20 Minutes in the Life of a Cobbler | Army Boot Leather Sole Conversion | Shoe Repairs

[@pw601]

It's all very interesting! Especially the stitching machinery, very complex but elegant.

[@shoehealer8853]

Thank you 🙏

[@ianmarywilliams]

Quality work again from cobblers who really know their craft. I love watching these videos and I'll be in your shop tomorrow with a pair of Loake brogues that need a new Daynite sole and heel on them.

[@shoehealer8853]

Thanks Ian, we will see you then.

[@JinsKookieJams]

*17:24** There is a channel on KZbin called Bedos Leatherworks. His name is Steve on there. He's a cobblet too and from the USA! I've seen him repair holes and scratches with something called leather filler. There is a brand called Angelus, who do carry leather filler. It's a paste to cover holes and scratches. Bedos also used the same method you did with taking a piece of leather, and putting it inside the hole to reinforce the area as it flexes. Then instead of the wax you used, Bedos uses the leather filler paste to cover the holes and scratches. I think with the one from Angelus you can mix a color with it to match the leather you're working on. Maybe even cover with leather dye. There's other brands too such as Saphir, and even ones that are already tinted so you don't have to mix anything/use leather dye to match the leather shoes. So yes, leather filler paste is quite useful and bends/flexes with the shoes 😊 I don't know how long it lasts, but it looks useful! I wanted to pass along this information to you in case you want to try it out for your repair shop sometime.* *Thank you for a great video! You all do amazing work and I love your channel 😊! 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷*

[@shoehealer8853]

What a lovely message....thank you so much for your interest and comments. I will definitely try out some of these products on a video, and we can all see if they work and how long they last. Thanks for watching 👍 Antony.

[@hudsonrilke]

great vid, top editing too. I dont know how you guys concentrate with so many stops and starts and different jobs.

[@shoehealer8853]

Thank you, it’s really just basic editing, we are still only learning really, you don’t understand until you try how difficult it is to film a repair in full when it goes on over a few days.

[@jjfarrell9349]

Excellent video, thankyou, more like this please! It's great to see all the stages and variety of work and innovative fixes that pass through your shop.

[@shoehealer8853]

Thank you, seems to have gone down quite well this one, will try to do something similar again,but it did take a while to put it together.

[@lorenzom7237]

Well done with those Trickers!

[@shoehealer8853]

Thank you,yes they came out lovely.

[@chrisgreenwood271]

that slide hammer is a great piece of kit.

[@heywhotsgoinon8286]

Great video, i really enjoyed it. You did a great job on those army boots..well all of the shoes to be fair. Ive just had a pair of loakes reconditioned, (bought 2nd hand) with my first ever leather soles put on. Not had leather soled shoes since i was a schoolboy lol. Forgot how hard and slippy they are. Looks like having a cover sole , but theyre a bit tough on the feet after the usual rubber soled shoes. Still love the look of them tho. Best wishes guys.👍

[@shoehealer8853]

Thank you 🙏

[@martinowl]

Made a great job on the Trickers

[@shoehealer8853]

Came up nice didn’t they,don’t over polish.

[@martinowl]

@ I will try to remember that, lol.

[@mariog4707]

They are British army boots from the 80’s - commonly known as the “Falkland” boot. Introduced with a higher leg and stitched tongue to make them more water resistant after complains about the previous version during the Falklands campaign. I still have my pair I got in 1987.

[@shoehealer8853]

Someone further down said they were called DMS boot combat high,but then someone else said they weren’t 😂

[@jimbaird8976]

@@shoehealer8853boots DMS were ankle height and replaced by boots combat high. The ones you are working on are boots combat high. Northern Ireland boots were referenced earlier but I don’t think they are them. I liked the combats high but lots of complaints from folk about them as for some wearers they knackered their Achilles tendons. They were basically a cheap copy of German Para Boots

[@shoehealer8853]

Appreciate the post 🙏

[@mariog4707]

@@jimbaird8976 that’s interesting. I’ve stopped wearing my pair for long distance walking because they damage my Achilles heel.

[@shoehealer8853]

Always learning on this channel 🙂

[@andrewbarnett9506]

Love the video look forward to the next one

[@shoehealer8853]

Thanks Andrew, I will put another out at the weekend, please subscribe and click the bell so you are notified.

