Looking for...

[lancepryor]

DW:

I am interested in this as well. I have tried to figure this thing out for some time, but the Goetz catalog has always been unclear (to me, anyway) as to whether these can be ordered individually or only as a whole set. McPherson has been pretty unclear as well, so I've not ordered this, but I definitely want to get them if they are within reason. For me, the #8 and #10 are must-haves, and the #3, 13, 15, 28, and 34 are of interest.

[Also, if you happen to get someone responsive there, I'd love to know what the ornament perforating handle and individual ornament perforating needles cost -- I understand that very small punches may be available elsewhere, but the only place I know of requires a resale number for a catalog, and I don't have one.]

I look forward to seeing what you find out from Goetz.

Lance

[dw]

Lance,

They have a website and it seems pretty clear to me from their online catalog that you can order the handle separately (it comes with #8) and the punches themselves separately.

Yes, I can see how #3 might be useful, and #15 is mildly interesting but aside from the other four I mentioned, the rest don't do much for me. But that's just me...I am getting more conservative as far as ornamentation goes the older I get.

Lance, you've always seemed interested in boots...are you also interested in making shoes? I am getting very interested. I think my pursuit of refinement and simple elegance is what's motivating me. I have a simple pair of alligator boots I'm working on right now and they come close to elegant...maybe a year or two ago I would have said they were the height of elegance...but time goes by and people change and grow and now I kind of see them as a little bit short of the mark.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[romango]

Reply from 216.104.64.126: bytes=32 time=76ms TTL=48

Yes! I must bougue. Please do let me know if we can get a tool from Goetz.

[lancepryor]

DW:

Can you point me to their website? I googled it but couldn't find it.

Thanks.

[dw]

Lance,

http://www.goetz-service.com/

In order to see the tools that they offer, you have to register. I don't recall having any problem registering but they don't maintain their site very well and I might have had to contact them to get registered...I don't remember.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[dw]

All,

Anyone seriously...seriously...interested in broguing punches is invited to contact me.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[shoestring]

Where's a good source to get Fudging Tools other than e bay.Thanks

Ed

[lancepryor]

Goetz sells them, though I don't know the sizes/SPI -- they sell a 'large' and a 'small' I believe.

[ridgerunrbunny]

I would like to obtain some soleing material from whoever sells such. Does Goetz or Atlas sell to anyone? If not any suggestions?

[dw]

Bunny,

Go to your local shoe repair shop and ask where he gets his supplies. then call there yourself. They'll have almost anything you need.

You could also call MacPherson Leather in Seattle. Their number is 800-343-9949. They will probablyhave everything you need or can getit--they're dealers for Goetz.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[ridgerunrbunny]

Thank you Much, I thought they might have more than was listed on their website. Their "rubber" page kept coming up as a 404 error.

Now, Where can single pairs of Lasts be bought?

Bunny

[dw]

Bunny,

Bill Tippit--Global Footwear Services (do a keyword search) is our resident lastmaking guru. He just posted a memorial to Wilson Schaedler in another part of the forum. You could click on his username at the top of his post and get an email address.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[rocketman]

Canadian supplier surfing results:
I accidentally, I think, hacked into a Canadian finder web site. The catalog is not available on the front page but Google outsmarted their web pages. So for the folks out there looking for Canadian resources, here is an option.
http://www.labellesupply.com/a/index.html
Don't go to the front page or you can't get to the catalog, Just page forward. No prices, but they have a lot listed.
Lyle

[romango]

Woah baby... Haven't seen graphics like those since 1985! Could be a sign you've entered an internet oubliette.

[ridgerunrbunny]

Naw, you did not hack into it. The prices and phone number are in the Retail Flyer. That is listed in the link on the home page.

I'm still looking for soleing I might contact them. They did not mention anything about only selling to businesses.

Bunny

[ridgerunrbunny]

Oops, wrong link, soleing is in the repair flyer link.

Bunny

[dboard]

Bunny,
Do call them. I walked into their shop virtually unannounced while I was visiting relatives on the WC. They happily sold me what I wanted (plastic heels), although I am registered as a business..can't remember if that topic came up while I was there, all I'm saying is they are nice people!
Daphne

[ridgerunrbunny]

Wellp, I just received an order from Southern Leather. (My (so-called) business is making films. Basically wool related, but I got this thought to make a film on making shoes, so that is what I'm starting to learn to turn it into a beginners instrucitonal.) Anyway Mary at Southern leather was the first one to actually speak to me and ask me reasonable questions that did not make me feel like I was intruding. I am going to "make do" with what I have until I get the hang of what I really want to make my "kind" of foot ware. I think I might just get one of those prepay credit cards so I won't have to deal with the COD charges. I might try them next. thankx

Bunny

[romango]

Bunny,

I know how you feel about dealing with suppliers and other folks in the business. I've discovered there are two kinds of responses that you get. One is either

proprietary/fussy: 'I don't want to tell you my secrets / I don't like to talk to hobbyists that are going to talk my ear off and spend $10'

the other kind is the trades person who loves what they do and rarely encounters people who are interested. They will talk to you as long as you want and tell you all sorts of things.

