Club Obi Wan

Hi all...

Can anyone recommend an online source for replacement heels for Aldens? I'm in the UK, so that seems to complicate things a bit.

I tried contacting Alden direct, they merely told me to to go to a local Alden seller for repairs. I did contact the few UK-based sellers; none offered the heels on their own (or re-heel service) and one only does full refurbishments.

I also tried contacting a few US-based shops but they told me to come in. Flying to the US for a re-heel would be a bit expensive!

thanks!

Silly question, but are there no shoe repair shops there in the UK that can take care of such a basic repair?

Re! Michaelson

The issue might be finding those Foot Balance heels.

Yeah, the foot balance heels could be a problem to source. Most good cobblers here in the US can get them, but I assume just like how difficult it is to get certain Dainite soles for my UK brands here that it might be difficult to locate Alden supplies, especially in Covid times.

But if you can find a really good cobbler you trust and who is willing, they *can* replicate them and even kind of make them better. I've only ever had Alden do one resole, the rest I've sent to private and reputable cobblers who have all done fantastic resoles replicating the curve and using stacked leather and a Vibram cap. But I'm also a guy who likes to get soles customized and improved during resoles and I'm not picky about "original" repairs, especially if it's an improvement.

I mean, how "authentic" do you want them to be?

Forrest For the Trees wrote:The issue might be finding those Foot Balance heels.

Thanks - that is exactly the issue )

Michaelson wrote:Silly question, but are there no shoe repair shops there in the UK that can take care of such a basic repair?

Re! Michaelson

Quality here varies greatly. Ages ago I had a "cobbler" do a heel repair on a pair of 405's and it was substandard to say the least.

I had better success once I had the actual heels that Alden uses, and just told them to replace them exactly as they were. But they're impossible to get here.

I found this site, but have no personal experience with them

https://www.aramthecobbler.com/product- ... ance-heels" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;