[@peakseamus]

Amazing as always. If folk all moved to getting decent shoes that'd last decades instead of buying a pair or two of awful ones annually the world be so much the better . I love all of your videos, great ambassador for the independent shoe shop / cobbler 👌🎩😎

[@shoehealer8853]

Thanks so much Seamus 🙏

[@Vft-5874-f3d]

🌹14:20.. SIR IS THAT THE HAMMER?? YOU'RE NAILING HEEL?? NEVER SEEN THAT INTRUMENT💯💯👍👍👍SUBSCRIBED🙏

[@shoehealer8853]

Thank you, if you are interested there is a really old video about that and some other old tools, it’s about 2 mins into this kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYq4i6CAhK-Ml6c

[@ravusursi893]

I did see a very nice pair of Danner boots in this video. I have two pairs from them, very good boots.

[@garibaldigang8393]

cracking stuff Antony!

[@shoehealer8853]

Thanks 🙏

[@Ian20232]

They are called………Boots DMS combat high.

[@shoehealer8853]

Thanks for letting us know, we hoped someone would tell us. 🙏

[@Ian20232]

@ no problem. I think dms stands for….direct moulded sole. Keep up the great videos.

[@stephen2429]

Looks more like the old NIreland urban patrol boots. Certainly not boots combat high.

[@Pioneer936]

Combat high British army issue about 1984

[@adrianevans9575]

You guys certainly earn your money. Great video. I have a few more projects for you. 👍👍👍

[@shoehealer8853]

Thank you, see you soon.

[@blackwingvisuals5017]

Re thd docs and the yanky wax! CT1 as well as other modern polymers thers a few others out there!

[@shoehealer8853]

Ok I'll try it 👍

[@Pioneer936]

If my combat highs still fit i would get that soul refurb ,great job

[@shoehealer8853]

Thanks 🙏

[@UnknownUser-rb9pd]

I enjoyed this showing a variety of different jobs. Regarding the comments at the end, I have a very large footwear collection but mostly buy direct from the manufacturers. Apart from the cheaper prices I can usually get in the sales (because they sell direct) it is also about availability. I take a UK size 12 in most brands and most of the time when I have ordered online from an independent retailer I get a delay of two to three days and though they don't state it explicitly, I know they have just ordered my size from the manufacturer (exactly as I do most of the time) and then a few days later they send it on to me. If I go in person to a shop they very rarely have the shoe or boot I'm looking for and offer to order it in. I've even been to one of Cheaney's own shops, after a 200 hundred mile journey, to be faced with hardly any stock in my size and the shop literally ordered what I was looking for and had it sent to my home. Something I could have done myself a lot more easily. I understand that small retailers can't stock large amounts of expensive shoes that sell rarely. However, as a (larger) customer with larger feet, online works much better. I can try on in my home at my leisure, take my time to assess the footwear with no sales pressure and on the rare occasion I have got it wrong I can return, usually free of charge. I realise this is not good for small retailers but the reality is that I could visit my local city of more than half a million people and barely find any quality shoes in my size from most retailers. I can think of three that will sell a handful of models from traditional brands but almost certainly not in my size and one (The Brogue Trader) that might have a few pairs, mostly Loake but an outside chance of a Cheaney or Trickers. Online I have access to all the manufacturers ranges and often with substantial discounts of 30% to even 50% during the sales.

[@shoehealer8853]

Well, I have to agree with you my friend, that is exactly what smaller retailers like myself do. We do have a slight edge with our connection to the repair side, where we can look after your old shoes whilst you look at the new shoes. Customers who really love quality footwear seem to enjoy seeing the shoes being dismantled and apprised before being rebuilt . If a customer with really large or really small feet is coming in, I would encourage them to call first so we can be ready. I do feel so bad when they've travelled a great distance and we have so little to offer. One other point is that I hear us retailers do offer far better customer service than many of the manufacturers. Thank you so much for your comments. Antony

[@UnknownUser-rb9pd]

@@shoehealer8853 I've no doubt that small retailers such as yourselves do offer excellent customer service and I know that you have a really good reputation and also offer custom make ups through your relationship with manufacturers like Trickers. I also really admire your honesty and do hope to use your services soon.

