Books, Manuals, Publications

[Anton K]

What is the name of "pitchbarm" in german?

[das]

"Pechbarm"

[Anton K]

ok, i'll try to ask local shoemakers in Berlin

[das]

If you, or anybody, wants to read Hartwig in the original German, here's the link: https://books.google.com/books?id=e0P5A ... er&f=false

And feel free to alert me to any bloomers in the translation, it's easy to fix.

[SharonKudrle]

I love Hartwig because he gives an easy to understand overview which is perfect for beginners and not discouraging. If someone jumps into the HCC Crispin Colloquy Forum or Garsault it may seem daunting, when it isn't so hard as it seems to be on first reading.
My theory about pichbarme is that Hartwig was trying to increase the appeal of shoemaking to the potential apprentices, or that the shoemakers were fed up with his prying questions. I am indeed looking forward to Oktoberfest in Pennsylvania at the HCC Meeting!
I guess I’ll stick to the topic thread here, and ask if you have tried the yellow-pitch ( it is rosin? ), rye flour and water combination as an adhesive? For making up heels would paste with rosin be helpful and make them less likely to fall apart? Please can you recommend a good source of rosin too? Thank you in advance!

[das]

What "yellow-pitch" was in Hartwig's Germany I can only guess at (pine rosin?). I say this only because powdered rosin was added to rye flour pastes in England (18th-19thc) to discourage mice and vermin munching on the shoes to get at the paste--rosin as a pest-repellent, not an adhesive enhancer per se. I had moderately good results with bookbinders' flour paste from Talas, in NYC, but have mostly stuck with Hirschkleber for ten years + (pun intended). I thin it a wee bit with H2o BTW. J. & R. Baits and Lures (fur trapping supplies) in Ohio for chunk rosin and many other obsolete oils and waxes (tallow, cod oil, etc.).

[SharonKudrle]

I contacted J.R. and Sons of Monroeville Ohio, and Jeff wrote that they don't sell rosin any more. Do you know of another source? Thank you in advance.

[dw]

Google (or better yet Bing) "pine rosin"...lots of sources.

Here's what looks to be a good link: http://rosinproducts.com/

[ArborCW]

Sorry to change the subject a bit... my research online has pointed me toward a book regarding sharpening tools by Herb French called "How To Sharpen Leather Tools." I believe it was available from Sheridan Leather before they closed.

Is this book a good resource for sharpening instructions?
Does anyone have an old copy they might be done with?

[SharonKudrle]

avm (:?)
Someone named "crystal" posted a similar question on Leatherworker dot net in 2008. Have you tried Al Stohlman's book "leathercraft tools" ? May I suggest that you correct the spelling to Sheridan Leather instead of Sherridan Leather, it would make searches easier. If you are having problems sharpening a specific tool I'm sure that people here will be glad to help you.

[SharonKudrle]

Regarding Hartwig: I was told to look up the reference to “lime wood” in Hartwig on page 218 when I wondered why lime wood was recommended, and found that Hartwig didn’t mean a citrus lime tree, but likely meant a linden tree. “The shoemaker and the slippermaker click the upper leather on a work- or lapboard that, as with the saddler, must be made from soft and at the same time smooth, lime wood, so that the knife will not damage it during the clicking.”

While reading Devlin I found on page 10 first paragraph a very funny example of German shoemakers’ sense of humor.

Sharon

[amuckart]

Sorry to change the subject a bit... my research online has pointed me toward a book regarding sharpening tools by Herb French called "How To Sharpen Leather Tools."

I don't know that specific book, and Google doesn't return anything useful, but there are some good resources out there nonetheless. Look to the woodworking world for sharpening information. You won't find a crowd more obsessive about sharpening, nor with a wider range of oddly shaped things to sharpen than hand tool woodworkers.

The best book I've seen on the topic is Leonard Lee's The Complete Guide to Sharpening http://www.leevalley.com/us/Wood/page.a ... 46107&ap=1

I have heard good things about The Perfect Edge by Ron Hock, but I haven't read it myself http://www.hocktools.com/products/perfectedge.html

I wrote a handout for teaching people about sharpening things for a class I taught in the SCA, which you might find useful. You can download it here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9fRr ... 25yd0g1LU0.

In my experience, once you understand how edges wear, and how the sharpening process works, sharpening any given tool is mostly a matter of figuring out how to apply the appropriate abrasives.

[SharonKudrle]

Thank you Mr. Muckart,
The lime wood is the board, not the tool.
Why the late response that doesn't address the subject, Mr. Muckart?
Best wishes, Sharon

[SharonKudrle]

[quote=SharonKudrle post_id=42361 time=1539101861 user_id=670]
Thank you Mr. Muckart, I seem to be having some problems with the HCC Forum software, likely end user problems. Anyways, thank you for the sharpening tips - I still don't sharpen knives well, and it took me several years to learn to sharpen sewing and stitching awls.
Sharpening takes time away from shoemaking, and if you can't do it quickly and efficiently it makes the situation worse.
As a beginner I can say that the biggest barrier to shoemaking was not having a sharp knife or sewing awl. I didn't understand what was wrong or why I couldn't make a shoe until I figured out that dull tools were the problem. That was THE BIGGEST problem, and I didn't know it. My epiphany was when in sheer desperation I picked up an old straight edge razor that was lying around, and tried to cut an insole again. Then came the light that my sharp awls were not sharp at all. Unfortunately, that came much, much later with a sharp awl. It is a wonder that I stayed with shoemaking.

