shoe construction...behind the veil



chogall said:

Standardized Last shape is easier to fix. A good example is DC Lewis, which outsources to Taiwan/Vietnam.

Non bespoke, last doesnt have to be first.

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Is there such a thing. Why easier to fix? If you are referring to resoling then (as said before) having the last is not necessary if upper is properly secured to inner sole along the whole perimeter. If on the other hand any part along the perimeter of the insole the upper is not secure ( such as where the gemming canvas tore or glue joint failed) than you will need the EXACT last model and size used to make the shoe, and NOT just any standard last. The last is simply nothing less than the DNA of a shoe.



well-kept said:

A question for DWF, or anyone else who may know... does a shoe with a pegged waist indicate that the remainder of the welt/sole attachment is hand-done?

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No. Plenty of cowboy boots that are pegged in the waist and gemmed in the forepart.



Xenon said:

Is there such a thing. Why easier to fix?

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

if you are referring to resoling then (as said before) having the last is not necessary if upper is properly secured to inner sole along the whole perimeter. If on the other hand any part along the perimeter of the insole the upper is not secure ( such as where the gemming canvas tore or glue joint failed) than you will need the EXACT last model and size used to make the shoe, and NOT just any standard last. The last is simply nothing less than the DNA of a shoe.

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+1

Xenon said:

Is there such a thing. Why easier to fix? If you are referring to resoling then (as said before) having the last is not necessary if upper is properly secured to inner sole along the whole perimeter. If on the other hand any part along the perimeter of the insole the upper is not secure ( such as where the gemming canvas tore or glue joint failed) than you will need the EXACT last model and size used to make the shoe, and NOT just any standard last. The last is simply nothing less than the DNA of a shoe.

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The lasts used in RTW shoes manufacturing process. Easier to fix because its not part of the process.



chogall said:

The lasts used in RTW shoes manufacturing process.  Easier to fix because its not part of the process.

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lol wut



Xenon said:

Perhaps DWFII or someone with hands on knowledge can chime in. Is there a machine that can deal with a shallow leather Holdfast???

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I believe there is...or was. I haven't seen any examples of such work for some time. But I used to see boots and occasionally shoes that were machine welted to a leather insole.

The holdfast and feather were not cut exactly like I would cut them but they weren't cut the way early Goodyear work was done either.

The problem there...and maybe why the technique never caught on...was that it was far more difficult to use the machine skillfully than when doing standard GY and the feed tended to marsupial when stitching around the toe and as a result, the stitch frequency would become so high it was effectively cutting right through the holdfast. Plus it took longer to do than standard GY and cost more both in terms of labour and materials...needing a fair quality leather insole.

When it was done right, by a competent operator, it was pretty good, when done poorly it wasn't much better than GY. The welt would hold the outsole in place, masking sections where the holdfast had been cut through or was in jeopardy (same as slipped gemming) and it wasn't until it had been worn a bit that size and shape began to get distorted.

I seem to recall hearing that these machines were terribly difficult to keep running and properly adjusted/tuned, as well.

chogall said:

The lasts used in RTW shoes manufacturing process. Easier to fix because its not part of the process.

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???

fritzl said:

lol wut

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+1 What on earth...

fritzl said:

lol wut

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Stirling said:

???


+1 What on earth...

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So, in your expert opinion, which part of the mass production shoe making process would a change in last design impact. And which part of the last design process will impact shoe manufacturing process?

The complain is about Chinese made hand-welted shoes being on ugly lasts. Just fixing the last will fix the problem, no?

@ chogall. Without meaning to be awkward I must say I am finding your posts somewhat unintelligible.

It would appear to coin a phrase, you don't know what you are talking about.



Stirling said:

@ chogall. Without meaning to be awkward I must say I am finding your posts somewhat unintelligible. 

It would appear to coin a phrase, you don't know what you are talking about.

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+1



chogall said:

So, in your expert opinion, which part of the mass production shoe making process would a change in last design impact.  And which part of the last design process will impact shoe manufacturing process?

The complain is about Chinese made hand-welted shoes being on ugly lasts.  Just fixing the last will fix the problem, no?

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Better lasts would make a huge difference. It would at least get them to the stage where I would be willing to look at the other factors such as pattern making, leather quality, etc.etc. At the moment I simply can't get past the uninspired lasts.

is Ferragamo Tramezza both hand welted and gemming from this video?

Gdot said:

I would be willing to look at the other factors such as pattern making, leather quality, etc.etc.

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A peculiar reference.

Why has goodyear welting become almost a standard in RTW shoemaking if it has all of these inherent problems? I don't understand why shoe manufacterers don't just use blake/rapid construction which has the benefits of stitching, but none of the time, money and skill constraints of handwelting? Makes no sense to me.

The issue that I have consistantly encountered with RTW shoes is seeing the uppers start to pull out of the staples used to tack the uppers to the insole.