Moccasins made of vegetable-tanned leather

[Aven]

Scott, when I made my turn shoes I used 8 -9 oz bullhide.  The temper was very soft and supple.  It worked a treat, but the soles were covered with a mixture of ground rubber and barge cement.

This should give you more information.  Bison Leather Info

[Frodo]

I use a 5oz for the sole and suede for the upper. you can buy a rabbit pelt if you are making a pair for winter

check springfield they run a nice sale every now and then on the pelts

[ScottEnglish]

Aven: Bullhide. I'll have a look online. Thanks. How durable was the ground rubber and Barge cement soling?

Frodo: Thanks for your reply. Moccasins made of rabbit pelt must be nice in the winter!

Scott

[ScottEnglish]

Aven: Seems water buffalo is indeed a good substitute for bison. Very helpful for me to know that before I buy more leather. Can bison/buffalo leather be moulded? Thank you.

Scott

[toxo]

20 hours ago, Aven said:

Scott, when I made my turn shoes I used 8 -9 oz bullhide.  The temper was very soft and supple.  It worked a treat, but the soles were covered with a mixture of ground rubber and barge cement.

This should give you more information.  Bison Leather Info

Sort of OT but reminded me of a small firm that moved next door to me years ago. They'd come up with the idea of shredding tyres. cleaning and colouring them and with some kind of resin they would float the stuff all around your swimming pool to give a warm, non slip and of course waterproof surface. I remember thinking I wish I'd thought of that.

[Aven]

7 hours ago, ScottEnglish said:

Aven: Bullhide. I'll have a look online. Thanks. How durable was the ground rubber and Barge cement soling?

Frodo: Thanks for your reply. Moccasins made of rabbit pelt must be nice in the winter!

Scott

The soling has held up decently for me.  How it will hold up for you is a matter of several things, such as how you walk, what you walk on, how often you wear them, and of course how you applied the soling.  Applying it can be a bit tricky.  You have to mix up the amount of rubber you think you will need and stir that into just enough Barge to hold it together.  But while you are stirring to coat all the granules well, the glue is flashing off.  You have to get the granules completely coated, but with just enough glue to hold it all together and then smeared onto the sole before it hardens on you.  It can't have too much glue, be too wet or it will just make a mess of things.  If you underestimated what you needed, just do a second layer. 

The soling treatment is more comfortable than walking on a sidewalk barefooted, but it doesn't offer the same cushioning as a pair of runners.  And it isn't overly durable.  If you wore them daily on concrete or asphalt, you will probably have to redo the soling a couple of times a year.  But its easy enough to do, just messy.

 

2 hours ago, toxo said:

Sort of OT but reminded me of a small firm that moved next door to me years ago. They'd come up with the idea of shredding tyres. cleaning and colouring them and with some kind of resin they would float the stuff all around your swimming pool to give a warm, non slip and of course waterproof surface. I remember thinking I wish I'd thought of that.

Not really.  It's the same concept.  The person who taught me how to make the turn shoes would take a five gallon bucket to a place nearby that retreaded tires and ask if he could scoop up some of the grindings.  It was the mess they made from grinding the old tread off, so it was waste, but they weren't always keen to have him in the building. 

The grindings were different sizes and there were always bits of steel in the mix.  From that 5 gallon bucket, after the sifting was done, there might be a gallon bucket or two of finely ground rubber.

[Sheilajeanne]

The red deer, which is very common in Scotland, is a close relative of the North American elk, and I'm sure its hide would be a good substitute.

[Aven]

This video is a good tutorial on how to do it.  It isn't quite what I was taught, but it looks like it will work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzDFbvdIP7E

[ScottEnglish]

Thanks Aven for the information about ground rubber and Barge cement soling. And the link to the video.

Sheilajeanne: I didn't know red deer were related to North American elk. Thank you.

Scott