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Need info on "Cats Paw" sole on thrifted Fred Norton, made in England shoes

post #1 of 8
8/6/11 at 1:12pm
Thread Starter 
Hi

I just picked up in a thirft store a pair of mens dress shoes with a Cats Paw sole. The shoes are benchmade from Fred Norton, Irthlingborough, Northampton, England.

On the sole it says "Cats Paw" but there seems to be screw holes or rivet holes scattered across the sole. Is this for perhaps winter walking or has the previous owner converted these dress shoes to "golf shoes?"

Any info would be appreciated

C
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post #2 of 8
8/6/11 at 2:10pm
Cat's Paws were like an old sort of topy, really.
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post #3 of 8
8/6/11 at 6:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcellionheart View Post

Cat's Paws were like an old sort of topy, really.

Not really. Cat's Paw was/is a well-known and respected brand of rubber product for shoe repair and shoemaking. They do make a Topy analogue...which I think is actually better than Topy...but they also made a full range of heels and outsoling.

At one time, Cat's Paw was the one of the most prevalent and iconic brands.

It's kind of funny...years ago when people in the Trade got together, casually and joking around, it was almost a secret code--you'd make a flat fist to resemble the cats' paw below and swipe it through the air with a short "meow." And then everybody who was in the know would say "Cat's Paw!"

500
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post #4 of 8
8/6/11 at 9:10pm
C.P. was a great brand of rubber. As far as I know they have been defunct for about 20 years now.
I heard mention that an Oriental company bought the name and is attempting to resurrect the brand. We'll see....
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post #5 of 8
8/6/11 at 9:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick V. View Post

C.P. was a great brand of rubber. As far as I know they have been defunct for about 20 years now.
I heard mention that an Oriental company bought the name and is attempting to resurrect the brand. We'll see....

Nick,

I mostly use leather for outsoles and Vibram for heels, but I just got a large sheet of Cat's Paw sole guard. Is it old stock? I doesn't feel like it's old...doesn't have that dry, UV oxidized surface.
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post #6 of 8
8/7/11 at 7:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DWFII View Post


Nick,

I mostly use leather for outsoles and Vibram for heels, but I just got a large sheet of Cat's Paw sole guard. Is it old stock? I doesn't feel like it's old...doesn't have that dry, UV oxidized surface.

DWFII--

I just confirmed this with my main supplier. Most of it you probably already knew:

Decades ago their were a few large rubber companies manufacturing for the shoe repair industry. Cat's Paw and Biltrite were among the largest.
About 25 years ago Biltrite bought out Cat's Paw. About 10 years later, Quabaug (they manufacture for Vibram) bought out Biltrite. Quabaug has been manufacturing sole guards with the Cat's Paw name. So, as you know, the sheet you recently purchased is fresh stock.
I just learned that in October, Quabaug will stop making that sheet with Cat's Paws name on it.
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post #7 of 8
8/7/11 at 7:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick V. View Post


DWFII--

I just confirmed this with my main supplier. Most of it you probably already knew:

Decades ago their were a few large rubber companies manufacturing for the shoe repair industry. Cat's Paw and Biltrite were among the largest.
About 25 years ago Biltrite bought out Cat's Paw. About 10 years later, Quabaug (they manufacture for Vibram) bought out Biltrite. Quabaug has been manufacturing sole guards with the Cat's Paw name. So, as you know, the sheet you recently purchased is fresh stock.
I just learned that in October, Quabaug will stop making that sheet with Cat's Paws name on it.

I knew Quabaug had bought out Biltrite. I used to get a two layer 18 iron sheet heel material from Biltrite. It was exactly the same thickness as a cowboy heel and had a thin, harder, layer bonded to the underside such that you could seat a nail on it and it wouldn't pull through. You could cut any size heel you wanted and it wore well. When Quabaug bought Biltrite they quickly moved to discontinue that product.

I think Quabaug has a sole guard they make under the Vibram name. I have used it once or twice...it's a little more resilient than the Topy but harder than the Cat's Paw. Fortunately, I use so little of the sole guard, this sheet will probably last me the rest of my life.
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post #8 of 8
11/2/11 at 10:39am
Nick,

Figured this might fit under this thread. In the picture, are these taps extinct as well? Or are they part of the Cats Paw heel? I took this photo from ACL article from Monday: looks like a shop in Japan called Brass Tokyo puts them on their re-sole jobs.

Are you able to get your hands on them? If so, I'd be interested.

Thanks.

233
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