Lasts

[Aven]

Lisa Sorrell is carrying a smallish collection of lasts.  She has cowboy boot lasts, ladies pumps and flats lasts, men's dress shoes, sandal lasts and athletic shoe lasts.  They are reasonably priced at $85 a pair.  You can buy them by the pair.  You don't have to buy an entire run of a design.

Next month I'm hoping to be able to order a pair of the athletic lasts to use for flat soled shoes.  Heels in general mess with my back.  The athletic last looks like it'll work for everyday style of shoes.

Edited May 20, 2018 by Aven

[SheltathaLore]

She's placing the next group order for the lasts she doesn't keep in stock in early June.  If she doesn't stock that one, and you want it sooner rather than later, you should probably contact her now.

[Aven]

Good to know.  Thanks.

[SheltathaLore]

She's also really helpful at figuring out last sizing - it's probably not the same as your usual shoe size.  I sent her a tracing and some measurements and a pedigraph (she sells a kit, but you can also do it just fine with ink and a brayer and a 1/16 neoprene sheet), and she picked out a last for me with some tips about where I'll probably want to adjust it. 

[Aven]

3 hours ago, SheltathaLore said:

She's also really helpful at figuring out last sizing - it's probably not the same as your usual shoe size.  I sent her a tracing and some measurements and a pedigraph (she sells a kit, but you can also do it just fine with ink and a brayer and a 1/16 neoprene sheet), and she picked out a last for me with some tips about where I'll probably want to adjust it. 

Was that with the Help:Choosing a Last $40 option?

How did you make your pedigraph?

Mind if I ask what size you normally wear and what size last you received?

[SheltathaLore]

• Check with her before buying the "choosing a last" option - if you do your homework and it's not a lot of work for her, she may not charge.
• This is how to take measurements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONZbrTW576A
• For the pedigraph, I used:
  • https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009K7M1TW - Neoprene sheet, 1/16
  • https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BYQMAM - little brayer.  You'll need to squish the ink around for a while with this to get it nice and spread out.
  • https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZZWM9Y - stamp pad ink
• I usually wear size 8 in retail shoes (because I have a wide ball), but a 6.5 was the last I ended up with.  A 6.5 hits the length measurements perfectly, but I'll need to add some width in a couple places - not surprising.
• If you scan it in and send it to her, either let her know the paper size, or make sure you have the scale otherwise indicated (like tape a ruler to the paper before you scan or something).  That way she'll know whether or not she should tweak it a little bit to make sure it's accurate.  I didn't do this, but now I know to do it for next time!

 

Edited May 21, 2018 by SheltathaLore

[SheltathaLore]

A few other helpful videos on last fitting and modification from her channel (which has a ton of good stuff!):

• How she chooses a last size + last modification for a better fit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWB6Sb1C4iA  https://youtu.be/LOO9rkWPZvo?t=28s
  • For REMOVING material, she suggests using a tool like this: https://www.stanleytools.com/en-us/products/hand-tools/woodworking-tools/files-surform/10-in-surform-plane-type-regular-cut-blade/21-296
• Using a pedigraph: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyKs7IRdzEg&t=147s
• Changing the toe shape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqBagpkUxeA (But for just adding a little width in places, you can glue on leather instead of going all serious business with the bondo)

I've attached the PDF of my pedigraph, tracing, and measurements, if you want to see what mine looked like before I sent it to her.  This was her comment on fitting (and explains why the pedigraph is so helpful!):

Quote

 

"With the 6 1/2B, the ball measurement is correct. However, your pedigraph is wider than the last. What that tells me is that this last will OK, but for a truly good fit you should remove some of the last height in the ball area, and then add back what you’ve removed to width instead.

Does that make sense? If I put you in a last that was wide enough for your foot, it would be way bigger than your measurements. Your pedigraph suggests that the front part of your foot is rather flat and wide. (compared to this last anyway—there’s no judgement.) "

 

 

 

If it hasn't been made obvious by now, Lisa is a gem and super helpful and if you have questions, absolutely get in touch with her, because she's amazing. :D  I don't even make cowboy boots, but I'm seriously considering saving up for her cowboy boot making book + DVD, because her inlay/overlay book was fantastic, and I bet a lot of the cowboy boot stuff carries over to regular shoemaking.

 

paigeph - 5-14-2018 - 23-42-47.pdf

Edited May 21, 2018 by SheltathaLore

[Aven]

Thank you so much!   I appreciate you taking the time to write that all up.  That answers a lot of my questions.    I just wish there was a chart with the at least a couple of the last measurements.

I am a huge fan of Lisa and her work.  I know that doing the videos are a major pain and time sink for her, but they are invaluable to those of us who will never make it to Guthrie.  Not all boot/shoe makers are willing to share, especially to the degree she does. 

Thanks again for sharing.