Aven

Nice job on both of them. Where's your pair?

It's all up to you. They are your creations in your style. If you can sew it without it moving, then you don't need glue to hold it in place while you sew. But gluing it may help your edges look neater when you finish them.

I have seen primitive style sheaths made from dog rawhide bones. The rawhide was soaked until it was pliable. Because pieces were so thick he would stretch it flat and let it dry. Then he sanded it if I remember correctly to thin it. When it was as thick as he wanted it, it was soaked again and formed over a mold to dry. Some were left plain, so had designs pressed into it while it was drying. Natural dyes were used to stain it. Bones, stones, hair, teeth, and what not to decorate it.

I picked up my rawhide maul from wrising.com. The price was more than reasonable and it was exactly what I was looking for. I was impressed with it when it arrived. Lot of value for the price.

Yup. The shoes are either welted, most likely, or stitch down.

What do you think about doing the sheep skin a vest that you can button into the jacket for those really cold days. When it's not as cold you could just wear the vest or just the jacket.

WOW! You have lots to be proud of there. It looks stunning in and of itself and on you. I love it. All of it.

JW ~ that is just stunning. I love everything about it.

They're just a double - sided chisel. Check out woodworking sharpening guides. You might find one that will hold it on a skew. The hard part is going to be finding a way to repeat it for the other side and for the next time. If nothing else, it's a place to start for figuring out your jig.

The top picture is a manual splitting machine, or a splitter. The largest manual machine I know of is 8". The other picture is a Landis 5 in 1. It's used by shoemakers and cobblers to cut thick soling material, skive, narrow splits and press the welt. If you are looking just to cut thick leather, you don't need the 5 in 1, a 3 in 1 would work for you. It cuts, splits and I think skives. Neither one of them does a feather skive. They leave a thicker edge. I have seen 5 in 1 used go for any where from $350 to $1250. The condition was any where from use it for a parts donor to completely restored. And a higher price doesn't mean that it's all there and in good working order either. I'd been looking for a 5 in 1 for two years that I could afford when I happened to stumble across one. I didn't pay nearly as much as I had expected to pay, considering its condition. I've seen 3 in 1's go for anywhere from $200 to $700. Be aware they are heavy and shipping is going to be expensive if you are shipping from the US. If you just want to cut thick leather this might work for you. It's just a cutter, but its a lot cheaper than a 3 in 1.

Thank you so much Uwe! I can't tell you just how much I really appreciate you taking the time to do this.

Gawd, how can Krispy Kreme doughnuts taste like a lump of dirt? There's nothing too them. If the Southern Maid ones are lighter thenKrispy Kreme they have to be sweetened air. Sounds divine.

That would be wonderful. I looked through Youtube hoping you had all ready did one. If not this weekend, when you can get to it. Thanks!

It's taken a fair bit of patients, but I've gotten most of it unwound without disassembly. Hopefully just a few more turns and it will be freed up.

I've managed to goober things up a bit. I've gotten the threads wrapped tight around under the hook assembly. I've got a service manual of sorts in English, but the line drawings makes it rather difficult to understand what they are talking about and Mein Deutsch ist schrecklich, so the original service manual is lost on me. So... is this something that I can deal with or should I just pack it up and take in for service?

Oh I get that. Its taken me years to gather up my books. One year I got lucky with the exchange rate when I ordered a book from Tim, saved about $20 USD. The next time, the exchange rate wasn't really in my favor. I check eBay, Abe Books and Powell's pretty regularly for shoe books. I've scored a couple that way. But it's a hard go of it if you don't have a title/author to search for. That's part of why I started the thread, to find out about books others have found.

Yup, he signed mine. I didn't notice before, but if you scroll down the page he has bundled up his books and taken a few dollars off to sweeten the deal.

