At Awl Together Leather, we are experts in Doc Marten resoles and repairs! These iconic boots were driven to popularity in Britian during the 1960s, loved by the working-class skinhead subculture, and later embraced by punks and queers. Doc Martens are notoriously challenging and many cobblers don’t have the skills or experience to properly provide a long-term resole or repair. As Doc Marten wearers ourselves, we provide the best Doc Marten Resole in options in Canada.
Modern Doc Marten boots are constructed in a quasi-goodyear welted method. Once the leather, patent, or vinyl upper of the boots are completed, a vinyl welt is sewn on along the bottom edge with the iconic thick yellow thread. That welt is then heat fused onto the outsole. This creates a bonded seam and melts the welt to the outsole, without necessarily using glue. Usually, a Goodyear Welted boot would be glued and sewn both to the upper and to the outsole, which is how this method differs and adds a layer of complication to resoling a Doc Marten boot.
Doc Marten soles are made of a vinyl compound that makes gluing a challenge. While not impossible, one needs to follow a strict procedure, as well as use the correct combination of glue type, glue primers, heat and pressure. Reglue jobs on Doc Martens often fail, which is why most cobblers offering reglue services do it without warranty or recommend a full sole replacement.
Often times, clients bring us their Doc Martens after they have noticed there is a crack or split in the sole! As the rubber becomes more brittle with age, these are common. On platform Docs, deep cracks are more common as the platform sole does not bend and flex with the foot in the same way. There are two main ways to fix a split in the rubber – a reglue or a resole. As mentioned before, reglues on Doc Martens soles are variable and are often completed without warranty. A better option is usually a complete resole!
At Awl Together Leather, we offer a variety of Doc Martens resole optoins – ensuring long-lasting wear and customisable options. The main three methods of resoling a Doc Marten are replacing the welt and sole with a Bifida cupsole, sewing on a midsole to the old welt and adhering any sole to it, or completely converting the Doc Marten into a split welt customisable construction.
If your original welts are in great shape, your Doc Martens are eligible for a midsole and then a new outsole! A white or black midsole is stitched via an outsoler machine to the original welts to provide a solid base for us to glue on the new outsole. Your welts will now have two stitch lines – the original yellow that connects the welt to the uppers, and a new black or white stitch-line that bonds the welt to the midsole. From there, we can add almost any outsole to your boots including the lugged Vibram 132 Montagna, the Vibram Stowe, or a Christy wedge sole. More details on these outsoles are below!
An extra perks to this method, is that it will be simpler and cheaper to resole or reheel again. We can remove the outsole and replace it, without impacting the welts in any way. Or since our new sole is trusted rubber, we can just reheel it! This improves the longevity of your boots!
The Bifida, is a Vibram cupsole that is known for its durability and tred. With a Doc Marten resole, we remove the original sole and welt entirely and install the cupsole, which conveniently rises slightly higher on the upper, covering previous damage and holes. For added reinforcement, we stitch these soles on using a thread colour of your choice – most commonly, yellow, to retain the iconic Doc Marten look. Then we add a freesole bead along the toe for waterproofness. The Bifida is a great sole option for anyone who uses their Doc Martens for gardening, hiking or who has a very damaged welt or holes in the upper.
If you’re wanting something truly bespoke and unique, and a custom converted sidewall welt is the way to go. At Awl Together Leather, we will remove the original welt entirely and hand re-welt the boots for you. This is the best option for any Doc Marten resole where the original welt is cracked or broken. We use our heavy duty latigo veg-tan leathers, available in 15 colors, and a chunky waxed thread in a colour of your choosing. We then fill the cavity of your boot with cork, to custom-mold to your foot for comfort. The next step is to add a white or black midsole and use an outsole stitcher to stitch the midsole onto the new sidewall welt. From there, we can add almost any outsole to your boots including the lugged Vibram 132 Montagna, the Vibram Stowe, or a Christy wedge sole. More details on these outsoles are below!
As with the Original Welt resole, this method allows a simpler and cheaper to resole or reheel again. Since our new sole is trusted rubber, we can just reheel it! Or, we can remove the outsole and replace it, without impacting the welt or midsole in any way.
If you have a Doc Marten platform boot – don’t worry! We can add an EVA platform between the stitched midsole and your new outsole. We use EVA as it’s lightweight, very comfortable and can be made in any thickness. This is perfect for those who want a little bit of lift (1-2”), as well as those seeking a dramatic look (3-6”). Our EVA midsole can be added to either the original welt resole or the sidewall conversion.
At Awl Together Leather, we don’t just re-sole Doc Martens! We can service the entire uppers of your boots as well. Re-sewing a popped seam, heel liner replacements, replacing pulltabs and patching holes are all common fixes that we provide on Doc Marten boots. Awl Together Leather holds the highest re-sewing standards and always sews in existing stitch lines – this looks better and extends the life of your boots! If that absolutely isn’t an option, we will always let you know ahead of time.
Occasionally, an eyelet pops out of place and requires replacing. Maybe your eyelet is still there, but has a rough back that is cutting through your laces! We carry hardware in many colours, shapes and sizes to achieve a close match to your original.
On a well loved pair of boots, it’s very common to wear through your heelback / heel liners. Holes in the back of your Doc Martens can be repaired with a new leather lining! We always use a durable but soft leather (in the color of your choice!), so your repaired boots should feel like they did when you first bought them!
Due to the type of leather Doc Martens uses, it is common to see cracking along the “flex point” of the ball of the foot. Typically, the only way to prevent this from occurring is to keep them well-conditioned from the get-go. Once they have appeared, there is no way to reverse them, however we can reinforce the area to prevent them from becoming a bigger problem.
If the spot has worked its way through the leather, we usually glue in a thin patch internally and zigzag stitch overtop. The stitching is not absolutely required, however we do recommend as an extra reinforcement method and to keep the crack held together tightly. If the crack has not yet gone through the leather but is forming on the surface, consider adding an internal patch in early, to help support the area against the bending of the foot. After repair, you shouldn’t be able to feel the spot with your foot whatsoever.
If you’ve only busted a seam, but there’s no hole or tear, you may just need a simple re-stitch instead of a patch! We would need to be able to see it in person to diagnose the issue and determine the best course of action.
If your pull-tab has pulled-out, we can help you there. If you have your original Doc Marten pull-tab and would like it re-sewn, we can do that. If you’ve lost a single, we can also replace one or both with a new leather or webbing pull-tab. We have many options in store, so it’s best to come by and take a peek.
We are experts in replacing zippers on Doc Marten Boots! We have replacement parts for all kinds of zippers in studio, and can often find a close or exact match.
If your zipper is separating, but the teeth and tape are in good shape, we may only recommend changing out the zipper slider head. If the tape and teeth are damaged, it’s very likely that we have to change out the zipper itself. If both zippers are damaged, we may recommend switching from a metal zipper to nylon zipper, as they are often a stronger option for zippers placed along the ankle.
Doc Martens are notorious for being challenging to break-in. If you need a little bit of assistance to get the process started, we offer softening and stretching services. This can be helpful for things like stiff heel counters or top-edges of the boots, as well as needing a smidge of extra room in the width, for example. We cannot make any guarantees, due to the natural variances of leather, but we always do our best.
Solovair Boots are great! For those who feel that Doc Martens just “aren’t made like the used to be”, Solovair has solved that. They use the same machinery and process as Doc Marten used to, as well as producing a very similar boot. The main difference is the higher quality leather on Solovairs and the different coloured welt stitch (white, rather than the yellow on Doc Martens). Best of all, the repair processes outlined above are the exact same for Solovairs as they are for Docs!