My OneBoot, by DWFII (Updated w/ Visit to DW and a second pair)

Originally Posted by DWFII

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Thanks Sri.

BTW, Thornton is almost ready...almost 600 pages. I expect it to be uploaded within a couple of months...I'm working on the index right now and then I need to scan in all the advertisements at the back and...done.

I haven't forgotten.

Wow, that is awesome! Thank you so much for your efforts -- I am looking forward to reading and learning.

Originally Posted by Fishball

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You made me want to ask DW to make me one pair!

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Aren't you close to making your own, A? I would not hesitate though, if you're seriously considering DW.

Originally Posted by DWFII

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M, I remember that thread as well. I always wondered how they could be what they purport to be. If the tree is not closely modeled after the original last, it cannot be a lasted tree. For instance, the comb of most lasts are notably narrower than the heel seat of the last...yet the tree depicted is virtually the same width from the base of the heel to the the top of the tree. the last wasn't like that, the shoe wasn't made like that. How can the tree be said to be a "lasted tree?" It may be a very good tree. It may be very close to the inside dimensions of the shoe, it may fulfill its function as a boot tree most wonderfully... but how can it be said to be lasted if it is derived independently of the last?
I wonder this too. To make them something like lasted, maybe he puts some kind of balloon in front half of the shoe and fills that up with plaster of paris or something similar, then shapes the wood to that form. Just a guess and probably a bad one.

Originally Posted by DWFII

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Hey, making a pair of bespoke shoes for someone is necessarily a collaboration. So thank you. And since you weren't looking for western boots, and since you didn't know me from beans (my PR campaign and Madison Avenue advertising firm having fallen on hard times

) I appreciate the leap of faith in giving a relatively unknown shoemaker a go.
OK, I will take credit for 1%. I do agree that there is some measure of collaboration and trust. Collaboration because there was certainly some back and forth about design and fit (which is part of why I hate the common term of "using" a tailor or cordwainer). And the trust goes both ways, since you made a leap in faith when you sent the completed boots w/o the rest of the payment.

Originally Posted by Chips

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Yet another very informative thread from DWFII. Thank you again for sharing so many details. I'm not why my mind pulled the word "channeled" when I was thinking of the beautiful fiddleback sole in his previous example, but you correctly read my mind.
Sounds good, T. Looking forward to showing you the boots irl at some pt.

Originally Posted by srivats

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...M, I have no shame in admitting my envy

I hope that you really enjoy your boots. They should serve you well for years and years!
Thanks S. I'm hoping 40 yrs or so.

Originally Posted by james_timothy

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A picture is worth a thousand words- thanks for taking the time to take the photos and post them, D. The boots look great and the handwork is fascinating. I think the capstone photo would be emptym on his bike with the boots on!
Oh no! An action shot would involve getting help, but I'll think about it.

Originally Posted by emptym

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I've never been there either. I was fortunate enough to be in LA when DW was too, but if you're ready you can order from afar.

I live in Australia, so I wouldn't presume to order from that afar. My wife's family live in California, though, so perhaps one day I'll be at least a little closer.

Originally Posted by emptym

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Aren't you close to making your own, A? I would not hesitate though, if you're seriously considering DW.


M, you know, shoemaking is a craft and art, it need a lot of experience. So I don't think I can reach DW skill level at any time soon, so when I got my tax refund this year, I will really consider it, hope DW won't turn down my comissioning.

Originally Posted by Fishball

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M, you know, shoemaking is a craft and art, it need a lot of experience. So I don't think I can reach DW skill level at any time soon, so when I got my tax refund this year, I will really consider it, hope DW won't turn down my comissioning.
To quote Patrick O'Brian and Stephen Maturin..."never in life."

Originally Posted by DWFII

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To quote Patrick O'Brian and Stephen Maturin..."never in life."

You an O'Brian man? Oh $hite, yet another plus.

Originally Posted by PipersSon

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You an O'Brian man? Oh $hite, yet another plus.
[chuckle] I don't know about "plus"... Which I've read the whole 20...and listened to the tapes while traveling so often, it kind of rubs off on you, as who should say. Actually, it kind of makes me sad to contemplate how far our language has deteriorated.

A true HOF thread. Thanks, DWFII.

Originally Posted by philosophe

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A true HOF thread.

Thanks, DWFII.
You're most welcome...but really, it's EmptyM's thread.

Originally Posted by DWFII

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You're most welcome...but really, it's EmptyM's thread.

how many fittings were there? =)

Originally Posted by ThinkDerm

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how many fittings were there? =)
I'm not sure...I think three or four. I made two pair of models each time...one pair was boots, the other low quarter shoes. I did that to be certain of the fit in case M ever wanted a pair of regular shoes. A boot like that can be very deceiving if only because the style tends to make anything short of a perfect fit feel nevertheless really good. But an oxford made on a last like that would immediately be revealed as inadequate. The main issue with the repeated fittings was the length and shape of the toe, as I recall...maybe M can fill you in in more detail. But the starting last was an extra length last to begin with and had a chisel toe. So there was some recurring adjustment in that regard to get the shape and length correct for him. There was also a bit of an issue with a slight pronation that I had to adjust for. The best part was that I felt the medial forepart of the foot was straighter than almost any commercial last would have accommodated comfortably. I adjusted for that, as well, and did good work there, I believe. M wrote in an email that even the first fitting was better than anything else he had...and he even felt comfortable running on the beach (?) in them.

^I think it was four. Yep, the first did feel so good I ran a little on rocky beach. I wore them for a walk and ran a quarter mile stretch or so. I think your description of the process is entirely correct. The shape of the toe was probably the major concern. The only thing I'd add is a few minor design elements like the height of the boots. We went back and forth but ended up with the height of the original.

Originally Posted by DWFII

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You're most welcome...but really, it's EmptyM's thread.
I may have started it, but you're definitely the one who made it great.

Originally Posted by james_timothy

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That is a great set of photos. It is fabulous to see the details of the boot construction. I couldn't tell what the leather pieces were until the lasting photo, and then I had to go back to look at the other pictures to see them with new eyes.

It must take getting a wonderful new pair of boots to another level to see images of their construction. It makes me wish Rach's bag had come with construction photos.

Yeah, I wish it had as well. BUT, she works on the bags one at a time, and I can imagine it would be rather distracting to stop every few hours to snap a photograph, especially considering she's not a photographer, nor does she really have the set-up/camera/etc to do it.

As well, hers is a pretty small operation, so it's also not like she could get one of her forty assistants to follow her around snapping pics. Still, though, I'd have loved to see how she did the stitching... I LOVE watching the videos floating around the interwebz of artisans doing a very nice saddle stitch.

magnificent facking boots.

Originally Posted by rach2jlc

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Yeah, I wish it had as well. BUT, she works on the bags one at a time, and I can imagine it would be rather distracting to stop every few hours to snap a photograph, especially considering she's not a photographer, nor does she really have the set-up/camera/etc to do it. As well, hers is a pretty small operation, so it's also not like she could get one of her forty assistants to follow her around snapping pics. Still, though, I'd have loved to see how she did the stitching... I LOVE watching the videos floating around the interwebz of artisans doing a very nice saddle stitch.
Just for general information, mine is a small operation as well. I do one pair at a time with only my very talented wife helping (she made the jodhpurs on my webpage for herself). To take photos of this process, is...as you suggest...a bit time consuming and requires that one stop in the middle of sometimes quite complex operations to snap a photo or two. Probably accounts for the dearth of lasting or inseaming or welt stitching photos (or even video)s around. You might look at some of the videos here if you are really interested in seeing some of the nitty-gritty.