15-Years Old, Fully Rebuilt
These shoes are special, as it was this pair that introduced me to the world of fine footware. It was grad year and I was travelling in Germany. Growing up in a sheltered household, embarking on a solo trip abroad was a small leap of faith. In a fateful encounter, I walked past the Dieter Kuchelkorn store. I knew nothing about shoes, but this looked like a serious shoe store, and I was drawn in. What unfolded was a blur, but I saw the pair with the steepest discount (still incredibly expensive) and walked out of the store with them. Knowing what I know now, would I have made the same choice? Brown and white saddle shoes with a green liner on a rubber sole? What was I thinking? At the time, these were my first pair of high quality (and expensive) shoes and was my intitiation into the world of footware.
Through the years, these shoes went through thick and thin, from balls to hikes, hallways to boardrooms, and just a few too many sticky-beer floors. They’ve had Topy covers, veg-tan soles with rubber still sandwiched inbetween, weird edge dressings (that nasty rubbery stuff), and horrible cobblers that ground down the welt and moulded back the stitches with wax. After a decade and a half of use and abuse, the litany of patchwork repairs was stretched to its limit and a full rebuild was the sole recourse (excuse the pun). Needless to say, I was quite excited to finally bring them to a reputable cobbler and give them a breath of life. This was my first time working with Patrick Nijdam at The Cobbler Ltd. in Vancouver (formerly known as The Quick Cobbler). Aware of the amount of biblical amount of work ahead of us, I was understandably nervous. Having heard great things about Patrick, I placed my trust in him. A decade and half later, I was once again taking a leap of faith with these shoes.
Fast forward a couple months, as I returned to pick up my shoes, I anxiously suspended my expectations. When I finally saw them, I was taken aback, fully in awe of their splendour. This was a full recraft, and while the uppers were familiar, the new welt and soles completely rejuvenated their tired and worn appearance. The open channel stitching was even and precise, with the JR crest proudly emblazoned on the soles and heels. Mounted on a double sole and a stacked heel, the highly polished edges leant a look that was robust, yet refined. The welt was cut tight and the joinery was seemless, the meticulous handiwork of a master of his craft. Needless to say, I was impressed with Patrick’s work, and more than excited to continue my journey with these shoes for many years to come. This time, safe in the knowledge that I have a master cobbler to address any of my shoe maintenance needs.