One of the things I wanted to try on these is to do a stitchdown-based construction without the visual bulk in the soles. The info I have seen on norvegese builds usually suggests a vertical sidewall on the insole, which I am sure helps make the chain stitch pop, but it seemed like one could really use the side stitching to pull the upper in really tight on a stitchdown to get closer to the silhouette of hand-welting.
When I cut the insoles, I was pretty aggressive with how much I chamfered under the last.
Leather shank in and pegged and cork leveled upfront. I will run some pegs through the midsole into the shank as well to box it completely. Did the same on my last pair and I have been happy with it this far.
Haven’t decided if I want to do some cork around thr shank, kinda like a pseudo rand to level it off a bit more or not.
The cork overlays the end of the shank by a bit, so it is a bit longer than it looks. I feather it down as it approaches the front. Still probably could have gone a little longer, but it’s deceptive in the picture.
Midsole in place and about ready to start stitching. I pegged through the midsole into the shank in-between the previously placed pegs with every other one at opposite angles
It’s horween russet horsebutt strips. My usual go-to for things like counters since it’s strong and cheap. Not particularly thick for a midsole, but I am trying to go a lot lower profile on this boot compared to the last where I used a sole bend for the midsole.
Horween’s horsebutt strips are real cheap! Last I checked they were only about $25 each.
One issue is the thickness is inconsistent. The center may be 5-6mm and the ends only 2-3mm. Not a big deal for things like counters, where you’re skiving away a bunch of the material anyway, but I wish it were more consistent for insoles, midsoles, welts, and the occasional belt.
I just need to get myself a benchtop splitter, I suppose.
I bought one, but I’ve used it less than I expected. Partly because I’ve just ended up acquiring more leather suited to specific purposes, like craft grade tooling leather split to a couple weights and thinner chrome-tan suitable for bellows tongues.
Certain pieces I might skive, like bellows tongues, don’t fit through my skiver. I’ve tried skiving them piecewise, but results weren’t great.
@Mllcb42 your post about a little splitter reminded me that I’ve been meaning to try skiving strips of scrap leather down too use as reinforcement tapes and backers, in lieu of specialized tape or textiles. Skiving a little strap down so I can cut in half to use as topline reinforcements appeals to me, and that would be a perfect use for the skiver I ended up with.
