newshoes

Thanks! I had no idea.

Thanks Phil! I've ordered The Leatherworking Handbook and The Art of Hand Sewing Leather, and have been exploring some of the videos on youtube as well. I've fallen into a bit of a wormhole watching tooling videos, lol. It wasn't something that I had previously had any interest in, but I can't stop watching them. That's a great tip about making playlists. I didn't know I could do that. Tasha

Thank you both! I'll check those all out! I've seen some JH Leather videos, but not the others. It's pretty amazing what you can learn on Youtube these days, my problem with the videos is I tend to watch too many and then can't always remember where I saw what. So I definitely need to get a couple of books too. I also appreciate the tool info. Tasha

Hi, I was sure this probably has been asked before, but I haven't found anything in my searches through the forum just yet. Are there any books that you experienced leather workers would especially recommend for a beginner? Primarily my interests are towards shoes and dog collars, but some good information on general leatherwork would probably help me with both.

Thanks for the welcome and the compliments, Rosiart! And thanks for the info Electrathon. You have inspired me to think more seriously about buying some lasts. Building them up with leather definitely sounds do-able.

Electrathon, I didn't know that. Can you tell me what the lasts are usually built up with?

Thank you both! I took a side view pic, they're a little worse for wear now (and a bit discolored from new jeans). I have learned a lot since I made these (mostly just how much I don't know, lol). I had a really hard time turning the leather out at the heel to attach it to the sole, it didn't occur to me to skive it so it would bend easier.

Hi, I've been browsing the forum for a little while, finally joined and thought it was time to introduce myself. My name is Tasha, I live in British Columbia and I am entirely new to leatherworking. Actually, my interest in leather came about as a side effect of my desire to learn how to make my own shoes. I am currently working on my third pair of out-stitched shoes molded on my own feet. Each pair is better than the one before, but I have SO much to learn. Both about constructing shoes, and about leather and working with it. At first I thought that all I wanted was to finally have a pair of shoes that actually fit my feet, and if they didn't cause me any pain I didn't care how they looked. But not so anymore. The more I look at shoes and what people do with leather, the more I realize that I want to have shoes that are comfortable AND look good. I realize that using a last is preferred for shoemaking, but I am having difficulty finding any 7.5EEE lasts with lots of toe room and no heel. I hope one day to either find lasts or make some, but until then I'll use what I've got. My feet. This is my second pair of shoes. There are numerous ways that I can see that they could be better, but all in all I'm pretty pleased with them. Gotta start somewhere. If any shoemakers on the board have any advice for ways I could improve them in the future, I'm all ears.