How to Replace Top Lifts (Heels) at Home (detailed)

Video Description

In this video I show you the ins & outs of replacing the Top Lifts (the part of the heel that touches the ground) on a pair of Allen Edmonds Derbies at home. The procedure would be the same for a pair of Bostonians, Johnston & Murphy, Bruno Magli, etc. 0:37 Showing (2) pairs of shoes I re-soled at home 1:15 Materials and tools you need 3:28 Shoe heel balance (the geometry) explained 6:07 Allen Edmonds vs J&M top lift attachment explained 8:10 My Cobbler's last shown 9:02 How to use a spatula to remove the Top Lift 12:58 Sanding the heel base with the belt sander 14:23 Test fitting & guing the new Top Lift 16:32 Story time: my previous wrist injury with photo at 17:38 18:05 Placing the new top lift onto the shoe 20:10 Taping off the upper to prevent stratches 21:41 Sanding down the excess top lift 24:15 Tip: the angle is critical 25:44 Trimming the breast (front edge) of the heel 27:50 The Gentleman's Notch explained 29:12 Finish sanding (down to 40 grit) the heel edge 31:32 re-dying the heel edge 32:25 Polishing the edge of the heel 33:44 Brushing the heel edge to a shine 34:22 (Optional) adding a few nails to the top lift 36:00 Antoher option: go to your local Cobbler! Here are links to some of the videos I referenced: “Shoe Construction: Goodyear Welted Shown”: https://youtu.be/CM8Eu46KuAI “Shoe construction differences – Bonded, Blake Stitched, & Goodyear Welted”: https://youtu.be/4SOag1z6-Yg “Resoling at Home FAIL… Cobblers are Pros for a Reason!”: https://youtu.be/ed_h4vVSfJc NOTE: I've changed from using DAP Weldwood Contact Cement to what the Professional cobblers use: Master All Purpose Cement by Petronio, available from www.PanhandleLeather.com The eBay seller for the “Goodyear Men/Women Rubber Top Lifts Heels Dozen Shoe Repair – 6 pair” is Nordshoe. They are 6mm thick = .24” thick, but they measure closer to 7/32” = .22” or 5.5mm thick. Allen Edmonds factory heels are around 5 to 5.5mm thick, therefore in my opinion, ¼” thick or 6.35mm thick top lifts are too thick for AE dress shoes. I purchased 10 iron (approx. 5mm thick) heeling rubber sheet and heeling leather from Landwerlen Leather (an “iron” is a unit of measuring leather thickness. One iron = 1/48 inch): 365 Illinois St. Indianapolis, IN 46225 (317) 636-8300 They were extremely difficult to find at a reasonable price before finding Landwerlen! Most online providers either would not sell to the public, or were overseas and shipping was exorbitant. Most pre-made leather-rubber combo heels are too thick. Music Credits: YouTube Free Audio Library "Rise" by Aq Xico (instrumental only) Good Vibes By Alegal 98bpm used with permission from Aq Xico, music rights owner.