Learning to resole

I want to start learning the craft of resoling my climbing shoes.  Unfortunately I have two largely different sized feet which means I have to buy two pairs of shoes, making it very expensive each time one of my shoes has gone bad.  I was wondering if anyone has any advice for resoling, any tips or wisdom would be greatly appreciated. 

I've always considered in trying to resole later on in my future as I usually do everything myself when it comes to repairs and tuning such as snowboards/ski's.

My number one question is the source for the rubber. If it's affordable then it's worthwhile to try to do it yourself. If you save only $5-10 a pop then it might not be until 10-15 resoles later it pays off and it'd be better to pay a pro and support a local business.

I’ve got a pair of size 41.5 tarantulace’s worn through the toes that I would send you to practice if you cover shipping.

Sadly, it seems some of the shoes being produced now are disposable. I was told by RRR that the re-sole of my 5.10 Gambits could not be warrantied. The construction made it impractical to re-sole.  The Tarantulace seem very similar to the Gambit.

Resole home kits were very popular when I was a young climber. It would take an entire Saturday, you would park your car tire over them to cure, you lost some brain cells due to glue fumes & they came out horribly. Thank God for resolers.
PS. Years ago, I had a self taught guy resole tons of my rock shoes. He lived in Kent, Washington (about 30 minutes south of Seattle). Then one day he disappeared. 3 day turnaround & the work was unmatched & ive used them all. You pick the thickness or request a specific edge bevel &  he’d give it to you. Nobody in the business does this now.

why would anyone want to resole Tarantulace? $50 to get them resoled, $60 for a brand new pair. Or, maybe even a better use of money to try buying a shoe that's actually good and will hold up.

I wasn’t suggesting that they were worth resoling. I was just offering them for free to practice means/methods on; without needing to worry if they get ruined in the process.

The title of this thread is “Learning to resole” after all.

I would go to Widefetish and pick Locker's brain. Or, purchase some Barge cement, get in your VW Bug and drive out to J-Tree and offer it up to him to be his apprentice. 

Hi,everyone.
Speaking of Resoling...I'm inquiring as to the well being of Steve (Muff) Cheyney.AKa The Cobbler,back when.I don't climb anymore,but I sure miss it.I lived in Colorado Springs,out by the Garden of the Gods.Where Muffy had his little Shop.Drove an old 49 Chevy Pickup(Green) with Nebraska Plates.
                                                                                                     
 Ken Phillips.

Why wouldn't you just send out the miss matched pair to be resoled?

Locker wrote:

No... that's NOT a good idea...

The OP, I have on good authority, is actually a twenty-something nymphomaniac, who climbs 5.12 trad and loves nothing more than to rope gun and roll spliffs. 

Buck Rio, are you trying to kill Locker? People depend on him. 

Julian H wrote: finding rubber is a problem. And it is ridiculous that a 5mm 2by3 Vibram sheet is 205 bucks. Especially that is made out of the cheapest, most common type of rubber out there. Not complaining it works well ;-) the other thing you need is lasts. Shoe lasts makes a big difference.

If I ever get off this website and get my ass in gear I will make a video tutorials on how to make lasts, a sole press  and to resole like a pro with basic tools. It is not that bad and does not that long.  The gluing is a little tricky. better than waiting 3 months for a resole

Keep us posted if you get any video up anywhere. I'd like to see your process.

What is your split size? I also wear a large split size and I'm in search of a shoe buddy.

Taylor Hennum wrote:  Unfortunately I have two largely different sized feet which means I have to buy two pairs of shoes, making it very expensive each time one of my shoes has gone bad.  I

Butora sells split-size climbing shoes.

Julian H wrote:

Epictv did a video of a Italian guy resoling a pair of scarpa instinct lace ups. They don’t go into the details but you can see the process. He does it the right way. 

The best thing about resoling your shoes is that if you get a well made pair you can resole it before the all the sole is gone. That way you don’t need toe patches and you actually climb on sticky rubber and not on rand rubber that is plain car tire rubber.  I resoled my climbing partner’s shoes about 6 times and the rand is still good. It might be that her footwork is good. 

I wouldnt dare think of doing my own resoles. I dont have the skills, knowledge, age requirements, certifications, testing facilities, material science doctorate, or temperament. No way man, no way! How could I possibly tell if I accidentally bought Grip 2 instead of C4?!? Unfortunately, people arent allowed to learn about things outside of their professional background, so I'll just leave it to the pros.

Locker wrote:

No... that's NOT a good idea...

But is it a gud idea?

Back in the dark ages a lot of us use to resole our own shoes. I think it's a good idea to do your own at least twice.
Then you will appreciate a reputable resoler like Locker. 

Julian H wrote:

 Some cobblers are better than other, but all the resoles are hack jobs. Personally, in 20 years of climbing I never had a  resole last as long as the original sole lasted. Even when I resoled with 5mm rubber. And the reason I resole my shoes is because of sloppy jobs from professional cobblers. 

And why not learn to do it? It is not more difficult than building a woody. Just time and patience.

If I had more time, money and patience I probably would. I never had a bad resole I didn't deserve. Sometimes a favorite pair of shoes gets a re-sole it doesn't deserve.    

Mark Frumkin wrote: Back in the dark ages a lot of us use to resole our own shoes. I think it's a good idea to do your own at least twice.
Then you will appreciate a reputable resoler like Locker. 

Aint that the truth! I tried it once and did a terrible job. The finished product was totally unusable, so I tossed the mess into the trash. They were just 5.10 Spires, so no loss.