Leather sole

Many of our shoes have a single leather sole, made with a closed channel and beveled waist. The closed channel means that one have opened up a channel in which you make the seam attaching the sole to the welt, which is then closed to achieve an even, clean surface. It’s made both due to aesthetics, and to enhance its waterproofing properties further. Normally shoes with closed channel soles are much more expensive than ours. 

The leather soles are vegetable tanned and very durable, they don’t have any problem to handle occasional rain. They can be resoled several times thank to the Goodyear welt construction, this can be done both by a good cobbler or by the factories.
Contact us on ktj@skolyx.se if you have further questions regarding our shoes soles.

Can I use leather soles in a wet climate where it rains often?

Absolutely! Many people are notoriously terrified of even going outside with leather soles, and will happily put a rubber topy on them straight away. This is probably based on experiences (own or heard from others) from cheap leather soles of substandard quality, fitted on shoes from regular shoe shops (nowadays it's quite rare though, rubber soles are cheaper so these are mainly used in that segment). Good leather soles can withstand much more than these.

The leather soles we use for our shoes are Italian high quality, vegetable tanned soles, of so-called Super Prime quality grade. They are tanned for several months in a bath with, among other things, chestnut bark extract, and become really tough and durable. When the ground is wet and gritty in early spring, or when you know it's going to rain a lot during the day, it can definitely be a good idea to opt for shoes with rubber soles, but otherwise good leather soles will do just fine. Even if they do get a bit of rain wear, it's not a big deal, just let the shoes dry completely before the next use. Consider that the British, who live in a country where it rains more than in most places, wear leather soles to a very high degree without worrying about it.

Should I put rubber topys on my leather soles?

If it's cheap, poor quality leather soles, it can be a good thing, but if you buy nicer shoes with good leather soles, as is the case with all the shoes we sell, it's definitely not necessary (see above). If you want to do it anyway, for example because you plan to wear them a lot in the rain, remember that the cobbler will grind down part of the sole to attach the rubber, so it might be a good idea to use the leather soles a bit first and then put in the thin rubber topy. However, most of the bottom is still leather, so they won't be as durable for diligent use in really wet conditions, for shoes you want to use that way it may be better to choose shoes with a full rubber sole. We also mainly sell welted shoes which easily can be resoled.

What is the advantage of leather soles?

Most people find leather soles to be extremely light and comfortable. Rubber is uniformly flexible, i.e. equally soft over the entire sole, and does not soften significantly with use but keeps the same flex level. Here leather soles are different, they are hard initially but then soften a lot where they flex, while retaining firmness where needed, in a more natural way. Leather soles are therefore perceived as one with the foot in a different way, which is really pleasant.

Are leather soles slippery?

Leather soles are especially slippery when they are brand new, as they have more of the grain surface left. It wears down quite quickly when you use the soles, and once it's gone and you've roughened up a more felt-like surface underneath, the wear stops, and then you also have much better grip. They can still be slippery on certain surfaces, like wet marble steps or of course ice and snow, but overall they work great.

What is closed channel soles?

Closed channel soles is when instead of having an open channel under the leather sole that the sole stitch runs in, you cut a flap in the leather that you hide the seam under, and then you fold the flap down to get a completely smooth surface sole bottom. This gives slightly better water resistance, and not least it is aesthetically pleasing and shows a high level of craftsmanship.