At Awl Together Leather, we love a GoodYear Welted Boot and cobble them daily! This include doing full resoles with new outsole stitching, halfsoles, heels, sewing and even full rewelting or relasting. Having the largest leather selection in Vancouver gives you the ultimate choice in customizing your GoodYear Welted footwear.
What is good welted construction?
Good year welted construction is the gold standard for shoe and boot construction, as it allows footwear to be resoled with durability many times over. A goodyear welted boot is made by sewing a welt, a narrow strip of leather, to gemming or a carved channel on the insole of the boot. This welt is then turned and sewn through the midsole or fullsole of the boot. When you resole a Goodyear welted boot, you can re-use the old welt multiple times before sewing on a new one, which makes them able to be repaired for a lifetime.
The double-stitched method of this welting prevents water from entering the boot, which is why Goodyear welted construction is considered waterproof. In addition, cork is added in between the insole and midsole/fullsole, which forms to the foot over time. This adds superior comfort. When a cobbler resoles your goodyear welted shoes, the sizing, and shape of the footwear won’t change.
What makes a good repair on a Goodyear Welted boot?
It’s time to resole your Goodyear Welted Boots when you’ve lost all tread on your walking surface. When searching for a cobbler to do this repair you should be asking three things:
What sole is going back on your boot? If you are using rubber, Vibram is the gold standard. Going for leather? JR leather soles are premium, but with their recent factory and minimum order changes they are becoming more difficult to source. For leather fullsoles, ensure that your leather sole is the correct weight and tannage for walking. Not just any leather will do. At Awl Together Leather all we offer a large variety of Vibram soles to choose from and offer both JR Leather soles and a high-quality alternative leather sole.
Will they hit the original welt holes? When resewing the outsole stitch, you want to make sure that your cobbler hits all the original holes of on the welt. Making new holes deteriorates the welt faster and looks bad. When resewing your boot at Awl Together Leather, we set our outsoler to match the old stitch holes every single time.
Are they replacing the cork? A new cork refill is standard with a resole, assuming that your midsole is coming off too. Your cobbler should ensure to keep the shank as well!
Fullsole Options for GoodYear Welted Resoles
We keep a huge selection of Vibram and non-Vibram brand soles to make sure we can meet the varied needs of our clients! When it comes to recrafting and fullsoles, the options for customizations are broad. Anything from welt type to outsole colour can be changed, depending on what you need. You don’t automatically need to replace the welts or the midsoles when re-soling, however it may be recommended to you if he condition of the footwear necessitates it. Here are the most common fullsoles we install:
Vibram Eton / ItsHide Commando
These rubber fullsoles from Vibram come with a studded sole and matching heel. Meant to look like Dainite, but be less slippery, these soles are the perfect option for a slightly dressier boot or shoe. These are always available in black, but let us know If you’re interested in more colours!
Vibram 430
We love the “sneaky tread” on these! From the sides, they look similar to the Vibram Eton or Vibram 700, but they have a treaded center on both the fullsoles and matching heels. The refined look make these suitable for work or casual uses. They are oil-resistant too! Only available in black.
Vibram 700
This sole is a classic, with a chevron pattern (“v-bar”) and low profile. Made of a similar nitrile compound to the Vibram 430, it is also oil-resistant. Very durable, and more commonly seen on industrial/work boots than dress or casual footwear. Available in black or brown.
Vibram 132 / Vibram 100
If you’re feeling like the other soles listed just aren’t addressing your needs for grip, the Vibram 132 and 100 are up to the challenge. These soles have “big lugs”, are oil-resistant and one of Vibram’s most well-known soles. Available in Black.
Vibram Christy
One of the most comfortable, cushier soles available for goodyear welted shoes (without going into foam soles!). Commonly seen on Red Wings and work boots, but they’re versatile enough to add to any goodyear welted shoe/boot. The Christy is a wedge sole, meaning it doesn’t have a heel block like the soles listed above. Available in Cream, Black, Red and Camo.
Leather Soles
We offer both JR Fullsoles and an additional high-quality alternative! Leather soles feel great to walk and dance in, but can be challenging on some flooring without a rubber halfsole. Leather soles are a classic and common on many types of shoes/boots, from dress shoes to packer boots.
For leather soles, we offer a regular sole stitch and a hidden stitch
The “Half and Half” Soles:
Love the look of a leather fullsole, but want the feel and grip of rubber? A “half and half” sole may be the perfect option for you! If you already have existing leather soles in good condition, these halfsole options could be added on without having to replace the leather soles.
“Hiker” Half
A thick (Vibram 100 or similar) treaded lug halfsole on the front, with any heel option on the back. We can match the heels with a chunky lug, or go for something sleeker. These can also have mini brass screws inserted between the lugs for additional reinforcement. These halfsoles are usually around 10-12mm thick.
