How to look after your shoes
Looking after your shoes and getting a long life out of them should be straight forward if you follow some simple rules.
- Polish your shoes with a good polish regularly (working the polish into creases)
- Use shoe-trees to help straighten out the shoes
- Never force-dry the soles if they get wet - do not put them by a fire. Stuff them with newspaper and let dry slowly and naturally - otherwise the soles may crack.
- Don't stick rubber soles on the bottom - it may help preserve the leather but it will make the shoe bend differently and may put stresses on the stitiching where it shouldn't. You can use a sole tonic to help preserve the leather.
- Replace the sole the moment a hole appears - don't wait for extensive damage.
- Rotate wearing your shoes - avoid wearing them on consecutive days, we recommend no more than twice a week per pair. Feet sweat a lot and the leather needs to dry out naturally. Again we recommend cedar shoe trees to help this.
Repairs
Only use a competant cobbler to repair good shoes.
Many a good shoe is ruined by sloppy workmanship in stitching on a new sole.
Goodyear welted shoes have a sacrificial welt which should allow for 2-3 resolings before the welt itself requires replacement.
Blake stitched shoes have the sole directly/indirectly attached to the upper - so the upper may not last as many resolings as a goodyear welted shoe. A good cobbler will minimise the damage to the upper when stitching on a new sole.
We can arrange repairs for you either with our cobbler, or a factory re-build on the last. Please call us for details.
Faults
Occasionally a faulty pair of shoes may slip the quality control net.
If you believe that your shoes are faulty please return them to us for examination.
Please do not return them to us if the damage is obviously caused by wear and tear or neglect. (refer above to how to look after your shoes)
If we agree there is a fault, we will repair or replace.
Please note: There are a few less obvious causes of disintegration worth checking for.
- Toe nails not being cut and wearing the lining from the inside
- Taking big strides can over-bend the shoes and cause cracking - especially in under-polished shoes where the leather has dried.
- Force-drying shoes that got wet - this can damage the stitching as well as the leather.
- Twisting the foot as you stride can wear a sole very quickly - especially wet.
- New soles must be "worn in" on dry pavements. If a new sole has the surface worn off and then soaked they should not be worn again other than in the dry to help seal them. Use a sole tonic to help preserve the leather. Repeated soakings will quickly finish the sole off if not worn in properly.
Eye Footwear - www.eyefootwear.com - + 44 (0) 20 8911 0201