Shoemaking Techniques and Traditions--"...these foolish things..."

[DWFII]

Thank you for posting this and the following posts.

Yr. Hmb. Svt.

 

[DWFII]

@oscarthewild

Thank you for quoting that post. I would simply say, however, that probably the most significant and instructive part of that post was the quotation from Boots and Shoes:

(Boots and Shoes F.Y. Golding vol VI):
The cordwainer’s seam dates back to time immemorial. Though there have been changes in the materials, such as rolled shoulders instead of unrolled, and varieties of new upper materials and shapes of lasts have been introduced, and improvements have been made in the welting, the actual attachment by threads has remained the same, and to-day we are making welt-seams in the same manner as our forefathers did.

Year by year improvements in craftsmanship have been made until it appears that hand-made welt seams are now being made almost to a state of perfection.

The aim of the shoemaker is to produce a seam that will stand the strain it will be called on to bear, and at the same time to give the maximum amount of flexibility, an essential feature of handsewn footwear. He aims at getting the sections forming the seam laid side by side, and firmly attached by the waxed thread in a horizontal direction. Particular attention is paid at this stage to the preparation, because he knows that a waterproof seam is demanded, and the materials forming the seam are not in themselves waterproof. For instance, innersoles have little or no power of resistance to water penetration, in fact one of the good qualities of insoling is its ability to absorb perspiration as well as being of a texture that will allow the foot to make its impression. The uppers in ordinary cases are not waterproof, while the welt is absorbent, the well-waxed thread being the only waterproof section of the boot.

Well worth expanding the quote for those who are interested in insoles and hand welted shoes.

It is also well worth noting that Golding is one of the most important and respected sources for shoemakers--he is...legitimately...one of the Elder Gods of the Trade.

 

[Jaggery]

Not exactly a traditional shoemaking technique, but I'm hoping someone here might answer a question about a pair of goodyear "flex" loafers. On the inside edge of each shoe, there appear to be two brass nailheads, as well as the round head of another fastener (painted over, forward of the nails and a little higher):

Are these just reinforcements to help hold the parts (insole/welt/outsole/heel) together? Any reason why they would be used on these loafers and not found on other, similarly-constructed shoes?

 

[DWFII]

Not exactly a traditional shoemaking technique, but I'm hoping someone here might answer a question about a pair of goodyear "flex" loafers. On the inside edge of each shoe, there appear to be two brass nailheads, as well as the round head of another fastener (painted over, forward of the nails and a little higher):

Are these just reinforcements to help hold the parts (insole/welt/outsole/heel) together? Any reason why they would be used on these loafers and not found on other, similarly-constructed shoes?

The outsole appears to be rubber and the heel stack appears to be paper. I cannot think of a single functional reason for whatever the maker has done here. The nails are not holding anything together. It may just be some idiosyncratic 'device' to aid in their particular manufacturing process. But regardless of the reason, bottom line, it is whimsy and superfluous.

And it certainly is not Traditional.

 

[Jaggery]

I cannot think of a single functional reason for whatever the maker has done here.

I find it strangely reassuring that someone with your experience making shoes didn't come up with an obvious functional explanation either!

 

[j ingevaldsson]

Assume there's some interest of this here, the massive review of all 40 contest shoes in the world championships in shoemaking is now published here, including lots of pictures of the making of many of the entries. Some really amazing stuff!

The contestants were to make a dark brow full brogue, hand welted with hand made sole stitch (more criteria on the link). Below a brief summary and a couple of pictures of the top three.

1. Daniel Wegan
Last year’s runner-up Daniel Wegan returned with an even more amazing shoe this year, earning him the world champion in shoemaking title. His shoe is a true exhibition piece, reminiscent of how many contest shoes could look like in the late 1800s or early 1900s, when shoe contests was a huge thing around the world, and makers pushed the craft with their entries. It is 100% handmade solely by Daniel Wegan himself, the upper is hand stitched and even the toe and heel plates have been made by hand by him. As Daniel describes it he has put a lot more effort into making this shoe than last year, he didn’t count exactly but up towards 150 hours. Especially the stitching of the uppers were time consuming.

2. Christophe Corthay
Christophe Corthay, France, finished in 9th place last year, and similar to Daniel he has returned this year with a shoe even more well-made and ambitious, where Christophe have made it all himself. It certainly stands out as well, though more because of the sublime contrasted braided sole stitching and the matching orange piping and tassels, plus of course the awesome heel.

