Author Topic: Work shoes - 10 years and counting  (Read 5391 times)

Mr Chin Stubble

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Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« on: January 25, 2017, 08:18:00 AM »
I have been using the same work shoes for over 10 years. Not straight though but on and off.

I got them for Christmas 10plus years ago. They are a name brand, black  dress shoe.

I must have got them resoled  about 3x.

The only issue with the last time was I guess they were so old that the leather split on the top while they were resoling them from stretching them out. Two tears about 3/4 of an inch by the pinky toe in each respective shoe

Well I wasn't about to let them go to waste so I put duct tape on the inside and have been mending  the cracks periodically with crazy glue and shoe goo. (Shoe goo does much better in this application).

I finally hope to retire them once and for all so I wear them to work every day now.
« Last Edit: January 25, 2017, 08:47:34 AM by Mr Chin Stubble »

monte0930

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #1 on: January 25, 2017, 10:04:17 AM »
That's pretty impressive. Do you mind sharing which brand of shoe they are?

mtn

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #2 on: January 25, 2017, 10:07:26 AM »
I may be in the minority for this site, but once you're using superglue and duct tape on the leather uppers, I think you've crossed the line into cheapskate.

Curious what kind of shoes as well though. Thats good, although not great longevity for a dress shoe (currently on year 36ish with a pair of my grandpas old ones--they've only had light use through the years though, maybe 20 times a year)

Mr Chin Stubble

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #3 on: January 25, 2017, 11:06:04 AM »
Bruno magli

Why cheap? I fixed a pair of chuck--which almost always come apart at the heel-- w/ the Sam show goo

In college we used to use it a lot. But then we had no money so..

Incidentally I worked with a guy that used to put newspaper in his presumably because they had holes in the bottoms
« Last Edit: January 25, 2017, 11:13:57 AM by Mr Chin Stubble »

mtn

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #4 on: January 25, 2017, 11:34:07 AM »
Because you've gone from fixing it the right way to a hack. They don't look good anymore. It is one thing to fix the heel or to resole it (which I do with most of my shoes--the average age of my shoes is probably about 20, most were inherited) and to get them shined or shine them yourself regularly. You can have the leather stretched, which might pull out some wrinkles/creases. But when the leather splits/cracks it can't be repaired acceptably (at least to me). You're not going to repair it to a point that looks acceptable in my world.

Besides, any time that I've actually used that shoe goo on the upper (only on work boots that I don't care about the image of) the crack came back. And it looked like crap as well.

Admittedly I am a shoe-snob. My great-grandpa designed shoes for Floresheim, my Granpda always said that he was "queer for cars and shoes", and my dad didn't fall far from either tree. And neither did I.

Metric Mouse

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #5 on: January 25, 2017, 11:45:37 AM »
Kinda jealous. I remember going through sometimes two pairs of work boots a year at the height of my career...

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #6 on: January 25, 2017, 11:53:12 AM »
Gorilla Glue works even better and that's not being a cheapskate!

Mr Chin Stubble

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #7 on: January 25, 2017, 11:59:03 AM »
Ah maybe it time to retire them.

It just peeed me off to get soles repaired and then the uppers split after one wear.

Although that was awhile ago now. I guess I got my money worth and I have some new shoes  that I got a good deal on that can be put to use.

Btw I used gorilla glue fix a hi tech athletic sneaker that had the sole / air pocket coming apart on a pair of Nike airs and it looked awful.... yellow crud everywhere (it expands).

mtn

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2017, 12:07:16 PM »
Ah maybe it time to retire them.

It just peeed me off to get soles repaired and then the uppers split after one wear.

Although that was awhile ago now. I guess I got my money worth and I have some new shoes  that I got a good deal on that can be put to use.

Btw I used gorilla glue fix a hi tech athletic sneaker that had the sole / air pocket coming apart on a pair of Nike airs and it looked awful.... yellow crud everywhere (it expands).

I'm not a fan of gorilla glue in general because of that. You have to watch it and keep wiping it off as it dries.

The problem with repairing athletic shoes is that the cushioned sole wears out/down, and you expose yourself to injury. Great for walking the dog around the block, or general house/yard work, but be careful running in them or doing real work in them. Mine get retired to lawn mowing/garage work/water shoes after about 3 years.

(I have flat feet, and was a caddy for 10 years so on top of caring a lot about my dress shoes appearance, I care a lot about my athletic shoe's performance--back then I went through 2 pairs a summer, but they were tax write offs then).

