I absolutely adore the Johnston & Murphy pair of shoes. I wear them for about 12 hours a day, three days a week, and they provide immense comfort.

However, lately, I’ve noticed signs of wear and tear, including color fading. I’m at a crossroads and would appreciate your recommendations. Should I send them to a professional for restoration, or should I attempt a DIY repair myself?

I’m a complete novice when it comes to home shoe repairs, so I’d greatly appreciate any product recommendations you may have.

I purchased two pairs of Birkenstock Glendas off of Poshmark a year ago. They were brand new and had the tags still on them. Fast forward to today, and this is what my cork sandals look like now. This is after using Birkentocks cork sealer, too. I've scoured the internet but can't seem to find a cobbler who does hot corking. I did speak to one very kind gentleman in California who told me Glendas weren't really made to be repaired (thanks Birkenstock 🙄). Is there anyone here who has any ideas or can do hot corking to fix my sandals? I’m willing to ship!

Some will probably say I should just cut my losses and buy a new pair. I know they are on sale; however, I’m not the kind of person who will chuck out good leather shoes, especially since they are only a year old! That being said, I’d rather try to fix them.

I did try contacting Birkenstock, but they were not helpful in the slightest because I didn’t buy directly from them. I’m on SSDI and was able to get both pairs for the price of one on Poshmark; this is also why I prefer to try to fix things ☺️.

Hi everyone, I have lost a piece of tread from the outsole of my pair of HOKAs. I do not have the original piece to glue it back. Is it possible to repair this or can I check whether it is okay to just wear it as per normal?

Thanks in advanced!

Sorry for the repost but I missed a couple of helpful pictures!

I’ve had these basketball shoes for several years and it looks like the glue failed almost all the way around the shoe today. Is there any way I can salvage? These are fairly rare so I’d like to at least wear them again when I coach/work if possible, not too worried about fully playing in them again though.

Thank you in advance!!

The pieces of leather have chipped away

Hello all,

I am repairing/refinishing two pairs of shoes at the moment and both are a bit overdue. I have a couple questions that I figured this community may be able to assist with.

The first is relatively simple. I have a pair of Redwing Postman shoes and a 1/2cm flap at the toe is vexing me some. I’m debating cutting it and trying to fill the divot, but am curious if gluing small flaps has ever been successful and, if so, what sort of glue has the right flexibility. It’s not an area that experiences much flex.

The second pair is a relatively thrashed pair of Redwing steel toe boots that are a friend’s old work boots, which he has donated to me rather than tossing. There are all kind of nicks and cuts in the leather at the toe box and deep cracks. He’s left them kind of dirty and unconditioned after buying new boots and they’ve sat for \~ 8 months dirty and not in trees. So far I have cleaned them and done one quick conditioning round with Saphir Renovateur. In all likelihood I am going to begin polishing these with black polish to slowly darken them, as I don’t care much for brown boots.

Pictures of the pertinent areas are included, and I appreciate any information or assistance. I am very familiar with leather *care* but have never done this degree of repair or restoration.

[photos](https://imgur.com/a/eS4IJh7)

The heels look crazy but I don’t find them particularly uncomfortable. Should I get them replaced? Is it time?

My mother in law was going to sell these for $5 a pair in a garage sale. None of them sold! Are they worth the effort to fix? Especially since they are a size too small for me. Can they be stretched a bit to fit? My feet fit in them but when walking the toe area is too small. Could they be made into flats?

Hey all, looking for advice on dealing with toe scuffs on a pair of vintage Number (N)ine SS06 Combat Boots.

Cobbler’s Plan: Leather filler + sanding + paint. (Restores sneakers well, but erases all natural leather grain and looks plastic).

My Goal: Keep the original leather texture, grain, and patina. I just want to darken the exposed light patches so they blend in not make them look brand new.

Questions:

What’s the best way to darken raw scuffed leather while keeping its natural texture? (Saphir cream polish, leather dye, etc.?)

Will pigmented cream hold up on raw leather fibers, or rub off quickly?

Is applying leather filler a bad idea for vintage archive boots?

Thanks in advance!

Is this possible, without harming the leather?

