The Gallery

[homeboy]

WOW! They turned out nice!

Jake

[dw]

WOW! They turned out nice!

Jake

Thanks, Homey. I thought they turned out OK.

But if you click on the bottom photo and then click on it again, the waist in particular really shows its stuff.

And Bob's your uncle.

[Footsupport]

The gray leather is from the bargain table at Oregon Leather. It is undoubtedly cowhide, 1mm thick and medium stiffness. Most leather shops I have been to seem to have an upholstery, garment and saddlery focus. Usually too thin, thick or rubbery. So, I am always on the prowl for leather of a good thickness and stiffness for shoes. The lining is pigskin liner from Tandy Leather Factory in Portland. It's OK but a little inconsistent to use. I'm looking for something better.

The heel is 1 inch. It is crepe (I believe that is what this thick, lightweight black stuff is called), built up much like I would do a stacked leather heel. The heel lift is heavy duty Vibram. I would not use this crepe for a customer as the attachment to the shoe is glue only. I do use it for test shoes because it is quick and easy to cut and shape. Since these are just for me, I don't mind the less than robust heel attachment.

The last is a cast last. I've yet to adjust or make a wood last that fits as well as this one. But I would like to be able to. I believe I get a superior short heel fit with a cast than I have been able to achieve by adjusting wood lasts.

5093.jpg

How do you make those cast lasts?

[romango]

My second attempt at stitching patterns. I learned a lot on this round. Also, on the advise of Paul Krause, I skant skived the vamp and heel panel. That does give a cleaner look. But I like it un-skived too.

sm_DSC_5071.JPG

sm_DSC_5070.JPG

[paul]

Alright Rick. Way to go.
Five rows, pretty impressive. Not too bad a job. Only by doing does one begin to discern the distance each row must go beyond the neighboring row. I'm sure there's some kind of axiom for that, I just don't know what it is. Stitched tops are not my specialty.
The skived edges look pretty good. A little neutral polish rubbed in with your finger will lay for the flesh down and clean it up even further. I've even applied a swath of edge paint along that edge, on the flesh side of the vamps to settle the fleshy fibers, and give a little color to what shows.
I wear a crepe layer on my heel bases. I put it down first, and then build with leather lifts the rest of the way. Good shock absorber. You have to be careful doing too much crepe or using Cloud crepe, as it can compress and could cause a twisted ankle. I haven't done it on a customer boot yet either, just my shop boots.
Enjoy wearing these.
Paul

[paul]

Seems I was a little confused on the heel bases with the pair you showed previously, 'Scuse me.

[homeboy]

They look good to me Rick Ol'Boy! Keep'em coming!

Happy New Year!

[dw]

Not my work but worth looking at...(these are tiny pins or nails)

japanese pinwork.jpg

[dw]

Another Japanese creation. Esp. interesting to me is the stacked leather heel...as opposed to a plastic heel covered in leather. (As always click on photo for larger view)

intaglio_decorated_boots.jpg

[paul]

Remarkable indeed!
Those tiny pins! Incredible!
And that is an impressive heel. No doubt hand built!
Thanks for sharing this beautiful work.
Very inspiring!
Paul

[dw]

Remarkable indeed!
Those tiny pins! Incredible!
And that is an impressive heel. No doubt hand built!
Thanks for sharing this beautiful work.
Very inspiring!
Paul

Without overstating, I think, the best of the English trained Japanese bespoke makers are probably setting the standard for refinement and attention to detail, today. It may only be a matter of time before we start seeing 64 to the inch from them.

I don't know of any western shoemaker who is even in the same league as the top tier Japanese makers. I suspect that the center of gravity has shifted...East.

Not to take anything away from the best English, French and Italian makers--it just seems to me that they're just too focused on making money to take their shoemaking beyond that point where it is at least marginally profitable. There's no profit in pinwork.

That said, the shoe with the pinwork is probably (almost certainly) unwearable. That many pins, that close together, will make the outsole break up if the sole is flexed. It's exhibition work...something we in the West don't do much of anymore.

As for the heel work, I've played with it a bit...I hate the machinations one has to go through to mount a heel on a woman's shoe--tucks, screws, plastic--and it is a challenge esp. if one is determined to avoid using nails. You almost have to map out the profile of the heel prior to actually beginning so that you don't expose the pegs (or nails) when you begin shaping the heel. There might be a better way of doing it, such as building and shaping the heels first and then deconstructing it before actually mounting it, shaped lift by shaped lift on the shoe. But I don't know what would be gained.

Maybe...if I can find it...I'll post a photo of my latest attempt. But don't expect too much, I'm not at the level of that Japanese work.

