Epiphany
I had an epiphany last night. I need to rethink how I’m making my shoes. I don’t need to change a lot, but what I need to change will make a significant difference to how my shoes fit and my feet...
View ArticleOuter Shaper
I’ve got a pair of shoes in the works. I don’t know how successful this design will be. The upper is a single layer of bison and all the support is built into the insole. The single pieced shaper is...
View ArticleSecond pair of “real” shoes
So here’s where I’m at on the second pair of “real” shoes. These are oil tanned bison outer and vegetable tanned kangaroo lining. I sewed the upper and lining pieces together then joined them via a...
View ArticleFitting the foot synopsis
Thanks to a member’s post on Crispin Colloquy, I found “Dress and Care of the Feet” by J.L. Peck at archive.org, a book which I found to be enlightening. I have very short very wide feet. One foot is a...
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Footie Stuff
Mold just slightly larger than my foot . . . yeah, I know, I have small feet. I managed to get a mold made of one of my feet. I used warm water to mix the first batch of alginate and it set up before...
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Casting for lasts
Box for foot mold I’ve finally got all my ducks in a row and have cast one of my feet in pursuit of lasts for making my own shoes. I zipped together a box for the mold, using scrap pieces of 6″ plastic...
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Let them eat cake
Clog upper, prepped sole and appropriate tools. Bottom of the sole and side of the clog. The back portion of the clog was trimmed to become a strap. The shoe, all finished. Both were done in under 3...
View ArticleCordwaining videos
Andrew Wrigley makes shoes. He also has a really nice set of videos on YouTube on making shoes. So far he’s uploaded 5 parts which includes all the clicking (pattern cutting), skiving, dieing,...
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Two part lasts
While they lack to sophistication of complex break apart lasts, they have all the necessary function. Lorr’s making more than one set of lasts for me. This set has been cut into two so they can be...
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Shoe one step one
Shaping the first layer By now you should know that I don’t do much “normally”. I research, I see what others have done, I think a lot and I dive in. Here’s the first splash into serious shoe-making,...
View ArticleShoe leather
I bought some shoe leather yesterday . . . gray kangaroo. I’ve had kangaroo leather gloves before (different tanning method for glove leather) and they’re tough. I also bought a skiving knife that...
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Pattern making
Getting ready to draw the pattern The ;attern cut off the last. I’ve got my shoe last stuffed into a crappy Hanes NOT 100% cotton sock. When you wear kid sized socks and you buy a low end brand,...
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Intriguing construction
Intriguing design These are very intriguing! They are Berluti chukkas. Take a minute and Google Berluti shoes and then click images. Some of the stuff you will see is very interesting!
View ArticleSecond pair of fitters
I finished the second pair of fitters this morning and overall, I’m very pleased. They aren’t fashionable, but they do tell me how I’m doing getting my lasts adjusted. I initially thought I would need...
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