Cobbling Soles On Moccasins & Shoes..

Cobbling Soles on Moccasins & Shoes.


Cobbling soles on woodland Indian moccasins is not traditional, but it is an easy way to attach & replace extra soles. The moccasins I wear in the woods have extra soles stitched on, but my work moccasins have cobbled soles because the soles wear out faster & need replacing more often.

My iron last secured in my post vice.

You need 2 inner soles plus the outer sole or half soles. One inner sole to attach the outer sole to, & one inner sole to protect the feet against any shoe tacks that may not be laying flat.

This half sole is worn through & is being pulled off prior to replacement.

A new half sole is marked for cutting to shape.

I cut the sole to shape with my jack knife. Now it needs tacking in place.

I start hammering in shoe tacks from the toe back, alternating from one side to the other to keep the sole even.

The finished half-sole tacked in place.

When repairing the heel I just turn the moccasin round on the last & push the toe of the last into the heel of the moccasin, rather than using the smaller heel dolly on the last. But for shoes you will need to turn the iron last round & use the heel dolly to repair the heel.

Here you can see the tacks inside the moccasin where they are bent over at the tips when they are hammered through the leather & come in contact with the iron last.


All that is left to do now is to replace the second inner sole, which just slips in to the moccasin for extra protection for your feet.