Shoemaking! [first ever shoe I made]

[AdamGadut]

This took me several months to get started with so many many delays and a multitude of reasons. I Seriously wanted to learn how to make shoes. The very sad truth is that, there's no school around my region that teaches this, and the only two craftsman i know who makes shoes well, one of them closed his shop and is gone, the other man is about to close his shop and is not willing to teach. So i had to learn everything that is reachable from the web. 

The problem with this is that, not everyone tells you what you need to know, and me being so ardent jumped straight into buying the only shoe last i could find. the seller had no idea about the lasts and she thought the last was ok for me. What she didn't know is that the last is for a female shoe. But then i happened to have a girlfriend and i was needing to give her a gift. I then thought of making her shoes. This is my output. 

the entire shoe is handmade - handstitched and without anyone to teach me, i steered a little bit away from the orthodox methods.

I dont know if its typical for womens shoes to use the goodyear welt, and since i wanted it made in a way that it wouldn't make her foot look wide. So i did the stitching like that of the Blake welt - done my hand. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

there's a lot to be desired on this first build. some uneven parts on the shoe and some parts which could have been done better. 

these will have its own laces when she starts wearing these. She selected the design from the internet and we changed it a bit with the choice of leather. Sadly I couldn't put any more linings on it since the suede is thick. and i had to put a toe stiffener on.

If anyone wants to see how i got to this point, please do say so. i have some more pictures

Edited September 15, 2017 by AdamGadut
added a few points

[plinkercases]

Wow good for you. I am not a cobbler so no comment on the craft but I like the product and that you had the stones do try it!

[AdamGadut]

3 minutes ago, plinkercases said:

Wow good for you. I am not a cobbler so no comment on the craft but I like the product and that you had the stones do try it!

thanks man  ... i believe i've read somewhere cobblers only fix shoes, cordwainer are the ones who makes shoes.

[Fire88]

Look nice to me and tip of the hat for for teaching yourself

[kiwican]

Well done!  I'm building the courage to make a pair of boots for winter!

[AdamGadut]

10 minutes ago, kiwican said:

Well done!  I'm building the courage to make a pair of boots for winter!

thanks

i must state, since i am very used to stitching using pricking irons, and not so much with an Awl, there's definitely a different kind of difficulty added.

[plinkercases]

Well I am definitely not a cordwainer!!! and 2x on the difference of the awl over the pricking irons. I started with awl and keep coming back to using it from the most part.

Edited September 15, 2017 by plinkercases

[MichaelT]

WOW! I really like those. The contrast of the colors and textures really make them pop. I can't imagine all the complexities of making shoes and how hard it  would be even if you had a mentor. My hat is of to you for jumping in and doing it. Don't be too hard on yourself about what went wrong and what might be better. 

Shoes are one of the projects that rides around in the back of my brain and  occasionally bounces to the front and says "wouldn't it be really cool if you could pull this off?" Someday maybe I'll try it and you really inspired me to go tackle one of the many challenges that lurk within my mind.

[WoodysWorkshop]

They look fantastic!

I'm guessing the hardest part was getting both the same size?

I have a desire to make shoes, but not going to tackle it.

Best I might do is an Outback Hat, since Walk-A-Bout hats seams to have disappeared.

[ryankim3612]

GREAT JOB! I bought some videos on making shoes, but I'm still too chicken!!  hahaah

[AdamGadut]

@MichaelIT , if you can make leather goods, then you should be able to make this  its just worth a try.. - one of those things you can really be proud of when you finally something in your hand thats finished. I have some more ideas i really really wanna have the real finished item in my hand. I believe you also have some ideas what combination of colors should a shoe have.

 

@WoodysWorkshop thanks   wasnt too difficult to get the two on the same size. thanks to the shoe last.

The hard parts for me were

1.) the reduction in the size of the shoe last, her foot was about 1.5 CM shorter than the last but has the same width and girth, - that we did test using a mock up shoe. Since its a very curvy object, it was difficult to match the last when i was reducing the heel. and it ended up being the right side was about 3mm longer than the left. but she still liked the fit so i guess no issues there.

2.) the lasting - I had to use a technique recommended by George Koleff. was seriosly difficult to stitch when i reached the toe part. 

3.) matching the patterns when i was closing the upper. the other side slightly offset from the other

4.) preparing my tools. imagine since i couldn't buy the tools online, i literally prepared my own lasting pliers and a hammer (welded, filed, and grind into shape). one tool i wasnt successful in preparing was the awl. what i created either kept breaking or was too large to be useable enough.

 

@ryankim3612 if there's anything i can tell you, its definitely that, give it a try. First look at what you have, and be sure to be aware every step needed to complete it. - like all the details - really important, if you miss one thing, scour the web. then go give it a shot.

 

 

[Kbarrick21]

I've been wanting to attempt a pair of cowboy boots for my two year old boy. Been thinking it should be pretty straight forward, but I'm sure I will be surprised at the many aspects of boot building that i haven't thought of yet.I have been watching videos of a custom bookmaker on FB, he makes it look so simple.  Anyway, nice job.

[NeilMac]

Awesome looking shoes. Ive made period shoes and their far more simple but take allot of work so I know its even more work for those newer types. One has to make ones own last to get a proper fit.

Great work !