How do I treat leather straps to conform to foot

[deboardp]

I'll be starting to make sandals in a week. The front strap will be an inch and a half wide where it crosses over the big toe's knuckle and one inch wide over the little toe's knuckle. These are the bony protrusions over the ball of the foot and the little ball of the foot. The strap slots will be curved to be parallel with the edge of the sandal. I want to treat the leather with something to make it conform to the shape of these knuckles. I'll be using 8 ounce veg tan for men and 6 ounce for women, an Italian luxury veg tan for the ladies. I had heard I could tell my customers to brush saddle soap and water into the straps before wearing them, and I wonder if that's a good idea and if there's something better? I'll be stitching along the edges, about 1/8" in, to help resist stretching, but it would be great if the central portion of the strap between the stitch lines could bulge a bit to accommodate the tops of those balls. Generally I would like to know what I can do to make the top sole and straps soft and supple, and to prevent cracking teen years later. The top will be shoulder veg tan, 10 ounce. 

I have another, different, question. If I use 10 ounce shoulder for the bottom sole, glue and stitch the three layers (28 ounces total, equal to 7/16"), and then glue an 1/8" thick layer of gum rubber to that, do you think the sandal would protect the foot from walking on gravel? Or should I use veg tan bend (grain roughed off for two coats of glue)? 

Does anyone on here make custom sandals?

Thanks in advance. My Cobra 26 arrives a week from tomorrow, and I'll finish the six drawers of my work bench maybe tomorrow. After that I'll unbox all my tools into the drawers and onto their fronts, and then start making some sandals. 

Patrick

PS The front strap can be adjusted because the narrow end passes through a channel in the midsole and becomes one of the two other straps that are adjustable by a Conway buckle. 

I can't figure out how to get this picture appear. 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2023 by Northmount
Removed heic files and copied in jpg

[deboardp]

I got a photo editor appp

[Northmount]

On 11/22/2023 at 9:47 PM, deboardp said:

I can't figure out how to get this picture appear.

Post as a jpeg 800 pixels in the longest dimension.

 

[Aven]

Try to find a copy of Jonathon Ervin's Leather Notebook Making Sandals Belts & Bags 1973.  Ebay might have one.  It will answer a lot of your questions.

[deboardp]

5 hours ago, Northmount said:

Post as a jpeg 800 pixels in the longest dimension.

 

My app didn't have that option, so I used the smallest option, 1200 pixels. It seems to have come out okay.  

[deboardp]

33 minutes ago, Aven said:

Try to find a copy of Jonathon Ervin's Leather Notebook Making Sandals Belts & Bags 1973.  Ebay might have one.  It will answer a lot of your questions.

Ebay had a copy and I bought it. Can hardly wait to read what he says! But it doesn't arrive until Dec 13, and I start with the first two pair early in the week, so I guess I'll search YouTube for videos on softening leather to mold around things.

[Northmount]

48 minutes ago, deboardp said:

My app didn't have that option, so I used the smallest option, 1200 pixels. It seems to have come out okay.  

Works, just makes larger files which take longer to download when you live on the fringes of the internet.  Phones and most monitors don't display photos in high resolution.  They always down sample to fit it to your screen, or it gets clipped to fit.  800 pixels is adequate.

 

[deboardp]

33 minutes ago, Northmount said:

Works, just makes larger files which take longer to download when you live on the fringes of the internet.  Phones and most monitors don't display photos in high resolution.  They always down sample to fit it to your screen, or it gets clipped to fit.  800 pixels is adequate.

 

Well now the app has an 800 pixel option, or I missed it the first time. 

I've got to assemble the last drawer and install two more slides and then load those drawers up. 

There's a space under the drawers for the side of leather to slide under. It's a 4x8 bench but all the working of the leather will be probably in the foot closest to my belly. I've yet to install the 2x4 daylight fixture over the working area, thus the lamps. 

Edited November 25, 2023 by deboardp
Add more

[deboardp]

1 hour ago, deboardp said:

Ebay had a copy and I bought it. Can hardly wait to read what he says! But it doesn't arrive until Dec 13, and I start with the first two pair early in the week, so I guess I'll search YouTube for videos on softening leather to mold around things.

 

2 hours ago, Aven said:

Try to find a copy of Jonathon Ervin's Leather Notebook Making Sandals Belts & Bags 1973.  Ebay might have one.  It will answer a lot of your questions.

Water soak and stretch! So I'll show my customers how to do that, wet them and then use fingers to make space at the knuckles. The edges will be stitched so we won't push on them, just over the round part of the knuckle. Slip a finger in there between the bone and the leather... Or I can do the stretching at the final fitting, tell them to let them dry before wearing them.  Could be a third option: wet them slightly and wear them. 

Edited November 25, 2023 by deboardp

[Sheilajeanne]

deboardp, I've heard that's how they used to have recruits break in their new boots in the army: stand in a stream for 10 minutes or so,. then march until the boots were dry! Yep, an old method, but I'm sure it will work.