[dw]

As promised:

fitter's model, 1-1/2" heel, toplift about the size of nickle...

DSCF2820_2.jpg

[homeboy]

Those are nice looking fitters! Looking forward to seeing the final product.

It's always inspirational to view your work! DON'T QUIT!

Adios, Jake

[dw]

Here's a couple of photos of the shoes I used for the photo essay on channel stitching.

Women's Adelaide shoes, 1-3/8' stacked leather heels, burgundy kangaroo slip bead, black cherry rub-off ostrich leg vamp, black kangaroo counters and facings.

DSCF2946_2 (1024 x 768).jpg

DSCF2948 (1024 x 768).jpg

[homeboy]

Sweet!

[dw]

Picked this photo off another forum--the photographer is Daniel Wegan and I think...don't know for sure...the boot is in the Lobb Museum.

"Handmade prize-winning dress wellingtons from 1853, featuring 53 stitches to the inch on a slim, small leather welt!" -VRavio

53-stitches.jpg

[paul]

Remarkable! Thank you for putting this up.

[dw]

Just came across another photo of these boots and some additonal information...

The boots were made for the Great Exhibition in 1851, in the Crystal Palace in London. The maker was John Nelson Hefford a shoemaker from Derby. He won a prize medal for the boots.

Also I was mistaken about them being a Lobb's...they are at the Northampton Shoe Museum(for those going that way).

Pair of beige and black leather dress Wellington boots. They have a wide flat square toe with a low stacked heel. Galosh in black leather with shaped top edge. Leg in beige leather with side seams piped in red. Front of leg decorated with appliqué design in black leather and coloured silk (now missing) of crown, national emblems, crosses, stars and scalloped border. Back of leg decorated with scrolling pattern. Beige leather boot top band. Wide ribbon loop sewn to inside of top at sides. Its leather sole has a domed waist.

Hefford53spi (1280 x 1024).jpg

[paul]

Just beautiful. Any idea why the silk didn't survive?

[dw]

Just beautiful. Any idea why the silk didn't survive?

I don't know...silk seems to survive better than other natural fibers but it is natural and organic. If silk moths make silk are there other moths that eat silk?

Just guessing and guessing probably doesn't add much...

[amuckart]

I'd say the red in the crown etc. is the silk. You can see that it's degraded on the right hand part of the crown on the right boot (the one on the left of the picture with the pair). It might not be missing completely, just damaged.

[dw]

I'd say the red in the crown etc. is the silk. You can see that it's degraded on the right hand part of the crown on the right boot (the one on the left of the picture with the pair). It might not be missing completely, just damaged.

I agree...But it looks like there was silk in the center of the star and also the cross and orb. Since the black is overlay (according to the description) it looks like the silk may indeed be missing in those spots and the underlying yellow leather exposed.

Hard to tell from a photo.

[grenik]

First real wearable shoes. One individual test shoe, then one set of test shoes, and then this pair. Lots of room for improvement, but have to start somewhere. Thank you all for posting techniques on this site it really helps novices like me.

Cheers.

[artzend]

Grenik

It is hard to tell from the photo but it looks as though the backseam is not quite right in the middle. This causes the front of the facings to pull crooked. If the seams at the back of the lining are correctly placed then it does look as though this has happened.

It is easier to tell with a Derby, but it looks that way here.

To eliminate extra seams that can cause discomfort in wear, make your quarter linings in one piece with only a small inverted V seam at the bottom.

Apart from that, they look good.

Tim
http://www.shoemakingbook.com

[grenik]

Grenik

It is hard to tell from the photo but it looks as though the backseam is not quite right in the middle. This causes the front of the facings to pull crooked. If the seams at the back of the lining are correctly placed then it does look as though this has happened.

It is easier to tell with a Derby, but it looks that way here.

To eliminate extra seams that can cause discomfort in wear, make your quarter linings in one piece with only a small inverted V seam at the bottom.

Apart from that, they look good.

Tim
http://www.shoemakingbook.com

I appreciate the comment. The facings and the sole/heel finishing are the most disappointing to me with the shoe. The stitching at the bottom of the facing is quite poor. The backseam was sewn according to my reading of Skyrme's Bespoke Shoemaking book. Execution was difficult for me. I put another piece on the back for decoration and to cover up the back seam.

My lining is also one piece and sewn only in the back and along the top of the shoe and facings.

There was more pulling and stretching and compromising than I wanted. Here is the back, and I tried to get the back in the center and the medallion in the center. I was really trying to understand how the leather laid and pulled around my last, so I did a whole cut shoe. Probably more ambitious than I needed to be at this time.

Thank you again for the comments, they are appreciated.