Where can I get boot leather for my wife's boot heel?

[micky]

If you make a heel out of that, will the wearer have greater traction? Will she be good in snow and mud?

[HerHusband]

Do a Google search for "cobbler supplies". You'll find a number of businesses online who sell supplies for repairing shoes; leather, new heels, etc. Of course, they usually sell to cobblers so you'll need to buy items in quantity.

Believe me, I am the guy who always tries to fix something myself rather than pay someone else to do it. Even if it takes longer or costs more, I do it for the knowledge and personal satisfaction. However, even for someone like me there's a point where the end goal isn't worth the effort.

For example, something like replacing tires on automobile wheels. Yeah, I could buy the tools and do it myself, but it's faster and cheaper to pay the shop to do it. I only need to do it once every few years, so it doesn't make sense to do it myself. It's one of the rare things I pay others to do.

Could I repair a shoe? Sure, with a little study and the right tools and supplies, I'm as capable as anyone. But by the time I've bought the tools, ordered the supplies, and learned how to use them, I could have bought new shoes for less money and a lot less effort.

While you can still find a cobbler (shoe repair person), it's not a big industry. In most cases, it's a small mom and pop shop that have done this for years. I doubt many young people are choosing to be a cobbler as a career these days.

My wife has taken shoes to a local cobbler a couple of times. He has the right tools and supplies, and the knowledge and experience to do the job quickly. Still, while the repair cost was quite low, it still cost more to fix the shoe than she paid for them. It was more because she liked the shoes than a rational decision.

If you plan to become a cobbler, or even repair shoes routinely for your family and friends, by all means do it yourself. If you're just trying to save a buck or make your wife proud, there are better ways to that goal.

If you still insist on doing it yourself, and don't want to order 10 heels online, stop by your local cobbler and see if he'll sell you the supplies you need.

Either that or make a pair of flip-flops from an old tire and some string. :)

Good luck, and have fun.

Anthony Watson

[micky]

LOL. I can relate to that. In college I "fixed" an electric percolator, by buying the missing parts, even though I think it cost more than a new percolator and even though I don't drink coffee.

All I learned is what's inside one. So I've controlled myself a little, but I"m still the way you are.

It's interesting that everyone here seems to agree on this

I've glued the sole onto sneakers. The first time I used while silicone sealant, because it looked like what had crumbled, but it didn't stick well, and more kept crumbling. On this pair, I just used contract cement. I only managed to glue the middle of the sole but it's been weeks of wearing them every day and it's holding well. When it fails, I'll redo it, trying harder to get the outsde of the bottom and the part that runs a centimeter up the sides of the shoe.

Good idea.

When I was looking for little rubber bands, to tighten the arms on my eyeglasses (and not pay the exorbitant price they charge in an "eyeglass repair kit", complete with a little screwdriver, I found a dental supply company online that sold me just one bag of 100 little rubber bands for a couple dollars and shippping was only a couple dollars. I was surprised they didnt' have a minimum order. The piano supply store I looked at had a 35 or maybe 50 dollar minimum to avoid shipping charges, which are otherwise pretty high. That's more typical.

[Jerry.Tan]

There is a guy on ebay that sells all kinds of leather. He uses the store name "The Leather Guy". I have done business with him and was satisfied.

[bob haller]

youtookthe expensive route/

most glass shops at least around here will fix anyones glasses for free, all sorts of minor repairs gratis. they do this in the hope the please person buys glasses from them in the future..

[Stormin Mormon]

Know what you mean about the cobbler costing more than the replacement shoes. Well, some times shoes are comfortable, and hard to find good replacement.

The one time I took item to cobbler was a tool pouch that the threads came loose. He did a great job, and the tool pouch is still in use. Well worth the money.

I used to do tire mounting and balancing, but now take em to a shop.

[Stormin Mormon]

My work shoes started to wear out, and a layer of gorilla tape on the soles gave them more life. Need to put another layer of tape on, some day soon.

[Stormin Mormon]

Wonder if Liquid Nails project adhesive would do?

I think gorilla glue dries too hard, sneakers need to be flexible.

[micky]

Not in my case, because mine were only reading glasses from the dollar store. Even if I could give him the impression that I also have prescription glasses, I'm not going to do that.

I needed the rubber bands for plastic frames, that in the dollar version get lose soon. I like the ones with plastic frames because they don't have those nose pads whose arms catch on my hair when I put the glasses above my eyes and I need a haircut, but eventually I gave up on those because not only do they get weak and not squeeze my head, they break soon after that. So I buy the metal ones that last much longer, and whose arms can be bent in when they lose their grip. (And I've learned how to keep my hair out of the nosepad arms, most of the time.)

Of course they are all designed for women and so they are a trifle too narrow for my head and that's why they break. One day they had ones makered WIDE, and they worked better. I think that's what I'm using now.

[HerHusband]

My wife has tiny feet and wears a size 5-1/2 shoe. Most stores only stock size 6 and above. When she can find a shoe she likes, it makes sense to repair them for simple things like a worn out heel.

She tends to buy cheap shoes, so the repairs usually cost more than she paid for the shoes. The cobbler tends to use better materials than the original shoe had.

I thought about doing it myself, but it just didn't make sense to buy the equipment for something I do so rarely. Not to mention the space it would take to store the tools in my garage.

Sometimes I just have to overcome my DIY tendencies and pay someone else to do things. :)

Now that I'm getting older, I am finding it harder/less enjoyable to do some simple tasks like changing the oil in my car. I still do it, but I can forsee a day when I start taking it to a shop. I already had my daughter start taking hers to the shop so I didn't have to do it. :)

Anthony Watson

[micky]

The only glue that is flexible enough is contact cement. I first used it to glue a patch on a down sleeping bag that was leaking down. But then I realized it was a mummy bag and I can't use one of those anyhow.. Claustrophobia.

My friend's favorite tape is gorilla tape.

[Muggles]

I bought some shoe goo to fix my favorite shoes where they were separating from the soles. Worked like a charm, and I got about another years worth of wear out of them.

[HerHusband]

Micky,

Are you saying you spent FOUR dollars to fix glasses you paid ONE dollar for? :)

Anthony Watson

[micky]

There are multiple pairs of glasses, The rubber bands extend their life from 2 months to 4 months or so.

Plus sun glasses and safety glasses.

[Karlheinz Fenstermacher]

The tire-changing tool costs about $100 or so. Each tire (out here) costs about $20 to change at the shop. So, after one full set of tires, the tool has paid for itself.

That's not a bad return for your money for a tool.

[Karlheinz Fenstermacher]

I once "fixed" an alternator by re-winding the coils.

That's one job I'll never do again, but, how many of you can say you've done it?

[Karlheinz Fenstermacher]

I often shoo goo the rubber soles of work or hiking boots back, and that works great.

[Karlheinz Fenstermacher]

Shoe goo works fine on sneakers, in my experience.

[Karlheinz Fenstermacher]

I had bought a pair of Bostonians from Nordstroms, and then within a year or so the cushion under the pad below your feet but above the sole "sawed" its way through the front of the shoe.

So, I took the shoes to a cobbler and was shocked when the bill came in for the repair and swore I'd never go to a cobbler again. Just wasn't worth it for a $200 shoe.

Then, I bought a new pair at Nordstroms. Same thing happened.

I went back, about a year later, to buy a new pair and when I mentioned that I did NOT want Bostonians, the floor salesperson said they would have replaced them for free.

[Karlheinz Fenstermacher]

The day you start taking an oil change to a shop is the day you probably should leave this group. :)

You don't know what they do with the car. Just watch them some day, and you'll never want YOUR car in their shop, ever.