# Allen-Edmonds Recrafting Experience?



## jph712 (Mar 22, 2007)

Has anyone ever sent shoes back to Allen-Edmonds to have them recrafted? Is this better than the other option of a local shoe repair place, or is it more of the same?

Thanks,

JPH712


----------



## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

With an AE recraft you will have the shoes relasted on their original lasts, which no one else can do. If you scroll to the bottom of this page you will find links to some other threads related to AE recrafting.


----------



## tripreed (Dec 8, 2005)

I bought a pair of AE Waldens off of Ebay and got them recrafted. The results were pretty good, although, be aware, since they relast the shoes, they can come back tighter. Mine were actually uncomfortably tight and I regretted my decision, but they eventually loosened up and now fit great. I then unregretted my decision.

The main reasons to send them back to AE for recrafting rather than going to a local cobbler are two-fold:
1. As mentioned before, they relast the shoes, strip off all of the polish and redo them as well as putting on new soles and heels.
2. If you take your AEs to a cobbler to get new soles and heels put on, some cobblers will do this in a way as to render your shoes "unrecraftable" by AE (kind of like voiding a warranty on a car).


----------



## Rocker (Oct 29, 2004)

There was a discussion on this recently. I thought Cobblestone's comments starting around page 7 were interesting:

https://askandyaboutclothes.com/community/showthread.php?t=73608&highlight=allen+edmonds+marketing


----------



## oldschoolprep (Jun 21, 2007)

*AE and Alden Recrafts Superior to Resole IMO*

I had two pairs of AE tassel loafers recrafted a few years back. They did a wonderful job. Other than the obvious stretch mark on the uppers, it was difficult to tell the shoes were not new.

Alternately, I had a very good local cobbler resole and heel another pair. Although he did a great job, the recraft jobs by AE were discernably better.

I have also used the Alden recrafting service with the same results.

Cost of recraft is significantly higher than local resole (+40 to 60%), but well worth it in terms of quality, durability and appearance.

Good luck with your decision


----------



## jph712 (Mar 22, 2007)

*Thanks.*

Just did a BIN on the 'bay for a pair of Allen Edmonds loafers ($25) and was considering sending them in for an overall once they show up.


----------



## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

oldschoolprep said:


> I had two pairs of AE tassel loafers recrafted a few years back. They did a wonderful job. Other than the obvious stretch mark on the uppers, it was difficult to tell the shoes were not new.
> 
> Alternately, I had a very good local cobbler resole and heel another pair. Although he did a great job, the recraft jobs by AE were discernably better.
> 
> ...


This has been my experience. Also, with one pair of my AE's that I had resoled locally and then subsequently returned them to AE for a full recrafting, AE did decline to do the recraft because of the prior work by the local cobbler.


----------



## Hoof (Feb 14, 2007)

I just got a pair back last week from being recrafted. I originally purchased them on the bay, and they were a bit wide, but I had them relasted on a slightly narrower last, and the results are great!

I will post before and after pics if I can figure it out.


----------



## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

Hoof said:


> I will post before and after pics if I can figure it out.


Yes, please do. I'm considering the same route of having a pair relasted to a narrower width.


----------



## Hoof (Feb 14, 2007)

Not sure if I have done this right,


----------



## imainish (May 31, 2006)

Hoof-

Those do look great! I thought the thread done recently on the AE recrafting service was unfair and was full of unrealistic expectations from the start. Your positive experience confirms my thoughts about that thread. 

AE is a great company. They make an excellent product, in the USA ,(and I am certaintly tempted by the new Seven line from Italy) for a fair price, and then stand behind that product with quality recrafting. Also, when I had an issue with a defective finish that could not be fixed after a few tries, then sent me a new pair of shoes. I can't say I like all of their shoes, but they have brought out some nice new styles ( Evanston / Berkely ) and I always seem to find something that appeals to me.


