I've used Barge Cement for over 50 years. I like the new Barge without Toluene free. Easier on the body and breathing. Works great for my purposes.

I have a pair of Naturalizer flats where the thin fabric insole started coming loose and bunching up in the toes. I thought about taking them to the cobbler, but that seemed like such a headache ... it's hard to find parking during the work week, and I'd have to go twice, once for drop-off and again for pick-up. So what would Google do? I first read about ShoeGoo on a few sites, which was quickly superseded by Barge on a few more sites; what swayed me were mentions of shoe repair places using Barge. Ok; I used a wooden coffee stirrer to apply Barge to my insoles, pressing down the loose fabric, and let the shoes and the glue vapors dry outside for a couple days. I have had no issues since, wearing the shoes a couple times a week, for the past few months. Good job, Barge.

The more impressive Barge performance in my book: I have a favorite metal hair clip, one of those 'French barrette' styles (i.e., the decorative clip has a spring clasp glued to the underside). The clasp came loose many months ago. I first took it to a jewelry repair shop, figuring that I could wheedle the jeweler into using a soldering iron or something to attach the clasp to the metal. He said no, since the metal was too thin to withstand that kind of heat, and instead recommended super glue. So I used Loctite a few times, trying to weld the clasp to the decorative barrette. It worked for a time, but would come loose fairly easily. I was bummed- I like this clip a lot.

After the successful Naturalizer Insole Flat experiment, I turned the Barge to the Golden Metal Hair Clip Challenge. And it has worked! I probably should have scraped away more of the earlier Loctite bits, and figured how to better deal with the thin flyaway spiderwebby bits of Barge ... but I dabbed on a bit of the rubber cement (again with a wooden coffee stirrer), affixed the clasp to the barrette, and let it dry for a couple days. No problems since then- definitely a better result than Loctite! Previously, if I carried the barrette in a zip pocket in my bag, it might bump against a pen, and fall loose. Or, if I fell asleep with it on, the mechanical pressure of head/pillow, might jar it loose. But I've done both with the Barge-adhered clasp, and the thing stays put!

I am SUCH a fan of Barge now. Heck yeah. This stuff rules. I love this as much as it is possible to love rubber cement. - AM SIL

Works well, butter gloves because it gets all over your hands and is very difficult to get off. That said, it worked well on fixing leather shoes and canvas back onto the sole of anpther shoe.

I like Barge cement, Neutral 2 oz as a product but it is definitely not all it is cracked up to be in my opinion. I thought that it was going to be stronger when using them on my Air Jordan 11 soles as i bought this mainly for a sneaker repair product. I like that the product is rather easy to apply if done quickly, although i would highly recommend using some type protection for airways as this stuff can make you lightheaded and contains formaldehyde. I may use this product again after trying out others.

Pros
Strong, but not as strong as i was expecting. 8 out of 10 for sneakers
This has been useful for patching inner tubes on my bike
Lasts long depending on use

Cons
Hard to keep closed
Can dry out if not in exact conditions
Hard to clean from skin
Terrible scent

I use this stuff for gluing leather together before hand sewing it. For that purpose it works great. Apparently, the yellow bottles can no longer be bought by ordinary citizens, only manufacturers, because of environmental concerns maybe, not really sure. This blue stuff is still very strong, but I wouldn't count on it permanently bonding two pieces of leather together. I gave it 5 stars because it works for my purpose, but I didn't buy it expecting it to be the industrial stuff, nor do I need that strength.

Also keep in mind, even though this is the new formulation, the fumes are VERY strong. Worse than any paint or glue I've ever smelled. I don't even use it indoors anymore, because I'm sure it kills some brain cells breathing it in.

If you need a contact cement for your shoe that's coming apart, this stuff is probably better than anything else you can buy, but if this doesn't work you'll have to go to a cobbler who has the industrial stuff.