The Crispin Colloquy

Right on Alasdair,

I just got done twisting up a set of waxed ends with dacron.
I may try your plaiting method next time.

Thank you,
Paul

Alasdair,

Great video on the attachment. I did however get distracted...The book laying on the floor looked very interesting from the cover Is it as interesting as the cover looks?

Terry

Alasdair,

Yes, you will have to send them to me. I am sure that folks can find them easily enough on your webpage but we're kind of set-up to be informational pack rats here on the CC. Any information that can be helpful to a prospective or even well-established maker, we want to collect. The ultimate aim, of course, is to have some variation or remnant of this work--the contributions of all the members--be available for the next generation...when we've all "done caught the last bus out of town."

When you say you split the bristles as they are described here...I assume you the CC not NZ.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

Hi Terry,

That book on the floor is Leather and Leatherworking in Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York and it is indeed as interesting as it looks from the cover.

It is part of the Craft, Industry and Everyday Life series published by the York Archaological Trust. I think it's the third of three easily available books that people interested in medieval shoes should have, the other two of course being Shoes and Pattens and Stepping through Time.

Feel free to PM me about them if you want to know more.

Hi DW,

I'll send you a URL once I've got them suitably encoded. The more places they're around the better I reckon. My blog doesn't have really wide readership, it's as much storage for my own notes as anything right now. I have vague dreams of writing a book one day on reproducing medieval shoes.

Yes, I meant here the CC, rather than here NZ

With reference to the braiding method for attaching bristles I show in my video, I should point out that it isn't really "my" method. It was shown to me by David Kilgour, who I hope still reads this forum, when I went to visit him a couple of years ago to learn how to make threads.

It was that experience that really got me wanting to write and illustrate as many of these techniques as possible as I learn them myself; something I had struggled with for hours trying to learn from written descriptions took David about 20 seconds to make perfectly clear in person.

He did the braiding freehand though, something I never got the hang of so I took to sticking the 'hard' end of the bristle under my stirrup to hold it in place.

Alasdair,

Thanks for the information. I was able to just order a copy. I have the other two books and agree they are great.

Have you seen "History of Footwear in Norway, Sweden and Finland" by June Swann. It is not as specific to a period as the others, but it has some very good pictures and text. If you get a chance to see it you might want to check it out.

Terry

Alasdair,

Finally got a chance to see your video. Great presentation! I really like your blog too.

It's great to have you here. Keep'em coming!

Alasdair,

I tried your method of plaiting up the split bristle...I like it. It is much less "fussy" than my own ...old...method and seems to be just as secure.

I like my method of wrapping the tip of the taw, however. It prevents the initial wraps from slipping.

One of the bristles I wrapped using your method (and your method is a very common and "traditional" method) of wrapping the tip slipped and those initial wraps bunched up and I ended up having to re-wrap the bristle.

Now, it makes no difference what the bottom-line cause of the failure of the wraps was, ordinarily if you have to re-wrap the bristle, you are definitely working at a disadvantage. Presumably, the thread and the wraps have been coated with beeswax and they don't hold very well on the re-wrap, DAMHIKT. In fact, I had this happen to me twice on this particular job. But switching to my method, I got 'er locked in and never had another problem.

But again, the plaiting idea is brilliant and I will probably alter my technique permanently.

thanks again for sharing...

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

I have two boxes of the hemp thread NO-10 that i can part with,some of you probably seen it on ebay, there are 36 balls in a box,if anyone is looking for such item, email me and we will take from there.
Nasser

Nasser,

I may want a box. i also need a source for the heaviest linen cord that a patcher will sew with. Perhaps a Barbours #2 or 3 linen, right hand twist.
Regards,
JesseLee

Jesse,

I will send you a private email with the details.
Nasser

Jesse,

I have a Singer patcher that after a lot of restoring and tweaking, will feed 3/cord 18 linen (as well as the smaller 3/25 and 3/35) machine twist by Barbour's. You can buy this in small or large spools from Abb(e)y Saddlery Supplies in Ohio. Hint: linen thread will not function "dry", it must be "wet", for wet-stitching use the oil-cup on top of the patcher with a good felt wiper-pad to remove the excess, and use 100% neat's-foot oil as a thread lubricant. The neat's-foot oil will disappear into the leather, and it will not gum up the works (especially inside the needle-bar and the pinch-spring) like Solari's #85 thread lubricant will, in case you're tempted to try it. As you get going along the thing will spit oil at you... just one of the joys of "wet" stitching

Al,

100% Neetsfoot in the cup is real old school. I am aware of it and its 'spitting'. I found an Abbey Saddlery in England that has it, but can't find one in Ohio. Looks like the stuff though! I'll definitely be getting a few large spools.
Thanks,
JesseLee

In our never-ending quest to find sources for decent #10 hemp hand shoe thread, last week I had a rather unusual reply from a potential source in the UK through my purchasing officer:

"Well, I called this morning and found out why no samples. They are under contract obligation and do not sell anything to the USA. Curiously, they can not even point me in the direction of someone who can. Very mysterious."

Charles Birch (Essex) Ltd, Unit 7-8/Purdeys Industrial Estate, SS4 1NF Rochford (Eastern), UK



http://www.charlesbirch.com/CharlesBirchWH/pages/login.aspx?redurl=%2fCharlesBir chWH%2fdefault.aspx

Do any of our UK members have any idea what's the rub here? Or, who else might handle this product and export it to the USA?

