DIY Gripfast Resole
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