[@UnknownUser-rb9pd]

@@shoehealer8853 I know you have a very good reputation and offer excellent service, including being able to offer custom make ups from manufacturers you have a good relationship with. And it is refreshing that you don't skirt around the issues faced by small retailers. Regarding shoes taken apart, I actually get more pleasure from receiving back a rebuilt pair of shoes than a new pair and it is very satisfying to see them restored and looking so much better than when they were handed in yet still retain the character of a worn shoe. I used to have a sensible number of GYW shoes for work and apart from one Dainite pair (that were on their third Dainite sole at the end), mostly wore leather soles in rainy Scotland, so used to need a couple of re-soles a year across the half dozen pairs I used. Now I've an embarrassingly large number of shoes and boots that I rotate through, mostly rubber soled, so don't need nearly as much work done. I actually walk more now because I retired but there will be years between needing re-soles sadly.

[@shoehealer8853]

Thank you so much for that lovely reply. Hopefully we can make a few good videos without upsetting the manufacturers. Probably no such thing as a bad shoe....just a bad price for certain shoes.

[@abbeyclock4650]

I repair old clocks, and I find your skill very interesting. Your videos are excellent. Rather than retire, I suggest cutting back some. 20 hours a week instead of 40, or even 10 hours, work when you want to. I had friends who were still working on clocks and watches at the ages of 86 and 89, and I never want to retire. Besides, your skill is probably a dying art, as mine is, so retirement would be a loss to the community. Anyway, all the best to you in 2025.

[@shoehealer8853]

Oh how I wish I could slow down and organise myself better. I do love what I do but...once I'm behind that counter I just can't say no to customers, and by the end of the day I have twenty uneconomical, unprofitable but lovely interesting jobs to do. You need to make money and having an expensive high street shop doesn't go well with those interesting unprofitable jobs. I know what I'm doing wrong and I am at last determined to get a new mindset and sort myself out..... I do enjoy doing the videos. You'll be sorry you wrote this message 🤣 all the best Antony 👍

[@hjamesayashi1590]

Really enjoyed the video. Gordon Ramsey may not be pleased if you covered his food with ketchup but he is fine with mayonnaise! 😂. Does Toby heel more durable than Dainitel heel? How much for a pair of new solovair sole? Please do more of these videos.

[@shoehealer8853]

Yes Topy is more durable, Solovair repair is £65. Thankyou, yes it seems to have gone down quite well this one so will definatly try to do something similar again, though it did take a while to make.

[@Yorkshiremadmick]

I’ve got a pair of Army boots and the Comando soles are melting. Rubber gone really sticky I need the done like those but probably have a Dainite sole or similar Or leather and a Topy cover sole

[@shoehealer8853]

It's a big job, Mick.....if you're not wearing them, we could use yours in a video to show what happens to them. Soft and crumbly.👍

[@Yorkshiremadmick]

@@shoehealer8853 I will get them down to you then! With in a few weeks (before Christmas)

[@holymoly6829]

Long days Bet you can’t wait until the last day 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 What will you do then Go on holiday every month 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🤩🤩🤩

[@shoehealer8853]

I'd always be around to help Paul or any other repairer for that matter! How great would it be to travel the country helping out other small repairers and doing videos along the way 😀 in fact the world 🌎.... 😎.

[@holymoly6829]

@ Great attitude Anthony ✊✊

[@smudgersmith1786]

What do you want to retire for? Just have long weekends and a 3 day week (until you get fed up with being at home!). It'll keep you young and the channel will not miss it's 'lovely' Yorkshire star attraction! 😀😀

[@shoehealer8853]

He’s off 3 days a week now 😂

[@TarnishUK]

Boots Combat High, one of the worst boot designs ever issued to the British Army. I was issued one pair of them and my second pair were the newer assault boots. I only ever wore the BCHs on TA parade nights and the assault boots in the field.

[@davidravenscroft9235]

Boots Combat High.....I still have marks on my legs and ankles from wearing these boots.... terrible. Cheap and awful.

[@shoehealer8853]

Thanks that’s what others have said, and they hurt everyone’s achilles

[@davidravenscroft9235]

They were called Boots Cardboard High. Utter rubbish and the Army knew it. Wore mine out in 9 years. I would not renew them, my sole was completely worn out!!!!!!!!

[@24567442]

you gotta earn a living havent you.Its only politicians wages Im agreived with paying for