Vibram Mini Lug Half
If you are seeking the lugged look but the Hiker Half is a bit much, the Vibram Mini Lugs are likely the answer. Same tread pattern, but half the thickness (usually 5mm).
Vibram 2724 Half
This is the halfsole version of the Vibram 430 (listed above as a fullsole). These are usually around 7mm thick.
Vibram 705 Half
This is the halfsole version of the Vibram 700 (listed above as a fullsole). These are usually around 7mm thick.
Topy Elysee Half
This is probably the most common halfsole we use for foowear where the halfsole should be invisible to the eye from the sole edge. Perfect for anything from women’s high heels to sandals to dress boots, as they are very durable and discreet. These halfsoles are usually 1mm or 1.8mm thick.
Topy Strie and Semlux Half
These two are a great middle ground option between something thinner like the Topy Elysee and a thicker option like Vibram 705 or 2724. They have a straight-line tread across them and are usually in the 2-4mm range.
Our Most Common Midsoles:
The midsole is the layer that goes between the welt and the outsole. It sometimes makes more sense to stitch the welt to only the midsole, rather than the midsole and outsole. When it’s time to resole next time, we will only have to remove and replace the outsole – leaving your midsole and welts in perfect condition.
Rubber
You can match the midsoles to the outsoles (such as a black midsole with a black Vibram 430) or you can opt to make them stand out! Black and Cream are our two most common options, but we can also use in red, green, blue, brown, orange, etc.
Leather
A leather midsole provides a bit of additional comfort (as it will form to the foot more than rubber), as well as the look of leather. Depending on the boot, you may want that midsole to match your leather soles, your leather heel stack, etc. We can also install a leather midsole and dye the edge black, for example.
Possible Add-Ons:
Triumph Toe Plates
Love leather soles but constantly wearing out the toes? Consider adding inset/flush metal toe taps. These can help prolong the life of your leather soles, have a fun sound and a classic look.
Decorative brass nails
These can be added to the waist or heel lift of nearly any fullsole, as a finishing touch to elevate the appearance.
The Most Common Customizations!
Vibram 132 (unit sole) to Christy (wedge sole) or the reverse
Adding or removing a midsole, in leather or rubber
Adding halfsoles to protect the leather soles
Re-Welting a Goodyear Boot / Shoe
If your goodyear welted boot or shoes need a new welt, we can definitely install those for you! We hand-welt in our studio in East Vancouver, with our own two hands. We can replace the welt with a flat welt (the most common option) or a custom storm welt. Either option can be dyed brown, black or kept “natural”, depending on what you prefer.
Leather Fullsoles vs Rubber Fullsoles
Whether or not you pick a leather over rubber fullsole will depend on what you do in your shoes and how you enjoy them.
Leather
Rubber
Not very grippy, prone to slipping (but great for dancing!)
Very grippy, no slipping
Wears quickly on wet concrete
Will last much longer on wet streets
Molds to your foot
Will not mold as much to your feet
Looks like leather! (many people find this a selling point)
Looks like rubber! (again, just a different preference some people have)
Sewing Through Lugged Soles
Depending on the sole you choose, we may recommend not stitching through the outsole. For example, soles like the Vibram Christy and Vibram 132 will not fit in our Landis K outsoler, nor would it make much sense to do so. For those soles, we recommend stitching the welt to the midsole before glueing the outsole to the midsole.
Most Common Goodyear Welted Brands
We love them – you love them, let’s review the top sellers in GoodYear Welted Construction. If you’re looking to get very geeky on Goodyear Welts, and boots in general, then we suggest joining the Stitchdown Premium discord group.
Red Wing – there’s a reason everyone has a pair.
Thursday Boots – our take on Thursdays is that they are a great entry boot into the world of hand-made shoes. The big pro on Thursdays is the price. The con is the cuts they make to get that price – most Thursday boots have a paper stiffener which crumples over time. They also often use a coated leather which does not take polish well.
Pros vs cons with Cemented Construction
Glue construction simply means that the shoe’s uppers are glued to the welt and/or outsole, with no parts of the soles being stitched together in the process. We would estimate that about 80%, or more, of footwear in stores today is cemented. Some brands use things like faux welts, with a faux outsole stitch, to give the appearance of being goodyear welted without the quality. This can help keep the cost low for footwear manufacturers, but also often deceives customers who assume the visible stitching is real.
This is not to say that cemented shoes are a bad option, but merely that customers should be able to make informed decisions about their purchasing. Lots of well-made women’s shoes (think high heels, luxury brands, etc) are cemented. This is often because one can make a “lighter” shoe that way, and because the welt adds a visual weight that is less common on women’s shoes.
Did you know that we offer international mail-in repair services for all types of Goodyear welted repair? Take a look at our page on Mail-Ins, and if you have any questions send us an email! We’re more than happy to talk through your options with you.