the Cost of Cobblers and Shoe Repair for Casual Men's Shoes

I had the mid-soles of my weightlifting shoes evened out. The price included peeling back the out-sole and carving down the mid-sole of the taller shoe. Other services like general shoe repairs and resoling were available starting at a $5 minimum charge. The store was also well-stocked with laces, polishes, insoles, and a variety of other shoe care items for sale.

I'd bought a pair of weightlifting shoes with solid rubber mid-soles -- rather than the blown (and squishy) rubber of running shoes -- for working out in. After a couple workouts, I noticed my knees were aching after my workouts. The only thing I'd changed was my shoes, so I took a good look at them and noticed the heel of the left shoe was a good 1/3" taller than the heel of the right shoe. They were reasonably expensive, and it took some time to get them, so I took them to the cobbler for reworking.

I'd used the cobbler before for shoe repair, so I knew the quality of his work and service. When I described what I wanted done, he quoted me a price of $50, the same as a rubber-soled dress shoe resole.

Why so much, I asked. He wanted to resole both shoes because he knew he didn't have the exact same crepe rubber sole in stock and wanted to keep the soles identical. I asked if it wouldn't be possible to just peel back the sole of the tall shoe and carve away the excess sole. He thought about it a moment and got a knife to separate the out-sole from the mid-sole.

After a moment's fiddling with the sole, he decided that he would be able to do it as I asked, and quoted me $15 and three days before he could guarantee the shoes would be done. I paid him the $15 and left the shoes with him

When I went back to the shop four days later, I was very impressed with the results. The cobbler spent 15 minutes showing me the details of his work, how to check for evenness, and how the repair was entirely invisible. He was proud of his work, and justifiably so.

I was even more impressed a couple weeks later when I noticed my knees weren't aching after my workouts.

Finding someone who takes pride in their work is valuable beyond description, and someone who is willing to rise to challenges they'd not encountered before, even more so. At that point, things like a well-stocked and organized shop, and rates for various regular services clearly posted are a bonus, though they always seem to go with someone who not only has a can-do attitude, but the ability to follow through.