It’s usual for the soles of high-quality boots to wear out much before the uppers. So because softer rubber utilized on the outsoles is driven into the ground with every stride, it is constantly worn. The typical outsole’s lifespan varies widely and is determined by a number of factors, including:

• How many kilometers have they logged?
• The sort of terrain on which they’re worn The weight of the user
• The stride and walking habits of the user

The outsoles of high-end footwear may frequently be changed through a process known as resoling. Resoling is a cost-effective technique to increase the life of high-quality boots while avoiding the disposal of perfectly acceptable uppers.

How To Resole your Boots

Hiking Boots

My Red Wing hiking boots’ heels were severely worn at the outside corners, and I discovered that Red Wing makes resoling their boots hard for a typical cobbler. As I didn’t have a larger, wider tire tread and the damage was restricted to one place, I just restored that piece. So far, the fix has been successful! 

Materials:

• A ruler with millimeter increments is preferred.
• A piece of tread from a tire. Because I couldn’t locate anything else that wasn’t steel-belted and tough to get inside, I utilized a motorbike tread. Go for a wider tire if you can find one.
• Masking tape or painter’s tape
• If you have a permanent marker bandsaw, use that; if not, use a dovetail saw or another fine-toothed pull-saw.
• Rough sandpaper or a rasp-style plane
• Cement in contact
• Knife, such as a box knife or another razor-sharp knife

Steps:

1. Measure 

• Measure the area that needs to be replaced. For the greatest precision, use millimeters. The better the contact between the boot and the repair-piece, the more exact the cut.
  
• I’ve used tape around the heel’s edge to mark the exact same vertical thickness. What’s left when I cut the heel off will be level and flat, ready to glue. Make the same kind of accurate tape-mark around the whole perimeter of the sole if you’re replacing the complete sole.
  
• Estimate any other parameters you’ll need to match, then repeat the process on both boot and shoe soles. Even if one of your soles is less worn, having various thread thicknesses or wear patterns on your shoes might cause your stride to be uneven, putting your feet, ankles, and knees at risk of injury.

I simply chopped off half of the heel of my boot for the patch I’m creating. Even though one heel had approximately two millimeters more wear on the rear, I made sure the area taken from both boots was precisely the same.

2. Focus on the SOLE

Use a fine-toothed, sharp saw. If you’re lucky, you’ll have access to a bandsaw; if not, an affordable dovetail saw or any other fine-toothed saw labeled as a pull saw will work.

Slowly cut with a steady pulling motion. Cut along the tape’s edge without cutting through it. If you need to make angled cuts, like I did with my heel patch where I just cut half of the heel out, don’t cut over the tape line; instead, pull the portion to be taken off and neaten with a razor blade. Trimming is preferable to cutting random grooves into the sole.

3. Focus on the TIRE Tread 

• Select a tire tread portion that is as flat as possible. Cut a piece that’s at least a quarter-inch wider on each side than the sole you’re replacing. As I only required one straight edge, I used tape to designate the usable area and to make my cuts really straight.
  
  The only part of the motorbike tire that was flat enough to utilize in my situation was the middle, which was only a few inches broad.
  
• With a permanent marker, trace the portion that has to be replaced.
• With the dove-tail saw, cut carefully. Rubber adheres to the saw and causes it to stutter and move roughly, so I used the ruler to wedge the cut apart. The blade is freed by pulling the incision open.

4. Fit the SOLE

• To ensure a perfect fit, saw, cut, and plane the edges.
   
• Before going on to the following stage, double-check the fit and make sure it’s a great match for the surface.

5. Get a sandpaper and start prepping 

Rough up the smooth inside surface of the tire where it will be attached to the sole with sandpaper or a rasp-plane. This provides greater surface area for the adhesive to adhere to. Make absolutely sure both surfaces are flat and will fit together nicely and without gaps.

Read the contact cement’s instructions before using it. If you’re not in a well-ventilated place or wearing an organics-rated mask, most will damage your brain cells. Some require a second application of glue and pushing the parts together while still wet; others require a third coat and pressing the pieces together while still wet.

