitched around the edge to save the sole and adding a vibrame will be done.

[galia]

Is there any specific way to care for snakeskin? I just inherited a pair of unworn vintage black snakeskin oxfords, and aside from buying shoetrees I was wondering if there was anything else I needed to do. What product works best onthis kind of skin etc. Thatnks!

[Atmosphere]

I've also had that very same problem with my pair of those Layer-0 boots, only on the side though. It happened this summer and they've held up fine since, apart from making a kind of squeeking sound sometimes when I walk through the uni library.

I don't really wanna know what kind of fluid made the glue dissolve - as I noticed it the morning after I'd been to Golden Gate in Berlin...

[okayvin]

Can you guys help me add to this list?

Criteria for a good cobbler
-follows instructions well
-has a variety of topy/vibram colors
-preferably family-owned or at least be able to talk directly to the person who will work on your shoes

Checklist when adding topy/vibram to SZ style shoes
-do not sand down the edges of unfinished soles (especially on Guidi)
-do not polish or condition
-use thin rubbers that do not change the silhouette

I'm really interested in points that are not immediately obvious that a cobbler might miss (ie. do not polish; use thin rubbers)

[okayvin]

Is there any specific way to care for snakeskin? I just inherited a pair of unworn vintage black snakeskin oxfords, and aside from buying shoetrees I was wondering if there was anything else I needed to do. What product works best onthis kind of skin etc. Thatnks!

Saphir has a reptile leather cream. afinepairofshoes.co.uk is the cheapest place to buy (assuming you buy enough to justify the cost of shipping). they had a black friday code, BF20 for 20% off. expired probably

[newp]

Could someone recommend me a water protector (saphir probably, just don't know which one exactly) to help RO suede boots to withstand snow mixed with anti-slip chemicals used in several countries instead of sand?

[mike]

i have a very slight sole split between the middle layers of wood. it appears to be in the very early stages; is there anything minimally invasive that can be done without a complete resole?

[Bleu1950]

thought i can shares some pic of my BBS sneakers after vibramed...totally not noticeable






now looking at pics...they look kind of like the ccp ones

[Bleu1950]

Saphir suede spray is good, but i find the other makes are jus as good. just make sure it is colorless and contains no silicone.

Could someone recommend me a water protector (saphir probably, just don't know which one exactly) to help RO suede boots to withstand snow mixed with anti-slip chemicals used in several countries instead of sand?

[newp]

Saphir suede spray is good, but i find the other makes are jus as good. just make sure it is colorless and contains no silicone.

Thank you! I was unable to find saphir protection spray in local stores, so I am using tarrago at the moment.