# How many times can a quality pair of shoes be resoled before they fall apart?



## sartorial_1 (Sep 21, 2008)

How many times can a quality pair of shoes be resoled before they fall apart?

I guess one answer is - if you have your shoes resoled by a quality cobbler with quality leather soles like Redenbach then your shoes shouldn't need to be resoled more than once or twice.

But in theory - what's the range for number of times shoes of reasonable quality can be resoled before they fall apart (can't be resoled anymore)?


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## ToryBoy (Oct 13, 2008)

Depends on shoe quality and condition:

I had a pair Pal Zileri shoes resoled by a local cobbler and although I could get them resoled again in the future, the condition on the uppers will not be worth it.

Church's say they can resole shoes twice but if in good condition a third may be possible - if they refuse a third resole, there are good third party options that would resole the shoes. EG should allow more resoles but never had mine resoled, so cannot comment.


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## sartorial_1 (Sep 21, 2008)

ToryBoy - Thanks for the useful post!

Sounds like about 2 resoles is a reasonable expectation.

If the shoes are resoled with Redenbach's by a quality cobbler then I'm guessing that a good quality pair of shoes should last at least 10 years....


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## ToryBoy (Oct 13, 2008)

How long a sole will last will depend on wear. Would you wear the shoes weekly, twice weekly, etc?

For the past 6 months, I have been rotating between two pairs of Church's Mon-Thur for work. They will last at least another 6 months before a resole is needed, probably more considering the current wear; if they did last 18 months before resole which seems possible, the shoes should last 4.5-6yrs, double if I was wearing them once weekly.


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## MikeDT (Aug 22, 2009)

I guess one could always get the upper/vamp replaced, if the shoes are falling apart and worn out. Just like my favourite broom. It's had ten heads and six handles, but it's still a great broom.


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## PJC in NoVa (Jan 23, 2005)

MikeDT said:


> I guess one could always get the upper/vamp replaced, if the shoes are falling apart and worn out. Just like my favourite broom. It's had ten heads and six handles, but it's still a great broom.


Cf. Lincoln's axe.

WRT the original question, as someone who's owned certain shoes for circa two decades, the place where they usually fail is not anywhere near the sole, but rather around the 'throat' (the hole where you shove your foot in). You get cracking, tearing, and crumbling there and it's "good night, nurse," at least in my book. A pair I recently had to donate was working on its 3rd set of soles.


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

I've resoled several shoes twice without problem. I put a second new sole on some old Church's about 4 months ago, and the cobbler told me that they had lots of life left in them, including more resoling, provided I kept taking care of them. I'm confident I'll get at least 3, perhaps more, out of those a some other shoes.


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## 46L (Jan 8, 2009)

I have had a pair of AE's that are over 10 years old and have been resoled at least 5 times. I generally only wear them 3 times a month, but they are still holding up very well. I have always used a local cobbler, and they always return looking close to new.


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## Nick V (May 8, 2007)

My general rule of thumb is the condition of the uppers and liners.
If both of those components can withstand the complete life of a new sole then it pays to do it.


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## Grayson (Feb 29, 2008)

It really depends on the combination of the shoe and the cobbler. Like 46L above, my AEs have been through multiple resoles, and one pair of black Park Avenues has been in my closet for over 12 years. Worn on average once or so every two weeks, I've frankly lost track of the number of times I've had them redone. They still could be spiffed up well enough for black-tie.


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

How many times they're resoled is a function of your gait and how hard you are on soles. The condition of the soles and uppers aren't necessarily correlated. The key is the condition of the uppers. When they start to develop cracks (mine start to crack around the little toe) or they're scarred beyond repair, they're dead.


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## Geezer (Apr 22, 2010)

Today, I wore a pair of 18 or 19 year old EGs to work that must now be on their fifth or even sixth pair of soles. Uppers cracked in a couple of places, but well creamed and the toecaps still unblemished taking a good polish. I have no reason to imagine they can't be resoled again in a couple of years unless a lump of the welt actually breaks off. 

Buy quality, have them redone by the original vendor/manufacturer or a very good cobbler like Rushton's in London and I think you'll get more wear than some here have suggested. Neglect them and have them fitted with half soles or plastic stick-ons from the local "heel bar" and key cutters, and it's a different story.


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## well-kept (May 6, 2006)

JerseyJohn said:


> The key is the condition of the uppers. When they start to develop cracks (mine start to crack around the little toe) or they're scarred beyond repair, they're dead.


Have you ever seen what Prince Charles wears? They are Lobbs and equivalent, he's worn them for decades and they look as if several hundred years old.

On leather-soled shoes I love and know I will wear hard, I put Vibram sole protectors on them. You can change the Vibram many, many times without ever having the original sole disturbed.


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## nosajwols (Jan 27, 2010)

well-kept said:


> Have you ever seen what Prince Charles wears? They are Lobbs and equivalent, he's worn them for decades and they look as if several hundred years old.
> 
> On leather-soled shoes I love and know I will wear hard, I put Vibram sole protectors on them. You can change the Vibram many, many times without ever having the original sole disturbed.


I agree, I have been putting Topys/Vibram on my leather soled shoes for some time. I have 15 year old shoes that see regular wear off and on (they went for a good five years every other day, now say a couple times a month), they are still on the original sole (Topys and heel replaced many times).


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## ajo (Oct 22, 2007)

I have a pair of RM Williams boots which are 20 years old I had them resoled after 5 years and then had to have them resoled last December, they should last another 20 at this rate.


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