Is it just me???

[angelo]

Lancepryor,
I completely agree with Your post. I have been using, in the last fifteen years, always a topy for each pair of my shoes ( EG, Crockett&Jones, Allen Edmonds ) and I am very satisfied with this use.
Indeed , as the maximum topy tickeness is about 2 mmm , its presence does not affect at all the wear of the shoes but gives the following important advantages:
i) there is a better shoe grip;
ii)almost no more need for resoling/recrafting as topy can be easily replaced when it is worn out;
iii)prevention of the entrance of most of the water into the underlying sole with an additional extension of the whole shoe life.
Finally, sole breathing is only minimally affected as about one third of the outer sole, i.e. that part comprised between the topy edge and the heel, is still naked and thus capable of exchanging moisture and wet.

I strongly suggest its use to all LL Members.

[SouthPender]

A couple of points:

(a) I couldn't agree more with Lancepryor's well-thought-out exposition. I too have used Topys for decades and have long ago come to the conclusion that concerns about throwing out the balance of the shoe and preventing breathing of the sole are urban myths that have absolutely no basis in fact. This question about Topys comes up on a fairly regular basis on the other forums--Ask Andy and StyleForum--with the same outcome as on this thread: a few hoary chestnuts are thrown out, and then other forumers set things straight.

(b) Melia: oak-bark soles are entirely leather, not leather/wooden. The oak bark is added to the tanning solution that is applied to the sole leather (actually in which the leather soaks for months) to make it suitable in terms of flexibility and durability. Evidently the addition of oak bark to the tanning solution (or perhaps it is after the leather is tanned) greatly improves the leather for its ultimate mission.

[lancepryor]

The oak-bark solution IS the tanning agent. The word 'tanning' comes from the word tannin, which is contained in oak bark (as well as many other materials, including red wine). Tannins cause the fibers in the hide to inter-lock and to tighten, which is what gives leather its durability, strength, and elasticity. The oak-tanned leathers used by the UK bespoke makers is from Bakers (Colyton), which has been in business for centuries and which is, I believe, the last of the soling-leather producers in the UK. The leather spends up to 2 years in a series of pits containing increasing concentrations of oak-bark liquor. This type of leather is called 'vegetable tanned,' because the source of the tanning agent is a plant. Today, most leather is 'chrome tanned,' which is made with chromium salts and other chemicals as the tanning agents. Note that the veg-tanned versus chrome-tanned leathers have very different characteristics. Virtually all shoe UPPERS are made of chrome-tanned leathers, whereas the insoles, outsoles, and often the linings are made of veg-tanned leathers, which absorb moisture quite well and which can be molded when wet. Also, the stories about starving people eating their shoes -- when shoes were made entirely of veg-tanned leathers, these leathers were/are edible, in that they don't really contain any particularly bad chemicals. If you soak veg-tan leather in water it becomes pretty soft, pliable and, I guess, edible. Probably not very nutritious, but edible nonetheless. Before leather is tanned it is referred to as a hide, rather than leather.

Among other things, the problem with true oak-bark tanning is that it is capital intensive (after all, you have your money tied up in hides for at least 24 months before you can sell them), and it is a pretty dirty, smelly business with, I believe, some non-trivial effluents Furthermore, the process of preparing the hides for tanning involved other pretty gross substances -- at least historically -- including animal urine and feces. See these links for a 2004 UK show that listed tanning as the one of worst jobs in history http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,7-2004442076,00.html and http://www.channel4.com/history/microsi ... orian.html

[oldog/oldtrix]

I use sole protectors in various ways. On welted shoes, I usually have toe taps installed before the first wearing to protect against ever grinding down the toe of the sole. Then, when the flat of the sole has seen some wear, but before it is even close to needing replacing, I have sole protectors installed, effectively restoring and maintaining (by replacing the sole protectors as needed) the original sole/heel balance. There are, however, some welted shoes the soles of which are “finer,” that is to say thinner and/or more delicate, on which I use sole protectors from the outset. And with blake-stitched shoes, which in my wardrobe are largely lighter weight slip-ons, I always install sole protectors before the first wearing. In this way I avoid, for all of my leather soled shoes, the expense and often less than satisfactory results I used to experience with resoling. By the way, with the shoes that are worn for a time without, then later with, sole protectors, I have never experienced any noticeable difference in breathability or moisture retention.