The Crispin Colloquy

Here a pair of lace-ups 16in. tops.
Bottoms dark brown bull.
Tops are cream goat.



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Try again.. A pair of lace-up 16in. tops.
Bottoms dark brown bull hide.
Tops cream goat.

Forgot to post the sole:

I think I'll slip a couple of pair in here...between everyone else's great work.

A little something for everyone.


First pair...elephant and water buffalo, 2-1/4" heel, narrow round toe. To Edmonton or thereabouts.


Second pair..brown latigo vamps, water buffalo tops, asymmetrical stitch patter. To Switzerland.


Third pair...navy alligator, navy and bone filigree, wide box toe. To Brussels.


Bottoms of third pair..."Egad! I think he's got it!" Horizontal channel, machine stitched.


Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

Also...two shots of a pair of chukkas I sent out last week.

Black shell cordovan, five-eighth's inch heel, waist neither tapered nor fiddlebacked but the edge rounded rather than trimmed and colliced.


This shot is unnecessary but it does show the finished heel that i mentioned in "Finishing".


Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

I just got these photos in today. Here is a recent whole cut that I made from Hardke french calf.

Woman's "practice" dance shoe.

Edelman Napoli Crust leather. That's what the tag says anyway. I found it in the scrap bin at Oregon Leather. Not sure why it's 'crust' seems completely finished to me.

Here is an order for a zipper boots in brown calf,Don't particularly like zippers personally,but when customers ask for them,I will make them for them.

Nasser

Another pair of packers.

Celtic Knot themed stitching, 1" heels, 10" tops, Ecopell leather, rubber outsole.

I made these. They are sort of a hybrid between an attempt to make moccasin boots where you tape up your foot and make a pattern and sew them turn-shoe-style (which I couldn't seem to do) and the simple shoe-making style which I learned from Simpleshoemaking.com. I at least learned how to do the one-button closure.

I wear them almost every day. They've stretched out nicely. I am not happy with the flat, duck-shape that they ended up being, but my feet are really very wide and so they'll be rather duck-shaped no matter what I do. I only want to learn shoe-making so I never have to wear pointy torture devices ever again.

Here is my last shoe. It turned out too agressive - the spikes are too big (a bit painful to handle sometimes) and the lining is dull as hell, like a sheep in wolf's clothing!
But highly recommended. Go for studs!

I just returned from my invited class in Budapest. My task was to start learning the 'English Welt'. I found the curved needles difficult to feed through, and had a few other difficulties, but in the end I succeeded. The beautiful uppers were patterned and sewn by Marcell's highly talented employees, Erika and Audrey, both of whom were a pleasure to watch in action.

Another single shoe for my upcoming display window. GH French Calf, Redenbach sole. West End last that I got from Georgene.

I tried the trick DW mentioned to cut off and file the brass nail before hammering them flush. This works well and really makes it so your nails can be any length you choose.

Unfortunately, my channel opened up a bit when I dyed the bottom. The leather kind of shrunk. I'm tempted to sand it down again.

Here is a pair of black 'half brogues.' This pair of uppers was actually made for a different pair of lasts, so the fit was a tiny bit off; plus, since my feet are different lengths, the caps are of slightly different lengths on the finishes shoes, since the two uppers weren't made to incorporate the different length of the lasts. The closing was done by a London closer who works for many of the London bespoke firms.

I did the shoes with a beveled waist but no fiddleback sole. The outsoles were Sokol Belgian and were stitched at 12 SPI -- I grabbed the wrong fudge wheel when marking out the welt, so I had to go for it!

Also, I did a 'counter in waist' -- i.e. a very long heel counter that wraps all the way around the heel and terminates only a little behind the joint on the medial side; this provides a bit more support for the instep/arch of the foot.





Lance

A pair of light Derby in calf leather for the lady next door with big bunions and spread joints and not much luck finding ready made shoes to fit her, She left me to chose the design but said she wanted laces,So the first thing that came to my mind was a Derby.

Nasser

Here is my latest pair: a tan oxford with a false toe cap (brogued and sewn, but without an actual second layer of leather in a crust leather. Bakers outsole sewn at 10 spi with a beveled, non-fiddleback waist. This pair is on my soft-chisel toe. All in all they turned out pretty well, though my edge finishing leaves alot to be desired.





Lance

A pair of 16th C. shoes that I just finished up. I'm not terribly happy with the bunching on the lining, but the customer specified lining that could be pulled through the slashes, so...


Francis

Been busy getting the new shop ready to move in. Still may be a couple of weeks.
But in the meantime work goes on.

Here is a picture of a pair I finished a couple of weeks ago. Mark Stanton Alligator, Kangaroo top with fawn coloured roo inlays.

What a challenging fit. AA heel and EE ball!

Some boots for my wife. I tried out the side channel method DW mentioned. It worked fine but still makes me nervous that it may come open at some point. We'll see.






(Message edited by romango on May 14, 2011)

My first attempt at penny loafers. Edelman Luxe Calf, JR soling with side channeled English welt.

I should have put a rand around the heel, in retrospect. But, hey, it's the first try.

I'll try this again, my finished pair Ostrich and kid shin.

Here are 2 pair that I made at a 4 week class with Lisa Sorrell last month.


A closer view of the stitching AFTER several top stitching lessons.


A sample of the bottom work after some curved needle lessons. Staying in the groove is tricky and this is the best I did in the 4 boots.


The class was great and I will put up a review on the classes and instruction thread as soon as I get it together.

Wow, Paul, great strides forward in your bootmaking! I am so jealous My first pair will happen later this year.

A return to man shoes. The Edelman Luxe in Vino and Pitch Brown. The proportion of vamp to quarter is not quite perfect, but I do like the line. I was aiming for translucent but consistent edge color, didn't hit it this time. Overall though, an auspicious start to my torrid love affair with oxfords. A shout out here to Tim Skyrme for including closing instruction in his book.

Hints, observations, and chastisements welcome.