With This Herring

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #9 on: January 25, 2017, 12:15:06 PM »
I'm curious as to what these shoes look like after 10 years and gluing.  Would you post a photo?

Mr Chin Stubble

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #10 on: January 25, 2017, 12:20:15 PM »
Ah maybe it time to retire them.

It just peeed me off to get soles repaired and then the uppers split after one wear.

Although that was awhile ago now. I guess I got my money worth and I have some new shoes  that I got a good deal on that can be put to use.

Btw I used gorilla glue fix a hi tech athletic sneaker that had the sole / air pocket coming apart on a pair of Nike airs and it looked awful.... yellow crud everywhere (it expands).

I'm not a fan of gorilla glue in general because of that. You have to watch it and keep wiping it off as it dries.

The problem with repairing athletic shoes is that the cushioned sole wears out/down, and you expose yourself to injury. Great for walking the dog around the block, or general house/yard work, but be careful running in them or doing real work in them. Mine get retired to lawn mowing/garage work/water shoes after about 3 years.

(I have flat feet, and was a caddy for 10 years so on top of caring a lot about my dress shoes appearance, I care a lot about my athletic shoe's performance--back then I went through 2 pairs a summer, but they were tax write offs then).

You know pro players in the NBA used to play in chuck Taylor and Arnold in his hey day used to work out bare foot or in adidias gazelles

mtn

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #11 on: January 25, 2017, 12:25:45 PM »
Ah maybe it time to retire them.

It just peeed me off to get soles repaired and then the uppers split after one wear.

Although that was awhile ago now. I guess I got my money worth and I have some new shoes  that I got a good deal on that can be put to use.

Btw I used gorilla glue fix a hi tech athletic sneaker that had the sole / air pocket coming apart on a pair of Nike airs and it looked awful.... yellow crud everywhere (it expands).

I'm not a fan of gorilla glue in general because of that. You have to watch it and keep wiping it off as it dries.

The problem with repairing athletic shoes is that the cushioned sole wears out/down, and you expose yourself to injury. Great for walking the dog around the block, or general house/yard work, but be careful running in them or doing real work in them. Mine get retired to lawn mowing/garage work/water shoes after about 3 years.

(I have flat feet, and was a caddy for 10 years so on top of caring a lot about my dress shoes appearance, I care a lot about my athletic shoe's performance--back then I went through 2 pairs a summer, but they were tax write offs then).

You know pro players in the NBA used to play in chuck Taylor and Arnold in his hey day used to work out bare foot or in adidias gazelles

And NHL Goalies used to play without facemasks or helmets, and Gordie Howe played with magazines and newspapers for shin pads.

Doesn't mean that they didn't get injuries that may have been avoided with better shoes.

MilesTeg

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #12 on: January 25, 2017, 12:25:57 PM »
I have been using the same work shoes for over 10 years. Not straight though but on and off.

I got them for Christmas 10plus years ago. They are a name brand, black  dress shoe.

I must have got them resoled  about 3x.

The only issue with the last time was I guess they were so old that the leather split on the top while they were resoling them from stretching them out. Two tears about 3/4 of an inch by the pinky toe in each respective shoe

Well I wasn't about to let them go to waste so I put duct tape on the inside and have been mending  the cracks periodically with crazy glue and shoe goo. (Shoe goo does much better in this application).

I finally hope to retire them once and for all so I wear them to work every day now.

Take it from my experience: wear good shoes. Bad shoes = bad posture and body mechanics = major back/other issues = thousands in doctor bills. That's not to say that 10 year old shoes are necessarily bad, but trying to keep them for the sake of keeping them will likely backfire in tremendously bad ways.

sw1tch

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #13 on: January 25, 2017, 01:53:38 PM »
My shoes also tend to last extremely long.

I have a pair of Adidas running shoes that I wear mainly just for walks and the occasional run that have just a few small tears on the external fabric that are 10 years old now - I still wear these most weekdays for my walks.

I haven't bought any overly expensive pairs of shoes mainly because my cheap ones tend to go for quite a few years anyway without resoling them at all.

As for comfort, I will always add a set of in-soles (currently been using Dr. Scholl's Massaging Gel ones) - that pretty much allows me to walk in almost any pair of shoes all day without bothering me too much.

I think the longevity is a benefit of being petite in stature.  My wife has similar results but just gets bored/tired of wearing the same pair of shoes forever.  Speaking of this, clothes are kind of in the same boat.

