View to soften veg tan straps and maintain strength

[TomE]

7 hours ago, deboardp said:

I should have asked you if you thought that my 6 ounce straps might still be weak despite their pronounced width? Obviously 7/8 ounce would be stronger, but will a small man or a lady stretch these 6 ounce straps before twenty years is up?

Can you share what you use for oil and for conditioner?

Thanks!

I'm unclear how the straps attach to the sandals.to distribute the load.  I use pure neatsfoot oil (Fiebings) and mostly Blackrock Leather N' Rich although I also like Fiebings Aussie conditioner and Bickmore Bick 4.   

[deboardp]

9 hours ago, TomE said:

I'm unclear how the straps attach to the sandals.to distribute the load.  I use pure neatsfoot oil (Fiebings) and mostly Blackrock Leather N' Rich although I also like Fiebings Aussie conditioner and Bickmore Bick 4.   

I answered this laboriously on my "smart" phone, and then lost the message when I went looking for my attachments. So now I'm on the laptop, and I edited the pic I want to send you. 

I use slots in the topsole, and channels (cutouts) in the midsole, to pass straps across to the other side of the sandal.

In the picture, those straps are one  piece of leather, separated so I can use a buckle. The wide end, at the big toe knuckle, deadends under that knuckle. I glue it to the flesh side of the top sole under the knuckle. Later I will run a doubled stitch through all three soles and the deadend, make sure it never pulls out. The dotted lines show where that front strap crosses to the other side from the little toe slot. The ankle/heel stanchions, one piece of leather, also pass across  through a cutout in the midsole. The stanchions strap will be glued to the topsole, and stitched to prevent shifting. I use the midsole in order to keep the topsole flat, no humps from a strap being under it. The midsole is made of the same side of leather as the straps, the parts that are not prime strap leather. The straps fit in the cutouts, laying flat with the midsole, because they are replacing the part I cutout for them to lay in.

I'm innovating with this design. My hypothesis is that two thinner layers of softish leather (7/8 ounce) will conform to the foot better than a more hardish, thicker single layer, and in my practice sandal, I noticed the the edge of the topsole curls up after I run a stitch along the sandal edge, which I like immensely. It creates a raised edge, helping to hold the foot. The bottom sole is not bend, which is too stiff. I'm using another double sole feature for the bottom sole. The two-part bottom sole will be 10 ounce shoulder, stiched together with top and midsoles, and then a 1/8" thick gum rubber bottom sole that will be glued, not stitched, to the shoulder.

I wonder about the glue, and I'm going to create a new topic under the shoes and sandals forum here. I had tried a water based glue, Intercom ECOSTICK 1816B, and I liked it. I glued two scrap pieces of shoulder together and it held quite tight.  A week later I wondered about it getting wet, and how it would hold up. So I soaked it in warm water, probably unfair, because rain is not usually warm, for 15 minutes, and tried to pry it apart. To my surprise, it came right apart. That's not good. I wonder if Barge or Renia Top-Fit would withstand being soaked. I have a gallon of each. I used Barge on my own personal sandals that lasted 20 years before I finally lost them, and I'm pretty sure they got wet from time to time. Do you know the answer to this question? I have a gallon of another water-based glue on the way, wish I could remember the name of it... but I think all water-based glues will share the problem of losing their bond when the leather is soaked. On the other hand, if the leather pieces are stitched or cobbled, they won't separate. The question might be moot.

[deboardp]

I added the deadends, with dotted lines. I also added a photo with the stitching, how it passes over the deadends and also reinforces the other straps with parallel stitches.

[deboardp]

stitching

[deboardp]

I did some more online snooping about oils and conditioners and read something from Carl Friedrik that reminded me of 50 years ago hearing the same thing, that neatsfoot oil can harm leather, while mink oil is the best oil for leather. My second stroke destroyed many of my memory functions, so I just don't remember many many things. So I bought a few bottles of mink oil online from Tandy. I've been using the neatsfoot oil on my stones to sharpen my round knives and I guess now I have a lifetime supply for that.

Here's the link to what I read: what Carl said about best oil for leather

Edited December 25, 2023 by deboardp
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