Anyone have experience with Frobana or similar hand crank sole stitchers?

[Ppolachi]

Hey all-

ive spent my winter learning how to make bespoke shoes, and I’ve gotten good enough at it that people are starting to try and commission me to make pairs for them.  I want to oblige because a) they’re friends or friends of friends and b) people pay insane prices for this type of shoe and i like everyone else have bills to pay. I’ve decided I need to get a sole stitching machine to try and increase my output with time saved not hand stitching. Does anyone here have experience with Frobana, Mitchell, or similar styled machines that can be operated with a hand crank? And, failing that, does anyone have experience with a Landis 12 or similar machine (and if you do, how steep is the learning curve when starting out with those?) ?. Any advice appreciated greatly, will pay it forward many times over. 

[Wizcrafts]

On 3/4/2026 at 5:52 AM, Ppolachi said:

Does anyone here have experience with Frobana, Mitchell, or similar styled machines that can be operated with a hand crank? And, failing that, does anyone have experience with a Landis 12 or similar machine (and if you do, how steep is the learning curve when starting out with those?) ?. Any advice appreciated greatly, will pay it forward many times over. 

First, the problem I see with the Frobana, and it's equivalents, is that parts and curved needles may be made of Unobtanium. If you are fortunate enough to acquire said machine, make sure it comes with plenty of needles and bobbins! They might be all there is in the wild.

As for the Landis 12, it is the staple of the shoe repair and building industry that uses a curved needle and awl. There are YouTube videos showing how to thread and operate them. You can probably get one for next to nothing from a shoe repair that's going or gone out of business. They often sell them for scrap money. Note, that the Landis 12 is an outsole stitcher that sews around the outside of the shoe, which is held upside down. The other type of sole stitcher is a McKay stitcher that sews from the inside around the inside perimeter of the shoe to attach an insole to an out-sole. Often, that operation happens before a final outsole is sewn on with the curved needle machine. 

In view of the complicated nature of using these machines, I recommend that you find a shoe shop and pay them for instructions on the use and maintenance of the sole stitchers and finishers.

You'll also need a Landis or American 5-in-1 hand cranked sole cutter.

[Constabulary]

The Frobana bobbins are the same as for Singer 45k / Adler 4, 5, 104, 105 and the like the hooks are but basically the same style but a bit different (not interchangeable).You will barely need parts they super tough built machines. Some even have a belt pulley on the hand crank balance wheel. For Frobanas there is a option for a channeling knife (Rissmesser called in German). Yes Needles are expensive but can be found. Needle system is 761 PG.

There were a few different Frobanas - do you have pictures?

[Ppolachi]

On 3/5/2026 at 11:29 AM, Wizcrafts said:

First, the problem I see with the Frobana, and it's equivalents, is that parts and curved needles may be made of Unobtanium. If you are fortunate enough to acquire said machine, make sure it comes with plenty of needles and bobbins! They might be all there is in the wild.

As for the Landis 12, it is the staple of the shoe repair and building industry that uses a curved needle and awl. There are YouTube videos showing how to thread and operate them. You can probably get one for next to nothing from a shoe repair that's going or gone out of business. They often sell them for scrap money. Note, that the Landis 12 is an outsole stitcher that sews around the outside of the shoe, which is held upside down. The other type of sole stitcher is a McKay stitcher that sews from the inside around the inside perimeter of the shoe to attach an insole to an out-sole. Often, that operation happens before a final outsole is sewn on with the curved needle machine. 

In view of the complicated nature of using these machines, I recommend that you find a shoe shop and pay them for instructions on the use and maintenance of the sole stitchers and finishers.

You'll also need a Landis or American 5-in-1 hand cranked sole cutter.

So as far as the Frobana, I have been told (and got confirmation from an older post on here) that its still being made and sold, just with different branding, now going by Ottobock/JOS America under the name outsole stitcher S42-if this is true then the parts might not be totally unobtanium. You’d know better than I, though….and I already have the landis sole cutter and a newer Chinese clone of it that works half as well as the original-I am just trying to make the jump into machine stitching as opposed to hand stitching because I’ve reached the point where I am being inundated with requests for bespoke shoes and I have to turn probably 8 of every 10 people away because the entire soling process takes forever and a day to do by hand.
 

That said, thank you for the thoughtful and detailed response, Wiz….i can’t lie, i specifically wrote that post in hopes you’d see it and give me this exact type of advice. You are a treasure, man. Stumbling across this forum and specifically your posts is what got me into actually trying my hand at leather work instead of just reading/watching others do it. If you ever need a free pair of shoes you know who to call for them. 

Edited yesterday at 05:09 AM by Ppolachi

[Wizcrafts]

10 hours ago, Ppolachi said:

That said, thank you for the thoughtful and detailed response, Wiz….i can’t lie, i specifically wrote that post in hopes you’d see it and give me this exact type of advice. You are a treasure, man. Stumbling across this forum and specifically your posts is what got me into actually trying my hand at leather work instead of just reading/watching others do it. If you ever need a free pair of shoes you know who to call for them. 

Aw, shucks! Thanks, Bro!