Mr Chin Stubble

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #14 on: January 25, 2017, 06:59:31 PM »
Quote

Take it from my experience: wear good shoes. Bad shoes = bad posture and body mechanics = major back/other issues = thousands in doctor bills. That's not to say that 10 year old shoes are necessarily bad, but trying to keep them for the sake of keeping them will likely backfire in tremendously bad ways.

I actually have a similar pair of old dress  boots too. After looking in my closet and discovering I accidentally placed a vacuum cleaner schmooshing a really nice pair of shoes, and made creases in the leather -- it is obvious some throwing out old stuff was in order. I took the old split too dress boots and old dress shoes to a goodwill drop box.
« Last Edit: January 25, 2017, 07:03:23 PM by Mr Chin Stubble »

BrightFIRE

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #15 on: January 25, 2017, 08:14:05 PM »
If they're split, Goodwill will toss them, as they should. If they're not in good condition anymore, why would you donate them instead of throwing them away? Do people who shop at Goodwill not deserve items in good condition?

Mr Chin Stubble

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #16 on: January 25, 2017, 09:39:13 PM »
Not sure if it was goodwill but where i live they have charitable clothing drop off boxes which include shoes.

I figure they give them to homeless people. Do they  care what they look like? I figure as long as they don't have holes in the bottom and they fit -- a homeless person could use them.

Metric Mouse

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #17 on: January 25, 2017, 10:07:17 PM »
Gorilla Glue works even better and that's not being a cheapskate!
I've never had any luck with gorilla glue. Probably because I was poor and didn't have proper clamps, but I tried it for shoes, furniture, car repairs and assorted other uses and it never performed even acceptably, much less as advertised. 

Mr Chin Stubble

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #18 on: January 26, 2017, 08:50:16 AM »


Quote

And NHL Goalies used to play without facemasks or helmets, and Gordie Howe played with magazines and newspapers for shin pads.

Doesn't mean that they didn't get injuries that may have been avoided with better shoes.

When was that 100 years ago? I'm talking about 1979 when safety equipment was readily available

Car Jack

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #19 on: January 26, 2017, 09:08:02 AM »
So my shoe strategy has been MMM since before MMM existed.

<looks at shoes>  I can wear "nice" sneakers at work.  Suade top in a "business" color.  Dark brown is ok.  Black is ok.  Presently wearing some Reeboks that were my dad's.  He passed away in 2007.

Second pair in office are some skate shoes that I bought from an indoor skatepark $20 pile about 10 years ago for my son to wear.  My thoughts were that he went through shoes so quickly that if he outgrew them, (they were my size, too big for him....looking towards the future), I'd be able to wear them.  Black suade uppers.  Well, they fit him for all of about a month.  I've repaired them several times using shoe goo (bought at Dicks for $6 using a $10 certificate that they sent me for opening a Dick's card). 

The last pair of shoes I actually bought were to go on a job interview in 2011.  Some nice dress shoes (nice for me) at the Rockport outlet.  Before buying them, they told me that if I went to the local convenience store, there were coupons for 50% off that would qualify for these shoes.....so I paid maybe $30 for them.  My younger son now fits my shoes.  He went to his semi-formal and homecoming dances wearing these.

I can get a bit extreme with using things forever.  I have steel toed workboots to use cutting firewood that were given to me as a gift 20 years ago.

mtn

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #20 on: January 26, 2017, 09:09:11 AM »


Quote

And NHL Goalies used to play without facemasks or helmets, and Gordie Howe played with magazines and newspapers for shin pads.

Doesn't mean that they didn't get injuries that may have been avoided with better shoes.

When was that 100 years ago? I'm talking about 1979 when safety equipment was readily available

Last NHL goalie without a mask was in 1974--and more or less fully modern goalie helmets and cages were available by at least 1972. Last player without a helmet was 1996-97. Last referee without a helmet was in 2005/2006. My dad had a reasonably modern by todays standards helmet in 1963, so they were definitely available for a while.

The magazine for shin pads thing was done when he was young, because he was very poor.

Just Joe

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #21 on: January 27, 2017, 10:32:59 AM »
Gorilla Glue works even better and that's not being a cheapskate!
I've never had any luck with gorilla glue. Probably because I was poor and didn't have proper clamps, but I tried it for shoes, furniture, car repairs and assorted other uses and it never performed even acceptably, much less as advertised.

