Wideangle's guide to restore your crumbled sole, NOT for dummies

note the donor is one size larger than the OG- this is NOT ideal but can be worked around...

my tools- a dremmell or similar and a curved knife. This is an old cobblers knife- the dremmell is to shapen the knife as it needs to be VERY sharp and its also for later.

the dremell needs to have a curved "grinding stone" like this one

first we need to cut off the OG midsole. Do this by "skimming" round the leather taking off the to layer all around the edge. Try not to cut through as it makes it more difficult later and try not to damage any of the upper


Once you've gone all the way round and just the toe is left you should be able to pull the midsole away from the upper- if not keep working at it

Carefully cut around the toe part


You will probably be left with a bunch of the soft midsole at the bottom. "skim" it off with the knife- try not to cut through the underneath of the upper


Make sure all around the edges you have "skimmed" the leather so there is just raw leather around the edges- this helps the glue to stick later and is very important

the end result should look something like this

if the OG uppers are dirty and theres no crumbling/ peeling leather then nows the time to wash them. I did with these on a low wash in the washing machine.
Now to the hard bit- the donor midsole. again cut around the edge into the leather as close to the midsole as possible- see the angle of the knife.


eventually you want to cut through to the inner lining. be careful at this stage not to damage or cut the midsole but try to take as much leather away from it as possible

cut the stitches inside- be carefull here not to pop the air bubble- its much easier than you think!

eventually it will come away like this. again leave the toe till last

be well careful with the toe!

you should be left with something like this

you then need to cut away as much leather from the midsole as you can. remember careful not to cut the midsole

you then use the dremmell to smooth out the inside and leave as much space as possible for the upper. at this point keep trying the upper in the space to see how it sits then keep going until the donor midsole is "deep" enough

the final result should look something like this




Give them a rinse under water to get rid of loose stuff and let them dry before glueing

Heres what youre gonna need to do the glueing

this stuff is key- its super strong version of superglue- buy it here:

http://powerbonduk.com

I use this too

glue the toe piece on first putting the powerbond on the midsole part with a cotton bud. make sure you go right to the edges with the glue

then put the flexi bond accross the middle of the midsole like this:

dont get any of this near the edges- i doesnt mix well with the powerbond!
then put glue around the heel part of the midsole

then push it firmly into place and hold it for a good 30 seconds or so while it sets. this stuff only starts to bond when it has pressure but when it does its near impossible to move!
should look something like this now

at this point I stand in them for a while tho make sure it sticks well

flatten a cotton bud with a hammer


then use it to apply glue to a section of the edge of the midsole. I do 1-2" at a time then move on to the other shoe. make sure each previous glueing you did stuck properly before you do the next bit and remember to hold each section firmly for 30 secs or so. this is where the good prep comes in- if you have good clean surfaces it will stick well

if you did make any nicks in the rubber earlier then nows your chance to glue them up with the powerbond
this was the end result for this pair