Sole Welting

[RogerP]

Quote:
^^^ I'm glad you like them, and if you feel that such a finish is indicative of the overall quality of the shoe in a way that a standard finish is not, then it has at least contributed to your enjoyment of the pair. I'm not sure how much skill is required for such a finish, though. And I mean that literally - I'm not sure - which does not equate to a positive declaration that it takes little or no skill. The reason for my uncertainty is that I have seen in various factory shoemaking vids, a high gloss polish applied to sole edges with a buffing wheel in almost no time at all. Now it may be that a very different process is used to gloss up the soles, but generally speaking, making leather shiny doesn't strike me as a particularly skilled task. We all do it when we shine our shoes, after all.

 

[anrobit]

Quote: I think more than that, I don't see the importance of making the sole of a shoe shiny. Sure, it may be a sign of "quality craftsmanship" and such, but I'd rather have time spent on parts of the shoe that are actually important to structure and long-term aesthetics.

Naturally, that's my own preference. However, having seen the process in person, it's possible to make a shoe upper and sole edge shine brightly with less than a minute with a buffing wheel and some high gloss product.

 

[LynahFaithful]

Roger - Check out Marcell Mrsan's videos. You will see some of the skilled handwork involved in finishing his shoes. Check out what he does with a piece of broken glass to shape a sole and sole edge, check out the heel shaping, stacking, and trimming with a knife; the heel and sole skiving, rasping, filing, sanding, etc., and the attention to detail. All of this is involved with finishing. You won't see the entire process in his videos either because they are also selectively edited, but, they do give a much better flavor than does a RTW factory video for the skill required in making and finishing a bespoke shoe or boot.

Anrobit - I agree and disagree. I made essentially the same point you made in an earlier posting. Here's what I wrote. "But to me, if the maker takes the time and attention to the detail of the soles, that he/she knows are going to be scuffed almost immediately, then that speaks, at least to me, that this maker cares......but I would suspect if the maker takes that kind of care with the soles, the rest is going to be pretty good too. Just my opinion and YMMV." The detail of the soles that I mentioned is more than just the shine, it's the shaping of the sole, the waist, the heels, etc., and, what I meant by "the rest" is the infrastructure of the shoe that cannot be seen and the visible aesthetics.

 

[RogerP]

Roger - Check out Marcell Mrsan's videos. You will see some of the skilled handwork involved in finishing his shoes. Check out what he does with a piece of broken glass to shape a sole and sole edge, check out the heel shaping, stacking, and trimming with a knife; the heel and sole skiving, rasping, filing, sanding, etc., and the attention to detail. All of this is involved with finishing. You won't see the entire process in his videos either because they are also selectively edited, but, they do give a much better flavor than does a RTW factory video for the skill required in making and finishing a bespoke shoe or boot.

Anrobit - I agree and disagree. I made essentially the same point you made in an earlier posting. Here's what I wrote. "But to me, if the maker takes the time and attention to the detail of the soles, that he/she knows are going to be scuffed almost immediately, then that speaks, at least to me, that this maker cares......but I would suspect if the maker takes that kind of care with the soles, the rest is going to be pretty good too. Just my opinion and YMMV." The detail of the soles that I mentioned is more than just the shine, it's the shaping of the sole, the waist, the heels, etc., and, what I meant by "the rest" is the infrastructure of the shoe that cannot be seen and the visible aesthetics.

LynahFaithful - I will look up the vids and no doubt learn from them.

But please keep in mind - I have no doubt whatsoever that a great deal more handwork goes into a bespoke shoe than RTW - and I hope you didn't take my comment as suggesting otherwise. My uncertainty as to the skill involved related to the process of shining the sole alone - not to the myriad other tasks involved in creating a fine bespoke shoe, most of which require much skill indeed. And I'm not referring to the shaping of the sole / waist / heels or any of that - just the highly polished finish on he surface of the sole itself.

I'm just not sure that buffing the sole to a glossy shine takes much skill compared to those other tasks - and I stand to be corrected if I am wrong in this. But if I am right, then the shiny sole does not, in and of itself, suggest a higher quality shoe overall. But of course it can be - and in the case of your bespoke shoes no doubt is - an attractive part of what is otherwise undoubtedly the product of highly skilled craftsmanship.

 

[dopey]

It's not the buffing of the sole that takes the skill. It is the compressing, scraping and polishing of the sole to make a smooth flat surface so that it can take the waxing that is the skill.

 

[LynahFaithful]

Thanks dopey. I can't speak to the methodology or skill required of any aspect of shoe making as I haven't done it.

I do think though (and this is my opinion only) that if the maker takes the time and effort to create a highly glossed finish on the sole, it really can be indicative of the quality of the whole shoe. There may be exceptions but I believe that if any maker is going to make that kind of effort on just the sole, then the rest of the shoe is, most likely, going to be just as good. YMMV.

 

[Fishball]

Be frank, I don't think all this "good work" do to the sole has few if any at all fuctionality.
It is just like embroidery, or more like decoration on the cake. It take a lot of time, but no real function.

I have tried to do it, so I know how diffcult and time consuming to make a "perfect" good looking sole.
For the untrained eyes, one will think EG or G&G sole look pretty good, yes the are good, but the Japanese or other bespoke shoemakers can do something better or best!
But the price for better and best is not in liner proportion.

If you have chance to go Tokyo, go to get a resole in their department store, any one of them, you will find that their cobblers do a much much better job than the cobblers in US.

 

[BootSpell]

Last time I was in Tokyo, I was not "enlightened" so look forward to paying attention to anything footwear oriented.

 

[Fishball]

here is the first pair of men shoes I made two or three years ago, the sole is not that good, but it still take a lot of time even making a poor looking sole like that!

 

[RogerP]

It's not the buffing of the sole that takes the skill. It is the compressing, scraping and polishing of the sole to make a smooth flat surface so that it can take the waxing that is the skill.

That is what I had thought.

 

[JohnnyMarr]

DFW dude, are you fo' real?

 

[RogerP]

Fishball, if that is your first effort, then this is me standing and clapping.

 

[Fishball]

Thank you

 

[Vicious49]

What is DW's website? I'd like to see more pics of his work.

DW - Are you able to provide a link or would that be considered spamming? And can you believe that Mr. Bates knows! Can't wait for next weeks episode.

 

[DWFII]



What is DW's website? I'd like to see more pics of his work. 

DW - Are you able to provide a link or would that be considered spamming? And can you believe that Mr. Bates knows! Can't wait for next weeks episode.

I don't know...I generally err on the side of caution and avoid posting it.. However, my profile contains a link. ("What we offer" bottom of the page, if you're interested in men's dress shoes)

I think he does know. I think he knew all along. He hated that guy from the git-go.