My First Post And Sandals

[TJLawJX]

Hello there all, I am new to the forum and wanted to post my latest project. A pair of Mens Sandals inspired by my comfy pair of Kinos from Key West.

I've been working with leather now for about a year just trying to find my niche. My greatest sense of self accomplishment came so far making this pair of sandals. I used some scrap gun holster leather, pigskin lining, some suede leather in the footbed for a bit of cushion and Tandy's Barge cement. The sandals are stitched with hemp twine; the toe rope is an 8 cord plaid, also with hemp. The soling material is my big failure with this pair. I used some craft EVA foam from Jo-Anns, really to just get the concept of the sandals out of my head and into something physical as I have been unable to find a decent source and material for outsoles. This foam from Jo-Anns is not tough enough to handle walking on so I still need to find something good to use.

I have thought about using waxed leather for the soles but I am concerned with traction. I would really prefer some thin rubber or foam of some sort.

My other area I see for improvement is in lining up each piece of leather with the sole material, I need to find a way to clean up the edges to give the project a smooth professional appeal. (can't really see this in the pictures)

When I do my next pair of sandals I plan on using thiner leather over the foot, softer hemp on the toe and hopefully something better for the sole.

[AndyL1]

Nice job! I know you can pick up some shoe sole blanks but for the life of me I can't remember where I saw them. Some sort of shoe maker supplier would have them. Perhaps someone else can chime in and fill in the blanks.

Good looking sandals too. How do they fit? Comfy?

-Andy

[TJLawJX]

Nice job! I know you can pick up some shoe sole blanks but for the life of me I can't remember where I saw them. Some sort of shoe maker supplier would have them. Perhaps someone else can chime in and fill in the blanks.

Good looking sandals too. How do they fit? Comfy?

-Andy

They're not that comfy, mainly due to the thickness of the leather I used over the foot and the stiff toe rope. I'm sure the changes I plan to make on them will fix these problems. My intentions with this pair was to use my scraps to get the sandals into physical form and out of my head. Now that I know what I need to do to make them more comfy, the next pair with new soles should be much better.

--TJ

[MADMAX22]

Looks great.

Another thing to remember is that they will have to brake in a bit. Be sure to post your next pair that you make.