Shoe Damage Report & Shoe P0rn Central - Part II

[isshinryu101]



I suspect it's more about personal taste than anything else.
That said as a shoemaker (and not all other shoemakers will agree with me) beauty, excellence, and to a large extent even quality, are about refinement.
Doing large stitches is easy. Doing 10, 12, even 16 stitches per inch on a welt, by hand...which Rees termed "middling work"....tests you. It tests your eye. It tests your control. It tests your techniques and materials.
My wife and I dance ballroom (we're rank amateurs) and I've taken lessons over the years from some very well regarded teachers--national champion,s in several cases. One of them told me that '"big movements just look dumb." I think it applies across the board, if for no other reason than it screams "Look at me!." Like posting all in caps.
And the trouble with that is that once you do, you quickly realize you've seen all there is to see and don't need to look any further.
Nuance and detail draw the perceptive observer in...only to discover that there's more there than meets the eye.

HA! I love your response. You are a gentleman as well as a wonderful cordwainer. However, consider the essence of what art is. Which details should be on display and which should be hidden? "Refinement" is an issue to be dealt with in the heart of the end-user. The finest detail is one that MAY be characterized as one which is no longer even noticeable. Doesn't that defeat the point of creating art in the first place?

Rembrandt was a master in the use of light. He knew well how light acted in the natural world. However, he often played with it and added an "unnatural" element to his works. A truly "refined" masterpiece MAY be argued to be one which 100% represents "perfection". However, in viewing his works, it is sometimes the "Flaws" (intentional?) that make them true masterpieces.

For me, perfection can only be achieved thru mastering "imperfection" and then learning how to properly use it.

I sometimes post in all caps... when i accidentally hit the caps lock & don't feel like re-typing.

 

[Pliny]



Well, very simply...only a very few of us wear our shoes exclusively on rugs or to get from one chair to another. Most of the time our shoes interface with the world--rocks, twigs, concrete curbs, car doors, etc..
Welts function as a "bumper"of sorts. And one that is replaceable.
Take it to its logical extreme...shoes with closely trimmed cement sole construction almost always get more scarred and scuffed on the sides of the shoe than on the toe.

+1 the Vass bumper car sole isn't to everyone's taste, but after a couple of years of banging, tripping, kicking etc it's almost flush with the (undamaged) vamp. part of the craft

 

[fritzl]



part of the craft

exactly. imo, it's important, with whom you work.

 

[Pliny]



exactly. imo, it's important, with whom you work.

sure it's deliberate- like the aniline calf, better patina in the long run - and comes from long experience

 

[fritzl]



part of the craft

btw nick, i appreciate your opinion, if you please. not all uploaded yet, though.

 

[ThinkDerm]

Well, very simply...only a very few of us wear our shoes exclusively on rugs or to get from one chair to another. Most of the time our shoes interface with the world--rocks, twigs, concrete curbs, car doors, etc..
Welts function as a "bumper"of sorts. And one that is replaceable.
Take it to its logical extreme...shoes with closely trimmed cement sole construction almost always get more scarred and scuffed on the sides of the shoe than on the toe.

+1 the Vass bumper car sole isn't to everyone's taste, but after a couple of years of banging, tripping, kicking etc it's almost flush with the (undamaged) vamp. part of the craft

photos of the used vass?

 

[AnGeLiCbOrIs]

 

[ThinkDerm]



maker?

 

[fritzl]



F - the shoes are nice, but I must say that something seems to be amiss in your leg or ankle - can't quite pin it down.

oops, i overlooked that. not sure, what you mean. care to explain?

 

[Kaplan]

^ He's just confused, as in the pic it seems like you're wearing your watch around your ankle. Sans socks and all

 

[fritzl]



^ He's just confused, as in the pic it seems like you're wearing your watch around your ankle. Sans socks and all

 

[mcarthur]

ravello full strap
argyles otc

 

[uniesse]



These are very nice.

 

[ThinkDerm]



ravello full strap
argyles otc

grails

 

[Gdot]



Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

These look like they are going to patina beautifully.

Can you tell us anything about the maker and the leather?