How to Stretch Shoes
First and foremost, the correct way to stretch shoes is SLOWLY - days not hours. It should not be done by brute force over a short time period as you will most likely damage the shoes - either by stretching too hard too fast or by ripping the leather or stitching.
Firstly, why do you need to stretch your shoes and where. More often than not shoes will 'give' in time through natural wearing. You should really try to wear your shoes in gently for an hour or two per day and they will give a little and also start to form to your foot. If after a while there are certain pinch points or you suffer enlarge toe-joints etc then it is time to get our the stretcher.
The key thing with stretchers is to be gentle and patient.
To choose the correct type of shoe stretcher - consider you shoes - are they leather or suede and are they too narrow, too short or pinching in certain places. Trying to lengthen shoes is probably not going to work due to the soles so the two-way stretcher is probably not going to help with length - except perhaps in the case of moccasins suede driving shoes etc.
We prefer the one-way beech hardwood type stretcher with the full metal internal mechanism, the two-way cheaper stretchers tend to be made of plastic and are lucky to survive a single use without the thread breaking - so always check the mechanism of the product you are buying and go metal in the front part that opens the stretcher up.
Insert the stretcher fully with buttons appropriately placed, if required, and take up the tension - but for the first 24 hours make it tight only - do not crank it up to max! Then each day give the handle another turn. Do it slowly over several days and then leave it fully alone when you have gone as far as you have dared for a couple more days.
If you are finding the arch is too tight, then normal shoe stretchers won't help. You can find stretchers that do lift up the arch, but they are quite hard to find - we find a great substitute is the "travel trees" - the block on a spring. They tend to put a little pressure upwards on the arch area of the shoe. Being gentle, you will need to leave them in for a couple of weeks.
