How do I adjust my cedar shoe trees?
It’s a common misconception that all shoe trees adjust both lengthwise and widthwise. In reality, true adjustability is mostly found in split-toe designs. With these, a small set screw lets you fine-tune the width to fit your shoes perfectly, and as you widen them, you also add a touch more lengthwise tension. The result is a snugger fit that helps your shoes keep their shape and look their best.
Both the cedarwood shoe trees by Saphir and shoe trees by Sir Beecs can be adjusted in width.
In this guide, we’ll briefly explain how to do that. Check out the video below as well!
Shoe tree guide
A short guide on the use of shoe trees and how they should fit
Determining if your shoe trees are adjustable
Both the cedarwood shoe trees from Saphir and shoe trees by Sir Beecs can be adjusted in width.
Adjustable shoe trees most commonly feature a split-toe design, meaning the front block consists of two separate parts. A screw between these parts allows you to adjust the width, ensuring a perfect fit inside the shoe and providing optimal tension.
Adjusting the shoe trees primarily helps them conform to the shoes, making sure that even a slightly too small or too large shoe tree fits perfectly.
How to adjust your shoe trees
Let’s start with that that no pair of of shoe trees we know of are directly adjustable in length.
Instead, you adjust the fit by making the front block wider or narrower using the screw that connects both halves as shown in the picture or video. If you set the shoe trees slightly wider, they won’t go as deep into the shoe, increasing tension along the length and vice versa.
From experience, we know that this small adjustment can really help out in achieving a perfect fit. Generally, a shoe tree can be adjusted by about half a European size bigger or smaller.
How to determine if you have bought the right size for your shoes?
You can check if your shoe trees are the right size by observing the spring tension between the heel and toe blocks.
Our luxury cedar shoe trees have a fixed dual spring mechanism of about 2 cm long, which is not adjustable. Instead, you finetune the fit by adjusting the width of the front block, as described earlier.
When placed inside the shoe, the shoe trees should compress slightly, applying tension without forcing the shoe. As long as the tension is on the springs of the shoe trees, the shoe trees are the correct fit, and there is no risk of deforming the shoes. However, if the heel and toe blocks touch, the shoe trees are too large and could deform or damage your shoes. A smaller size is recommended in that case.
Alternatively, if you can easily remove the shoe trees with one hand using the knob, they are too small and do not provide adequate tension.