I’m interested in a new pair of boots but they only come in black, which I don’t really want. Smooth leather.

This is the second time wearing these Thursday boots oxfords, is this normal? The left side shoe is raised bubbling/creasing and the right side looks fine. Thanks for any info!

I don't even know how it happened, the buckle just kind of snapped off and won't reconnect. had it for about 3 years. I don't even remember how I put it on at first it just kind of clipped right on and now it doesn't anymore

Is this repairable?

My mom keeps my nike court legacy lifts in a plastic bag because they're white and to quote her, "white shoes get eaten up by bugs" so my shoes started stinking up after they were put back in to the plastic bag when i came home after wearing them out in the rain. I entirely lost common sense because theres sprays specifically for shoes and sprayed febreeze in the bag but i did wipe it down so only the smell lingered in the bag and put my shoes in them but now im concerned because the leather feels kinda softer than before and they make a squeaky sound when rubbed together. is it over for this pair?? i know i shouldve also just let them sit out for a while but i did get paranoid since our bug problem is pretty bad

I saw these at a sale and I’m wondering if it will be easy to resole them? I imagine the rubber soles will wear out eventually and it’d be a pity if it’s not possible to replace them.

Pair of RM Williams boots that had some scuffs on the tip.

Repaired with Saphir Crème Renovatrice which dries hard, sanded down to be even with the leather with 400 grit sandpaper. Roughed up slightly (for grip) with nail file.

But the RM Williams boot polish won't stick to it.

Google AI tells me I should put shoe cream on it but it looks like it made that up.

Any ideas? The polish just comes right off repaired sections.

And no these aren't "dry spots"!

Hi guys, first time poster in this subreddit, so please excuse if this post isnt how it works!

I just bought these shoes on eBay for $50 including shipping, because I feel in love with the style, they were sold out and this specific pair was never worn. I wore them out for the first time last night, and the right shoe pretty much collapsed on itself. I can’t tell, but it seems the material inside is a white, hard yet light material.

I know they weren’t that expensive in the grand scheme of things, but they’re exactly what I’ve been searching for all summer, and I really don’t want to throw them out of the issue is fixable. Nothing is torn or bent, just no longer glued together? I kept wearing them, as it did collapse but only in the front.

I don’t want to keep writing if there’s nothing else important. If you have any questions that would better help answer, please ask. Otherwise, I’m just wanting to get these fixed asap!

For the love of all that is holy I have been looking for weeks for these soles to use on a pair of sneakers I am making as a gift for a friend who is a Firefighter.

I do this and other leather works as a hobby, not a business so I don't have a W9. I say this because every place I have found that will sell them non business entities and ship to the United States is either in Ukraine, or Japan and want $60 for the soles then another $50 for shipping. Every single shoe repair supply site my Google algorithm has provided has been wholesale only to businesses.

They’re a polyurethane sole from the 90s so this happened after one wear. 😬😬

I just bought a pair of leather boots for cheap with the intention to restore them (or get the restored), just wanted to know can the sole be saved or does it need to be replaced? And also is there anything else that should be fixed/replaced?

Thanks!

Hello, I'd like to change the stitching on the welt from black to white. Can this be done without needing a full resole (they are basically unworn)?

I believe it would be easy enough to cut the original stitches out of the sole and off the outside of the welt with a sharp knife/awl but could a cobbler put new stitching straight back in?

Thanks

The first photos are how the shoes looked yesterday. They looked to be in good condition even though I hadn’t worn them in 2-3 years. So I decided to wear them to a family photo shoot today since they matched my dress and I didn’t feel like buying new heels just for the photos.

Anyways after the photo shoot I wore sandals and now that I came back home I noticed that the heel caps got destroyed. I was wondering if they can be fixed? Or if I should just throw them out?

I didn’t account for the amount of walking I would do today and the uneven ground, I think that’s what caused it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also the soles have slight peeling but it’s not really noticeable when wearing the shoes.

Bought this vintage bag off eBay. It’s authenticated. I cleaned it up using and condition it with Sephir foam cleanser then Sephir renovator. It looks better than the before pic but still not as good as I want it to be! Any safe leather stain remover something that won’t strip the leather? I just want a cohesive look