# Alden Recraft Results



## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

So my Brooks Brothers/Alden Plain Toe Bluchers came back from recrafting and the results are mixed. They look good, but the stitching on the sole looks a little shallow and they didn't seem to do much to the upper. One of the main reasons I wanted a recraft was to deal with some discoloration on the back heels of the shoes. It doesn't look like Alden did much on that front, as the photos show. On the other hand, it is nice to get the original box, shoe trees, shoe bags, and some new leather on the inside.  The sole is new. I'll answer any questions if you have them. Here are the pictures:


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## Hobson (Mar 13, 2007)

It is interesting to note that I just got a pair of Brooks Brothers captoes back from Alden recrafting right before Thanksgiving. However, they were returned in an Alden box, and the heel insert says Alden recrafting. I don't mind at all, but I wasn't aware they could also send Brooks Brothers boxes and Brooks Brother heel inserts.


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## smmrfld (May 22, 2007)

I'd send them back at their expense...there is certainly_ something_ they could have done about the discoloration.


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## harvey_birdman (Mar 10, 2008)

Before pics?

Cost?


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## mcarthur (Jul 18, 2005)

HD,
I would call alden to explain the problem and they will request that the shoes should be send back to resolve the problem.


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## SartoNYC (Feb 22, 2005)

*Send 'em back!*

That looks awful and is absolutely not acceptable. Alden understands Customer Service, you just have to ask for it sometimes.


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## Nick V (May 8, 2007)

Interesting:

The cedar shoetrees were clearly different. One being almost all white. The other almost all red. I suspect that's a way to give the better part of the tree and mix it with the less desirable. Everything is used but not always in the best interest of the customer.

The detailed etching around the sole and in the heel breast is nice but strictly cosmetic.

The brass tacks on the heel are nice.

The missed-attended gouges in the heel, I'd give them a Mulligan on. I would think you can send them back and have them correct them.

The question of sending a BB shoe in for re-crafting and having them returned as Alden's raises questions. Why not be up front about the maker?

Most important:
How do they fit?
Is the foot-bed in place?
Are they tight/loose?
Stiff?


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## srivats (Jul 29, 2008)

The vamp looks practically brand new to me. Very nice touch on the brooks brothers boxes/heel pad.

The nicks in the heel area is something I have on most of my shoes - did they happen from hitting your heels on a computer chair? To me, that is a very minor problem - a little, tiny dab of alden boot cream will fix it completely. Alden will definitely take it back and fix it for you at no additional cost. They stand by their shoes. Shoe trees being different color is a non-issue. 

It is a very minor thing they missed by forgetting to touch up those spots, but I think they did a stellar job on the restoration.


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## Nerev (Apr 25, 2009)

That discoloration in the back definately doesn't look right, and if those pictures are true in color, you are going to have a hell of a hard time polishing those back to a matching color. I've had knicks and stratches on shoes before where some color comes off, and have had some difficulty polishing those back in; those are way worse than what I have done.


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## Corcovado (Nov 24, 2007)

Here is one of your pictures re-uploaded to tinypic.com using their resize feature. The image is set to 800x600. I think this is much more screen-friendly and allows a viewer to take in the whole shoe at once and appreciate the restoration work. A close up can be created if such detail is desired, but the close-up picture itself can be 800x600.


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## mcarthur (Jul 18, 2005)

from my experience, if it is a bb shoes made by alden, they will do the restoration work. the shoe comes back like bb shoe with the bb logo in the shoe as well bb blue shoe bags and bb blue box


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## Doctor Damage (Feb 18, 2005)

The only thing that bugs me about the recraft in these photos is the way the stitching around the soles varies in distance from the edges of the soles. I've looked at a number of Aldens in stores, bought two pairs and seen a friend's pair, and can only conclude the company seems to be particularly expert at achieving this...


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## Nick V (May 8, 2007)

Shoe trees being different color is a non-issue. 



I was not reffering to cosmetics regarding the color. I was reffering to the effectiveness. Pink wood is taken from the heart of the cedar tree. That's the most absorbant. The lighter wood is not as desirable. Sometimes companies mix the two in order to get more use out of the raw material.