On each of the surfaces you’ll be bonding together, apply a thin, even coating of contact cement. Allow time for the adhesive to dry. When dry or tacky-dry, several forms of contact cement are squeezed together.

Apply a second application of contact cement to the two surfaces before pressing them together if your contact cement requires it.

6. Clamp

Gently align the new tire-tread sole and the trimmed bottom of the shoe with contact cements, it’s critical to get the surfaces to connect just properly the first time since there’s no going back.

Apply good pressure across the whole surface while pressing together and clamping. In the instance of my boot, I used a piece of metal to level out the pressure, then wrapped the metal in cord overnight to keep it in place.

7. It’s done!

Compress the repair for 24 hours or as directed on the contact cement package. You may want to trim anything that doesn’t match up as expected at this point, but be careful not to overstretch the joint you just constructed.

You’ve completed the task!

Cowboy Boots 

• At Home

Cowboy boots are one of the few boots manufactured of high-quality, long-lasting materials. The sole of the boot, on the other hand, is the most exposed section and requires the greatest effort. As a result of this exposure, you will notice that it is not as durable as the other components, demanding a little resoling.

When you see holes, the heels wear down, and the nails are exposed, you know it’s time to resole your cowboy boots. In this instance, resole is recommended; there are several resole ways to choose from. Resoling at home is one of the most used procedures.

1. Preparing Your Cowboy Boot Kit

Preparing your cowboy boot repair kit is the first step. Cowboy boot repair takes a lot of time and work, so you’ll want to be sure you have the right equipment in your repair kit.

2. Dissect the Cowboy Boot

Remove the heel cap with pliers. The metal scraper may be used to remove the heel base. Remove all of the nails from the cowboy boots’ heel. Using a tiny knife, cut off the old sole while tugging it off with your pliers. Make sure you’ve removed all of the nails from your boot’s outsole.

3. Sanding

The sole of your cowboy boot should be sanded thoroughly. Make the new outsole more significant than the old one by preparing it. Rubber is a good choice, and the thickness should be roughly 4mm. To allow adequate room for the new stitches, make sure you’ve pulled all of the stitches from the sole.

4. Keeping the Sole Clean

Clean the midsoles and outsoles thoroughly with acetone. Clean the midsole of your boot, and if you want to utilize a fresh layer midsole, clean it thoroughly with acetone.

5. Roughen up the midsole

You could notice that the midsole is smooth; try roughening it up. The goal here is to verify that the midsole’s adhesiveness has grown. Smooth surfaces don’t hold the sole securely in place. You may massage it on a rough spot or use a rough scrap.

6. New Attachment for the Sole

Apply a specific glue to the cowboy boot soles after roughing up the surface and thoroughly cleaning it. After that, gently connect the sole to the boot and make sure it is secure. Cut off access to the replacement sole with a sharp knife or sharpening. The procedure is getting more difficult for the hardness of the replacement sole.

After cutting, smooth the edges of the new sole using sandpaper for an ideal fit. Stitch the new sole securely to the cowboy boots using a professional sewing thread. Nail the concave portion of the sole in the center. The method is equally challenging, but goes slowly and patiently.

7. Apply Glue to the Back of the Heel

The heel is expected to be attached to the boots at this point. To put it on, wipe the outsole and use a marker to outline the regions or borders of your heel. Then, lightly apply adhesive to the parts of the outsole where the heel will be attached.

8. Using the Leather Piece to Attach the Heel

Cut a piece of leather to the same length as your heel. Apply adhesive to one side of the leather and the inside heel sole. Attach them and use a hammer or a stick to provide some pressure. If the leather piece is larger than the heel size, trim it down to fit.

9. Connect the Heel to the Outsole.

Glue the heel to your outsole, where you previously had a market. To make it stick securely, apply some pressure or strike it softly with a hammer. You can now insert your nails and softly strike them. Check to see if the heel and outsole are linked.

