How do I treat leather straps to conform to foot

[deboardp]

1 minute ago, Sheilajeanne said:

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.

I'm concerned that the leather will stretch too much. I'd rather control it more. Maybe slightly wet and walk in them, so they tend to stretch. Leather will stretch anyway over time. The edge stitching will help the edges to not stretch. Maybe that first option of the three I mentioned would be worth trying. I can wet them when they are ready to go out the door, do the stretching with my fingers to get them where I want, then let them dry before wearing. If I can at least get the roundness of the toe knuckles started, maybe a daily pre-walk treatment of saddle soap and water would help the process. I probably ought to take notes. 

[Sheilajeanne]

Yeah, big difference between boot leather that covers the whole foot and a strap that just goes over the toes. Don't want it to stretch too much.

[deboardp]

7 minutes ago, Sheilajeanne said:

Yeah, big difference between boot leather that covers the whole foot and a strap that just goes over the toes. Don't want it to stretch too much.

Right. It might not be a problem at all. I'm using luxury veg tan 7 oz for ladies and delicate men, 8 oz utility veg tan for regular men. I think the luxury stuff will possibly be fine as is. The 8 oz is stiffer. All of it is patiently waiting to come out of the shadows down there. 

I don't remember the weights I used 50 years ago. 

Edited November 25, 2023 by deboardp
Spacing

[Aven]

14 hours ago, deboardp said:

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. 

If you are concerned about straps stretching out without a way to adjust them, you need to pre-stretch them and get most of the stretch out before you construct the sandal. I'm away for the holiday, when I get back I'll go through my library. I know there is another author that really goes into the process.  Jonathan was the only one I could remember off the top of my head.

 

11 hours ago, Sheilajeanne said:

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.

LOL it works.  We stood in a deep puddle until our boots were soak, then went for a nice stroll, aka road march. I had one pair break in like slippers and the other broke wrong and pressed on my Achilles tendon every time I took a step.  That brings back such lovely memories of Fort Jackson and Tank Hill.

[chuck123wapati]

https://tandyleather.com/blogs/leathercraft-library/sandal-making?_pos=1&_psq=sandal&_ss=e&_v=1.0

[deboardp]

1 hour ago, Aven said:

If you are concerned about straps stretching out without a way to adjust them, you need to pre-stretch them and get most of the stretch out before you construct the sandal. I'm away for the holiday, when I get back I'll go through my library. I know there is another author that really goes into the process.  Jonathan was the only one I could remember off the top of my head.

 

LOL it works.  We stood in a deep puddle until our boots were soak, then went for a nice stroll, aka road march. I had one pair break in like slippers and the other broke wrong and pressed on my Achilles tendon every time I took a step.  That brings back such lovely memories of Fort Jackson and Tank Hill.

Back 50 years ago I made all kinds of designs, with straps everywhere, and every single one of the straps was fully adjustable by the person wearing the sandals. I never made a pair that was not fully adjustable, and I won't now. I use a midsole now (before I would  use a French skive I think it was called, to make a channel, and would wax it. Later I used some kind of thin rubber for a midsole and cut out channels for the straps to cross to the other side. Now I'm using the softer portion of the strap cowhide for a midsole - same thickness as the strap, with a rectangle cut out to create the channel where the strap can be pulled to tighten up the part that goes over the foot - so that there are three layers of thinish leather that can be glued and stitched. I'll wax the leather above and below this channel so the strap can slide easily. There was never a problem with straps coming loose on their own, probably because pressure of the body weight kept it from sliding in the midsole. And I recall that even with wax. it took some concerted effort to adjust the straps. Probably a good thing, so it doesn't adjust on its own.

In six days my Cobra Class 26 and Cobra Burnisher (the small one) arrives. My work bench is almost complete. Just need to assemble the last drawer and install the last two sets of cantilevered drawer slides (100 pound capacity).

[fredk]

15 hours ago, Sheilajeanne said:

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.

 

4 hours ago, Aven said:

.LOL it works.  We stood in a deep puddle until our boots were soak, then went for a nice stroll, aka road march. I had one pair break in like slippers and the other broke wrong and pressed on my Achilles tendon every time I took a step.  That brings back such lovely memories of Fort Jackson and Tank Hill.

That brings back some memories. Two pair of thick socks. Then several day and nights waiting for them the dry . . . 

[deboardp]

4 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

https://tandyleather.com/blogs/leathercraft-library/sandal-making?_pos=1&_psq=sandal&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Thanks for that! It's a great resource!

[deboardp]

Making progress! Working on the last two drawers. 

[fredk]

It seems to me that you are cutting the straps straight and forcing them to conform whereas  they should be cut to shape and wet formed to final shape

Edited November 25, 2023 by fredk