Shoe Damage Report & Shoe P0rn Central - Part II - Page 704

Originally Posted by mr monty 

+1 chestnut is fantastic

Originally Posted by fritzl 

what's the purpose of this message?

Originally Posted by fritzl 

this is not the right attitude, if i may say.

Originally Posted by fritzl 

actually, i didn't know that you're a steady follower of my excellent taste in footwear and i appreciate your willingness to learn from the best.
understood that it is a hard way from your peasantry way of thinking to reach the big whole, you're on track, son.

Originally Posted by LynahFaithful 


No need to lecture me "son." I don't post much, but I've followed the shoe threads for quite awhile. Your taste in footwear is different than mine and in my 60+ years on this earth, I've developed an eclectic taste that is all my own. Some Eastern European bespoke, some US bespoke, some flip flops, and a variety in between. You made a comment about the "esthetics" of Alden 405s, and I made a return comment. That's all. Enjoy your shoes and your tastes and I'll enjoy mine. Carry on.

Originally Posted by mr monty 

Cancel this?

And get these? (twice as much)


waited a year for these from Unionmade, but they were never restocked

Originally Posted by NAMOR 

im not a critic of the Dover but im no fan either. might be the most polarizing shoe in all of SF. more so for some than others..

Originally Posted by mr monty 

+1 chestnut is fantastic

Originally Posted by Pliny 



not enough discussion of these on the board-  bespoke? 

Originally Posted by LynahFaithful 

No need to lecture me "son."

Originally Posted by DWFII 

It all comes down to profit margins, and that in turn governs what the priorities of the operation are. By itself Goodyear construction is so commonplace as to almost be the new standard of quality , especially among those who don't know any better. But unfortunately the switch from handwelted (or some reasonable facsimile) is indicative/symptomatic of a more profound flaw in both vision and the acceptance of responsibility to the customer.
All by way of saying that once Goodyear construction is embraced, other expediencies are inevitable.
I don't know of a single exception in which Goodyear construction has not led to a concomitant decrease in the quality of the insole. Sometimes...at least for a time...the insole remains leather, although not of the same substance or quality needed for hand welted work. But eventually fiberboard or leatherboard insoles are substituted. It's too tempting inb terms of profit especially since the customer doesn't know any better and seemingly doesn't care to know.
And so it goes...all in the name of minimizing the cost of production and maximizing profit.
Eventually, even if a company starts out hand channeling the outsole, somewhere along the line pressure will mount to get rid of the labour costs and the time associated with hand channeling and a faster cheaper solution will be sought.Sometimes those solutions are satisfactory in terms of objective quality...sometimes not so much.
When a shoe is stitched aloft or groove channeled, grit gets to the stitches almost immediately and begins to destroy the integrity of the stitch. Everyone who knows anything about shoes or even simple mechanics understand this is going on. But it's cheaper, it allows the shoes to compete at a more profitable margin and as Isshin mentioned, marketing will take up the slack.
I don't see anything functionally wrong with a tightly closed, machine sewn, vertical channel. I like and admire an angled channel, hand cut or machine cut.
But a horizontal channel, hand cut, or more likely machine cut, is almost as bad as stitching aloft. And IMO, a grooved channel is not much better than stitching aloft.

Originally Posted by NORE 

So, as a shoe maker yourself, what do you prefer? Open or closed?