Savas Shoe Repair

[in-parentheses.livejournal.com]

I just have to post a plug for Savas Shoe Repair, in the little Elm St. shopping center, next to Starbucks and the copy store. Arthur, the owner, fixed a pair of my shoes that no one else would touch because they're "not designed to be repaired." He put new heels on and everything! He also has these little tips that keep heels from wearing down - for $4 a pair! Seriously, fixing shoes instead of buying new ones is the best deal ever, and this guy does a great job.

Comments

[ron_newman]

He's great! I highly recommend him.

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

i second that. (well, third. :> ) i have a pair of brown ankle boots that he fixed by basically building new heels for. and he didn't laugh at how old they are. :D

[watchamacallit.livejournal.com]

Excellent! I've been looking for a good, trustworthy cobbler. What did he charge for reheeling? And what makes a pair 'not designed for repair'?

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

He's fantastic. He's also magic. I brought in a nearly brand new pair of expensive Timberlands that had had the toe of one chewed off by a dog. I don't know how he did it, but he replaced the whole toe, and I got years of wear out of the boots.

[in-parentheses.livejournal.com]

My shoes cost $28 for reheeling the pair, but I imagine it depends a lot on the type of shoes. I think what makes a shoe not designed for repair is if it's stuck together with glue rather than stitching (which these days is pretty much all shoes under $200, as far as I can tell). And in my case, the shoes were Danskos, which have big thick one-piece soles rather than a heel piece and a sole piece. I gather old-fashioned "designed to be repaired" shoes are more modular, so he can just take off the offending heel and replace it.

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

I worked for quite few years at a cobbler shop (my family ran it). Glue is not the deciding factor at all. Any shoe with an EVA overmold cannot be repaired (e.g. tennis/running shoes) The soles are hollow. Solid crepe soles like the ones on Rockports can be repaired very easily and they are glued on. Leather soles are pretty much always glued on nowadays. The stitching is usualy fake. The stitching used to tie the welt to the sole and the welt was sewn to the upper. Noadays the welt is either fake or nonexistant.

Dansko's use a molded rubber and need to be completely resoled to do it correctly. A cobbler can sand down the part and try and make something close but it will not be as sound as the original construction. They may even be hollow. The shop that I worked in wouldn't touch them without ordering the official Dansko sole right from the company. When ever we did it due to a customer demanding that we do something they came back a few months later with a falling apart shoe screaming at us. It's a good thing that we have them sign waviers :) For the most part any shoe with a molded sole was a turn-away.

Anything can be fixed for a short time. Dansko's are designed for people that are on their feet for hours at a time (e.g. medical people, chefs, etc) They are a tool and like all tools they need to be in top shape.

[in-parentheses.livejournal.com]

Thanks for explaining the glue and hollow soles stuff! It was probably one of those pieces of information that I got secondhand, and I freely admit I didn't know what I was talking about. :)

As for whether my newly-repaired Danskos will fall apart in a few months...well, I'll keep you posted.

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

They probably won't unless you absolutely need to wear them that day ;)

BTW, if you ever need to glue back a sole/heel that is coming loose you should grab a tube of Barge cement. It's a vinyl version of rubber cement. Apply to both parts and wait until mostly dry before pressing together. Make sure to have good ventilation, it's some nasty stuff.

[lidiya6.livejournal.com]

I have a question for you mrpet - can something like these

http://www.fluevog.com/code/images/colour/0000001158/zoom.jpg

be resoled? I have a pair and the tips of tbe two back points are wearing down. I wouldn't want the whole sole replaced, just the rubber part on the bottom.

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

Probably not correctly. The soles on the Grand Nationionals are molded. In order to do the fix the part needs to be sanded off and a new shaped part glued on. It would be a lot of hand work to shape the peice since the cobbler just has belt sander. Most shoes have a sole/heel that has a vertical side so this is the best solution. Your soles are 3D, you would need to glue on the new bit and work it with essentially woodworking tools. When you got done the finish wouldn't look the same b/w the existing molded rubber and the new parts.

Fluevod is really good about fixing things. I would pop over to the Newbury St. store and ask them. They might be able to change out the entire sole for not too much. Considering that they are over $300 i would be worth it to spend some cash to fix them right.

[lidiya6.livejournal.com]

thanks!

I have been scared to take them to a cobbler for fear they might ruin the sole. I did ask about it last time I was in the store on newbury but the clerk didn't have concrete info about repairs. Maybe I will email the main HQ of fluevog.

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

If you take them to the Fluevog store on Newbury Street, they have a cobbler in Allston they've worked with for years who will do whatever needs doing, with their heels and soles and stuff. They'll send them out and call you when they're back. They are terrific.

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

Oh, cool - I have Danskos that are seriously worn down, and I wasn't thrilled at dropping a chunk of change for a new pair just now. If I can get them reheeled once and get another year out of them, I'll be pleased as punch. Thanks for the tip!

[lidiya6.livejournal.com]

Oh, OK I will do that.

And no one needs to twist my arm to get me to the fluevog store...

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

I just picked up a pair of Angel Lucky Studs from the store in Manhattan. They have great customer service. I'm sure that someone at the main HQ would know what is best.

[abilouise.livejournal.com]

Another thing he's good at is repairing things like *backpacks* and other heavy-duty-gauge sewing tasks. Also, he resoled my docs. They look less like docs, but have a separate heel and sole, so that replacing the heel every time I wear down the outside edge is a $10 repair rather than a new pair of boots.

Savas great value

[beca42781.livejournal.com]

The man at Savas- so friendly and does wonderful work, Had a pair of heels wear down to the metal- put new heels on for $8!

bmw repair

[bmwrepair.livejournal.com]

for 8 bucks its sort of hard to beat that type of pricing