How Crown Northampton Sneakers are Resoled

Owner of Crown Northampton, Chris Woodford, buddied me up with QC, finisher, and sidewall-stitcher, Ollie, to give me an overview of the Crown resoling process.

James Smith

One of the main reasons to invest in high-quality footwear is its potential for re-crafting. Having a brand-new sole fitted to your perfectly broken-in shoes—with all your hard-earned patina—is a great feeling, and one that isn’t all that common in the world of sneakers. In fact, most sneakers can’t be properly resoled, or the uppers aren’t high enough quality to warrant a re-sole.

That’s where Crown Northampton stands out. Powered by five generations of Northamptonshire shoemaking, Crown Northampton produces a range of minimalist, cup-soled sneakers using the world’s finest leathers, all put together with heritage techniques and local Northampton shoemakers. The result is leather sneakers of the highest quality, all of which can be recrafted numerous times.

While developing the Heddels x Crown Northampton Grand Union Wholecut Sneaker, I visited Crown Northampton to meet the team and watch our collaboration come together. During my visit, I was lucky enough to see how Crown Northampton sneakers are re-soled in-house, all starting with a beat-up pair of Shell Cordovan Harlestone Derbies.

Owner of Crown Northampton, Chris Woodford, buddied me up with QC, finisher, and sidewall-stitcher, Ollie, to give me an overview of the Crown resoling process.

Before

As you can see from the images, these Harlestones weren’t totally cooked, but the sole is on its last legs. The owner had worn right through the sole.

Despite the wear, the Shell Cordovan uppers still look great, and they’re more than serviceable. This is exactly what sets Crown Northampton apart from cheaper options on the market. Not only have the uppers softened up while retaining their cordovan sheen, but they also have the constitution and build quality that allows them to be re-soled numerous times. The same can be said for other leathers they use, not just Cordovan.

All Crown Northampton re-soles include an insole replacement, so Ollie starts by removing the laces and then disposing of the old insole.

Ollie then applies Saphir Neutral Cordovan Cream to the upper, before buffing it with the brush again to work in the oils and bring that Shell Cordovan sheen back to its best.

Old Soles Off

Ollie pops the sole stitching off before passing them to Kerry, who works them off with a specialized tool. Kerry also removes the old cork filling before filling them with a Springline last. Both of these processes require a fair bit of elbow grease, as both the cork and sole are applied with strong, heated adhesives during production.

It’s at this point that I realised just how strong Crown’s uppers are. All of their uppers, in this case Bourbon Shell Cordovan, are lined with vegetable-tanned calf leather. And even after some fairly aggressive force to get the old sole off, the part of the upper that receives the midsole is in great condition to receive new stitching needed for a new cup sole.

NB: if you’re wondering why the area the sole used to cover is lighter in color, that is due to skiving; a totally normal and necessary part of shoemaking. Skiving is the process of thinning leather by shaving down its underside or edge, so that the leather becomes less bulky and easier to fold, overlap, or stitch neatly.

New Cork Filler

Kerry adds new cork filler, which refreshes the midsole with a layer of support that will mold to the wearer’s foot.

New Sole

Kerry picks out a new Lacate Hevea sole and heats it up, ready to be cemented and pressed onto the upper. This occurs prior to stitching using an impressive pneumatic machine that pushes the sole on with high accuracy.

Handling the shoe at this point, it’s astounding how strong the adhesives alone are. But it’s time for stitching! At this point, Kerry sends the shoes back to Ollie.

Sidewall Stitching

Ollie jumps on the Sidewall Stitcher and gets to work.

Finishing

After attaching the sole with strong sidewall stitching, Ollie takes the shoes to the finishing room. He glues in new insoles, threads in new laces, and gives them a final buff with a Horse Hair brush.

After

And there we have it, these Harlestone Derbies are ready to go back to their owner. New Lactae Hevea sole, new cork midsole, and even a touch of TLC from Ollie.

If you want to get your Crown Northampton footwear restored, head over to Crown Northampton to learn more.

Crown Northampton Harlestone Derby in Bourbon Shell Cordovan. Available for $1,045 from Crown Northampton.

Like this? Read these:

The Journey of a Crown Northampton Shoe

Crown Northampton – Sneakers with the Best of English Shoemaking