A Decent Pair (Please Critique)

[mikey]

Hi,

I have not had any training in shoe making, but I have been making these (and the like) for about 3 years now and,

by trial and error, they have been getting progressively better (from outright disastrous to fairly decent).

It's a combination of leather, expanding foam from Smooth-on for the foot bed, and castin resin from Alumilite for the sole.

I am still unhappy with my skill in forming the upper over the foot (so that it won't throw those tiny wrinkles).

Any comments / tips / questions are appreciated.

Thanks for looking,

Mike

[benlilly1]

Hi Mike, They look very comfortable and well made. So do you make them for yourself or do you sell them?

[mikey]

Hi Mike, They look very comfortable and well made. So do you make them for yourself or do you sell them?

Hi,

Thank you for the kind words. Now that I have figured out what NOT to do, they are very comfortable ...

I have not made them for anyone other than myself and family, since I have had zero confidence in my

abilities to custom fit for someone who isn't right here with me to measure the foot and try them before I

really stitch.

Having said this, I am getting to the point where I would be more comfortable with this and would

like to try and make them for other people. So, if you or anyone else is willing to be the "guinea pig" ,

I'd be happy to make a pair and send them to you.

Then you can tell me what (if anything) they would be worth in your opinion, as a for sale item.

However, I would need a farily extensive set of measurements for each foot ...

Thanks,

Mike

[benlilly1]

I'll private message you.

[immiketoo]

That is a very well made pair of sandals, and they don't look like the bowling shoes that a lot of shoe schools have you make. Nice Job!

[bluesman1951]

Nicely done ! Thanks for sharing these .

[humperdingle]

They look awesome!

[Kindaki]

i know nothing about making shoes but i wonder isn't there something like shoe forms (kind of like dress forms but for feet) you can use to make shoes certain sizes and then you can sell them by size instead of having to custom make every pair. this would make it easier for people to buy from you when you start selling and make life a lot easier on you. so if shoe forms exist (if they dont someone get on that) then I would look into those.

the sandals look really good btw, my husband would wear them

[lightningad]

very nice job, great colour and they look very comfie.

are you going to try making any that strap behind the ankle, like the jungle sandals that are very popular?

I like the security of being fastened to my footwear, but also like the freedom of a sandal !!

[mikey]

Thank you for all the encouraging comments.

@lightningad: I suppose a strap would not be too difficult to add. I would have to play around with it a bit though, to be sure.