Al,

I'll be interested in the answer to your question regarding this firm.

I see they have Chestnut tanned soles. I was getting these from Keystone Leather, which were Belgian, but they've discontinued carrying them because of the dollars decline.

Does anyone have any other leads on Chestnut tanned soles?

Paul

Paul,
Mark Staton (337-988-9964) carries the Rendenbach pit tanned soles and sole bends.

Lisa

Paul,
I talked to Pete Olsen at Milton Sokol 888-765-6526. They were the rep for the Belgian leather that Keystone sold. They still have some 11/12 Belgian chestnut. Sold in bends.

Suzanne

Al,

You write that your looking for a source of decent #10 hemp hand shoe thread. What's your opinion of the 1946 vintage No. 10 Acadia hemp shoe thread that Mike Masyoluk sells on eBay? Nasser posted a picture of the thread and carton in April.

Roy Najecki

Roy,
I have some of the Acadia thread and have used it with mixed results.It has longish fibres in it which makes for good tapered ends, but at first I found the threads breaking while sewing. Now I can't specifically blame the hemp as I was also using a new wax mix which was a bit stiffer than normal.
I now use a mix of Arcadia and Coates hemp for my welting threads and this works fine ,good and strong with no breaks.I do not use Arcadia for sole stitching prefering Coates as it is a little finer so fits the stitch size better .I generally stitch 10-12 spi,but I think Arcadia would suit heavier sole stitching,say 7-8spi.I'm interested to hear other peoples experience of Arcadia hemp.
Regards Mack.

Mack & Roy:

Great minds think alike! I've had mixed success with the Acadia, as I've found that I sometimes break it when inseaming, but it makes a great taper. So, for my most recent pair of shoes, I combined 3 (I think) of the Acadia threads with 6 wet-spun Barbours' (American) threads, which is very strong but virtually impossible to really taper much. This gave me a cord that had a very long taper for attaching to the bristle yet retained the strength of the wet-spun stuff.

I also used the Acadia for outseaming and had no problems since I don't pull hard on that seam, but can't really compare it to a nice Barbours' linen thread due to lack of experience. Perhaps my next pair I'll try some old Barbours that I have to see how that does -- should be okay for outseaming even though it seems to break too easily for inseaming. I have some Barbour #10 and some #15 -- perhaps the latter would be even better, though I guess I'd need 50% more threads to achieve the same diameter.

Lance

I am not the proud new owner of a Junker and Ruh SD 28. Really nice stitching and I am quite happy with it.

Now the question....
What thread do people recommend using in it?

I performed a search and read mention of using Barbours, but I have also seen mention of using synthetic for other curved needle stitchers.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Terry

Terry,

Try Gotz (umlaut). They used to sell several sizes of linen thread the correct twist (Left? Right?) on small spools that go on the spindle. Because the thread spindle is part of the needle-thread tensioning system, it's best if you can find the right spools. Save the empty spools to wind an after-market thread on (a power drill with a long bolt in it makes a good spool-winder). Thread must march needle # sizes, so what size needles do you have?

Mine's pretty forgiving with all sorts of thread. I mostly run the un-waxed linen, with Solari' non-heated wax, but have run pre-waxed linens, nylons, and poly too.

At $18 a needle, go easy.Terry,

Try Gotz (umlaut). They used to sell several sizes of linen thread the correct twist (Left? Right?) on small spools that go on the spindle. Because the thread spindle is part of the needle-thread tensioning system, it's best if you can find the right spools. Save the empty spools to wind an after-market thread on (a power drill with a long bolt in it makes a good spool-winder). Thread must march needle # sizes, so what size needles do you have?

Mine's pretty forgiving with all sorts of thread. I mostly run the un-waxed linen, with Solari' non-heated wax, but have run pre-waxed linens, nylons, and poly too.

At $18 a needle, go easy.

Al,

Thanks for the response, sorry it took so long to respond but I have been unable to use my computer for a few days.

I will look at the Gotz catalog and try a few different types of thread. I was lucky to have purchased this about the same time John posted the email on needle availability and purchased size 5, 7 and 8 needles.

I bought a few more than I thought I might need for a long time, since I was worried as you mention that trial and error with thread might result in breakage. I am glad to hear that the machine is forgiving. Even though I have the extra needles I was a little hesitant to try different threads until I tried for other feedback given the price of the needles. Luckily the price I was able to get on the John/Detlef purchased needles was less than $18. I will try a few thread types this weekend. Since my new needles are in the mail I can feel a little more adventuresome

There was some thread loaded on the machine which I have played with and I must say that it makes some really nice stitching. I am looking forward to the various uses both in sewing soles as well as things like leather mugs, cases and pouches.

Terry

Hi,

I've had some trouble finding thread to close uppers and linings. I'm wondering what bespoke shoe makers are using for this. Tim Skyrme in his book recommends a #36 polyester cored thread with a cotton sheath. It seems that this type of thread is rapidly disappearing. I've only found a few places that sell T-40 thread (is that a similar size to #36?).

I'm wondering what I should buy and where I should buy it.

Thanks.
Aaron