Sole Welting

[dbhdnhdbh]

chogall,

I bet you are right about wet weather. I use Topys to protect soles from abrasion not water. For waterproofing one needs rubber. It is about 80 degrees below subtropical here, so no worries.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

DW, the "64 to the inch" way back when, what kind of awl would they use for that? Sewing needles carefully curved?

 

[DWFII]



DW, the "64 to the inch" way back when, what kind of awl would they use for that? Sewing needles carefully curved?

pB,

Probably something close. An awl is just a shaped piece of metal. Sewing awls and inseaming awls tend to be round shanked and have a flat, "horizontal" blade.Square awl (used for Traditional outsole stitching) have a flat "vertical" blade.

I don't think anyone really knows what was used (although it is fairly certain silk was used for thread)...no one is alive who remembers and it was done mostly as prizework and as a protest against encroaching mechanization.

The possibility is high that each maker who did this sort of work fashioned his own awls. But Devlin or Rees...one of the "Elder Shoe Gods"...wrote that when he did this work, he used an awl so fine that when he slipped and pierced the base of his thumb, it neither hurt nor bled. IIRC, he went on to say that he used a hair from his daughters head as a bristle (instead of a needle).

When I was fooling with this, I took a fairly fine sewing needle and sharpened a flat blade on it and put a small curve in it. The real problem was finding a haft to mount it in. Eventually I just used it like a needle and used a thimble to push it through the leather. But that wasn't real conducive to accuracy...or maybe it was just me.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I think I might donate my bones to the Trade when I die. There should be a space for that on your driver's license.

 

[DWFII]



I think I might donate my bones to the Trade when I die. There should be a space for that on your driver's license.

You know the story of St. Hugh's Bones, don't you? You could be St. Patrick...'cept that's taken already.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I do know the St Hugh story. Exactly what I was alluding to!

 

[misterjuiceman]

Summoning DW on this one (and whoever else has an opinion on it, of course).

Could there be any advantage to using a fiberboard insole on a Blake-rapid constructed boot? Kyle Rancourt has been posting on Reddit about using fiberboard insoles on their Blake-rapid constructed boots. It sounds like marketing nonsense to me, and I'd imagine that leather insoles are quite a bit more expensive. Is it at all possible that it's not?
Quote:

 

[DWFII]



Summoning DW on this one (and whoever else has an opinion on it, of course). 

Could there be any advantage to using a fiberboard insole on a Blake-rapid constructed boot? Kyle Rancourt has been posting on Reddit about using fiberboard insoles on their Blake-rapid constructed boots. It sounds like marketing nonsense to me, and I'd imagine that leather insoles are quite a bit more expensive. Is it at all possible that it's not?

I'm not going to critique this. By attaching the video and making an association with this company and the materials and techniques involved, I cannot feel comfortable commenting.

Some other time, some other place it might be possible to have a discussion regarding the strengths and weaknesses of different materials and techniques.

There may be...I'm sure there are...others who have no such qualms.

 

[misterjuiceman]

I'm not going to critique this. By attaching the video and making an association with this company and the materials and techniques involved, I cannot feel comfortable commenting.

Some other time, some other place it might be possible to have a discussion regarding the strengths and weaknesses of different materials and techniques.

There may be...I'm sure there are...others who have no such qualms.

I apologize if I put you in an awkward position by mentioning you directly.

 

[DWFII]



I apologize if I put you in an awkward position by mentioning you directly. 

You didn't. You may just have missed the fact that I get asked similar questions fairly regularly and I have stated...fairly regularly...that I do not criticize / critique other makers. Even manufacturers.

That's my policy.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I'm kind of a young fogey and appreciate things of the past, natural materials, tried and true processes and so on. Personally even if fiberboard performs better than leather I still wouldn't want it in my shoes. I like that it is more natural, I like that it is historically accurate. I feel the same way about things like topies. I mean, ok, it lasts longer than leather, but my intention in wearing "high end" shoes isn't so much of concern for longevity of replaceable parts of the shoe, but more so for my appreciation for the art, craft, and Trade. If you want shoes to last forever, or "perform" (whatever that might mean) better then you might as well wear rubber shoes, with metal soles everywhere.

 

[dbhdnhdbh]

Without commenting specifically on any particular maker, can the experts discuss the differences between leather and fiberboard?

How do they perform when making shoes? How do they compare for durability? Are they comparable in forming a footbed? Any other differences?

One can assume that the people who advocate it are sincere, and just give pros and con's. PB probably speaks for just about all bespoke buyers. But for the rest of the world, does fiberboard have any actual advantages?

 

[LynahFaithful]

pB - Here's an interesting quote on topy's from J.P Myhre's (a bespoke maker in Norway) website:

"Banish rubber stick on soles – they suffocate the leather and cause it to rot prematurely"

He does, however, as does Uncle Mac in the Alden thread, recommend overshoes:

"Rubber overshoes are very practical in use."

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I mean, I have no way of validating the rotting statement, but even if they don't rot your shoes I don't like them. Also, which is weird I guess, but if I am behind somebody walking on the street and I see rubber on the bottoms of their shoes it kind of just looks wrong to me when wearing a proper pair of shoes. I feel the same way about dainties. I have tried them, didn't like them for a number of reasons.

 

[dopey]

On the erstwhile subject of sole welting and in light of today's weather:
What Norway gave the world (as co-opted by Italy)