Footwear takes a fair bit of hammering and it takes its toll most prevalently on the heels of shoes and boots. When you bring them into us, we can rebuild your boots and shoes by doing a JR heel block rebuild. The oak bark tanned leather is especially hard-wearing and water-resistant. By employing the same securing techniques as was previously used, we can guarantee long-term confidence in their wear. We can also change and customise various aspects of the boot, including the balance of heel blocks.

A weekly inspection of heel wear will help you avoid the pain of having to replace a heel block. If the rubber heel top piece is worn out, get it replaced.

Our process

1. When crafting a JR Heel Block Rebuild, each layer (or lift) of leather is built on top of the other. A heel It ensures a balanced heel block. We must ensure that all the layers of the leather that make up the heel block run parallel and flow with the rest of the shoe.
2. Once scoured and cleaned, we glue the first layer of leather. Additionally, we secure the heel to the shoe with 7-8 nails that follow the heel block edge.
3. We clip the heads of the nails and hammer them fully into the leather
4. The rest of the lifts to be used and the heel top piece are then stacked on top of each other and slid under the first lift.
5. The first lift is sanded so that all the lifts and heel top piece fit under the shoe with the shoe being balanced and with the correct toe spring
6. Each successive lift of leather is put on with the glue still wet and nailed in the same fashion.
7. Finally, we glue the rubber top piece twice and then bond them in place. We leave them to cure, the give then a quick polish with Saphir Pate de Luxe Wax Polish.

The technical stuff

• We use oak-bark tanned leather
• Most factory-fitted heel blocks are composite leather
• We use full leather heel blocks
• When creating a heel block, we make sure the heel and shoe is balanced
• See a pair of Tom Ford boots with a JR leather heel rebuild here.

The Baxter & Black difference…

Being cognisant of the quality of the glues in the local market, Baxter & Black researched amongst their international contacts. Because of this, they were able to identify the industry-leading glue. The chosen glue is from Germany and adheres in all environments. Additionally, it has a range of two primers and hardener to be more flexible for use on different rubbers and well as heat and water-resistance. Importantly, you can tell if a shoe is done by Baxter & Black, as the glue is clear, rather than yellow which is the cheaper generic brands.