Mablung

Well, I can’t blame you for the eBay one disappearing, then, as that was the only one in that price range I found. Wasn’t willing to pay the price asked for a few others I found. Anyway, I also like shoes, especially the kind that fit well and don’t cause joint misalignment. And bonus points if I can say I made them myself.

Oh, it really is easy. I didn’t make the pattern from scratch, but adapting one was simple. So you’re the one who swiped the cheap copies I found! Man, I had internet issues and missed getting one. Lol. Anywho, these things are not hard to make at all. Go for it! Glad I motivated you to try. Thank you! They are very comfortable. The next iteration will be even better.

Turn-shoes are done that way, with a butt stitch. I have seen it done with other stitch-down styles (a friend's wife wears some that are stitched like that), but those soles are thicker than the ones on mine. But conceivably one could do that. With mine, I stitched all the way through because that's what the directions in the book I was using said to do and it was easier to do that way. I really should have stitched to the leather midsole and then glued the outsole, though. I'll do that next time around. That said, I did pull the stitches tightly enough that they dug into the rubber and are, for the most part, protected from wear (for now). I intend to make a better pair soon anyway and will make some adjustments then.

Yep, niche market, lol. Stick with what you know and are good at, then. Boning holsters is a different skillset (one I'm not good at yet).

Sounds like you're delivering what some market wants. If that floats your boat, there you go. What you could do is make a wood mold that falls within certain ranges of dimensions and mold it very gently so that it isn't boned closely to any one profile. That will only get you so far (1911 profiles are distinctly different from Glock profiles, and even more different from Walther PPQs, by way of example). Most people looking for holsters for the firearms you mentioned probably aren't going to want a holster that loosely fitted, though, so you'll have to think about whether it's worth offering. There might be a niche market, but I'd wager most will want something a bit different. You never know, though; might be worth trying.

That's fantastic. Thanks for sharing. While the lasted method has some advantages in regard to molding stiffer leathers and allowing welting to creates additional water barriers, that chap made a good point about the stitch-down style being easier to construct and repair as well as creating a bumper on the outside. Very cool.

^ This. I haven't made any clay lasts yet, though I plan to once I get a good handle on the stitch-down style. Then I'll do some lasted ones. The stitch-down is simply easier to start with. One can also get the seam running on the inside by doing a turn-shoe, but that's a somewhat different matter altogether.

To be honest, @deboardp, I think you might be slightly overcomplicating the oxidation issue with animal lards/tallows. I have bacon grease, which I haven't rendered into lard, sitting on my stovetop all the time, because I cook with it. I have never had any issues with it oxidizing, and I have it sitting out all the time. If the sandals smell, it will assuredly be because of sweaty feet, not oxidizing lard stuffed into the fibers, if I were to guess. Something like these sandals will need regular, if not necessarily frequent, reconditioning, so I don't think you need to worry about it to much. That said, it sounds like you have a good recipe going that doesn't rely on it. But I would doubt you have much to worry about.

Beautiful work. But I don't think I understand your question. Are you asking if there's one "universal" design that will fit all the major models? The answer is "not really," excluding a design close to some Safariland duty holsters that are more or less rectangular Kydex buckets with retention bail hoods. Conceivably you could design something that came close so long as it wasn't boned very closely and relied on a retention strap for retention instead of frame/slide friction retention. The holsters you showed in your original post appear to be long revolver holsters. The basic shape and characteristics of revolvers are essentially the same, with some differences in dimensions. I guess that can be said of semiauto pistols as well to an extent, but the retention of a revolver in a Western holster relies more on friction on the cylinder, length of the barrel keeping it in place, and a retention strap. The same is not true of retaining autoloading pistols. Another important consideration here is the use you have in mind for your holsters. That can change design pretty significantly.

No problem.

The Art of Boot and Shoe Making, John Bedford Leno (3d ed., 1889). Boots and Shoes: Their Making and Manufacture, various authors (multiple volumes—only found IV and VI). Then there is a collection under the title "Shoemaking" of a bunch of texts, all of which I downloaded in a .zip file.

