The Crispin Colloquy

Well, whether it is HK or AP you're using, You can glue the lining into the feather around the toe, as you are wiping. I glue and wipe the toe just to set the lining, then I mount the stiffener and, as it is usually insole shoulder, shape it . In the process i cut/file a 'rabbet' into it to mirror the feather in the insole. Then when I pull the vamps i wipe glue and wipe it all into that feather. So when you pull the strip it is not only secure in place but clearly defined.

I do the same with cementing the insole. And while a fudge wheel in competent hands is reasonable, In hands that neither know (nor like) the technique (me) it is worse than nothing, in my opinion.

I am moving this discussion here.

The Gallery is really intended for photos of finished work...and some limited comments regarding that work--praise...or perhaps questions about why a particular styling feature was wanted, for example. It is not intended to be a platform for exploration of techniques. Nothing too involved, IOW.

Admin is lenient in that regard but some discussions belong in their proper threads so that others may benefit from them and so that the ideas may be preserved, in context, for future generations seeking answers or insight.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Here’s some of my recent works.

And a few more

Some good-looking boots Jake!

Very elaborate stitching patterns. I like it.

Here are some shoes that I made before I knew what pricking is and that one can wipe the toe. 7cm heels is what she wanted. I wonder how women can walk with such heels. The wholecut is seamless. Still dying leather is a mystery to me. For the black shoes i used a blue dye on the welt that was sold to me for our leather couch. Cement does not stick on it though, which is good for our sofa but not optimal for the shoe.

almost to the day, 2 years after returning from my time with Carreducker, I finished my 20th pair - and here it is.

I realize a Norwegian stitch isn't everyone's bag, but I personally really like the look and more importantly, it is what was asked for. I think it works well with the Horween hatch grain and the casual natural vibe of their destination down in Bend OR.

As discussed in other threads, I holed these from the outside before lasting. It resulted in very even stitches even at the toe and heel.

Back of the envelope - almost 700 feet of thread in this pair of shoes... yikes!

Beautiful stitching @bcFour. May I ask why there are two rows of stitches (ignoring the sole stitching and goysier stitching)? That is, I can see one that looks like the Norwegian welt stitch, at the bottom, and parallel to this another row with the decorative cable stitch around it.
Thanks, Nick

Hi @@nickb1

thanks for your kind words. Hope this explains the stitches:
Blue: decorative braid (i think this actually is more than decorative and adds strength. It (IMO) distributes the forces from the inseaming stitches to the upper leather (or welt, if using one) with less 'sharp edges' (stress risers, if you will.... sorry, I spent a career as an engineer. can't let it go). No empirical data on this one. Anyhoo, I digress.
Maroon: inseamin stitch
Green: attaches the turned-out upper to the midsole
Orange: the (carefully) trimmed edge of the turned out upper
Purple: attaches sole to midsole
Yellow: midsole

yeah that makes sense thanks. you seem also to have carved a step into the midsole to create that storm welt look, is that right?
Nick

Just finished these today as a Christmas present for my wife. Fortunately she is kind and forgiving regarding the mistakes I make with her shoes.

It is yet another attempt to make her some high heels. This time the lining is a seamless whole cut. For the vamp section I used a patterned leather, which was quite hard and therefore broke somewhat on the skived edges. Another problem here is the seat lift. I attached the first layer with a double row of pegs and now some of the pegs show at the heel. I guess either I have to revert to a single row of pegs or move them further inside. Still I think high heels must be uncomfortable and are a waste of leather - but this is what she wants and who am I to say that she could be wrong :-)

The other pair is another slipper for my oldest son. He is almost my size but is still growing. Since I did not have a last for him I used mine - so the slipper might be still a bit too big for him. So that they don’t slide off easily I inverted the inner so that the flesh side is inside hoping that this will provide the necessary friction. Good thing is that if he does not like them they will fit me as well.... So unless someone of you objects and tells me a quick fix for them. I will wrap them and slide them in with Santa’s presents.

Happy Christmas to all of you and a happy new year.

Your wife is a lucky lady, but I agree with you about the high heels. They are a nice shape though. It must have taken a while to get them right.
Nick

Very nice. I have made my wife several pairs of higher heeled dress shoes. Esp. if you're stacking leather to make the heels, it ain't easy. And cutting / shaping the heels so that they will be as light as possible, is no 'gimme' either.

One observation if I may--generally, the topline on the lateral quarters is made lower than the topline on the medial quarter. I generally make the lateral topline at least a full centimeter lower than the medial topline. I design the shoes that way, so it's not just a matter of drafting one side more than the other, as some would prefer.

And I'm real careful with the lateral topline as well--ankle bones and too high topline can literally make the shoes unwearable.

FWIW....

Thanks to both of you. Yes you are right DW, the topline of the quarter is an issue - and I am glad that you comment on your observation. I started with symmetrical uppers -which at least according to an upper making course a friend of mine visited some time ago- some people appear to make in Germany.

For this pair I have recycled an upper pattern that I had used before for some other pair, where she did not complain... so I hope this one will be still Ok. Having had some problems with my own shoes, however, I will change to asymmetric quarters and try to provide more space for the ankle, in the future pairs. To me this makes much more sense.

Sorry, turns out I misunderstood my friend. The topline of the quarters are asymmetric - even in Germay.... My mistake.

Here’s a couple of pair I recently finished. These have made me feel like I’m starting to get a hang of this bootmaking stuff.

Look great! Thanks for sharing!

Adios!

Very nice.

One small tip? If I may? When photographing boots, esp. kangaroo, leave the last in until you're done.

most recent two pair. A ladie's oxford, calfskin with pebble facings and a men's horween hatch split toe

@bcFour

Very, very nice. I esp.like the split toe.

@bcFour
These look great. What is the leather you used for the bottom pair?

thank you both!

the bottom pair is made of Horween's Hatchgrain, in oxblood.

Just finished, Chelsea boots in Italian calf leather. These gave me quite a few problems along the way as the leather is less stretchy than I'm used to, but I'm fairly pleased with the results overall. The leather merchant told me this doesn't have a regular topcoat on it so to burnish in some cream when finished, which I did with a heel glazing iron. I used "shovers" on shoe lasts, but next time will try without.

Ok the last is out - at last. This time I tried a couple of new things. Instead of my own patterns I followed Thorntons Oxford-pattern with lower outer quarters (thanks @dw ), but decided to go with a seamless lining that has a folded top-line. Gimping and brogue-style is another modification I introduced together with an attempt of parallel stitching. Inspired by some photos I saw on IG, I chose a swan-style stitching on the facings. Like we had discussed before, I reversed the insole and put the holdfast into the grain-side and removed only the outside of the holdfast, cutting only a slot on the inside of the holdfast. I found that by reversing the insole I had to punch the holes though the holdfast somewhat deeper, because the grainside of the sole I have used is not as strong and ripped through at a first attempt. Making the holes lower, however had the effect that at some areas the insole folds up a little - I I don't know yet If I will continue with Sahms suggestion. Some other things that went wrong are that I forgot to fold the lining of the tongue and the lining show water stains. While the lining of one shoe appears to be generally fine, the other one has a fold in the heel area, but I assume that will not bother when wearing the shoe. I assume this happened when I had to take the lining out an extra time for folding the top line. Oh, lastly I experimented with branding the shoe on the outer quarters, it seems that this should be done after the shoe is made, because the branding vanishes during lasting.