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.

[LeatherLegion]

Those are some great looking slippers !!!!!

[Dangerous Beans]

First and foremost... They look good! And finally, they look comfortable.

I'm sure that I mirror many an LW member when I say we are the biggest critics of our own work.

I think you will find that if you were to look at a similar pair available in a shoe shop manufactured on mass, the quality would differ distinctly!

As Kindaki mentioned, you can buy plastic and wooden feet for shoe making, called lasts over here, I think they work out to about £100 each.

But given that each size has three widths and then you have male and female lasts, this can soon add up.

I'd be happy to trial a pair, they look awesome.

Nige

[tbmow]

Hey Mikey,

Those do look comfortable.

Could you please be more specific about which foam you use for the liner and which resin for the sole? How do these materials hold up? What do you use for a shaping mold?

There are a lot of different expanding foams, casting resins, etc. Some are harder than others (represented by a larger Shore or Durometer number), others can be in contact with skin (like silicone).

thanks

t

[MikeG]

I also think your shoes reflect very high quality. I had to look closely to see where you wanted to improve the uppers. Are you trying to mold the leather directly to your foot? If so, perhaps you could try making a mold using plaster or a molding material. Then you could smooth out the mold before trying to mold your leather to it. This would be pretty labor intensive and not suitable for production, though . . .

I would be more than delighted with what you are currently doing. I'd be interested in what you come up with.

Mike

[mikey]

Hey Mikey,

Those do look comfortable.

Could you please be more specific about which foam you use for the liner and which resin for the sole? How do these materials hold up? What do you use for a shaping mold?

There are a lot of different expanding foams, casting resins, etc. Some are harder than others (represented by a larger Shore or Durometer number), others can be in contact with skin (like silicone).

thanks

t

Hi,

For the sole I use Alumilite's Flex 80 casting resine, a urethane rubber with a shore hardness of 80A:

http://www.alumilite...ns&Name=Flex 80

For cushioning in the liner / sole I use Smoth-On FlexFoam-iT V or X :

http://www.smooth-on...p?cPath=10_1121

As a mold material I use Alumilite's QuickSet:

http://www.alumilite...r&Name=QuickSet

When I make a mold, I first form what I want to make from good quality playdough that does

not take water to make it soft (it's oily and can be softened by warming it up). Then I pour

the QuickSet over it and let it cure. Works like a charm!

I like the Flex80 for the sole material. It is extremely flexible and durable and easy to work with.

Smooth-On's foam can be poured into a silicone mold and will expand uniformely.

Both materials work well with glues, such as Barge or Weldwood cement, but if you lay leather

with roughened surface in the mold before pouring either the FlexFoam-iT or the Flex80, they will

adhere to the leather PERMANENTLY as they cure.

I have not had any luck with silicones as actual shoe material (only for molds), as they don't glue

well at all, in my experience.

Mike

Edited February 13, 2013 by mikey

[Samalan]

Really nice job!

[bigorange]

still looking for donor feet?

[tbmow]

Thanks for the update Mike.

Urethanes and casting resins are expensive, and there are so many options that one can go broke trying to find what works best. I am certain that you have helped many people with your ideas.

t