u/Beneficial_Middle888

So I ordered these from the old White & Co (the former makers before Solovair)site back in 2001 and they were pretty beat up. I’d cut them from 14 eye to 10 eye about 20 years ago (I regret this), I was missing some eyelets, the leather was damaged due to poor care, and the sole was split and severely worn out. I wanted to get them fixed but kept getting turned down, or given prices I couldn’t afford so I decided to give it a go myself.
I added all new internals, resewed some loose threads and dyed the stitching yellow (it was really wonky looking and ugly once cleaned and I wanted to test out this yellow fabric dye I had). I then contact cemented a Vibram unit on (I initially wanted to get a Gripfast unit from the site but I was able to get the Vibrams for half off) and changed all the eyelets (I kinda feel like they are too big but it’s what I had) except the top ones because how they were cut wouldn’t fit. Lastly I sanded, conditioned, and refinished the lower body, vamp and toe and then redyed and polished. The soles trim could be cleaner but I was hand sanding,but I think it turned out pretty well. I’ve walked several miles in them and everything is holding so far. Still a work in progress. I’m contemplating cutting them to a 9 eyelet and putting a trim around the top for a cleaner look. Cheers

Hey all, I’ve been doing some at home shoe repair as more of a hobbyist. Up until recently it’s just been like refinishes, crack repairs and eyelet changes. I’ve recently gotten into resoling my friend’s shoes as well as my own. I’ve done a few pairs of docs which have turned out surprisingly well. It’s cool to be able to add things like steel shanks and inner material as well as sew in midsoles etc. I’ve used both Solovair and vibram replacement soles. However I have one issue. I cannot find any way to recreate the dr marten style grooving to the sole edge. I mostly use hand tools but would pay for something if it worked. Just wondering if anyone had a hack outside of a cerated butter knife heated up lol. Thanks. Cheers

Polished up some MIE docs today