3. Eiji Murata
This shoe is a very different cup of tea than the two previous podium shoes. Made by the mythic Japanese bespoke shoemaker Eiji Murata, who runs the brand Main d’Or all by himself, it’s a shoe that may look quite plain and “normal” at first sight. However, when you begin to look closer, you realise that it almost looks like a computer-made, 3D printed shoe or something, the level of the execution is the best possible, jury points in this category were very high.

 

[DWFII]

@j ingevaldsson et al,

Over the 10+ years that I have been posting on SF, I have had occasion to speculate about the Trade esp. as it relates to, and contrasts with, the Industry--individual shoemakers vs. manufactured shoes, workshops and outworkers.

I have never felt qualified to question or criticize the way a business is organized or operates, but I have inquired, ever now and again, as to who the shoemaker was in such circumstances where no one individual makes, or takes responsibility for, a pair of shoes. Who is the shoemaker when a firm uses outworkers?

We don't use outworkers much in this country, so I tell myself that my skepticism is warranted...even understandable...even if (is it?) misplaced.

Despite that, I've gotten some negative feedback in response to my questions. Even, on occasion, the fairly adamant assertion that the outworker system is the only way to reach the pinnacle of excellence, simply because no one individual has a life long enough or skill enough to master all phases of shoemaking by himself and in himself.

And, worse, no one has ever undertaken to answer the question: "Who is the shoemaker?"

I want to thank Daniel Wegan for giving the only answer I ever got--he is the shoemaker. And I want to thank him for proving that one man can indeed embody all the skills and talent and perception needed to take handmade Shoemaking, the Trade and the Traditions into the realm of the sublime.

Anyone who thinks to cavil about how flawed handmade is compared to the contrived 'perfection' of the machine, must be hanging their head in shame. Once again...as it was in the 19th century...it has been proven that no machine can duplicate what a skilled shoemaker, by himself, can do...what Master Wegan has done, can do, and will, I have no doubt, do again.

Thank you for that, Maestro.

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp or what's a heaven for?"

 

[j ingevaldsson]

@j ingevaldsson et al,

Over the 10+ years that I have been posting on SF, I have had occasion to speculate about the Trade esp. as it relates to, and contrasts with, the Industry--individual shoemakers vs. manufactured shoes, workshops and outworkers.

I have never felt qualified to question or criticize the way a business is organized or operates, but I have inquired, ever now and again, as to who the shoemaker was in such circumstances where no one individual makes, or takes responsibility for, a pair of shoes. Who is the shoemaker when a firm uses outworkers?

We don't use outworkers much in this country, so I tell myself that my skepticism is warranted...even understandable...even if (is it?) misplaced.

Despite that, I've gotten some negative feedback in response to my questions. Even, on occasion, the fairly adamant assertion that the outworker system is the only way to reach the pinnacle of excellence, simply because no one individual has a life long enough or skill enough to master all phases of shoemaking by himself and in himself.

And, worse, no one has ever undertaken to answer the question: "Who is the shoemaker?"

I want to thank Daniel Wegan for giving the only answer I ever got--he is the shoemaker. And I want to thank him for proving that one man can indeed embody all the skills and talent and perception needed to take handmade Shoemaking, the Trade and the Traditions into the realm of the sublime.

Anyone who thinks to cavil about how flawed handmade is compared to the contrived 'perfection' of the machine, must be hanging their head in shame. Once again...as it was in the 19th century...it has been proven that no machine can duplicate what a skilled shoemaker, by himself, can do...what Master Wegan has done, can do, and will, I have no doubt, do again.

Thank you for that, Maestro.

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp or what's a heaven for?"

Yeah, I'm very happy that this contest has brought forward the type of shoes that we see in the top now, both last year and this. Daniel Wegan's winning shoe is worthy to be in a museum in the future. I'm getting the top three shoes ready for the world tour now, but they are so nice I almost want to cancel the tour and have them standing here on a shelf in my living room for the rest of the year

 

[EnglishShoes]

I feel quite honoured to own a pair of shoes made by Daniel. I haven't actually worn them yet as they are absolute works of art, even if they are fairly conservative brown oxfords. I met him at the G&G factory a couple of years ago and he was a really nice guy and extremely modest. What a legend!

 

[DWFII]

@j ingevaldsson has posted an interesting 'expose'(?) over on his blog...some of which has spilled over to Instagram. Well worth reading. Even wading through the sometimes grammatically maladroit comments (mine mostly) in the IG feed.

Wish it had been posted here.