I found a bunch of old books on making shoes and boots available on archive.org for download. They are all long in the public domain, so no copyright issues. Many are very dated, but they have some valuable information nonetheless. Searching for "shoe making" brings up a lot of irrelevant results as well, but scrolling along allows one to find the useful materials quickly.

I'm not experienced with sandal- or shoe-making, but my instinct would be to burnish the straps before installing, stitch the soles, and then do the last edging and burnishing of the soles. The other steps make sense in the order listed, and it probably won't make a ton of difference to change the order. I wouldn't worry about the stitching opening up the burnished edge, but you will likely find that the edges are not perfectly even after the stitching is done simply because of slight inconsistencies in cutting. Leaving the final burnishing until after the stitching will allow you to even up the edges with some trimming and sanding and then burnish. My $0.02, worth what you paid for it.

Well thanks. I thought about doing the reinforcement piece, decided against it to make these look sleek and minimal, and wondered after I set the eyelets if that was a mistake. Your feedback confirms that, so I'll add that to the next pair. I'll probably start on them tonight, after I get back from the gym.

Now that you say that, I think I noticed well after I had cut the pieces and begun construction that I had made straight cuts rather than curving it properly. Guess I'll just have to make another pair to get all that right.

Thanks. And you're right on about the heel seam issue. I'll fiddle with some craft foam and figure out how to put a dart in the heel as you described. I also need to adjust the height and length of the top of the upper, as it gaps at my Achilles tendon; I think I need to cut the upper piece in more of a trapezoid shape rather than a rectangle. No, zero drop on these. I've worn "barefoot" style shoes for several years now and swear by them. So, no heel, and the sole is quite thin: just the leather insole glued to a thin piece of crepe rubber as the outsole. I'll take a pic of the side of the shoe this evening.

Knock 'em dead. A while back I did a pair of basic scout moccasins for my wife that she uses as slippers and to run outside briefly. The hardest part was getting the puckers in the toe box right; I didn't have a scratch awl at the time, but sticking it in the pucker space like the directions said to do would have helped keep everything even.

Simple Ecological Shoemaking, on Etsy. Can't remember the author's name offhand. I just posted a pair of chukkas I made using her pattern.

Forgot to say earlier, the sizing was pretty easy on these. I used the largest pattern in the "Simple Ecological Shoemaking" book available on Etsy and adjusted it for my couple-sizes-larger feet and adjusted the width a little to better accommodate my forefoot. With some careful measuring and re-measuring to get the foot measurement right and keep the sole/heel/vamp proportions right, getting the size dialed in was pretty easy. These need just a little adjustment, but I wanted to make another pair in a different color anyway. The heel/ankle piece needs to be a bit taller and I need to adjust the length of the heel in a way I haven't quite determined yet to get the heel seam out from under my heel, when the shoes are on. I think adding a heel cup will help in that regard. I may add a toebox piece as well to give the toebox some more shape and a little panache.

Why thank you. They were really fairly easy to do, since I didn't make the pattern myself. I used crepe rubber from Tandy, cut from the 1/8"-thick sheets they sell. Intentionally minimalist soles; only insole is a piece of the same 4/5 oz. oil tan I used for the upper.

Well, I've finally made a foray into shoemaking, beyond the pair of moccasins I made my wife. This was a little different. I used the Simple Shoemaking stitch-down chukka pattern for these. I had to adapt the pattern to my larger foot, but other than having to figure out how to adjust the fit for the heel so that my heel isn't right on top of the rear seam, I think I got the fit adjustments just right. Now to wear them for a week to break them in and figure out what mistakes I made, other than slightly wandering stitch lines (had to eyeball the placement of my chisels) and slightly ragged, uneven edges.

Are you finding white, rather than just a light tan, veg-tan leather somewhere? I don't think veg tan that hasn't been treated or finished in some way shows up a pure white. But I also may not understand what you mean. If the leather is already white and will absorb water readily like any other veg tan, then you should be able to carve it like usual.

Not unless you go way overboard with the paint. Just don't put way too much and you should be fine.

A good friend is a very talented woodcarver, and he uses some very small gouges just like this for detail work.

Well, I'll go pop some popcorn now, since we have a new provocateur to get schooled on manners...