Books available from Tim Skyrme at shoemakingbook.com Bespoke Shoemaking, A Comprehensive Guide to Handmade Footwear * Simple Sandalmaking, Sandals Anyone Can Make Shoe and Boot Designing Manual * Step by Step Pattern Cutting Sole Press Patterns - not a book, but useful information none the less. * Also available from Walrusshoe.com

I agree it isn't a shoe making book per se, but it does a great job of breaking down inlays/overlays. I'd call it an advanced style technique book. Thanks for the link! Unfortunately my French is nonexistent so I'll have to stick with Saguto's translation.

I thought it would be good to gather up a list of shoe making books with authors and ISBNs. We can do this as a running list of books. M. De Garsault's 1776 Art of the Shoemaker translated by D.A. Saguto ISBN 978-0-89672-650-5 The Art of Leather Inlay and Overlay by Lisa Sorrell ISBN 978-0-7643-5121-1 Bespoke Shoemaking by Tim Skyrme ISBN 0-9802937-0-7 The Make-it-Yourself Shoebook by Christine Lewis Clark no ISBN Make Your Own Shoes by Mary Wales Loomis. Book is available from her website. The Art of Boot and Shoemaking, A Practial Handbook by John B. Leno ISBN 978-1-57898-972-0 Handmade Shoes for Men by Konemann ISBN 3-89508-928-1 Pattern Cutting, Step by Step Patterns for Footwear Edited by Frank Jones ISBN 978-0-9554086-0-1 Last Designing & Making Manual (DVD sold separately) by George Koleff no ISBN Available from walrusshoe.com and Tim Skryme Shoes for Free People by David & Inger Runk ISBN 0-913300-44-6 Stepping Through Time, Archaeological Footwear from Prehistoric Time until 1800 by Olaf Goubitz Available from Oxbow Books Make Your Own Medieval Clothing, Shoes of the High and Late Middle Ages by Stefan von der Heide ISBN 978-3-938922-25-5 Shoes and Pattens by Frances McGrew and Margrethe De Meergaard ISBN 978-1-84383-238-6 DVDs The Art of Shoemaking featuring Glen Leasure available from healthyhandmakeshores.com Make Your Own Scandianavian Turnshoe with Jason Hovatter available from laughingcrowe.com

I get that. Now's the time to gather while shipping isn't an issue and get the stuff you don't want to freeze in route, like glue. Walrusshoe.com has Tim's Bespoke Shoemaking. He also carries George Koleff's Shoe and Boot Designing Manual and his Last Designing and Making Manual with DVD. The Bespoke Shoemaking isn't really cheaper through Larry, but it might get to you quicker.

Thanks Wiz. Sounds like it would be an upgrade that I really don't need.

I have a 29K70 in relatively decent condition. After playing with it for a while I got to wondering would it be possible/would it worth moving the hand wheel from the side to the front of the machine?

Hey Jake, I'll second Jason's classes . I just took my third class with him this past weekend. This time it was the internal stitch down boot class. The same one as the DVD. He really does have a process that makes shoe/boot making approachable by anyone, even the complete novice. Sewing the upper to the sole can be hard on the hands, but it's doable. It's definitely worth the money to get the DVD when it comes out in July if you can't attend one of his classes. If you have a leather sewing machine, you might want to check out Healthy Handmade Shoes for their how-to DVDs. I learned a lot from them as well. Its not a totally different style of craft from Jason's. The upper construction is similar, but the designing/patterning is very different and of course closing is different, its a stitch down shoe. Jason's is totally custom made to your feet, Glen has a basic pattern that is used, (it comes in a range of sizes, you use the one closes to your size) and you fit that to your feet. In a nutshell, you have plenty of extra leather to trim off after you get it attached to the sole using your foot as the last. There are a couple of books out there that are from the '70s that might be worth tracking down. The one I can remember off the top of my head is Shoes for Free People by David Runk. The styling and construction is simple, kind of crude, but it'll give you the basics. And once you know the basics, you can refine them.

Nice start. I like the style. Looking forward to watching your progress.