Club Obi Wan

Guys,

Do you know if Alden can sell me replacement heels? I've recently had them replaced and the guy couldn't find any a sthick as Aldens, so It feel slike I'm leaning back slightly.

Thanks in advance for any help.

I know you can send in your shoes and get them repaired and basically revamped if you want. It's like a full do-over service or something...

Check out their site. I think it's a little pricey though.

I'm not looking forward to my heels wearing down.

In Christ,
Shane

Get some Segs - They work wonders for stopping your heels going down, yeah it's a bit noiser at first but the noise lessens with time.

http://www.timpson.co.uk/online-store/t ... type_id=45

I would think that Alden could sell the heels by themselves. I'm sure that they don't hand cut each one - they must be stamped out. I need new heels myself. If anyone finds out about this, please let us know. I'll try to check on it too.

JKL
Ron

They do. Either contact customer service at Alden, or the San Francisco store.

They are oversized, and your cobbler will have to fit them to your boot.

Regards! Michaelson

Absolutely fantastic news.

Thanks Michaelson.

I know I will be adding Segs to the heel. Cos Alden heels wear down super quick.

Second question then,

The metal rods that held my original heels to the boot have been removed by the cobbler (IDIOT!) and he just stapled the new heels on.

I presume that I can also obtain those?

Thanks in advance.

Probably not. That is something that would have to be repaired at the factory. I'm assuming you're talking about the nails.

Most cobblers renail a heel to a shoe. Wonder why he used staples? Never seen that done before. If you find another (and better) cobbler, they may be able to do the job correctly....using nails.

Regards! Michaelson

Thank for the info, Michaelson!

Ron

Well it has annoyed me somewhat since the staples are coming away.

I shall take your advice and seek a proper cobbler.

Cobblers to Timpson (The cobbler) (A derogatory term).

I'm going to need to get new heels pretty soon. I bought some rubber heel protectors from WalMart. I've been wearing my Aldens with these protectors for not quite a week now, and it looks as though I've only got about a week's worth of life left in them.
The good thing is, I know of a couple of cobblers in the area.

JKL
Ron

Ooh I never considered rubber protectors hmmmm.

Mind you Rhino heel pads might be good too....apparently a lifetime guarantee and would offer some kind of slip protection...only seen them at a Timpson store though.

Michaelson wrote:They do. Either contact customer service at Alden, or the San Francisco store.

They are oversized, and your cobbler will have to fit them to your boot.

Regards! Michaelson

How much do they charge for it? And do they take paypal ? I know I know, But I live outside of the USA and Don't have a credit card.

Is there any particular material out there that is more resistant to wear than the rubber that Alden uses? It seems rediculous to have to replace the heels more than once a year, and I'd much rather not have to wear metal clickers. After about three weeks use, the rubber heel protectors that I was using are completely gone.

Ron

Every time I've had heels replaced on my Aldens, my cobbler used Thomas heels. They are the same shape as the original heels but more durable (I think) and are a good 3/4" thick when new. Alden is pretty picky (and pricey: $125.00 at last check in 2005), about their repairs. I sent my boots to them in their postage paid bag. They sent them back to me after telling me that they are not able to repair because of the deteriorated condition of the boot. My cobbler was able to put heels and soles on. Why your bozo used staples and not nails is beyond me.

I actually just dropped my Aldens off at the Houston Shoe Hospital. They said it would be $15.95 to replace the heel, and that the replacement rubber would be the same thickness as what was on them originally. They'll be ready on Thursday. I'll let y'all know how they turn out.
iJ1936,
Who were you asking about the staples instead of nails?

Ron

Harrison_Davies wrote:Second question then,

The metal rods that held my original heels to the boot have been removed by the cobbler (IDIOT!) and he just stapled the new heels on.

I presume that I can also obtain those?

Thanks in advance.

Here's that answer for ya.

Regards! Michaelson

Gotcha! Thanks, Mark. I missed it.

Ron

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:

Harrison_Davies wrote:Second question then,

The metal rods that held my original heels to the boot have been removed by the cobbler (IDIOT!) and he just stapled the new heels on.

I presume that I can also obtain those?

Thanks in advance.

Here's that answer for ya.

Regards! Michaelson

I guess I don't need to answer! Thank you Mr. Michaelson!

It seems last I heard, the $125 was for new heel and reconditioning or something and if they couldn't do it they would send you a new pair, but that was over a year ago.

I don't recall Aldens ever offering to replace them with a new pair if a repair was not in the cards.

What they did was send the pair back with a 'sorry' card inserted in the box, along with a reimbursement check for the $125, and you were left to find another pair, another route for repair, or to just forget it.

Regards! Michaelson

Hmm, I remember seeing some one's before and after pictures and it looked like a new pair, as what he sent was pretty bad (ie good for Indy) looking. Maybe that's what's throwing me.

Pyroxene did that.
He sent his shoes in and they said
they were so badly damaged restoration could not be done.
They sold him a new pair at a discounted price If I remember
correctly.

I've got a local cobbler replacing the heels on my Aldens for me right now. He said due to the size he'd have to use a heal designed for a 17 and then fit it to the shoe. The really cool thing is that its only cost me $15.

Mola Ram wrote:Proxyene did that.
He sent his shoes in and they said
they were so badly damaged restoration could not be done.
They sold him a new pair at a discounted price If I remember
correctly.

Ah, I see. Is he not a member anymore? I couldn't find any posts by him or his user name.

Pyroxene.

Regards! Michaelson

Ah, thanks Michaelson! Here's the link to that thread.
viewtopic.php?t=13996&highlight=aldens

They did indeed replace his as they "fell appart" when they went to restore them. They sold him new ones at cost though. ($150 at the time!)

I just picked my Aldens up from the cobbler yesterday. Overall, I'm pleased with the result. I don't know if you can tell from the photos, but they applied brown shoe polish or something to the sides and back of the heels and part of the way up the sides of the soles. They replaced the entire heel, whereas I was expecting them to replace only the rubber. I guess they didn't like the thought of bands of different color on the heels, though. Whatever. You can still see the bands - they're just not as pronounced as when new.



Not bad for $15.95, methinks. I didn't think to ask how much they'd charge to replace the entire soles.
***BTW, the inside pic is the more accurate representation of the color of the boots. The outside pics are somewhat overexposed. ***

Ron

Man, they did a GREAT job!!!

HIGH regards! Michaelson

Yeah, I'm really impressed with how transition from the sole to all of the layers of the heel is so smooth - even more so than when I got them new. I just wish that they had either left the color alone completely, or taken the polish all the way around the sole. Can you tell in the pics where they stopped? I just don't get it. I suppose I can either finish them off, or try to remove the polish from the soles.

Ron

Personally I'd take them back and ask them to complete the circle. That way you know it will all match.

Anytime you try to 'undo' something done by someone else, it usually gets worse.

Regards! Michaelson

Personally, I really like the bands of color and would be kind of mad if they did that on mine.

I'll think about taking them back. I hate turning them over to someone else. Surely the polish would go away on its own with time, right? Especially as much as I wear mine - walking the dogs in grass, etc.

Ron

Cobblers apply polish to hide any blemishes causes by polishing/grinding the rubber down to match the existing profile. Often when the color wears away you will see nicks and blemishes caused by the sanding belt.