I've never tried Gorilla Glue on flexible items but on wood it works good. You should wet the surface with a wet rag and then apply the glue and clamp. Use the wet rag to wipe off the foaming. Won't stick to sealed or painted surfaces. Has to reach grain of the wood.

paddedhat

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #22 on: January 27, 2017, 06:58:01 PM »
My dad was an old school tradesman who took shoes very seriously.  He had two pairs of matching, American made, Red Wing work boots. He would alternate pairs, wear one pair on Monday, another on Tuesday. This allowed sweaty work boots to properly dry out for a day between. They were regularly oiled, with a big bushy artist brush and Neatsfoot leather oil. Once the soles were worn out, he would have the Red Wing store ship them back to the factory for a rebuild. The whole ritual took a  lot of initial investment, and a lot of hands on care, but they lasted for many years, and several replacement soles per pair.

Metric Mouse

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #23 on: January 27, 2017, 07:16:55 PM »
Gorilla Glue works even better and that's not being a cheapskate!
I've never had any luck with gorilla glue. Probably because I was poor and didn't have proper clamps, but I tried it for shoes, furniture, car repairs and assorted other uses and it never performed even acceptably, much less as advertised.

I've never tried Gorilla Glue on flexible items but on wood it works good. You should wet the surface with a wet rag and then apply the glue and clamp. Use the wet rag to wipe off the foaming. Won't stick to sealed or painted surfaces. Has to reach grain of the wood.

Yeah, I usually didn't wipe off enough of the foaming. Ugly crud everywhere. Didn't mind it on the shoes, except it didn't hold very well either. I figure it must work well because they keep selling it, but I could never figure out how to make the shit work for me.

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #24 on: January 28, 2017, 06:15:20 PM »
To make any decent shoe last that long or longer, choose the following strategy:

- Buy two pair on sale 2 black or 1 black, 1 brown. Make sure they fit correctly.

- Buy 2 pair of shoe trees, preferably cedar. Can sometimes be found at estate sales or thrift stores.

- When you remove the shoes, untie them and gently remove by gripping the heel. Immediately insert shoe trees.

- Wipe off any dirt with a damp rag after every wearing, or at least once a week.

- Never wear the same shoes two days in a row. Let them rest.

- Get a shoeshine kit and learn how to use it via You Tube if necessary. Don't buy cheap polish. The good stuff lasts a very long time.

- Watch for worn heels, replace when they show some, but not a lot of wear. Ditto for soles, whIch generally last longer than heels and cost more to replace.

- Find a good shoe repair and always be super-cool to them. Seriously, they are skilled tradespeople who deserve more respect than they often get.

-Replace or repair shoelaces if/when the iglets (the plastic sleeve at the end of the lace) fail. Better still, watch at dollar stores, estate sales and the like to keep a stock of the correct replacement laces on hand.

Check back with me in ten years or so and tell me how your shoes are still going strong. I'll wait.

JLR

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #25 on: January 29, 2017, 09:19:28 PM »
Ah maybe it time to retire them.

It just peeed me off to get soles repaired and then the uppers split after one wear.

Although that was awhile ago now.

How long ago did you get them fixed? If it was a while ago that makes 10yo shoes sound a little less impressive.

My husband had a pair of Ecco shoes. He said they were the most comfortable shoes of his life. Wore them day in, day out on hard hospital floors for about 6 years. When they died he was keen to get another pair of Eccos after such a good experience. Unfortunately, his next two pairs haven't stood up to comparison. He switched brands for his latest pair, but still isn't happy with them. :( I hate it when they stop selling awesome things.

Mr Chin Stubble

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #26 on: January 30, 2017, 03:20:04 AM »
They were repaired several times over the years. Not sure when the latest time was now or why it matters.

And hospital floors do not wear out shoes -- Especially if you just get in a car afterwards and your shoes never touch the ground till you walk from your driveway to your house. Walking in a city with concrete everywhere does however.

JLR

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #27 on: January 30, 2017, 04:37:35 AM »
They were repaired several times over the years. Not sure when the latest time was now or why it matters.

I think other readers will care to know if you last had them repaired 3 years ago and they split on the top the very next day. That makes them shoes that lasted 7 years for most readers on this thread. Not everyone is happy to wear shoes where the top is glued and taped.

Mr Chin Stubble

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Re: Work shoes - 10 years and counting
« Reply #28 on: January 30, 2017, 08:14:51 AM »
^
OK fair enough....lets say they were repaired 1.5 years ago. And I started wearing them daily again maybe 3 months ago

 

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