Why Sharp Dressed Men Love The Goodyear Welt [0:00:00]
Anytime you start to talk about quality footwear, you can guarantee that the words Goodyear
welted are going to pop up into the conversation.
But, what exactly is a Goodyear welted shoe and what advantages does a Goodyear welted
shoe have over the Blake stitch or bonded shoe?
That is the subject of today’s video.
[Music] Gentlemen, throughout this video you’re
going to see some great-looking Goodyear welted dress shoes.
If you want to grab any of these, I’m linking to them down in the description and you’re
going to find them over at Thursday Boots.
The paid sponsor of today’s video and a sponsor I’ve worked with for over two years.
So, if you already own some Thursday Boots, you know these are some of the best made most
comfortable and some of the best deals on the planet when it comes to Goodyear welted
footwear, guys.
They’re using the tier one leather out of the United States that has no blemishes that
looks great.
So, yeah, right here the upper I can spend a lot of time a lot of money on the materials
here.
Then, I looked at the practicality of the sole.
They’ve actually not only have the rubber right over here, but then they’ve got this
rubber right here going through the leather and they got layers of leather I can see right
in here.
Overall, an amazing construction at a great price.
And that’s what I want to stress, Nolan and his company they are committed to offer
you guys high quality shoes.
I’ve met these guys in person, they are the real deal.
I’m linking to them down in the description.
Go check out and support Thursday Boots.
Now, to start this off let me quickly explain the difference between bonded shoe construction,
Blake stitch construction, and Goodyear welted shoe construction.
The first type of shoe construction I’m going to talk about here is the bonded method
and this one that use an adhesive to attach the upper down to the sole.
You’re going to see cement, you’re going to see glues, but they’re using no stitching
to connect the upper down to the sole.
This is going to be the least expensive form of manufacturing.
They are basically producing disposable shoes.
Now, there are some advantages.
It can produce a very lightweight shoe.
So, for combat boots for running shoes, this is probably the type of construction that
you do want to go with.
Next up, we’ve got the Blake stitch method.
And this is a huge step up in quality from the bonded method.
We’re not using glue here, we are actually stitching the upper down to the sole.
Very common in Italian dress shoe manufacturing because it enables you to create a very slick
looking dress shoe of high quality.
So, try to imagine this as links in the chain.
With Blake construction, you’ve only got two links and they are directly connected
to each other - the upper and the sole.
In Goodyear welted construction the welt is the key.
The welt is directly sewn in the upper the welt is directly sewn to the sole, but the
sole is not directly sewn to the upper.
We have three links in the chain and the upper and the sole are separated by the welt.
All right.
I know what you guys are thinking, how does that small difference in construction why
does that matter why does that make a difference?
Guys, let’s get into the three reasons the Goodyear welted shoe has an advantage now
over the other forms of construction.
Now, the first advantage is going to be weather-resistance.
So, if you’ve got snow if you’ve got sleet outside you’ve got rain, it is something
with Blake-stitched shoes, oftentimes wearers will complain about their feet getting wet.
Why?
Because you’ve got the upper directly connected to the sole and what’s connecting them is
that thread.
That is your only line of defense when it comes to a Goodyear welt construction.
Again, just the way that the shoe is made the way that the insole lies in there and
the way that the welt is connected to the outsole, all of that basically does not provide
an easy path for water into the shoe.
Now, the second advantage of Goodyear welted shoes is that in general they have a more
robust built.
They’re built for a man that wants to take care of his shoes and get them resoled.
He wants something that he can invest in, a pair of shoes that he’s going to take
care of.
The manufacturing process for Goodyear welted is going to be one of the most expensive ways
to make shoes.
And therefore, it’s going to be chosen by manufacturers that spent a lot of money on
the upper, spend a lot of money on the sole and the materials that go in there because
the craftsmanship the detail that goes into the work they are spending so much on that
labor.
Hey, they’re going to go ahead and spend the extra money on the materials.
Advantage number three.
Goodyear welted shoes are the easiest to resole and can be resoled many more times than other
types of shoes.
So, with the Blake stitch, the problem there is you’ve got the upper that’s attached
to the sole and you’re actually putting holes on the upper.
You can only do that so many times when before it’s going to just tear down and basically
the bottom of the upper is going to fall off.
Now, with glued with bonded shoes, yes, you can get those resoled, but every time you
do that it does a little bit of damage, again, to the bottom of the shoe and oftentimes you’ve
got such an inferior upper it’s even not worth it.
Now, when it comes to Goodyear welted shoes, not only is the resoling going to be easy
because the stitching is on the outside, but as long as the upper stays in great shape
you can resole this as many times as you want.
You’re simply replacing the sole, you’re also going to replace the welt, but the upper
is going to stay intact.
[0:05:01] Now, this next advantage is kind of a bonus
advantage that some people will say about Goodyear welted shoes and that’s that they’re
going to be more comfortable.
The big thing between here and the Blake stitch is that the actual stitching happens with
the Blake stitch on the inside of the shoe right here on the Goodyear welt.
As we’ve talked about that happens on the outside, so there’s not stitching on the
inside of the shoe when it comes to the Goodyear welted shoe.
A lot of guys say that’s more comfortable.
Me personally, I love both styles.
And this video wasn’t about bashing one style saying one is truly better than the
other.
It really depends on what your needs are, what you want to get out of the shoes, but
I think for a number of situations, definitely a Goodyear welt has its advantages.
All right, gentlemen, now it’s your turn.
I want to hear from you down in the comments.
What do you think of this video?
Did I miss anything?
Would you have added anything to make it better?
And what type of dress shoes do you like?
Do you like the Goodyear welted type or are you a Blake stitch man?
Let me know down in the comments what you prefer.
Me personally, I’ve got a wide variety.
Yes, I love my Goodyear welted shoes.
I’ve got a wide variety of different Blake-stitched shoes that I like.
I’ve got bonded, yes, glued shoes that I like.
Why?
Because they were inexpensive, they got me started.
I’ve got running shoes that works perfectly fine for glued.
But, when it comes down to you want to step up to the Goodyear welt, one of the highest
signs of quality when it comes to men’s dress shoe if you want a great deal.
I’m linking to them down in the description.
Thursday Boots, great company.
I love every – I mean, yeah, wholecut, you guys have been wanting a pair like these?
I mean this is going to be a great price.
Go check them out.
You guys have bought their boots, you love the styles everything they’re bringing,
incredibly comfortable.
I’ve got four pairs that I put a lot of miles on and I can tell you guys that it’s
a great brand great company.
I’ve spent time with them in New York.
I’m proud to support them.
And, again, I’m linking to them in the description and that’s it.
All right, guys, take care.
And I don’t know what else to do for you here.
Just at least you can watch me smell these shoes.
Ah, new shoes smell.
Isn’t it – isn’t it great just leather in general?
Ah, nice.
[Music] [0:07:09] End of Audio