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Except that Blake is done to a groove in the outsole. And you see it. And it wicks moisture into the shoe.
Pump stitched is done to a channel that is sealed.
Yes, "pump stitched" or "channel stitched."
I think M. de Garsault describes the technique in his 1767 Art du Cordonnier . Remember this was way before cement
One topic that has been mentioned from time to time in various on-line blogs is that of ‘gemming’ or ‘ribbing failure’, whereby the sole and uppers of the shoe supposedly part company catastrophically with the insole. It is not something I have ever come across in real life and when we are in the welting department I decide to raise the issue with James, who is rather dismissive of the idea:
‘We’ve never had a rib fail. We’ve been making shoes for 130 years and there is a reason why we are still making shoes in this way."
He points out that in a Goodyear welted shoe, the insole is effectively encased by the chainstitch of the welt and the lockstitch of the upper. Although C&J have a fairly active repairs department looking after shoes that are returned for resoling (some of whose owners appear to treat their shoes with a degree of abuse and neglect I find surprising), they have never had a pair of shoes returned that have had rib failure.
*I presume a shoemaker can do closed-channel stitching on a blake shoe, just as they can on a welted shoe.
I don't think the machines are engineered to do that. Have you...has anyone...ever seen a Blake shoe that had a closed channel?
About Gemming Failure, from a nice C&J Factory Tour by Gentleman's Gazette:
Bonwelt is simply a fake welt strip used to make a Blake or cemented shoe look like a welted or Blake Rapid shoe.
Functionally the only difference between Blake stitched and Blake stitched with a Bonwelt is cosmetic; the Bonwelted shoe has a fake welt glued to the upper edges of the sole.
I am not a great fan of topy...for personal reasons...but I would recommend it in this case to, yes, put off having to replace the outsole as long as possible. If you're assiduously observant, you may never have to replace the outsole. I put it on my wife's pump stitched shoes...she likes it and I didn't want to fool with having to hand stitch another outsole before its time.
I think I'm convinced. Would you suggest adding a topy ASAP to prevent any possible moisture wicking from ever occurring, or is there a reason to "break in" the shoes first?
Okay, no good then. No idea how to help, thelonius then.
I don't think the machines are engineered to do that. Have you...has anyone...ever seen a Blake shoe that had a closed channel?
I would do it immediately. Once you wear the shoes at all...and the problems gets worse the more you wear them...you will grind so much dirt and so forth into the outsoles that to do the job correctly the outsole will have to be ground away slightly. That may impact the integrity of the stitches. Which would defeat the purpose.
Thanks for the idea TW. No, I don't think talc is the answer. I don't think it's a problem particular to me, although everyone differs of course. Chemical aggression from the interior is definitely an important source of shoe deterioration as far as I'm concerned and I've heard other people mention it, but I haven't come across any particular treatments to protect the interior surfaces. I thought of adding a leather insole with active carbon layer, the sort one can find for sale easily and renew regularly, but adding an extra layer fills the shoes up more and may distort them. An such a layer would not protect the linings either.Okay, no good then. No idea how to help, thelonius then.
About Gemming Failure, from a nice C&J Factory Tour by Gentleman's Gazette: