Can You Resole Red Wing Boots?

Red Wing boots are beautiful boots and have a price to match. Since these boots are so expensive, you do not want to replace them regularly and want to maintain them as much as possible.

One of the things that you would notice is that the soles of these boots become distorted and damaged after walking with them for a long time. Instead of buying a new set of boots, you might wonder if it is not possible to just replace the soles of them. So, can you resole Red Wing boots?

Red Wing boots can be resoled. The boots are designed such that they can be maintained and have parts of them replaced whenever required, such as the soles. If you want to resole them, you can either resole them yourself or send them back to the manufacturer at a price.

Red Wing boots are capable of being resoled. You have to make the decision on you want to resole them.

So how many ways are there? If there is a way that includes doing it yourself, how would you go about that? We discuss all of these questions below!

Can You Resole Red Wing Boots?

If you have worn your Red Wing boots for a very long time, you will start to notice that the thread of the sole starts to disappear. If you wear your Red Wing boots for a long time, you may even experience that the heel of the boot is becoming indented.

Red Wing Heritage Men's Classic 1907 6-Inch Moc Toe Boot,Copper Rough & Tough,8 D US

Red Wing Heritage Men's Classic Moc 6" Boots

To ensure that your Red Wing boots last as long as possible, it is advised to keep them in the best condition possible.

Keeping your Red Wing boots in a top-notch condition can mean many things, one of which includes resoling them. Luckily for you, Red Wing boots are designed with the assumption that the user will have the intent of resoling them when necessary.

When resoling your boots, you have multiple options at your disposal. In the United States, for example, there are manufacturers that offer the resoling of Red Wing boots as one of their services due to the fact that Red Wing boots incorporated a “resoleable” design.

This holds whether your Red Wing boots are old or brand new - they contain this feature and do not lose their capability of being resoled.

Accordingly, you simply send your boots back to the factory, and they resole the Red Wing boots for you.

The good thing about sending the Red Wing boots back to the factory for resoling, is that the boots come back in a factory-specification condition, which will make it look or feel as if it is brand new.

In Europe, on the other hand, Red Wing boots manufacturers have a network of service providers that will do the resoling work for them. You can either go to these cobblers directly, or you can send the boots directly to a Red Wing store.

That said, some Red Wing boots are not capable of being resoled, based on the condition of the interior of the Red Wing boot. Sometimes, if your Red Wing boots have been worn down too much in specific areas, resoling the boots is not the best idea.

In the same vein, if the upper parts of the boots are damaged, such as being very dried out, in need of significant repairs, or are cracked, it may be better to purchase new boots as opposed to resoling them.

Here is a video with a cobbler resoling a pair of Red Wing Mock Toe Boots

How Can You Resole Red Wing Boots By Yourself?

We have taken a look at whether or not resoling your Red Wing boots is possible, and it clearly is. If you wish to resole them, you need simply go to the correct store or manufacturer and pay a fee (which can be expensive) and your Red Wing boots will come with soles that look like you just purchased them.

That said, what if you wish to resole your Red Wing boots yourself? Let us take a look.

Red Wing Heritage Iron Ranger 6-Inch Boot, Oxblood Mesa, 4 D(M) US

Red Wing Men's Iron Ranger 6" Boots

First, start by removing the laces of the Red Wing boots. Thereafter, put some thinner around the top rim of the sole where it connects to the boot. That way, you deactivate and relax the adhesives that are keeping the current soles stick to the boot.

Thereafter, hoist your boot up on a stand such that it faces upside down with the underside of the sole facing upwards.

Professionals use a stand with a foot attachment that holds the boot perfectly in place. Take a very sharp blade andstart loosening the sole from the boot by cutting along the part where the sole meets the boot (where you just applied the thinner).

Make sure that when you use your blade to loosen the sole from the boot, that you cut the stitches that keep the sole fastened to the boot as well. Once you have cut all the stitches that keep the sole fastened to the boot, you can remove the sole from the boot by pulling it off.

Once the old sole is pulled off of the boot, there will be remaining pieces of cork and adhesive. Make sure you sand off those pieces from the underside of the boot. The welt that remains attached to the boot also has stitches attached to it.

A tip that some professionals give is to spray a vinegar mixture onto the inner sole to which the welt is attached. If you wish, you can also take a blunt tool and hammer out any visible indents that are visible on the inner sole.

Now you will require a machine with an attachment that can remove stitches. This is usually a circular attachment with teeth coming out of it (like a gear, but just thinner teeth), and the teeth pull out the stitches as it spins.

Once the machine is turned on, move the boot through the spinning attachment along the perimeter of the boot where the inner sole meets the stitches. It must be noted that this can also be done by hand, but that will take very long and can be very difficult and tedious.

Once stitches are removed and the welt is free from them, the underside of the boot should look like a foot-shaped piece of cork or foam. A quick note is that welts do not have to be replaced every time a sole is replaced.

Now you can go and glue the midsole to the underside of the boot and make sure that it is pressed tightly against the boot so that it sticks tightly. Once the sole is glued to the boot, you can stitch it to the boot. It is recommended you use a machine to do this.

Now, you can finally take the new soles that will replace your old ones and glue them to your midsoles. Some professionals recommend using contact cement for this.

Once the sole is glued to the midsole, you can gently hammer it to make sure that it is fixed tightly to the midsole. Once the new sole is on the boot, you can use a press machine to press the boot against the sole. Thereafter, you can sand down the rough edges of the new sole using a machine or manually.

Finally, you can add leather cream to the boots to treat them and make them look fresh and clean. After you have applied the leather oil to condition your Red Wing boots, they should be in a much better condition than what they were, in addition to having brand new soles on them.

Red Wing Heritage Men's Six-Inch Moc Toe Lug Boot,Brown,7.5 D US

Red Wing Heritage Men's Roughneck Lace Up Boots

Conclusion

In conclusion, you can resole your Red Wing boots as many times as you want. They are designed such that you can either send them to a manufacturer or resole the boots yourself.

The choice is yours: if you are willing to pay a bit of money, send it to an official Red Wing manufacturer, or, if you follow the steps above and have patience, resole those beautiful boots yourself!

Red Wing Related Articles

Feature Image Attribution

By A Continuous Lean - https://www.flickr.com/photos/mkwilliams/6499925011/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27106036

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