Sandal or Flip Flop Lasts

[wleavitt]

Hi y'all... so made a few pairs of flip flops for friends and family.  Now other people are interested, plus thinking about adding them to my craft fair line up.  Any suggestions on sandal lasts?  I really don't have the extra thousands of bucks laying around to buy a run of them.  Was thinking 4 sizes in men and 4 in ladies at first.  There are some on etsy at a great price, but the sellers are in Ukraine.  I'm highly considering using the chinese website to source them.  Fleabay isn't much help for them either.  Any suggestions besides going into a shoe store and just measuring straps? lol  Thanks in advance.  Will

Edited to add:  My primary issue is figuring out strap length on various size of flops. I feel lasts will help with this problem.

Edited April 5, 2022 by wleavitt

[PastorBob]

8 minutes ago, wleavitt said:

Any suggestions besides going into a shoe store and just measuring straps? lol  Thanks in advance.  Will

Edited to add:  My primary issue is figuring out strap length on various size of flops. I feel lasts will help with this problem.

If it were me, I would use adjustable straps and the table below so you can make all of them.  Say, use a velcro attachment of some sort.  And welcome to the forum.

 

[wleavitt]

On 4/5/2022 at 12:35 PM, PastorBob said:

If it were me, I would use adjustable straps and the table below so you can make all of them.  Say, use a velcro attachment of some sort.  And welcome to the forum.

Thank  you, I've been a lurker, never really had anything to add or show lol  Swapping over to leather from knifemaking

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Agreed, make them adjustable.

[Frodo]

I respectfully disagree with adjustable straps

It adds to the cost of the item being made, and to be honest, I have never seen it 

If it were I,  I would go to the shoe department with a tape measure and a pad of paper, and get some measurements

[PastorBob]

17 hours ago, Frodo said:

I respectfully disagree with adjustable straps

It adds to the cost of the item being made, and to be honest, I have never seen it 

If it were I,  I would go to the shoe department with a tape measure and a pad of paper, and get some measurements

 

Having adjustable straps allows for all straps to be the same.  One pattern for all.  Let consumer make adjustment to fit.

[Frodo]

Those are sandals

This is a flip flip.  LOL  

 

[Tugadude]

Slides, sandals and flip-flops are arguably different things and the appeal of many of them is the fact you can just slip or slide them on and go.  I own some of each style and find that slides are by far the best, for me at least.

Maybe one way to approach this would be to go to the dollar store or equivalent and see if they have flip-flops for sale and buy up multiple sizes and use those for patterns.

[hackaday]

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.

[Silverd]

I purchased a set of lasts from a Chinese site for roughly $90.00 ea.  I make a few different styles of sandals using them and have found they are quite accurate in determining the strap lengths.  My Sausalito Sandals do have a buckle for adjusting the length a little, but trying to determine final strap length without a last is nearly impossible.  If you are serious about producing sandals in standard sizes. Using lasts is the only viable way.  

To determine insole size, i did as was suggested above and purchased a complete set of sandals from Famous Footware in sizes 5 through 11 whole sizes only.  Used them to trace my own patterns then returned them.  A but unethical but it worked well.  I slightly altered the final sole shapes to my liking.  There are also web sites that offer free sole patterns that I tried using but I did not like the sole shape of these as much as the retail sandals and sizing seemed to be off.  Once you start making full sets of sandals in all sizes you will better understand the importance of having good patterns and lasts.

The other important piece of equipment I use is a Landis 5 in 1 shoe machine.  These are available used for a few hundred to $1000.00 via Ebay.  I use the machine to trim the out soles and tread that are cut oversize before gluing, to the insole.  So much easier than timing by hand.

Silverd

[wleavitt]

Thanks guys.... I wound up buying a large 3D printer and the STL files from etsy.  Had to learn some 3D printing stuff (apparently my CNC experience isn't very helpful lol) and have printed up a bunch of my own lasts.  Mainly working on developing sole patterns that fit most people.

[Silverd]

Very impressive.  I like to see an image of your printed lasts and sandals when your ready.  

 

Silverd

[sbrownn]

On 4/19/2022 at 10:20 AM, Frodo said:

I respectfully disagree with adjustable straps

It adds to the cost of the item being made, and to be honest, I have never seen it 

If it were I,  I would go to the shoe department with a tape measure and a pad of paper, and get some measurements

Totally agree.  Make flip flops and then all you need to do is cut the sole to the right size.

[hackaday]

On 8/12/2022 at 12:52 PM, wleavitt said:

Thanks guys.... I wound up buying a large 3D printer and the STL files from etsy.  Had to learn some 3D printing stuff (apparently my CNC experience isn't very helpful lol) and have printed up a bunch of my own lasts.  Mainly working on developing sole patterns that fit most people.

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.

[Aven]

On 8/12/2022 at 11:52 AM, wleavitt said:

Thanks guys.... I wound up buying a large 3D printer and the STL files from etsy.  Had to learn some 3D printing stuff (apparently my CNC experience isn't very helpful lol) and have printed up a bunch of my own lasts.  Mainly working on developing sole patterns that fit most people.

Which 3D printer did you go with?  Like Sliverd, I would love to see one of your printed lasts.

[wleavitt]

Hey guys.. sorry for the long delay in replying.  I have printed some up.  They're not pretty because i went for speed over finish.  They work well.

I bought an Anycubic Kobra Max.  One of the largest print beds available.  There's a lot of learning curve and tinkering to get it printing anywhere near correct.

[okiwen]

On 7/31/2022 at 4:44 PM, Silverd said:

I purchased a set of lasts from a Chinese site for roughly $90.00 ea.  I make a few different styles of sandals using them and have found they are quite accurate in determining the strap lengths.  My Sausalito Sandals do have a buckle for adjusting the length a little, but trying to determine final strap length without a last is nearly impossible.  If you are serious about producing sandals in standard sizes. Using lasts is the only viable way.  

To determine insole size, i did as was suggested above and purchased a complete set of sandals from Famous Footware in sizes 5 through 11 whole sizes only.  Used them to trace my own patterns then returned them.  A but unethical but it worked well.  I slightly altered the final sole shapes to my liking.  There are also web sites that offer free sole patterns that I tried using but I did not like the sole shape of these as much as the retail sandals and sizing seemed to be off.  Once you start making full sets of sandals in all sizes you will better understand the importance of having good patterns and lasts.

The other important piece of equipment I use is a Landis 5 in 1 shoe machine.  These are available used for a few hundred to $1000.00 via Ebay.  I use the machine to trim the out soles and tread that are cut oversize before gluing, to the insole.  So much easier than timing by hand.

Silverd

I know this a very dated thread, but I really appreciate your pictures,  you are doing what I am just beginning to learn.  Thank you.