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Have you got around to making any sandals with your printed lasts? Curious how they turned out. Did you purchase both the mens and womens packs? From my limited understanding, there are some subtle differences between mens and womens feet/lasts besides length and width. I do wonder if it's significant enough to matter for sandals.

If you have access to a 3d printer, this seller has packs of last models for both men and women for reasonable prices. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1089173236/digital-3d-model-ergonomic-barefoot-men?click_key=c0228f5f5562253a04c0091ce2744baf073741a1%3A1089173236&click_sum=0eb0d3dc&ref=shop_home_recs_3&crt=1&sts=1 I just had her make me a custom set based on tracing/measurements since my feet are so narrow. They came out way too big and I'm not sure if I botched the tracing that bad or what. I haven't had time to reach out to her to see what she says yet.

First of all, very nice work there! I can't comment on the stitching wearing through. I use rubber soles with attached with contact cement so my stitching is purely cosmetic. I don't think you will have any problem with the suede. I used an almost identical method for my pair. They've gone through a couple summers and the thongs are not showing any signs of giving up.

Not necessarily footbeds, but this is about the best source I have found for soling material http://store.acor.com/

That's certainly cheap enough to not worry about wasting a pair or two. I originally tried the 1/4" Soltech diamond pattern crepe. With just it and the leather, it was too hard for my taste. I then switched to the Acor mini check at 2.4mm with the 1/8" 30/35 durometer puff as a cushiony midsole. I can get 5 pairs out of the 18x36" sheet if I'm careful; more for smaller feet. That works out to less than $5 a pair, which isn't horrible... until you add in shipping. I wonder if a guy could figure out a way to thin that belting down from 1/4". I don't like the completed soles to end up too thick and heavy. When you talk about the rubber transferring black residue, is that just one side? Does the completed project have that problem, onto carpets for example?

I think I tend to go with the second method. I keep telling myself if I can at least manage a second pair I'm happy with, I'll cut my cost in half. I wouldn't include the cost of all the tools I used since I already have a bunch of non leatherwork tools. I will decline to comment on whether I have convinced myself to purchase additional tools because "I could use it anyway." The cost of a couple double shoulders, various rubber sheets, misc junk leathers I bought before I had a clue what I was doing, etc etc is scary enough. I've tried to come up with cheap materials that one could use for making prototypes. Haven't found anything that really behaves like the real thing though. Cork works for the midsole. Haven't found anything hard, yet flexible enough for outsole. Same with uppers and straps.

Unfortunately trial and error seems to be unavoidable regardless. The "how" in regards to putting it together is easy enough for me. I am still working on the aesthetics and proper strap placement to make it stay where I want it. Granted, maybe I'm just pickier than most. Out of four and a half pair (not counting my early attempts that I won't even claim), the only pair I am happy enough with to wear are the flip flops I think I posted here. I finally found a sole shape that I was happy with on those flip flops, then on my next two I attempted to tweak it some more. Should have left it alone. I have also been battling the straps pulling the foot to one side or another. For something as "simple" as a sandal, there sure are a lot of nuances that effect the function. That's why I like seeing other's attempts and designs. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a lot of people doing it. At least not that are sharing. I don't mind trial and error, but it starts to get expensive.

Any progress on the new tutorial? I'm always looking for new inspiration.

Thank you guys for the kind words! I appreciate it. I was pretty happy with how they turned out for being my first real stitching job. Next time I think I will not stitch through the suede. It's not bad, but the thread does rub a little. Maybe I just need to toughen up.

Thanks a lot! I was going to try an arch "disc" like you see on Rainbow's and such, but decided that would give me too much room to mess up. For me, making them myself is just a matter of none of the ones in the store fitting. I have narrow feet, so they are usually way too wide (finding boots that fit is a chore in itself). The straps are almost always too big too, so they don't feel secure whatsoever. The prices they want for those things is crazy too. $40 for some rubber and a couple pieces of fake leather. I tend to place the straps further back. My thinking is that on a bigger foot, this will help keep them in place. Whether I'm right or not, who knows. Strap placement, for me, is one of the worst parts. Trying to get them tight enough to be secure, but loose enough to be comfortable. Then getting the pair to fit the same. Drives me bonkers. The other thing was finding a sole shape that fit my foot, without looking goofy. I can't even count how many I went through. I'm pretty happy with this one, but still have a small tweek I want to make. I'm just scared to mess it up more than I fix it haha. I really wish I could find a suitable material for doing test runs. This is my third pair of sandals (2nd flops) and this is the first pair I'm actually happy enough with to wear. That doesn't count what I've wasted on mess ups.

