re-sole German para boots

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woof

Full Member
Apr 12, 2008
3,647
5
lincolnshire
Has anyone had theirs re-soled ?, the heels on mine are wearing down to the soft bit, but the uppers are in good condition, so i'd like to get them heeled,

Rob
 
Feb 15, 2011
3,860
2
Elsewhere
They can be re-soled, no problem.......usually with a vibram (or vibram type) sole. Sometimes the original soles do come up on eb-y Germany from time to time, but I don't think it's worth waiting...... Try & find a traditional (artisan) cobbler;) ; & avoid those in shopping malls....it will usually cost around £30.

I don't know about just the heels though, discuss it with the cobbler.


the D.I.Y. approach ;
I've started to rebuild my boot heels with shoe goo, but it doesn't last long, about a month or so, but I think if you could cleanly slice off what's left of your hard rubber heel from the soft foamy layer, then use shoe goo to stick on a new rubber heel, it would work, I've never done this but I'm considering it....., that shoe goo is great stuff & would certainly keep the heel stuck on ....
 
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comeonbabylightmyfire

Need to contact Admin...
Sep 3, 2010
192
0
London
My local cobbler quoted me £50 to resole German army para boots. I can buy another pair of boots for £25 so I'd be interested to see how you fare getting them resoled. Good luck with it.
 

Biker

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Got mine done by a local cobbler while I was in the UK. Did a pretty good job too and didn't charge the earth either. He just glued on the new soles to the leather base. They weren't paraboot soles either just regualr heavy tread army type pattern soles. In my opinion they're not as tough as those orginal paraboot ones are. Quite where they get the £50 price tag from "comeonbabylightmyfire" escapes me. I think he didn't want to do it and priced himself way out of your range.

I have three pairs and one pair the sole is totally shagged, however one of my winter projects it to resole them with a piece cut from an old car tyre. I found one with canvas webbing in it, not the metal wires in more modern tyres. Got my shoe goo too, so I'm hoping for some good results. Once they're done I'll post some pix here... perhaps.

Ask a cobbler and get a couple of quotes before spending cash needlessly.
 

bayleaf

Tenderfoot
Oct 31, 2008
64
0
gloucestershire
If it helps,I had a pair of modern German jackboots resoled.The cobbler put a traditional sole and heel on (leather),all I've got to do is put in some hob nails.I think it cost me about £50.
 

Biker

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Just had a thought, if it's just the heels that's wearing away why not quarter tip it. Cutting away the worn area and letting something like these into the portion cut out of the heel. Just a thought.

quartertips.jpg

Obviusly not bought stuff off the shelf, assuming you want to do it yourself but something home made from coventional stuff. Like a block of durable plastic, hardwood, metal, angle iron, small horse shoe even.

Anyway as I said, twas just a thought.
 

woof

Full Member
Apr 12, 2008
3,647
5
lincolnshire
Thanks biker, but i do spend a fair bit time on my feet, often on slippy surfaces, so don't want to alter the sole if i can help it.

Rob
 

woof

Full Member
Apr 12, 2008
3,647
5
lincolnshire
Success !. Found a small cobblers in Newark who's going to do them for me, says he can have them done by the weekend.

Rob
 

woof

Full Member
Apr 12, 2008
3,647
5
lincolnshire
Success !. Found a small cobblers in Newark who's going to do them for me, says he can have them done by the weekend.

Rob
 

Bluebs4

Full Member
Aug 12, 2011
880
36
Bristol
Wow that's brought back memories of my youth , blakeys on my brogues I can hear them now twenty-five years later cheers Made me smile.
 
Mar 31, 2011
9
0
Chester
Recently my much beloved pair of German Parra boots decided to self destruct, the midsole had rotted away leaving me with a pair of flappy soles barely held on at the toe end.* :(

Although these old boots had been demoted to allotment duty and dog walking I was loath to bin them as they had a sentimental value I’ve had a pair around since the 1980’s been to festivals and hitched round Europe even used a pair in West Africa as bike boots.

My first thought was to get a replacement pair however they are no longer available in my usual haunts. :C

I tried all my local cobblers for a quote on resoling but nobody in the Chester / Wrexham area could be bothered to give more than a cursory inspection of my forlorn footwear before declaring that they wouldn’t or couldn’t do the job.

A cursory search of the interweb revealed Cheshire Shoe Repairs in Stockton Heath near Warrington, I called up and explained my plight to be rewarded with a can do reply. :)
Combining a trip to Axminster Tool Centre in Warrington with dropping of my bu99ered boots was not seen by the missus as the ideal Saturday excursion, so a trip to Walton Hall & Gardens was added to the itinerary to sweeten the pill.

Ian & Linda at Cheshire Shoe Repairs were extremely busy with customers queuing into the street clutching rockboots & shoes, Equestrian Riding Boots, old school walking boots and the like. It seems I wasn’t the only person to come a few miles for their service.

A brief examination by Ian confirmed that he could resole the poor old boots a full Vibram sole was recommended and agreed on £45.00 in cash changed hands and off we [me] went to spend a fun time in Axminster Tool Centre.

5 days later a brown box smelling of contact adhesive turns up at casa Emrys with newly retreaded boots. Sorted! :D
I’ve done a fair number of miles, in my re shod boots, to and from the allotment and out with the dog before composing this post.

Suffice to say no problems at all and I heartily endorse Ian & Linda at Cheshire Shoe Repairs. No connections etc other than a satisfied customer.
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*[Sorry not to have any photos of this but someone appropriated the SD card, formatted it and used it to take truly fremdschämen video at a recent wedding. This video is not for public consumption!]
 
Mar 31, 2011
9
0
Chester
certainly looks like a job well done there.

Rob

These were resoled in July and have been getting good use with the weather we've been having this year. It was so good to find a proper cobbler that could do a proper job and are available by post for those that can't find anyone local. Apparently they have rockboots / rockshoes in from all over the country for resoling.
 
Feb 15, 2011
3,860
2
Elsewhere
They look fantastic, the uppers are in great condition too,shame to confine them to allotment tending & dog walking :D

Money well spent in my opinion, thanks for posting....................nice pics too.:)
 

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