Seeking knowledge or survey

[dw]

Thanks Nasser...

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[john_woodward]

ALL, Any body out there with experience on the super pointed pump high heels.No not wearing them ,.....but working the toe when lasting. I don't see any room to glue down the vamp.Thanks in advance.

[dearbone]

John,

I have not lasted pointy shoes for a long time,but here is how i go about it.
Tack your lining over the insole and cut v shape notches to remove wrinkles,glue and last lining and skive/sand smooth to the insole,put your toe cap and smooth the lasted cap on the insole and where ever it needs shaping,Last the vamp and do as for the above.

Nasser

[noonan]

Good Morming Shoe Forum Folks,

This devise is just about the loneliest piece of equipment down at the old shop, along with about 2,500 pair of last, a dozen cases of assorted nails and tacks, and more heel base to to fill up a dump truck.

If someone want this stitch seperator, send me an e-mail. This is a Champion, has about 6 tools for different # of stitch to inch. A nice tool for any shoe shop.

There are a lot of hand tools, like lasting pincers, hammers, nail cutters, tack pullers etc...

I like to see it go to guys and gals like you who will actually use them.

Give a shout,

Tim

[john_woodward]

Thank you Nasser.

[dearbone]

You are welcome John,For best result space your lasting tacks/nails as close as possible to each other around the toe area and also close to the insole edge so you can see where the wrinkles are.
Good luck on your task obtaining best results.

Nasser

[athan_chilton]

I realize there were differences of opinion between folks on this Forum and Marcell Mrsan, but I don't believe in letting personality conflicts get in the way of the dissemination of valuable knowledge. Marcell is a tough teacher, in the oldfashioned European mode, and he's reduced me to tears of frustration more than once - but I've always been able to figure out what he's trying to get me to do--and learn.

In the spirit of appreciation for his teaching (and with no financial interest at all, or however you say it) I'm putting a note in here to let any interested folks know that Marcell is releasing his own new DVD of instructions for Cemented Shoe construction; it includes a booklet of info as well. I think this DVD, like Tim Skyrme's two wonderful books, will be a valuable addition to the shoemaking student's library. If anyone is interested in this DVD, Marcell can be contacted at info@koronya.com.

[patnoren]

I am a new shoemaker so please forgive my ignorance. I have seen comments on "pegging the shank", etc. What is this and where can I find more information or pics?

Thanks
Pat Noren

[romango]

Patricia,

Pegging is a way to hold things together. Basically, a hole is punched with a square awl and pegs pounded in.

11679.jpg

Here is a pegged shank:

11680.jpg

[last_maker]

Nice boots!! did you make those Rick??


I never regarded pegging as a good design, but I love the pegging pattern on those which you just posted.

[patnoren]

If you don't peg then what method do you use? I just learned to make a blucher, totally glued, no shank. I have some of the shoemaking books on my Christmas list.

[romango]

Patricia,

Glue or sew (welted construction). Pegging has been used to make shoes entirely but it makes the shoe less flexible.

This is fine in the heel and shank area where you want more rigidity but not so great for comfortable fore part of the shoe. Lots of history there.

Marlietta, thanks, yes I made them.
- Rick

[last_maker]

Rick,

WoW! Very nice!!

Patricia,

There is this Guy in Canada, His name: Wilson Gracey that produced really detailed videos of shoe & boot making. I found them extremly helpful when I first was getting into this trade. I have every one of his videos. But I am crazy that way. I find a good resource and I buy one of each.
His videos are really straight forward and easy to follow.

It is best to call him and tell him what you need and he can pair you up with the right video. He is really old fashioned that way.

You can find his site here: http://prolisting.com/video/

-Marlietta
http://lastmakingschool.com/classes/Intermediate%20Last%20Making.htm

[kemosabi]

For those who may be interested:
I just discovered a set of videos start-to-finish shoemaking from Japan.
Of course it’s all in Japanese, but that’s part of the intrigue.

Here’s a link:
http://www.youtube.com/user/riverfieldshoes#p/u/4/IRr9XKTFKHY

(I know HCC wants to archive videos on site instead of posting links, but I don’t have rights to these vids, so a link is the best I can do.)

A few techniques in this series I’ve never seen before:

-Sharp Chisel instead of knife.
After seeing this, I sharpened up one of my wide woodworking chisels and tried it out. Works great especially for trimming sole in the waist. I just have to be careful not to carve off one of my fingers, or accidentally remove my knee cap.

-Using big toe to anchor inseaming threads while twisting/waxing!

-Mounting a leather shield to protect upper from awl when stitching outsole.

-Broken glass scraper instead of steel.

Good stuff… Enjoy.

-Nat

[dw]

Nat,

I watched the video and as I suspected the maker was not using a sharp chisel.

What you are seeing there is a very special knife designed specifically for shoemaking. I know this because I had a Japanese student last year and he presented me with one of those knives (I love students who give me presents ...and I love the knife).