Finished up my latest pair. These have a layer of 30-35 durometer foam midsole (2 layers under the back to give a little bit of rise to the arch) with an 80 or 90 durometer outsole. The soft foam was much softer than I thought it would be and I was concerned it would compress too much, but hopefully it will just conform to the foot nicely.

Finished up another pair. The original strap design/width didn't really feel very secure with how big the sandals are. They were pretty hard and uncomfortable too with the 50-55 durometer crepe sole. The new ones have a layer of 30-35 durometer foam midsole (2 layers under the back to give a little bit of rise to the arch) with an 80 or 90 durometer outsole. The soft foam was much softer than I thought it would be and I was concerned it would compress too much, but hopefully it will just conform to the foot nicely.

http://www.acor.com/ http://www.acor.com/ I had previously got some from SoleTech also, but it's hard to find a distributor for them besides Ebay. Acor has a much better selection also. I just about have my latest pair finished. Just need to edge and burnish them.

I don't know the exact thickness of the straps. I ordered a double shoulder in 8/9oz and split it down to what looked about right, maybe a little over an 1/8". I have a piece of 5/6oz left over from another project that seems just a little light, so 6/7 would probably be about right. For the sole I used 1/4" Soletech diamond crepe. http://www.ebay.com/itm/SoleTech-Diamond-50-55-Durometer-Crepe-Soling-Sheet-1-4-12-iron-6mm-/221258577334?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item338409f5b6 I found them to be rather hard and uncomfortable, although I guess it should actually be softer than a leather sole. I have ordred a couple sheets of 1/8" 30/35 durometer puff eva from here to try as a middle layer along with some of the mini check sheet for outsole to try. The 30/35 durometer is actually a lot softer than I was expecting, and I have some concerns about how it's going to hold up to compression. Perhaps it will actually work out well and conform to the foot.

@ Monica - Those look awesome! I've thought about making some for the wife as a surprise, but as difficult as it is for me to get the fit just right on my own I don't know how I'd ever get them right without being able to fit them. To those of you who have done this, do you find the leather soles too hard? I've made a couple pairs of sandals. The first I was not happy with at all. The second was a simple pair of flip flops that, while they look good, the strap design I used along with the weight makes them feel insecure while walking (big feet don't help). I used 8/9oz leather as the footbed on top of a 1/4" 50 durometer crepe sole. I thought the crepe would be more comfortable, but I still find them too hard when walking on tile/concrete. My thoughts now are to use a thinner hard outsole and some softer 30/35 durometer midsole. I hate to keep buying material without knowing exactly how hard it is though as it gets expensive when it doesn't work out.( My other thought is to incorporate a bit of arch support.

Thank you for the kind words! It definitely takes a few tries to get everything coming out just right. You'd think sandals would be a piece of cake with as simple as they are, but there's a lot of little details that go into getting them to fit and look just right. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures during the construction process. I can try to put something together with my templates and the pieces of the next pair of "Jordan" sandals I've started. The basic design of flip flops is pretty straight forward, but I will try to highlight some of my design decisions. As far as sandals in general, I've pretty much just looked at about every example I could find on the internet to come up with strap ideas. I think I have about 4 more styles in mind already. Jordan's threads here and here are about the best resource I've found for a full on tutorial, and I thank him for taking the time to put his efforts together for others to learn from. Most information on sandal making out there is either for "barefoot" hurache types or very crudely made. I did puchase the Tandy ebook, but personally I didn't find it very helpful as I was looking for more along the lines of details on sole shape design and how to determine strap placement.

So I thought I would take a step back and try something a little simpler. There may not be much to them, but flip flops are a lot harder than I would have imagined... mostly getting the straps just right. Never did find a good temporary way to attach the straps for fitting, tape leaves nasty sticky stuff all over. I got off to a rough start (had to recut the first set of straps 3 times ) but overall I'm fairly happy with how they turned out. I was worried that the thong part was too far back, but I think when they get broke in it will be about right. If I did it over I would move it forward a tad and angle it back. Needs a little more work on the edges and eventually I want to stitch around the edges once I figure out a way to make a groove in the crepe. As is they have 2 lite coats of olive oil and 4-5 hours in the sun. I may sit them out a little longer. You'll have to excuse the ghostly feet.