You can tell the two apart very quickly and just move along if you encounter the former. The nice folks are in great abundance too, a lot of them hang out here.

Since I've been at this for a couple of years, I have gotten better at being blunt with the former group, if they have something I really want. They will generally chill out if you are persistent. But, if you are not yet comfortable doing that, you can get whatever you need from the nice group.

[admin]

message deleted by admin

[das]

Bunny,

Following on the heels the private note you just got, I don't wish to sound peevish here, but you say your experience lays in film-making, true?

There is a cadre of women here on the Forum who make footwear "at home", from cowboy boots, to fashion shoes, to just plain comfortable ones. Some are learning, others are experienced hands. Maybe it would be easier to ask if there are any female shoemakers on-line here who would be interested in being featured in your film? It sounds a bit easier an undertaking than you, a film-maker, trying to learn shoemaking and gathering the necessary materials so you can be both the film-maker as well as the subject.

[ridgerunrbunny]

LOL Considering I was working in leather when I was 12 years old and made my own saddle in 1987 I really don't think making shoes can be that difficult. I have found that many people, when they hear the word film, all of a sudden change into copy right professionals. The small films I make to supplement my pre retirement income are done completely by myself so I don't have to deal with getting written permission to use someones face or ideas. And no one feels like I am rooking them out of a dollar. These are glorified documentaries. I don't "feature" anybody, not even myself.

[hidesmith]

Bunny,
Your knowledge of leather will help you a great deal, as will your knowledge of the tools and methods. You certainly sound as if you know your way around a hide.

However, there is still much to learn about the correct cutting of the uppers, the correct inner sole, different construction methods of shoes, lasting, etc. I have been a leather craftsman since the mid-70s, and have been making shoes as an avocation for about twenty years. There is definately an aquired knack for being able to make the same shoe every time, with the same fitting characteristics as the last pair you made. There are a lot of publications with varying levels of instruction that will help you better understand some more of what information and technique goes into the making of a shoe.

My first pair of shoes looked very much like a pair of shoes - but I never wore them. I made them in the wrong size. The second pair was a lot better, and I wore them for several years. It was only after several MORE years, a lot of wasted leather and a lot of poorly fitting shoes that I am able to make shoes that are consistantly the same size and fit. Tight lasting is important, deciding what construction method to use is important. Choosing leather that is correctly tanned for your purpose is important.

After having made several pairs of shoes successfully, I started feeling pretty full of myself. I called myself a "custom handmade shoemaker". Thankfully, I had only one customer, and her feet were numbed by a surgical blunder unrelated to me. She loved the shoes I made for her (have I mentioned Divine intervention before now?)

I started attending the annual HCC meetings and was rather severely humbled by the quality and products I saw there. I no longer called myself a custom shoemaker. I also learned how much information I lacked, as well as how much technique I lacked. Shoe making is vastly different than the leather crafting I'd done in the past - and my leather crafting past had been pretty varied.

I guess what Al might be saying (Al, correct me if I'm wrong) is, if you start shoemaking, you might find that you have to choose between it and filmmaking. There may be more to learn than you think. In the meantime, shoemaking has been a wonderful lifestyle for many people. You will find that the Trade is populated by MANY professionals who are vary willing to share their knowledge, and a lot of them are right here on this forum. We hope that "the knack" comes easily to you.

If you want to contact me off this list, we can make arrangements to see if I have a pair of lasts in the size you need.
Send an email to

hidesmith@aol.com

and write "Att'n: Bruce" in the subject heading. Send me a tracing of your foot and if I have a pair to suit you, I'll send them.
Wishing you easy learning,

Bruce

[ridgerunrbunny]

Thank you Bruce I will contact you. For the rest of the team, I don't know if I would ever want to be that good at shoemaking. A craft, a trade and a career is one thing, just for knowledege and fun is another. I have done both of those in film making and found the fun part more to my liking. Outside of speaking my piece this is another one of my shortcomings. I no longer do things whole heartedly, I get bored easily and there is a point where I say, OK thats enough for me, this isn't my thing. It helps me realize what other people have put into making something. Like silver smithing. My parents were lapidariest and tried to get me interested. I made a few pieces, ground a few rocks. I still have the leftovers of that craft. I can now look at the Navajo silver work or Zuni work and appreciate how it was created but made it OK for myself not make knock offs or even design my own. I wanted to make my own spinning wheel once. Bought the materials and a lathe, only to find out the lathe intimidated me so much the project became impossible, I ended up making a small shaker table with hand tools. I think my mother still has that table, she's 90. I forgot, about hides, I even have even attempted to tan my own. The last one (deer) turned out really nice, white, soft. But I don't want to rub hair off again.

Film-making is and was an avocation, enjoying my life is a vocation.

Bunny

[hidesmith]

Bunny,
If you have tanned hides, you have more tenacity than I. My attempts at tanning produced some very nice rawhide - in other words, removing the hair was enough for me. What method did you use? Brain? Oil? Did you use a home tanning kit? What did you use to remove the hair?
THAT would be an accomplishment - to tan the hide and make shoes from it!

Bruce