(lively music) (machine whirring) (hammer banging) - Shoemakers back in the day were called cordwainers.

Sometimes you hear that term, cordwainer, but it's really we're a shoe repair cobbler.

- We're cobblers, and a lot of people don't know that word.

You say cobbler and they're like, "Pies?"

No, I fix shoes.

- I believe there's about four cobblers in all of Maine.

So all of them are probably about two to three months booked out.

There's three of us in this shop trying to juggle all of the work that's always coming in in the city of Portland.

So I think there's definitely a need for more cobblers.

- The better quality the shoe, the better job I can do.

This is a Chukka boot and I'm gonna be resoling it.

This is a sole that I bought for this shoe.

As the shoe is worn, the cork filler will kind of compress and take on the shape of the bottom of the foot.

So I like to replace that and we'll glue those in place.

I'm gonna kind of bevel the edges, clean that up after it's on there.

This is an original George Roy item.

My dad learned to repair shoes with this machine.

It's called a five-in-one because it does five things.

So I can cut leather here and then I can skive leather through here.

Sometimes it's stubborn.

(machine whirring) And it takes off a piece.

This is the piece that I cut, so it's very thin at the edge.

This machine is 100 years old.

I can still buy the cutters and it still works and doesn't use any electricity.

It's all manual.

(machine whirring) Listen to that, it sounds like it needs oil.

(machine whirring) My name is Dan.

I run the shoe repair shop, Roy's Shoe Shop.

I call it the Shoe Repair Emporium.

The business was founded in 1923.

We're 101 years old.

My dad, Steve Lentz, he worked with George Roy Jr. And then in 1981, he bought the place.

That's when I started here.

I was 14.

My dad and I worked together for 30 years.

- After school, I'd come over and sometimes my dad would have stuff to polish and I'd sit there and polish.

It's nice to follow in the footsteps of your family.

- [Liz] This is me and my dad.

I think this was 2004 maybe.

I have another picture too of my grandfather and my dad taking in a pair of boots.

- I'm bringing these in 'cause I know you're busy.

- And I do mostly customer service work, so I'm in taking shoes, diagnosing the problems and writing out the tickets.

- I think it goes beyond being thrifty.

It's more if you're attached to these shoes, you have a lot of memories wearing the shoes and they're comfortable and they look really nice on you.

They're your style.

- [Ryan] I don't like metal zippers.

They tend to pop open, you know, you zip 'em up and then they pop open.

So what I say is, you know what?

A nice nylon zipper, that will last a whole lot longer.

So if you love 'em enough for me to work on 'em, then I can fix a lot of stuff.

- [Liz] These are shoe stretchers.

Shoe stretchers basically look a lot like a cedar shoe tree that you would keep in your dress shoes.

So they expand when you crank them, (shoe stretcher squeaking) and so you stick 'em in the shoe and expand them.

This one's being stretched more in the length and the width.

This one's being stretched for a high in-step.

- The thing about it is everyone walks.

So as long as people are walking and wearing their shoes out, I'm gonna be busy.

If I get into the habit of putting my tools back, they'll be there when I need them.

Right, Dad?

(Dan laughing) (lively music) (bright music) (lively music)