Thank you all for the comments and pointers. I didn't end up stitching the ends of the straps together since, as I said I'm in a rush on this pair. I used regular old DAP Weldwood original contact cement. I've heard some say not to use it for leather, and others say they've been using it for 20-30 years so I guess I'll see for myself. Do you have a source for the insole bends? Preferably somewhere that I can get smallish quantities. Is there a significant difference between regular veg tan and the insole bends for use in sandals? Dito on the belt sander. I left the "blank" quite large so that I didn't need to worry about lining my strap slots up with the finished shape. Today I need to sand it down to the finished profile and finish up my straps since I broke the eye off of my needle last night. I'm not very happy with where my straps ended up. The lines don't flow smoothly from one strap to another and a few don't line up with the foot properly. My wife tells me no one will notice... but I will so expect a v2 I tell her it's not OCD, it's just if you're going to do something it might as well be done right. You can kind of see what I'm talking about in the second pic.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not too worried about the glue giving out. Not in the short run anyway. I used contact cement and it will be bonded to both the cork and the rubber. You would surely rip the cork to pieces before you ever pulled the glue apart. I'm in a rush to get this pair finished as I would like to be able to wear them on our anniversary trip this weekend. I'm sure there will be little tweaks to be incorporated in the next run. Next time I'll probably buy a shoulder so I can make a few pair for the price of buying one pair. My wife has already asked twice if I will make her some. I said it depends on how these turn out.

Thought I'd share with you all the progress on my first pair of sandals. I've been wanting to do this for over a year for a few reasons. First, because nobody seems to make guys sandals that aren't ugly as sin and weigh as much as a pair of workboots. Secondly because I have narrow feet and what is available never really fits right. I bought two different pieces of "Ebay special" leather before I did some research and found out what I really needed. I purchased 2 square feet of B grade hermann oak and two 84" strips of 3/4" from Springfiled. In reality, the final design could have probably been done from just the 2 sqft and cutting my own straps. This is my first real leather project. Strips were actually cut down to 5/8. Originally I wanted a heel "cup" at the back but couldn't get it worked out how I like so I'm hoping the two vertical bars on the side will hold the foot in place to my liking. The "midsole" is two layers of ~1/8" cork laminated together. I have some pieces of rubber from work that I will use as a sole.

Alright so I talked to the people at Springfield Leather and they said it's really just a matter of preference, and anywhere from 4-5 to 6-7 oz would work. I settled in the middle and picked up 2 sq ft of 5-6oz B grade herman oak and 84" of 3/4 strap. Now I'm having concerns about whether this will be thick enough for the footbed. I plan on making them in three layers. The outsole either leather or rubber. The midsole from cork sheets. And then the footbed. The cork midsole will make up the main "body" if you will so the footbed doesn't need to provide a whole lot of structural integrity. I'm just wondering whether the 5-6 will hold up over time or whether it will start to wear through.

I'm new to this as well, but what I'm doing for the midsole, I guess you would call it, is using cork sheets. At the hardware store I found a 4' roll of about 1/8" cork sheet sold by the foot. I laminate however many layers I need to get my desired thickness with contact cement. Then I used a belt sander to shape it to give it some arch and also to get my overall shape. It's best to do some hand sanding once you start getting close as a belt sander will remove material quite fast. I haven't found a sole material yet. We have some rubber sheet we use at work, but it's smooth and would be quite slick I think. Hope this helps.

Hello all! I've been wanting to make some sandals since, like most other things, if you want it done right you have to do it yourself. It seems like all guys sandals look terrible and weigh as much as a boot. Sandals are supposed to be light and comfy, not feel like a brick strapped to your foot. Anyway, after ordering two different ebay special leathers, I'm ready to do it right and get some quality leather this time. To do so I need a little advice. I've attached a picture of the general design I'm going for. I think I'm going to want vegetable tanned so that I can form the heel piece at the back somewhat. I'm not sure what weight I should be looking at so that it's heavy enough to hold it's shape, but no so heavy to be stiff and uncomfortable. Would 6-7oz be appropriate? I'm looking at the Herman Oak from springfield and probably just getting the pre made 3/4" strips to save myself the cutting on those. My other big question is about insole material. My feet tend to sweat so I need something that is absorbent, but can be easily cleaned. I noticed most people here tend to just use (veg tanned?) leather. Will that work for my application? Is there any other material that meets those requirements that you all like to use. I'd like to have a cheaper option for things like flip flops that don't need to be so "fancy". I appreciate any feedback. I've never made much with leather, but I love working with my hands and the satisfaction of doing things myself. I may try making a holster for my CZ in the future.