When I received the 'Randy Kort Kings' they were a tangled mess of solidified rubber and canvas. The soles were as hard as a rock (but they were not cracked). No pliability whatsoever. ... This was th

When I received the 'Randy Kort Kings' they were a tangled mess of solidified rubber and canvas. The soles were as hard as a rock (but they were not cracked). No pliability whatsoever.
...
This was the experiment phase of the journey. Here I am with my dad (an engineer), trying to determine if we could untangle the shoes by soaking the rubber in some hot water.
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It didn't work 😂
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In the background, you can also see the first preservation case I had created. A real piece of 💩. After we tried a few things (heating them, solvents, etc.) we realized it probably wasn't worth it. The sentimwntal value of these was far too great to try to repair them. ...
So I had to try to figure out the best way to preserve them in their current condition.