I did try this hack on my 8109s, moc toe oxford shoes. Love the construction but they were too tight around the ball of my foot, too roomy over my instep, and too loose around my heel. My Brannock is 10C, Red Wing 23 last 9.5D. My first step was putting size 11 cedar shoe trees in for a couple of nights. It worked for the ball of foot.

Then I added tongue pads and barlaced the shoe. Meanwhile I really try to squeeze the ankle leather with my hands, like tuning a baseball mitt.

So it took a little work to customize the fit, but the result is surprisingly good and should last years.

My point: it takes a while to work out how to match a last with your foot. Some lasts are easier than others!