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## Got Shell? (Jul 30, 2008)

I'm surprised to hear you think the uppers don't look very good. Other than the marks on the heel, which I would try some polish on, the uppers look practically new! IMO this was a better overall job than your ae recrafts. In all the pics I've seen, it looks as though Alden does a nicer Job on restoring uppers than ae, Alden gets all the creases and wrinkles out. The soles look to be of higher quality too. Every pair of ae recrafted shoes I've seen has uppers that still look worn and creased. Again, I have sent Alden some shoes to restore, but not ae so I can only go on pics of recrafting.


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## Tonyp (May 8, 2007)

They are calf not shell correct? The missed area on the heel seems strange. If they are polishing or doing something to get the original color back why did they miss the heel area. Other than that they look almost new. A bit dull not shiny but new.


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## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

harvey_birdman said:


> Before pics?
> 
> Cost?


I didn't take any before pictures. The uppers were in good shape, except for that discoloration on the heels. They mainly needed new soles and heels. The cost was $145.


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## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

mcarthur said:


> HD,
> I would call alden to explain the problem and they will request that the shoes should be send back to resolve the problem.


I called them today. They said to send them back. Over the phone they guessed that they didn't attempt to fix the discoloration because it might require making the shoe darker than original. Of course, he said he couldn't be sure without having the shoes in front of him. I am going to send them back. I am just sorry to see the shoes go again. They were the first ones I sent out, the last ones to come back, and the ones I wear the most!


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## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

Nick V said:


> Interesting:
> 
> The cedar shoetrees were clearly different. One being almost all white. The other almost all red. I suspect that's a way to give the better part of the tree and mix it with the less desirable. Everything is used but not always in the best interest of the customer.
> 
> ...


Great comments and questions. The fit is good. They are a little stiff, of course. The foot bed looks to be in place. They are a little tighter. That happened with the AE. The stitching around the sole is almost flush. On the Florsheims you did for me the stitching was nice and deep--same with the AE's I just got back. I don't remember what they looked like when they were new, but this is a difference between the recrafters.


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## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

Got Shell? said:


> I'm surprised to hear you think the uppers don't look very good. Other than the marks on the heel, which I would try some polish on, the uppers look practically new! IMO this was a better overall job than your ae recrafts. In all the pics I've seen, it looks as though Alden does a nicer Job on restoring uppers than ae, Alden gets all the creases and wrinkles out. The soles look to be of higher quality too. Every pair of ae recrafted shoes I've seen has uppers that still look worn and creased. Again, I have sent Alden some shoes to restore, but not ae so I can only go on pics of recrafting.


I suppose not having good "before" pictures is the problem. The uppers on these shoes were in really good shape, except for the discoloration. So they really didn't need anything on the uppers. My AEs were trashed. My Florsheims, well Nick can speak to them but they were falling apart.


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## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

Tonyp said:


> They are calf not shell correct? The missed area on the heel seems strange. If they are polishing or doing something to get the original color back why did they miss the heel area. Other than that they look almost new. A bit dull not shiny but new.


I agree, that is what makes this case so strange. They really do look almost new with the exception of the heels.


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## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

Corcovado said:


> Here is one of your pictures re-uploaded to tinypic.com using their resize feature. The image is set to 800x600. I think this is much more screen-friendly and allows a viewer to take in the whole shoe at once and appreciate the restoration work. A close up can be created if such detail is desired, but the close-up picture itself can be 800x600.


I am usually in a hurry when I am posting or uploading. I like the size/detail. To each his own. I suppose I can put a warning on threads when posting larger pictures.


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## Nick V (May 8, 2007)

HistoryDoc said:


> Great comments and questions. The fit is good. They are a little stiff, of course. The foot bed looks to be in place. They are a little tighter. That happened with the AE. The stitching around the sole is almost flush. On the Florsheims you did for me the stitching was nice and deep--same with the AE's I just got back. I don't remember what they looked like when they were new, but this is a difference between the recrafters.


