Sandal mid and strap opinions

[okiwen]

I was wondering from all you sandal professionals,

do you line the leather straps with a nylon or webbing to increase strength?  Similar with the midsole. Would a nylon canvas provide durability for thinner soles? Neoprene or sheet cork?  I saw a video suggesting a wooden tongue depressor for a shank to provide rigidity. Would you?  

I am very open to what makes handmade sandals well worth the making.  Other above-average things to add to a design.

Thank you all.

[Dwight]

First . . . I am not a sandal person . . . but I can be talked into something similar so to speak.

PERSONAL OPINION:  I will NOT buy a product like that with a stiff sole.  The idea of them (for me) is comfortable . . . 

My favorite pair of footgear in the whole house is a pair of wool lined . . . suede . . . moccasins . . . and they have the very same leather on top as on the sole.

OTOH . . . as I am sometimes an actor portraying a Roman Centurion from the days of Jesus . . . I wear a similar piece of footwear called a Caligae . . . which is a sandal made of three pieces of leather.

The first is a piece of serious cowhide or horse hide or buffalo hide . . . it is the sole . . . maybe 14 or 16 oz if you can get it.  The middle part  (for the ones I make) are sewn to the sole . . . with the sole being heavily gouged for the stitches around the edge. 

This middle piece forms the pieces which go up around the foot . . . holding it on to the foot.  The third piece is simply an inner sole . . . cut to fit inside the middle piece . . . it is the piece of leather on which the foot rests.

There are no heels on this footwear . . . flat soles . . . no arch support . . . nothing but leather and the stitching.

And yes . . . they are very comfortable.

Spend an hour or so on youtube . . . use Caligae as your search word.  They often show the sole part as being several layers of leather . . . this accomodates the hob nails they used.  You don't want the hob nails . . . just one or at the most two layers for the soles.

May God bless,

Dwight

[okiwen]

@Dwight  Thank you for the reply, Dwight. 

 

[Mablung]

I made some sandals recently with 9 oz. shoulder as the sole. For casual use, that’s fine, esp if one glues a piece of rubber to the bottom. Don’t bother with a shank or stacking more layers than necessary. All that will do is make it hard, inflexible, and uncomfortable. Shanks are there for shoes with a separate heel where the sole drops to the toe, like in a dress shoe or cowboy boot. I guess some high-heeled “sandals” may have a shank, but it wouldn’t be straight like a popsicle stick anyway. 
 

Get that basic pattern, and then the world is your oyster as far as design goes. A good pattern to start with, if you don’t have one already, is the Dieselpunk.ro pattern. 

[rmdorman]

Ive used the  sandalmaking workshop book its got a lot of nice basic patterns and info on materials and is pretty cheap. I also have tim Skyrm’s sandal book from Sorrell notions and findinds. It seems more advanced but i havent read it in depth yet

[okiwen]

rmdorman, Mablung, Thank you.

[deboardp]

You can check out my thread on making a 4-sole custom sandal. It's a monastic sandal, designed for wearing with socks (no flesh showing). I don't recommend this particular monastic design because without a strap between the two big toes, it doesn't keep the foot centered on the sandal. However the 4-sole design is excellent. I used 8 ounce shoulder for the top and I recommend 6.5 ounce veg tan for mid and bottom soles, the three of them glues and stitched. I remove sections of the midsole to create open channels for straps that cross over. I glue (and nail if necessary) gum rubber bottom, 1/8" thick (I forget the iron rating).

There are many designs for custom sandals that keep the foot centered on the sandal. I had about a dozen designs when I made sandals in my shop back in the '70's. I had forgotten that without a strap between those toes, the foot wanders on the topsole. (I had a stroke that wiped out my memory functions.)