Boo! Hope i didn't scare you.

[LeatherDoofus]

I spent the first 18 years of my life in Indianapolis, and i did not have much to do, or any place to go to learn a valuable trade. But when a member of my family bought a bag of scrap leather off Amazon, i thought it would be interesting to try my hand at it. So my mother got me a basic tool set, and i made my first leather items. One was a very crudely stitched basic pouch that i put some of my smaller tools in, and the other was a tall flat pouch, and stitched better, that i was able to fit the rest of the my tools into. After that i made a small medieval looking flat pouch. I liked colors very much. A dark almost pine needle glossy green, with a facing of a smooth brown leather.

But i was not able to make much of what i thought would be useful with the few scraps i had. i did not, and still do not, like the idea of using up my resources on projects that i would not be able to use. So when the advice i got was to start small and make BAGS, that did not sound very appealing. So my excitement lay dormant, until.....We found out about a company called Tandyleather. One of my family members bought a half cow hide of dark brown utility leather. I was the one who had expressed specific interest in the craft, so i bought one as well. But i did not do anything with it yet. I still had not figured out what to make with it. That was when i got interested in boots. Specifically tall boots (not cowboy boots). And so i made my first pair of leather shoes, with vibram soles off a worn out pair of barefoot shoes.

My ideas i think were good, but my technique was not. After a while it became evident. The boots slouched, the heel began to hang off the vibram sole, and the stitching stretched, creating gaps between the leather pieces. But making it had solidified my interest. I did more looking and research, not even knowing what i was looking for, or what to look for. I do not exactly recall the progression, but i made a leather belt, moccasins and a backpack, based off of WW1/2 tornister designs. Now, fast forward a few years, i have made multiple pairs of tall boots, quite a few pairs of moccasins for family members, and have recently made several pairs of viking turnshoe style shoes, and one pair of turnshoe style low lace up boots, modified for experimentation purposes. I have sold the first backpack to a friend of the family, and created a new and improved version with appropriate hardware.

My current goal is to sell foot-healthy leather shoes in the Nashville area. The most effective and efficient design i have found is the turnshoe style.

I did not write this to appear as an experienced leatherworker. I want to give an example for any other young person wanting to learn the trade of how relatively simple it is.

Any and all comments will be appreciated. Thank you for your patience

[Mablung]

Hope you'll contribute in the shoemaking forum.  I've been working on making shoes and only made a couple so far, but I'd like to get into making more complex, sturdier models.  Welcome to the forum!

I grew up outside of Nashville.  Find the right market to advertise to, and you can likely sell some of the shoes you're describing.  Though, I will say, turnshoes do seem to somewhat limit the designs you can create.  Even in Nashville, slightly more conventional designs might get a little more attention.  Just a thought.

[LeatherDoofus]

Thank you for the welcome and the advice. I will be sure to check out the shoemaking forum.

This is a pair of shoes i made. A blend of viking turnshoe and paratrooper combat boot.

And every thought from someone else adds something to my little bucket of knowledge

[Mablung]

22 minutes ago, LeatherDoofus said:

Thank you for the welcome and the advice. I will be sure to check out the shoemaking forum.

This is a pair of shoes i made. A blend of viking turnshoe and paratrooper combat boot.

And every thought from someone else adds something to my little bucket of knowledge

That’s pretty cool. You mind sharing a few pictures from different angles? I’m especially interested in the side seams and how the upper is attached. 

[LeatherDoofus]

Certainly. I will see if i can also make a sketch or diagram so it is easier to see the inner workings.

I have had these shoes for over two years. I used 12oz leather for the soles, and they have only just now begun to develop a hole near the toe area.

I have temporarily retired these shoes in favor of another pair i recently made using a different structural pattern.

See what works and how long it works versus what does not.

[LeatherDoofus]

Due to technological issues, i can only post one picture per post, so pictures will be coming in stages.

Here is one now, giving a side view of the bottom section. I will be showing the side seams in better detail next picture.

[LeatherDoofus]

Side seams.

[Mablung]

Okay, that’s pretty cool. Thanks for sharing. I would love to see a sketch. Thinking I need to revisit turn shoes again. 

[LeatherDoofus]

I stitched the upper, made of very oily boot leather, to the 4oz full sole, wrong side out. I then soaked it for a few minutes before turning it right side out.

After it was turned, i grooved and stitched the 12oz leather half-soles onto the full sole.

[LeatherDoofus]

Advantages over regular turnshoes:

With traditional turnshoes, they use a thinner leather for the sole, but it is a complete sole, meaning that when one part of it wears out (for me the area around the toes), i have to replace it, even if 90% of it is still in decent condition.

With the half sole (one on the front, one on the back), because it is stitched onto a thinner, more supple full sole, i get much more flexibility. And because it allows me to stitch on a harder and much thicker leather, it lasts longer.

Disadvantages:

Because of the harder and thicker leather, i am unable to make concealed stitches. So as the leather compresses and/or wears down, the stitches are exposed to the ground. Concrete and gravel are among the worst surfaces for leather to be in contact with. And so the stitches wear out and i have had to re-stitch the soles on several times.