When is a shoe worth resoling?

This is the question we are asked most, and the honest answer starts with how the shoe was made rather than how worn it is.

Look at the edge of the sole

Turn the shoe on its side. If you can see a line of stitching running around the edge of the sole, just inside the welt, the shoe is welted or Blake-stitched — the sole is sewn on, and a sewn sole can be cut off and a new one sewn back. That shoe can be resoled repeatedly.

If the sole meets the upper in a smooth glued join with no stitching, it is cemented. The sole is bonded to the upper, and taking it off risks the upper. Some cemented shoes can be resoled; many cannot be done well, and we will tell you which yours is.

Then look at the upper

The sole is replaceable. The upper is the shoe. If the leather is sound — no cracks through the vamp, heel counter still firm, lining intact at the heel — then a resole buys you years. If the vamp has cracked through where it creases, no sole will save it.

The arithmetic

A full welted resole is a real cost. Set it against the shoe: on a pair that cost several hundred pounds and fits you properly, resoling two or three times is straightforwardly cheaper than replacing them, and you keep a broken-in fit that a new pair will take a season to match.

On a pair that cost forty pounds, it is not worth it, and we will say so.

Do not wait for the hole

The best time to resole is when the sole is thin but intact. Once it has worn through, water reaches the insole and the welt, and what was a resole becomes a resole plus a new insole plus possibly a re-welt. Same shoe, twice the bill.

Rule of thumb: if you can press the sole and feel it flex where it should be rigid, or you can see the stitching wearing away, bring them in.

Bring them in

Two minutes at a counter will tell you more than any amount of reading. We will look at the construction, the upper and the welt and give you a straight answer, including "these are not worth it" when that is the answer.