Mapacho

Thanks for all the replies. The neetsfoot has helped a bit and as Rocky Aussie suggested, getting the angle of the toe strap right has also improved the feel.

Hello from the Motueka Valley of the South Island of New Zealand. I have started making sandals using veg tanned leather. I am finding that the straps are too rough around the toes when a thong is used. Think: flip-flop. I am using a 4-5oz economy tooling leather for the straps. 8mm wide. I have beveled the edges and conditioned them with a beeswax based product and then burnished with a piece of boxwood. But yet they remain hard on the toes. What more can I do? Short of just using a chrome tanned leather??? See pic. Cheers, Max

That's great MadMax. Thanks heaps! (:

A video would be awesome! As time allows ... thanks MadMax.

G'day fellow leather workers. This will be my first post here although I have been snooping around here for a while. Learning what I can from the abundant knowledge held within this piece of cyberspace. So, I am into making sandals. Been struggling with cutting straps. So I splurged on a Dixon Plough Gauge. A beautiful specimen. Wow ... what a bit of engineering. Ready to throw out my Chinese made wanna-be draw gauge. But wait a minute ... I haven't yet figured out how to use the Dixon. Help! I understand that you push it. But I'll be damned if I can get it to cut mustard. It seems sharp enough. I can't seem to find any videos with any old geezer pushing one of these beauties around. Cutting perfect straps with it. 100+ years on. Can one of you fine folk please lend a novice a hand? Cheers!