10. The New Sole Should Be Dyed

Apply your choice dye to the entire new sole and buff to shine the boot’s bottom, depending on the color of the cowboy boot. After that, you’ll be able to clean your cowboy boots.

Tips

• Make use of a boot repair kit designed for professionals. This is important since a professional boot kit has all of the supplies you’ll need to repair or resole your cowboy boot at home.

• Make doubly sure you use a more expansive sole than the previous one when resoling your cowboy boot. After you’ve attached the new soles, trim the excess. This is necessary to keep the boot from becoming too narrow after resoling.

• Use a machine to stitch the new soles of the cowboy boots if you can afford it. This is because when you use the boot, the machine will guarantee that it is solid and does not peel off easily.
  
• Use the nail to firmly secure the heels at the boot base to the sole. The sole will be solid and supportive to the feet as a result of this.

• It’s best not to replace the half-sole twice in a row. This is because the sole will be loose and may easily peel off due to the lack of firmness. Following the initial half-sole replacement, the next time replaces the entire sole.

• Before applying adhesive and gluing the sole, sand it to make it rough. The heel base will be good and sturdy as a result of this.

• Find a cobbler guy

This method is easier than the last one, but keep one thing in mind: get a decent cobbler.

There are numerous professional stores that can resole cowboy boots these days, but we recommend looking for ones that are reliable.

Nushoe, for example, is a popular place for consumers to get their cowboy boots resoled. Simply send them cowboy boots and wait.

Instead of doing it yourself, we recommend contacting a skilled cobbler to resole cowboy boots. Unless you’ve resoled hundreds of different cowboy boots and know what you’re doing.

Do not attempt to resole cowboy boots if you are a beginner.

Why are we so serious about finding a decent cobbler? As there will be two scenarios if you locate a poor cobbler.

Worst case scenario: your cowboy boots will be ruined and lose form, requiring a speedy resoling.

Better case scenario: You’ll have to break in your cowboy boots all over again.

Believe us when we say that breaking in cowboy boots is a pain, and you won’t want to go through it again.

Walking Boots

Materials:

• Boot repair kit with contact adhesive and replacement sole
• Rubber gloves
• Sharp razor blade or small sharp knife
• Sandpaper, medium grain
• Newspaper
• Rubber gloves

Steps:

1. Slowly and gently cut out the old sole with a razor blade or sharp knife. It’s not a good idea to cut into the boot itself.
   
2. Clean any leftover debris from the previous sole off the bottoms of the boots and lightly sand them using medium-grain sandpaper. Sand the new soles on the side that will make touch with the boot’s bottom as well.

The purpose of sanding the sole and underside of the boot is to give them a mildly rough texture that will help in the adhesive’s sticking.

3. Put your rubber gloves on. To protect any exposed surfaces, place the boots on old newspaper. Apply contact glue to the replacement sole and the bottom of the boot using a gloved finger.
   
4. Allow the glue to become somewhat sticky to the touch after a few minutes. The amount of time you’ll have to wait will be determined on the adhesive brand you’re using. Check the directions for an estimate of how long you’ll have to wait.
   
5. To ensure proper installation, slowly and carefully press the bottom of the sole to the bottom of the boot. Because a connection is created on touch with this sort of glue, it will be tough to undo if the placement is incorrect.
   
6. Allow at least 24 hours for the glue to set before putting the boots on. With the blade or knife, remove any excess glue. Sand any rough edges with the sandpaper to give your newly resoled boots a smooth finish.

Related Article:

How much does it cost to resole boots

How Long Do Boot Soles Last

Final Remarks

Before you leave, I want to underline that resoleing cowboy boots is not as easy as it seems.

Be free if you have lots of cowboy boots and know what you’re doing. However, if you are a novice, do your homework and think about it thoroughly before resolving yourself.

Resole cowboy boots are more complex and more costly than dyeing, cleaning, caring for, shrinking, or stretching.

Choose specialist repair equipment rather than grabbing whatever you can find around the house; you’ll likely come to regret it.

Good luck!