Goyser Welt

[Slickman]

Getting a pair of vass high boots made up with vibram sole to use in foul weather, would a goyser welt help seal the welt?

 

[luk-cha]

yes it should help

 

[DWFII]

It kind of depends...

First, the obvious and general rule is that the more holes, especially close to the ground, that are put into a piece of leather, the less watertight it will be.

And then, there is the issue if how the thread is prepared.

Traditionally, inseaming threads (those that hold the welt onto the shoe) are waxed with a special mixture of colophony (rosin), pitch, beeswax and sometimes cod oil. This has to be prepared by hand and applied to the threads by hand. When the thread is pulled through the hole in the leather, the wax heats up from friction and then re-solidifies...thus sealing the hole. In fact, if the maker stops pulling the thread, even for an instant, before the stitch is seated, he may have a difficult time restarting it--the sealing and adhering properties of the wax are so formidable.

Waxes used for ornamental stitching such as goiser stitching...where the threads are both visible and primarily decorative...are often mostly or all beewax, if only to preserve the white or cream colour of the thread (usually linen thread). But beeswax does a very poor job of sealing the hole. And it can be somewhat fugitive.

What's more, if such threads are made of linen yarn (the traditional fiber), when the beeswax fails or is rubbed off, the thread can actually wick moisture into the shoe. (Although to be fair, some of that wicking may be mitigated if shoe polish is applied to the threads on a regular basis.)

 

[fritzl]



yes it should help

+1

 

[Slickman]

Thank you for the help & info