 

[DWFII]

scraper love:

 

[DWFII]

Scraper Appreciation:

A study in black and white--same scraper neatly shearing the end grain tops off of hardwood pegs (shavings of white in amongst the leather) and evenly scraping a thin layer off the edge of a Vibram toplift (black).

 

[PhilJB]

This is a great thread. It's taken me a while to read it and I have a few questions about mid-soles and soles generally which I'm hoping you can shed some light on:

1. Should the midsole be stitched separately to the outsole? I've read László Vass's book where he shows separate stitching for midsole and outsole, as in this picture.

The stitches are all 10mm wide (2.5 stiches per inch). The first row stitches the welt and upper to the insole, the second row the welt to the midsole, and the third outer row goes through welt, midsole and outsole.

By comparison, as far as I can see the beautiful deerskin shoes below (by one of the thread's contributors) don’t have any separate midsole stitching.

What are the pros and cons of separate midsole stitching? If you do stitch the midsole separately, how might it best be done?

2. Which leads on to... As far as I can recall, this thread has advocated very tight outsole stitching (in excess of 10 stitches per inch at the minimum), which is what we see in the deerskin shoe. But the Vass shoe is down at 2.5 stitches per inch. I assume that Vass knew what he was doing and that such wide stitching doesn't compromise the integrity of the shoe (is that right?). So apart from aesthetics, are there any other reasons that the outsole stitching in most other hand-welted shoes is so tight?

3. Next question. I've read in this thread that leather on leather will squeak, so what is done to stop the outsole rubbing against the midsole and squeaking? Is there any filler, or just glue and stitching?

Whilst on the subject on soles:

4. In Frank West's book, How to Bottom a Welted Shoe by Hand, he says (page 30-31) "To make shoes flexible and comfortable, it is necessary on a good inner-sole to slice or cut them partly through, making the cuts about one-eighth inch apart, running across the sole. Is that normal practise? Does anyone do that?

5. Lastly, I wondered about the wool filler in DWFII's shoes. I assume this will compact over time as the shoe is worn. Does that matter? What's the filler like when a shoe is opening up for re-soling?

That's it. Hopefully you can shed some light on the above. Thanks.

 

[DWFII]

1) Doubtful that the midsole is being stitched to the outsole--it may be stitched separately to the welt or the upper but the outsole is added after the midsole and the stitching that holds the outsole on will generally pass through the midsole as well as the welt. Sometimes the midsole is not stitched separately but only secured by the stitching that holds the outsole on. As in the case of both of your photos.

Maker's choice...depends on what style is being made and what effect is wanted.

2) It's whole separate aesthetic. Widely space stitching (up to a point) will not compromise the integrity of the shoe; very tightly spaced stitching may.

But long stitches, like expansive dance moves, look crude and awkward. Nuance is the heart and soul of refinement. IMO. It takes a very good shoemaker to stitch outsoles at 20 spi but a beginner could do 2.5 spi right out of the gate.

3) Leather will creak if it is rubbing against itself. Some makers use a leather forepart filler. (And why not if the shoe is handwelted? There is very little need for a filler on a handwelted shoe). But if a leather filler is used then a cement (usually neoprene) that will not dis-adhere or come lose must be used to bond all layers.This is what prevents the leather from rubbing on itself.

And that cement is universally occlusive--meaning it will prevent the leather from breathing and wicking moisture away from the foot. Why not just wear neoprene socks?

4) I don't know of anyone...not to say there isn't. But for myself, I would not deliberately undermine the structural integrity of the insole in that fashion.

5) Yes, wool will compress over time--where there is pressure from the bones of the foot. And not compress where there is no pressure. It will also stay in place. And it is breatheable. And it can be glued in with paste so it is never occlusive. And it never creaks.

Cork is fugitive under the foot and is generally in a matrix of something very like neoprene cement (occlusive) and fragments into particles that migrate away from pressure points. It is also becoming more and more scarce and, as a consequence neoprene foam is often substituted.

Wool has been used time-out-of-mind, often tarred. When a shoe is opened for repair, the wool filler will, invariably, be intact, in place, and reusable if wanted.

One other small and often dismissed point. Neoprene contact cement is a product of the petroleum industry (as are neoprene foam fillers and aftermarket 'insoles'). The cement is solvent based, and is toxic to the maker and to the environment. Wool is renewable, non-toxic, and the bonding agent is, more often than not, a plant based starch paste--Hirschkleber for instance, is, IIRC, potato starch.

Hope this helps.

 

[dopey]

FWIW, the deerskin shoes in the photo above were made for me and they loo even better now that they have some wear on them.