r/AskACobbler

I bought these 7 years ago and while I haven’t worn them all that much over the years (last time was probably two years ago), they are still so comfy and my absolute favorite. I have always kept a shoe tree in them but today as I was packing up my apartment, I pulled them out, and saw that both shoes have this huge fold (?) on them roughly in the same position. If I feel the folds from the inside, it feels like the leather has crumped/crinkled a bit in that spot. What can I do?

(Sorry for the poor description, not sure of the nomenclature, but hopefully the photos are clear enough.)

EDIT: I haven’t worn these in probably two years so it’s not from wear and tear as another commenter suggested. I moved countries around 6 mos back and when I was packing these up, it didn’t look like this. But now that I think about it, it probably had something to do with how I’ve stored them in the closet the past 6 months.

The gap is not this big normally, I pulled it apart for the pic so you can see it better…
I really hope and am desperat that I could fix this. I don’t care how it looks as long as it holds somehow!

Probably 5-6 year old Fluevog Chelsea boots (Marcus) with a rub-off leather, cracking at the crease. They're not daily wear but maybe weekly, and they get periodic lack polish. Some cracking in the sole, as well.

Worth a cobbler or just wear em until they give up? Or something... Else?

Hello, I apologize if this is the wrong place. I have recently purchased a Prada nappa leather bag. I have brought it to a local cobbler, and they said i would have to bring screws in to replace. What would be the best screws to purchase to bring in to replace?

Hi all, I'm trying to remove the buckle on this belt and I'm not sure if it's possible. Don't want to try prying off these straps/screws. Any ideas?

about a week ago i noticed a tear in the backstay of my favourite boots. not sure how it got there, but since the boots are really old i'm not really surprised. i do leatherwork fairly often, but i've never tried my hand at cobbling. my first thought would have been to sew a leather patch onto it to preserve the structure , but i'm not sure if that's just me being unable to say goodbye to them.

How can i retriever the suede part on this one. I've had it clean in a shoe cleaner but when it got back it has this thing. Any remedies on this one?

I’ve got weird feet, and finally purchased a Brannock Device to try and get some measurements to get an idea of why my footwear always seems to fit weird, esp on my right foot.

First thing I noticed is that my right foot is almost a full size bigger than my left, and also I’ve got short toes lol (which explains why 13s feel more comfortable but I have lots of toe room).

I feel stupid reading width though. Whether I use 11.5 or 13, it says my feet are narrow, but I know for sure I am at minimum a D and sometimes an E in shoes.

For example, in Allen Edmonds Carlyle shoes I am an 11.5/12 E. In Adidas Sambas my right foot is a 13/13.5, and in Brooks running shoes my right foot is a 12.5/13 D.

Am I just reading the scale wrong? Or am
I missing something obvious?

Also, is it better to go by arch or by length, or in between?

I would love to make my own dance boots to help guarantee comfort and fit. Luckily I don’t need it to have flexible foot like Latin ballroom dancing shoes, but ideally I would want it to have a back zipper, an orthopedic arch support and interior cushioning.

I have profesional sewing experience and access to an industrial flatbed sewing machine for the uppers. But I have never made my own shoes from scratch. I’m comfortable with 3d modeling to make my own shoe lass and it’s something I have been very passionate about wanting to learn.

My question is what resources would you recommend to learn the fundamentals of shoe making? Specifically high heels

Unfortunately stuffed my loafers in a box that was one size too small when packing for a move, and this split in the leather, which looks somewhat deep, appered overnight. As these shoes are fairly nice, wondering if they can be saved and restored by a good cobbler?

Thanks all!

Have had these Ferragamo shoes for 10+ years but have taken care of the leather pretty religiously.

I was walking in them a few weeks ago headed to a meeting in Tokyo when they suddenly crumbled and half the rubber fell off. Needless to say I had to stop by a shop and buy a new set of shoes (it was very hard to find size 11 in Japan, which is a whole other story).

Anyways - how can I fix this or are these even savable? Is this common?

Most of my work shoes do not have rubber bottoms - 1 am glad I didnt buy too many of these!

Hi guys. I got this pair of boots from a thrift shop. It is almost unused except for being in stockpile for a long time. The single stitch-down construction + inner stitching, iron heel nails, and rugged build make me think they were built for the cobbler’s own use.

Also, the construction feels like it's from the era before soft insoles became standard.

There are no markings or tags anywhere on the boots. Which region or country does this specific craftsmanship/construction style carry the signature of? Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you for your time.

had to stomp a raccoon that attacked me, stomped a rock in the process too, does the stitch still look good? is that creasing or cracking? how do I check for further damage m?

Hi! I know these aren't shoes, but I figure cobblers know leather care very well.

I have this vintage briefcase and it got rained on a few years ago. I kinda stopped using it because the stains look pretty unprofessional. Is there any way to remove them? Somewhere else I read dunking the whole bag in water and air drying it... Another person also briefly alluded to removing curled edges this way?

I'm a little hesitant to just dunk this bag in water, so I'm wondering if that's indeed the best course of action here. Thanks!

Hi everyone!

Some time ago i got this pair of Jimmy Choo’s, model is Scarlett 50 in cream patent leather.

I’m a size 37, 23,4 cm, and as you do for pointy heels i went up half a size, so these are 37 1/2.

My problem is, as you can see from these pictures (sorry for the quality) the leather is so soft that when i wear them my feet just slides and the toebox gets completely deformed.

This never happened to me with any other shoe, i may not have the slimmest foot ever but i never had this kind of problem.

Important thing also, i got them secondhand but they were basically new (just the sole had some sign of wear).
I’m worried that they were not stored properly.

edit: i’m also noticing that only my right foot is so noticeable while the left looks okay. In the first picture i’m standing while in the other i’m asian squatting(?) so there may be more pressure.

if anyone had this type of problem please share 😭
it bothers me so much that i might not wear them and it makes me so sad

edit 2: just want to point out that I KNOW that pointed heels squish my toes and that my feet are not supposed to stay like that and the rest. I also since i didn’t before and i apologise, want to specify that these shoes are not uncomfortable at all on my toes, it just looks bad to me aesthetically. I wear pointed heels all the time and although i may appreciate you telling me about my health i’m more than aware, but that won’t stop me from wearing poited heels, which i wear everyday.
On this note! I’m going to make myself clear since i wasn’t.

I’m worried about the condition of the leather since is too soft on my right feet and it’s annoying me not only because it looks bad but also because of its state that might get worse. I was looking for someone who maybe had this same experience/shoes or similar. If i can fix this in any way because atp i’m convinced it’s the leather. since none of my other patent leather points do this and it’s visible just on one foot.

Thanks to everyone who has replied i appreciate your advice and the time you took to reply :).

No idea HOW this happened. I’m so so careful with these shoes but I took them off today and boom.

I’m really in no mood to spend up to 300 bucks on a sunday for a new pair so… are they fixable?

Any suggestions to seal or just prevent them from getting any worse? Clean slice. They’re brand new and I’m pissed.

These Wallabees (the classic ones with the crepe sole) just arrived today directly from Clarks and it appears there is a cut in the leather on one of the shoes. Is this something that will just get worse as I wear them? Or am I wasting my time by returning them? I am worried that as my feet sweat and rub the edges of this cut that it will peel up at some point. It's right in the area where your foot flexes too and I feel like this could become problematic. Thoughts?

I got these online for 60euro. It’s a Goodyear welt but I know nothing else.

What is this leather to your eye?
Why do I got here?