I will tell you that it is made of some of the best steel I have ever seen and is scary, scary sharp. It is a thin blade, however (unlike a chisel) and sharpened from one side only.

I was glad to see it in use...I could intuit some of the ways it could be used but had not thought of it for trimming insoles.

I am going to try and develop some skill using it so that it will come to hand more readily especially skiving heel stiffeners and toe stiffeners.

I never could find the video where he's sewing the outsole...I wanted to see him using the leather...but from what I did see, this gentleman, at least, doesn't do too much different from what might be considered "standard."

Thanks for the link.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[1947redhed]

If you want one of those Japanese knifes, here is a link to one offered on Ebay. I bought two and haven't put them to work yet. I've dealt with this vendor before and the items are good and arrive in a reasonable timeframe from Japan.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120564712086&ssPageName=STRK: MEWAX:IT
If the link doesn't work, the vendor handle is
goodsjapan or do an ebay search on:
JAPANESE SKIFE SKIVE BEVELER LEATHER CRAFT KNIFE

Thanks for the video tip Nat, it was good to see this knife in action.

Georgene

[kemosabi]

Yes, That's the one Georgene. $35 seems like a good price especially if the steel is as good as DW says.

I was using the term "chisel" loosely... Meaning only that the handle on this knife was perpendicular to the blade vs. vs parallel. I've seen round head knives before, but never a straight blade like this.

DW:
I believe the video of him sewing the outsole is #4 in the series. (don't quote me on that). This link should be for the entire series.
http://www.youtube.com/user/riverfieldshoes#p/u
In the upper-right where it says "Uploads" click on "see all", and the entire series should be visible.
The leather shield I'm talking about is a strip about 1/2" wide and long enough to cover the front half of the shoe around the toe. He places the strip on top of the welt and ties a string from each end back to a tack at the heel.
I definitely plan on using this trick in the future as I'm frustrated by awl marks on the upper when sewing the outsole to the welt.

Cheers,
-Nat

[jon_g]

Thanks for the video link, I thoroughly enjoyed watching. I love to see other workshops, and this one was a little different then most.

For those that enjoy this too here is another youtube link that I've never seen before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umHOjP9MUDE&feature=feedrec_grec_index

[artzend]

I put a few videos of George Koleff making tools and demonstrating how to break glass etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOgNDk6p6vY

Tim
www.shoemakingbook.com

[dw]

Tim,

Those are great videos! I always wondered what that stitch groover looked like. Now I can build my own.

And breaking glass...the guy was a modern flint knapper. My only question is what thickness of glass was he using? Untempered, right?

Thank you for linking to them.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[lancepryor]

Tim:

Those are really interesting.

I have a channel tool from Barnsley, but I find it sometimes rips the flap I've turned back, so I am going to have to try to make a channel scraper as well.

Too bad Mr. Koleff is no longer with us.

Lance

[dw]

Tim,

About a year ago, I was making a pair of shoes for my daughter and wanted to do a "pump stitch" to secure the outsole to the shoe (I hope I have the terminology correct, but in any case, it ends up being like a hand done Blake stitch).

At that time I conceived of the notion of using a long length of thin steel guitar string folded in half to do the stitching, especially in the toe where I could not reach, and without mangling the shoe once it was off the last.

This morning, I was surprised and gratified to see George doing much the same thing with "fuse wire" (never seen nor heard of "fuse wire" ).

I never did the "pump stitch" on my daughter's shoes because it never occurred to me to use a pegging awl to hole the outsole and insole simultaneously. Sometimes we have the strangest "blind spots."

Thanks again, for the videos.

I might add, in passing, that just watching these few, I have come to admire Mr. Koleff. I wish I had known him.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[jesselee]

DW,

Thats an old timey stitch. You indeed do use a pegging awl, a small one and a 'hook' needle such as is found on a McKay stitcher. The cord is held inside the shoe with a wire as thick as a coat hanger with a 'U' shaped end to easily grab the cord.

Cheers,
JesseLee

ps- Penny loafers can be done like this before the tops are stitched. But you don't need the wire.

[jesselee]

Those videos were a welcome sight to my old eye. Very inspiring, but I'll leave shoemaking to the shoemakers. Some beautiful work and unusual tools.

Cheers,

Jesselee

[dw]

Jesse,

Well, that's why I said "we have the strangest blind spots"...I've been pegging boots for near onto 40 years and never made the connection when I started thinking about doing a pump stitch.

I had thought to just use a sewing awl to hole the outsole and insole simultaneously but that would require pulling the last before holing and I was worried about mangling the shoe.

But holing with the pegging awl is done with the last still in the shoe.

If you're careful, when you pull the last and start stitching...esp. with the guitar string/fuse wire method...you don't ever have to put your hand down into the shoe, and so never risk bending the facings or creasing the forepart.

Using the pegging awl was the missing piece of the puzzle for me...and dispelled all my doubts and reservations.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member