[ArborCW]

In my experience, once you understand how edges wear, and how the sharpening process works, sharpening any given tool is mostly a matter of figuring out how to apply the appropriate abrasives.

Many thanks Mr. Muckart. I’m still very green; trying to learn the trade. Over the past six to eight months work has prevented me from making, but I’m constantly reading and trying educate myself as much as possible about cordwaining for the time when work slows down and I can make again.

I appreciate the imperative to always have sharp tools and as I continue to grow my tool kit have come to realize just how different some of my cutting tools are in terms of shape, bevel, material, etc. It was my intent to approach the topic starting with a book that broadly covered the entire subject. I had read positive feedback on another site in regards to the French book and thus was seeking it out. I will most definitely pick up the two you referenced above and am grateful for your sharing your lesson notes with us all.

Coincidentally I do have some background in woodworking but until recently had rarely used hand tools. My recent efforts to learn to hand cut dovetails have changed that, and so in a sense my need to learn to properly sharpen an edge is perhaps even greater now than before.

[amuckart]

Thank you Mr. Muckart, I seem to be having some problems with the HCC Forum software, likely end user problems. Anyways, thank you for the sharpening tips - I still don't sharpen knives well, and it took me several years to learn to sharpen sewing and stitching awls.

You're welcome. It took me several years to lean to sharpen things too, and I'm still far from being an expert but I'm persistent and have gotten the hang of the most used tools.

These days I just use a machine (or a set of Spyderco ceramic sticks when I'm out and about) for sharpening and only do the very final honing by hand on a strop. I get better results, faster, than I ever did sharpening by hand.

Sharpening takes time away from shoemaking, and if you can't do it quickly and efficiently it makes the situation worse.
As a beginner I can say that the biggest barrier to shoemaking was not having a sharp knife or sewing awl. I didn't understand what was wrong or why I couldn't make a shoe until I figured out that dull tools were the problem. That was THE BIGGEST problem, and I didn't know it. My epiphany was when in sheer desperation I picked up an old straight edge razor that was lying around, and tried to cut an insole again. Then came the light that my sharp awls were not sharp at all. Unfortunately, that came much, much later with a sharp awl. :lurk: It is a wonder that I stayed with shoemaking.

I had exactly the same experience. When I started I didn't realize that awls needed polishing, I thought you just stuck them in a haft and were good to go. The first time I used a properly polished and sharpened awl was a revelation.

Sharpening does feel like it's taking time away from shoemaking, but in reality I think sharpening is shoemaking just as much as closing or lasting or inseaming is. With time and practice I lose much less time to sharpening than I did to fighting with dull tools. If you look at pictures of shoemaker's benches from the 19th and early 20th century when there was still a lot of work being done by hand you'll see they almost all either have a strop built right into the front of the bench or a strop/bat on the bench right to hand.

[dw]

Sharpening does feel like it's taking time away from shoemaking, but in reality I think sharpening is shoemaking just as much as closing or lasting or inseaming is. With time and practice I lose much less time to sharpening than I did to fighting with dull tools. If you look at pictures of shoemaker's benches from the 19th and early 20th century when there was still a lot of work being done by hand you'll see they almost all either have a strop built right into the front of the bench or a strop/bat on the bench right to hand.

In my opinion, learning to sharpen a knife (or awl or hatchet ) is the single most important skill you can have as a shoemaker. As both of you suggest, everything proceeds from a sharp knife...either to good effect or ill.

But more than that, learning to sharpen a knife prepares you...just as it prepares the knife...for all the other tasks that await. It awakens long unused senses. It sharpens your eyesight and your hearing and your sense of touch. It hones your muscle control and your judgement. It creates focus. All those things transfer directly to clicking and skiving, and stitching, and feathering and inseaming and on and on.

And the corollary to that, of course, is simply that those who eschew learning to sharpen a knife forfeit that sharpening of the senses. Forfeit those fundamental skills and insights. Those who turn to Xacto blades (or other pre-sharpened disposable blades) become dependent on factors outside of their own control; become dependent on someone else's tools; to the extent that they may never develop the precision or refinement...or maybe most importantly, the critical perspectives...that learning to sharpen a knife confers.

[ArborCW]

Is there a limit to the size of files we can post/attach? I've been trying to post a PDF of a book but keep receiving a "HTTP Error."

[nickb1]

I'd like to bring to folks' attention a new book on shoemaking. Whilst it focusses on orthopaedic shoemaking, there is a lot of information about anatomy, measuring, fitting and making that is of general importance and applicability, from someone with decades of experience. It's also a good read and insightful about many of the problems with orthopaedic footwear made through the regular health system (at least in the UK, where an astonishing 1/3 of the footwear made through this system is not worn because it's of such poor quality or fit). The system would rather waste a smaller amount of money completely than pay what is needed to get the job done.
https://www.orthopaedicshoemaker.co.uk/ ... FKE36-n-2Y

[Anton K]

is it worth the price?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Alte-Bucher-ol ... Swsi5etq3L

[dw]

I have that set...I might have paid a hundred dollars for it, but that was 40 years ago. I am glad I own it...as part of my larger collection...but I'm not sure I would buy it again if I were thinking of buying it just for the information contained in it. Probably, but that's just me.

Bottom line, it's hard to say whether it is worth it or not...esp. for someone else.It does seem like a lot and Bordoli is not all that scarce. That said, in my view, all these old books are invaluable. Priceless. Just because it's knowledge and connection and insight..