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

[ntempleman]

Lasting nails dont necessarily need to go through the wood to hold the upper in place for stitching. Better all round if you try not to in fact, preserve the wood of the last, the insole will hold the nail ok

 

[DWFII]

I had a similar question, I have a last with a metal heel plate, which nails or tacks do I use? will clinching nails come out after clinching? Did it take prices of leather with it when and if you managed to remove them?

Well, I wouldn't use clinching nails unless I intended them to be permanent (or as permanent as they can be once they start rusting).

Clinching nails will take a small (some would say insignificant) amount of leather with it when the nail is pulled. It's very like a fish hook in your ear. If not visually at least in concept and mechanics.

But as I mentioned in an earlier post when iron rusts it stains the leather--the first stage in what is effectively a carbonization of vegetable tanned leather. Eventually the leather gets brittle just as if it were burned. A clinched nail will take out considerably more than a "small amount" under those circumstances and often considerably earlier than when the insole is fully carbonized. .

FWIW, I have taken metal heel plates off lasts and filled the shallow rebated area with a piece of split soling leather. Works a treat--no functional difference except now you can peg the heel seat.

 

[PhilJB]

On a different subject... It's been said here and elsewhere that when stitching the outsole of a dress shoe, high stitch rates (people talk of SPI in the high teens) are not as strong as lower stitch rates.

I wondered what the optimal number of stitches per inch would be purely from a structural point of view (setting aside aesthetics) for a typical hand welted dress shoe?

 

[ntempleman]

Depends on the thickness of the material, but for a typical 1/4” sole then somewhere around 11, 12 or 13 has long been the standard for west end work

 

[daizawaguy]

I asked before on the custom shoe thread I believe, I am after trying to find out from when metal toe plates were used on town shoes. I am familiar with the quarter steel heel, but cannot find any photos of shoes which are custom and have front steel tips - any ideas or photos to show how far this goes back please?

 

[yshin10]

I got a LOT to learn and catch up on this thread but @DWFII way earlier you had said that you prefer blake rapid stitching over GYW. Could you expound as to why?

 

[DWFII]

I got a LOT to learn and catch up on this thread but @DWFII way earlier you had said that you prefer blake rapid stitching over GYW. Could you expound as to why?

I think the caveat was "if done correctly."

If done correctly Blake Rapid will have good quality insole, a good quality outsole, and a leather-thread-leather construction technique. And that implies good quality materials. None of which is inherent in GYW, and all of which means more labour 9skilled labour) and more expensive materials. Which is why manufacturers prefer GYW--it has a better bottom line/profit margin.

 

[yshin10]

I think the caveat was "if done correctly."

If done correctly Blake Rapid will have good quality insole, a good quality outsole, and a leather-thread-leather construction technique. And that implies good quality materials. None of which is inherent in GYW, and all of which means more labour 9skilled labour) and more expensive materials. Which is why manufacturers prefer GYW--it has a better bottom line/profit margin.

I love it. I live in Portland Oregon. Just fyi, do you have any good cobblers or bespoke shoe makes in this area that you know of? I go down to central oregon a lot. I know you are semi retired but wanted to see if you are in the business still?

 

[DWFII]

I love it. I live in Portland Oregon. Just fyi, do you have any good cobblers or bespoke shoe makes in this area that you know of? I go down to central oregon a lot. I know you are semi retired but wanted to see if you are in the business still?

Last I knew...

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

Hard to say--it's a photo with all the inadequacies of a photo. But, that said, I would guess it is fabric rather than felt (although it could be felt, I guess). Sometimes some makers will add a layer of fabric between the upper and the lining to stabilize the upper leather and prevent or...

www.styleforum.net

 

[ajd578]

I think the caveat was "if done correctly."

If done correctly Blake Rapid will have good quality insole, a good quality outsole, and a leather-thread-leather construction technique. And that implies good quality materials. None of which is inherent in GYW, and all of which means more labour 9skilled labour) and more expensive materials. Which is why manufacturers prefer GYW--it has a better bottom line/profit margin.

Would it be fair to say that Blake rapid is also better because less filler is required, all else equal?

 

[DWFII]

Would it be fair to say that Blake rapid is also better because less filler is required, all else equal?

It's a good point--again, if done correctly. Bear in mind as in the old adage:

"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." John Ruskin--applies to Blake-Rapid as well as anything else.

 

[ajd578]

It's a good point--again, if done correctly. Bear in mind as in the old adage:

"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." John Ruskin--applies to Blake-Rapid as well as anything else.

I also feel like people selling Blake rapid shoes are less likely (compared to those selling Goodyear) to bill their method as God's gift to shoemaking. Doesn't make the shoes *better* but maybe easier to stomach .

 

[bernoulli]

Just posting to thank you, @DWFII. If tradition is making sure knowledge is passed on to new generations, you are the most traditional shoemaker there is.

It's a good point--again, if done correctly. Bear in mind as in the old adage:

"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." John Ruskin--applies to Blake-Rapid as well as anything else.

 

[DWFII]

Just posting to thank you, @DWFII. If tradition is making sure knowledge is passed on to new generations, you are the most traditional shoemaker there is.

Thank You.

 

[bernoulli]

@DWFII off topic but I believe you might appreciate this. The artist creates this pieces by taking a knife through leather. No pigments or anything else other than the piece of leather he starts with and a knife. Her dealer said it takes him 3 months to finish a single large piece.

To put this on topic, I assume you can understand his technique much better than people who never worked with leather.