Increasing the size of the heel

sscotty727 · 28th September 2003, 05:06

I was wondering, I have a very comfortable and nice shoe that has only a 2 1/4" heel. Is it possible to say buy another pair of shoes with like a 1 or 2 inch heel and similar shape, remove the heel from that pair and attach it to the the heel on these shoes to make the heel bigger?

Heelfan · 28th September 2003, 10:11

Hello Scotty,

It look to be as if maybe you've been wearing and enjoying those new Penny shoes for only a few days and you're already thirsting for a bigger slice of the action! It always happens!

I have successfully increased the height of MANY of my pairs of high heels over the years, but there are things to be careful about:

Firstly, the balance of the shoe can be ruined if the increase is too great. Put your shoe on the table and look at it from the side. Shoes are made with a 'toe-spring' whereby the sole under the ball of the foot is resting on the table, but the toe-part of the sole is maybe 1/2" off the table. Experiment by putting something (like playing cards or a thin book) under the heel to raise its height. This will tilt the shoe forward, but you must stop increasing the heel height when the toe-box's sole is flat on the table.
Any further increase in heel-height would lift the ball of the foot into the air! Measure the distance between the base of the heel and the table, and that is the maximum extent to which you can increase the heel (usually something between 1/4" and 3/4").

Secondly it seems unnecessary to by a whole new pair of shoes just to aquire a bit of heel. Instead, carefully lever-off the rubber heel-soles of your existing shoes with a screwdriver of chisel. Then, with a strong contact adhesive like Evostik, glue-and-pin on to the the base of the sole-less heel a plate of hard wood of the thickness of your chosen heel increase, and slightly larger than the heel-base. Then rasp (file) down the protruding wooden edge to follow the exact shape and profile of the high heel. Then cover the visible sides of both heels (old leather, wood and all) with very thin new leather, again using Evostick, the joint in the leather coming under the hidden front-face of the heel. If the leather is thin enough, turn 1/2" in under the base of the heel before re-gluing and pinning the heel-soles back on to the new increased-height heels. If the leather is not thin enough to do this, simply trim it off where it will meet the heel-sole.

Thirdly, it occurs to me that if you have the money for another pair of shoes, you might as well be some shoes that already have a slightly higher heel to save yourself all that work. I suggest "Vivian" from Womenshoes:

http://womenshoesplus.com/Detail_Page/Vivian.html

I've had more than one pair of these and they're great for guys' discreet street-heeling. The heel is advertised as 2 1/2", but as the whole shoe getsd proportionally bigger in the larger sizes, mine came through as just over 3".

Happy Heeling Scotty!

Cheerfully yours, Heelfan

Bubba136 · 28th September 2003, 13:21

Heelfan's choice for the "next step" is a good one, IMO. That style works for me. Its dressy enough to be worn with a suit and tie and casual enough to be worn with jeans and deck pants. Also, the heels are low enough to be masculine in appearance and high enough to build confidence to go to the "next level." http://womenshoesplus.com/Images/Vivian.jpg

Dr. Shoe · 28th September 2003, 15:41

Here we go again

The big problem with increasing heel height is that the heel will start to "kick out" and in extreme cases could cause the heel to snap with nasty results.

A secondary problem is the fact that the toe-spring is there for a reason, it is so the shoe can rock when you walk. If you raise the heel height you could try bending the shank to compensate for the kick out heel and the toe spring.

Altering the design of a shoe is dangerous and should not be attempted!

Heelfan · 28th September 2003, 22:39

Hello Bubba - Thank you very much for posting pics of 'Vivian' two or three times whenever I've mentioned it. My own computer skills are not quite adept at transferring pics (although Firefox is currently showing me how to do it), so I have appreciated your help!

Hello Dr. Shoe, I would not be rash enough to recommended any shoe modification were it not for the facts that a) Scotty specifically asked, and b) I have very successfully increased the height of many of my pairs of heels over very many years to great advantage and increased enjoyment.
So has Firefox as per his various articles and illustrations.

I agree that shoe modifications can be unsuccessful (and even dangerous) if done unwisely or incompetantly, but I cannot understand your statement that NO shoe modification should ever be carried out. The results have certainly brought people like me and Firefox greater pleasure and satisfaction than restricting ourselves to the original unimproved footwear.

Anyway, I look forward to meeting you and Ruth on Saturday!

Cheerfully yours, Heelfan

Dr. Shoe · 29th September 2003, 21:47

Me probably, Ruth maybe not. Usually when she comes out with me I have to get her back early (the thumb mark on the forehead is getting more pronounced these days) so I'm trying to get her to stay at home so I can stay out later :rofl: and perhaps even come to the Barbican, who knows?

Also the main reason I give information on how to do a modification and then follow it with a statement that it should not be attempted, is to protect myself from a lawsuit from someone who is not as competent as you or FF and ends up suing because they hurt themselves!

Firefox · 29th September 2003, 22:48

http://65.160.96.70/hhplace/images/1064871697.jpg

http://65.160.96.70/hhplace/images/1064871751.jpg

http://65.160.96.70/hhplace/images/1064871813.jpg

All I can say is, don't try this at home folks, or if you do it's at your own risk, but I've been walking on these for a year or so and nothing nasty has happened yet. Sometimes you just get lucky :P

In the pictures some Sancho boots are raised about 3/4" from 3 1/4" to just over 4". This is more than I would recommend. The maximum height you can add without major complications is about 1/2, but like I said, it worked for me this time.

Of course the wood is painted black along with the heel to match. The final shot is only to show the build up in this example.

sscotty727 · 30th September 2003, 05:43

I was originally thinking of adding another heel to the bottom of the existing heel, but I like your idea of adding the wood inbetween the original heel and the bottom heel tap. I might try that on a few of my shoes. I will make sure to not try to increase then TOO much though. Thanks again for some excellent advice!

Scotty

Dr. Shoe · 30th September 2003, 21:10

Oh for sure! 1/2" inch can be added and taken off without any real problems as long as it is done properly and securely fixed etc. Adding any more than that would be foolhardy.

Firefox · 30th September 2003, 22:23

I have actually done 1.25" and it worked OK. But the leather at the vamp took some reshaping, the toe spring wasn't quite right. The shank actually was OK, but you would need to get very lucky. I'd say with that change and most shoes you might snap the shank or loosen it so the shoe is unsafe or sloppy to wear.

All in all, not worth the effort. That's a shame because there are very many pairs around at the "safe" height of 2 3/4" which gives women a very walkable heel with added height and increases the market for that shoe, especially in the taller women styles. Using the 1.25" mod you can increase that to 4" to get a real fashion heel, but it's a risky process to get right.