The most common question at the counter is also the most honest one: "Is this worth fixing?" We get it every day, usually with a pair of shoes held out in both hands like evidence. And the answer is almost always yes — but not always. Here's how we actually decide, so you know what we're thinking when you bring yours in.
The three questions
Before we quote a resole, we ask three things:
- Is the upper in good shape? The upper is the leather or fabric part your foot sits in. If it's cracked, torn, or stretched out, a new sole won't save it — the shoe is done no matter what we do to the bottom.
- Is the sole worn unevenly? A worn-down heel or a thin spot under the ball of the foot is normal and fixable. But if the sole is worn through to the cork or the welt, we're replacing more than a layer.
- Is it worth more than the repair? This is the one people don't expect us to ask. If a pair of shoes cost $60 and the resole is $85, the honest advice is to buy new. We'd rather tell you that than take your money.
What a resole actually involves
For a goodyear-welted shoe — the kind that's built to be resoled — we remove the old sole, clean up the welt, and stitch or cement on a new one. It's a couple of days of work, and it's why a well-made pair of boots can last twenty years: you replace the bottom every few years and the upper keeps going.
For a glued-on sole, the process is simpler but the shoe has a shorter life. We strip the old sole, prep the surface, and bond on a new one. It's cheaper and faster, and it's the right call for a shoe that's got a few good years left but isn't built to be rebuilt forever.
The honest answer
Here's the rule we work by: if the shoe is well-made and the upper is sound, a resole is almost always worth it — it's cheaper than a new pair and the shoe is already broken in. If the shoe was cheap to begin with, or the upper is gone, we'll tell you straight that it's time to let go. We'd rather earn your trust than your money. That's how you end up with a customer for twenty years.