READER MAIL - COBBLER IN NYC

Hey man, how's things? Happy new year.

So I was wondering if you have any recommendations for sole repair in Brooklyn NY, or NYC proper. My RRL engineers are getting close to needing some touching up after a year and change. 

So after seeing your year end post I got myself on the list for the next batch of Road Champs. Been eyeing them for a while now, and I know you're a big fan. Between your review and praise, and others, I figured it's time to make the investment. Will probably be a while. 

Thanks. 

Elly 

www.VintageEngineerBoots.com

After. Source: Kirby Allison’s Hanger Project

Before 

Hey Elly,

Happy New Year to you as well.

I’m not familiar with any shops in NY, but I’ll put a call out to see if anyone knows of a good place. I’m eyeballing some overseas repair shops that do some incredible work like Brass Tokyo, Dr. Soles and an old favorite, Fukurokuju.

Can’t go wrong with some Road Champs. Yeah, it’ll more than likely be a while, but well worth the wait. 

I’ll let you know If I hear anything about shops in NY.

Best,
John

UPDATE:

Alex is a fellow Engineer Boot fan and he mentioned B. Nelson Shoe Repair. Well, I did a little research and turns out they are held in pretty high regard. I would personally send a pair of boots to them. 

Here’s the skinny:

B. Nelson Shoe Corp

140 East 55th St.
New York, New York 10022
Phone: (212) 750-0818
Email: mastercraftsman@bnelsonshoes.com

• Founded by Bernhard Nelson over 100 years ago. His factory resoling methods are still used today.
• Pricing: Nothing over $200!! See list below 
• Timeline: The average return delivery is 10-14 days. Wow!!
• B. Nelson’s president, Nick Valenti, seems to be the person whose work everyone praises.
• Examples of their work can be found on the various men’s fashion forums.

“B. Nelson specializes in factory method resoling. Each pair of shoes is fitted with the proper last. The sole is removed, cork footbeds are stripped and replaced, and even welts and heel bases are replaced when necessary. We use a minimum of 19 steps in order to complete our resoling process. Our process is so detail-oriented that we even take the time to pre-grove a channel before stitching the new sole on. This is done so that the stitching of the new sole is below the surface of the leather to allow maximum wear on your repair. The final step is to remove the last so that the original size and shape of the shoe are not altered.”