----------



## Hoof (Feb 14, 2007)

Thanks,

This is the second pair that I have had recrafted, the first a pair of Strands corrected grain that were hammered. They came back looking great as well. I really like the fact the they were able to re-last the shoe to a 12 D that fits really well. The turnaround was very quick which was an impressive 16 total days. 

I appoligize for the pics above, I guess I need to read the tutorial on how to post pics on the forum.


----------



## sia (Apr 27, 2007)

tripreed said:


> ...I regretted my decision, but they eventually loosened up and now fit great. I then *unregretted* my decision.


I like that, I'll have to find a way to use it soon....:icon_smile_big:

But seriously, AE's recrafting is great, as long as you haven't really damaged the uppers. The only thing I would recommend is, especially if you like the nice patina your shoes have developed over time, telling them that you don't want them to refinish the uppers. On Ebay-purchased shoes or anything black, this may be just what you want, on a pair of nicely aged tan or brown shoes...not.


----------



## Charley (Feb 8, 2005)

Hoof said:


> I just got a pair back last week from being recrafted. I originally purchased them on the bay, and they were a bit wide, but I had them relasted on a slightly narrower last, and the results are great!
> 
> I will post before and after pics if I can figure it out.


Hoof, 
Can you tell us how you were able to get the recrafting on the smaller last?
I have a pair of the full strap shell cordovan loafers that are just too loose and would like to have them tightened up whe being restored. Heels and soles need it now, uppers are in the traditional shell condition - perfect after long wear.


----------



## Mike Petrik (Jul 5, 2005)

Charley said:


> Hoof,
> Can you tell us how you were able to get the recrafting on the smaller last?
> I have a pair of the full strap shell cordovan loafers that are just too loose and would like to have them tightened up whe being restored. Heels and soles need it now, uppers are in the traditional shell condition - perfect after long wear.


Ditto. I have a pair of 9.5D shell Randolphs that I kind of wish were 9Ds. Can a re-craft help with that?


----------



## Hoof (Feb 14, 2007)

I ordered the recraft pak and when I filled out all of my information, I just wrote it on the page to re-last the shoes on a 12 D Last. It seems that I have read somewhere on this forum that they most you can go is one width smaller.

This would also be the place to give instructions if you DO NOT want them to refinish if you like the patina that you have.


----------



## NukeMeSlowly (Jul 28, 2005)

Rocker said:


> There was a discussion on this recently. I thought Cobblestone's comments starting around page 7 were interesting:
> 
> https://askandyaboutclothes.com/community/showthread.php?t=73608&highlight=allen+edmonds+marketing


I think this is the wrong link


----------



## NoVaguy (Oct 15, 2004)

NukeMeSlowly said:


> I think this is the wrong link


look at post numbers 31, 43 and 45, etc. the number of posts per page is controlled by the user in the USER CP control settings, so pointing to a particular page isn't really of much help.


----------



## wolfgang42 (Aug 26, 2005)

Hoof said:


> I ordered the recraft pak and when I filled out all of my information, I just wrote it on the page to re-last the shoes on a 12 D Last. It seems that I have read somewhere on this forum that they most you can go is one width smaller.
> 
> This would also be the place to give instructions if you DO NOT want them to refinish if you like the patina that you have.


Apologies for resurrecting an old thread.

Does anyone have recent experience with a recrafting request to AE combined with a request to re-last the shoes to a more narrow size?

I contacted AE concerning this process, and they stated it was not possible/not provided at this time. If anyone has recent experience, it would be helpful to nail down exactly what AE's stance on this issue is.


----------



## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

Nick at B. Nelson in New York, they have a website, is your friend. Give him a call and I'm sure he's help you out since AE won't relast their shoes.


----------



## wolfgang42 (Aug 26, 2005)

Cardinals5 said:


> Nick at B. Nelson in New York, they have a website, is your friend. Give him a call and I'm sure he's help you out since AE won't relast their shoes.


Thank you!


----------



## maximar (Jan 11, 2010)

How much width adjustment are we talking about here?


----------

