Original use for the 29-4

[mikesc]

My 29k belonged to a Breton cobbler who used it to make shoes, boots and clogs ( sabots )..The soles of the boots a, shoes and clogs ( wooden soles in the case of the clogs were nailed onto the boots via a thinner sole which was sewn on to the uppers around the edges..kind of the way that a "goodyear" welt is made..and then the thicker "wear" sole was nailed onto it with "hobnails" the heads of which were turned over as they struck the "lst" which was inserted into the shoes or boots..then a thinner inner sole of leather was placed inside the boots or shoes to protect the wearers feet from the turned over nail ends..
The leather clog uppers ( boots and shoes were for richer folk , labourers and working people wore leather wooden soled clogs, with leather uppers..on sundays ) were nailed to the wooden clog soles..and in place of padding , or socks, they stuffed straw around their feet, come rain or shine, winter or summer..

Weekdays and for work..the non rich folks in this region of France wore clogs made entirely from solid wood, hollowed out with gouges..My father in law and mother in law both wore entirely wooden clogs all day every day except Sundays..as did many here..

I'll try to find some images, or take some photos of the wooden clogs and wooden and leather clogs and some of the old shoes and boots ( from when they had more money after WW2 ) we still have..but not right now as it is nearly 02.00 am :)..all were made by local cobblers or clog makers, and all the leatherwork was done on 29Ks or the equivalent models from other manufacturers..Life was very similar back home in Ireland for my folks too before WW2..
real leather shoes were a rich peoples thing..most sunday shoes ( if you had the money for shoes, might be made out of cardboard..or as it was called "patent leather" ) were worn until they near crippled you ( cos your feet grew ) and then handed down to the next kid in line..Irish and Breton French ( both catholic places ) had families with very many children..I had 15 cousins in one family, 19 cousins in another family, and 23 cousins in the largest family..and that is only the families related to me within a half a day walking distance from my folks house..real shoes were a luxury that very few could afford.My grandfather used to repair his own..and hand sew all the bridles and saddles and "tack" for himself and sell and repair harness, saddles etc..he bred and trained/broke horses , was a sort of "whisperer", well known in Southern Ireland..was his own blacksmith and farrier too..as were many poor farmers..

He grew up mostly barefoot, shoewearing ( if you had any , even handme downs ) was saved for putting on just before you got where the other church goers could see you..My wife says her grandparents had similar lives, a lot of the Bretons migrated..as did many of the Irish, we just had the famine as an extra reason.

I did once see a singer treadle domestic sewing machine in Ireland when I was a child..belonged to what to us was a very rich relative ( one of the Kennedys, we all are from the same 2 or 3 square mile area of the Kilkenny / Wexford border )..no children allowed to touch it..twas a wondrous thing to behold, even when still :)

Edited May 9, 2017 by mikesc