Erick Geer Wilcox
You raise two points.
1. Regarding trimming the lining back, we are going back to my posting 21st November. This was in a particular context. I was “talking” about loose-lined shoes where the upper and lining are made like two uppers and are normally only attached together by the top-line stitching. I said, “Last the lining first but as you stick it to the insole, trim away a little more than half the width of the lining lasting margin. Then when you last the outsides they will also stick direct to the insole where you have removed the surplus lining”.
What I had in mind was trimming the lining so that it just comes over the feather edge and only perhaps 2 or 3 mm remains attached to the insole. The trimming is normally done at such an angle that what you produce is a taper, rather similar to a skived edge. Note this is done after the lasting stresses have relaxed a little, at the stage just before the adhesive is brushed under the lasting margin and onto the insole. What this means is that if the full lasting margin on the lasted shoe is say 11 to 15 mm wide, then only the first 2 mm at the feather edge will have the extra thickness of the lining underneath it. With ladies dress shoes, the lining will be very thin indeed and I do not think you will have any problem “losing” that slight extra thickness.
2. You also ask about lasting very pointed toe shoes. The process is nowhere near as difficult as it looks and like most things, once you have done four or five pairs it becomes much easier. Back to actually using the tools. One of the hardest parts is doing the first long-wise draft, the one you would normally do right over the toe. One trick is to produce this first draft by pulling the lasting margin forward, immediately on each side of the point. Ideally you should do this on both sides simultaneously, impossible with hand tools.
Interestingly this is one example of where factory machinery is actually superior. The forepart lasting machine has seven (sometimes nine) pincers positioned around the forepart of the shoe and the operator can directly set up the order in which each pair pulls, how hard they pull, and how far they travel. He can even last the shoe in two stages, so that the machine stops after pulling. He can then adjust manually the pull on any individual pincer, before allowing the machine to proceed with applying the adhesive and wiping the upper under the shoe, which is then pressed against the insole. Back to hand lasting.
One thing I forgot to mention. We are talking here of shoemaking carried out on ladies fashion shoes. Lasting is done direct, or to put it another way the upper is not “hoisted”. With the thinner materials there is no need for the extra power that hoisting provides.
Once the long-wise strains are in place then you have to decide which “pulls” to do next. I am going to pass over this because it is a basic lasting decision and not particularly different in pointed toe shoes.
Many shoemakers leave the lasting of very pointed section of the toes until after the rest of the shoe has been drafted or even fully lasted. You have to attack the point in a rather similar way to lasting any slightly pointed toe. However, the more extreme the point, the smaller the “bites” you need to take. This is where those narrow-nosed lasting pincers are vital. The golden rule is to twist the pincers as you pull and don’t get too concerned if you cannot get a pull right over the toe. The aim as always is a clean feather edge and the upper down to the wood.
I hope that is helpful/interesting.
Frank Jones
frank.jones@shoemaking.com