We groove a channel around the border of the sole prior to stitching them.
This way the stitching lies below the surface of the sole. AE does it the same way. There are two benefits to this:

1. Instead of walking on the stitches right out of the box, the stitches are protected because they lie in a channel.
2. For those that use sole guards, when applying the sole guards the sole must be roughed in order that the cement sticks. The roughing is done on a large sanding machine. If the stitching is on the surface and the cobbler is not careful he can sand off the loops on the bottom of the sole stitching. That can cause the sole to separate from the welt. That won't happen with channel stitched soles.


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## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

Nick V said:


> We groove a channel around the border of the sole prior to stitching them.
> This way the stitching lies below the surface of the sole. AE does it the same way. There are two benefits to this:
> 
> 1. Instead of walking on the stitches right out of the box, the stitches are protected because they lie in a channel.
> 2. For those that use sole guards, when applying the sole guards the sole must be roughed in order that the cement sticks. The roughing is done on a large sanding machine. If the stitching is on the surface and the cobbler is not careful he can sand off the loops on the bottom of the sole stitching. That can cause the sole to separate from the welt. That won't happen with channel stitched soles.


That makes sense to me. I wonder why Alden would do otherwise.


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## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

Got the redone Aldens back today. Here are the heels. They look pretty good now. All of the spots are gone.


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## Nerev (Apr 25, 2009)

Glad to see that they fixed it up.


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## Markus (Sep 14, 2004)

*I have an almost identical pair, recrafted, too.*

I have a pair of alden calf plain toe bluchers in the aniline finish. they came with the commando sole. I had them recrafted with the double oak sole after a couple years and they are virtually identical to your shoes. I love 'em.

btw, i couldn't see any issue about discoloration in your photos. was it fairly subtle and hard to see?


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## Hobson (Mar 13, 2007)

When you sent them back, how long did it take for Alden to correct the problem?


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## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

Hobson said:


> When you sent them back, how long did it take for Alden to correct the problem?


Much faster than the original recraft. They were back to me within two weeks. I was actually shocked when the UPS driver showed up.


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## anonymouz (May 5, 2008)

So the insoles were replaced too? Does that mean you have to "re-mold" them to your feet?


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## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

anonymouz said:


> So the insoles were replaced too? Does that mean you have to "re-mold" them to your feet?


They didn't replace the insoles, just the leather and bit of padding that sits directly below one's heel. No need to re-mold them to my feet. However, all of my recrafted shoes have needed a little stretching and breaking in.


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## Leather man (Mar 11, 2007)

Glad they sorted out the heels - nice job

However I am shocked by the sole stiching. It looks, from the photos like it is just lying on top of the sole leather. On all my Church's shoes ( which I thought Alden was the quality equivalent of in the US) the sole stiching is buried into the sole leather in a channel. This channel is not closed or concealed unfortunately but is a least much better than what I am seeing from your Aldens - were they like that from new?


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## chiamdream (Aug 7, 2009)

I have a pair of Brooks Bros. longwings from eBay that could use a recrafting. I'm not sure how old they are, and I'm not sure that they're Alden-made, so I don't know if I could rightly send them directly to Alden. Is there a program directly through BB?


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## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

Leather man said:


> Glad they sorted out the heels - nice job
> 
> However I am shocked by the sole stiching. It looks, from the photos like it is just lying on top of the sole leather. On all my Church's shoes ( which I thought Alden was the quality equivalent of in the US) the sole stiching is buried into the sole leather in a channel. This channel is not closed or concealed unfortunately but is a least much better than what I am seeing from your Aldens - were they like that from new?


Here are the shoes new. They are my only shoes with the stitching like that and they are my only Aldens. All of my Allen Edmonds and Florsheims stitch in the channel. I found this picture of an Alden sole next to an Allen Edmonds sole.


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## Hobson (Mar 13, 2007)

chiamdream said:


> I have a pair of Brooks Bros. longwings from eBay that could use a recrafting. I'm not sure how old they are, and I'm not sure that they're Alden-made, so I don't know if I could rightly send them directly to Alden. Is there a program directly through BB?


You'll need to contact Alden by e-mail and give them the complete set of numbers printed inside the shoe. They will be able to determine whether or not they are Aldens. There is no program directly through Brooks Brothers.


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