bootkiller1

Wow, this is great stuff! How do you close the side seams? It looks like the leather is just lapped flesh-to-grain, with a beveled edge so it looks neater.

You poor, poor man. Fortunately, you have plenty of good wine and mead to choose from. (By the way, is the Shakespeare Brewery still there in Auckland? They made a killer stout, as I recall...)

Done. Thanks for your generosity!

Details, details... :-) But yes, thanks for the advice. I'm making these for a friend, and she's paying for materials, so naturally, I want to keep the costs down. Buying a lifetime supply of thread on her dime isn't in the cards. Campbell Bosworth does carry the # 10 thread, but I believe a local art store here carries it as well for bookbinding uses. I've read your blog extensively and am quite jealous of your talents. I'm also jealous of the fact that you live in Auckland. I lived in NZ for most of a year in 1988-89, and I loved Auckland. I'd go back in a second. (You just can't get Speight's or Double Brown here. We have our own good beer, but it's not the same..)

I found out what the 12/3 means: 12 is the number of 840 yard hanks needed to make a pound, and the 3 is the number of cords. Hmmm, given the relative cost, maybe I should learn to twist up my own... Thanks!

The thread I've found is Barbour's, but the 12/3 designation doesn't tell me much about its thickness, tensile strength, etc. I want to use cobbler's wax for the pine pitch's anti-rot properties. I'd love to make my own blond wax and twist my own thread, but I live in a house with cats and very small children, both of which like to play with threads and are curious about pots on the stove. My free time is limited, so the fewer steps I have to go through to do this project, the better. Thanks, Vince

Hi: I'm about to start work on a pair of medieval turnsole boots. Naturally, I'd like to use reasonably authentic materials, since these are for SCA reenactments. Unfortunately, buying a one-pound ball of Barbour's linen thread is a bit out of my budget right now, and if I try to make my own cobbler's wax my family may do terrible things to me. :-) I've found websites that sell various weights of linen thread for binding books. The heaviest weight I've found is 12/3, but I'm not sure if that would be suitable for sewing boots from 5 oz leather. Also, it seems that cobbler's wax is used for tying flies and for making a tight seal for bagpipe drones. I've found a place here in St. Louis that sells it for a pretty reasonable price. Has anyone used this cobbler's wax? Is 12/3 thread heavy enough for making a sturdy pair of boots, or should I club up with some friends and buy the big ball? Thanks, Vince