Thought I’d make a quick thread on my first pair with some more photos.
I started with a 3 piece wooden last with a 1 cm heel from Shoemakercraft (22211). It’s an ergonomic/barefoot last, but traditional in that the bottom is fairly foot-shaped and has a lot of arch and contour, and not enough height to accommodate an insert. I wanted to do a bit more modern design with a flatter insole, where an insert accommodates the foot shape rather than the insole itself. So I filled in the arch and the hollow area under the forefoot, and then added two layers of 5-9 oz horsehide for about 5-6 mm of extra depth.
My method for getting the bottom of the last to a good shape was to press it into a slab of clay with a thin sheet of plastic on top, then place my foot into the impression to check the fit. Since the clay was wet I couldn’t really put weight on it, but I could still get an idea of the fit. Then, when I thought it was just about right, I wrapped the last in thin plastic and made a cast of the bottom with plaster of paris. This allowed me to put more weight on the impression and test it with the inserts I was planning on using.
I did the masking tape method for the pattern. The vamp is lined, and there is what was supposed to be a pocket for the heel counter in back, but as it turned out, I didn’t leave enough space and was not able to slide the heel counters in, so I just left them out. I had to stop stiching through the lining as I approached the lasting allowance, because the lining would need to be folded under while the uppers would be folded out. You can see on the heel that I stopped a few cm short of the line.
I used one layer of the 5-8 oz horsebutt for the insole, so they’re thinner than would be typical. I figured since nothing would be getting stitched to them I didn’t need the extra bulk. (Also used it for the toe puffs) I flattened everything out a bit more with strips from a sheet of cork. I filled in the area not covered by the lining with a piece of lining leather that I traced to the shape. I didn’t add a shank. I then covered the edges with masking tape before gluing and lasting the uppers with PVA glue. Then I flared out the upper leather and wetted it, then wrapped it with innertube, to get it to sort of flare up. This made it easy to apply glue, and glue on the rubber midsoles without anything snagging. I then pressed the flared up edges down onto the midsole and smoothed them out with a folding bone. I punched the stitchdown seam around the uppers and then traced that seam on the bottom of the midsoles with a gel pen, which allowed me to cut a v-groove in the bottom of the midsoles (using a regular square razor blade held at an angle) before stitching, so that the stitch wouldn’t get in the way of gluing on the outsoles.
This is what they looked like after coming off the lasts and trying them on for the first time. I decided not to add the buttons and flaps until they were off because I wasn’t totally confident in the fit.
My initial try at the flap closure was set too far forward and I got some heel slip as a result. The other issue was that the buttons ended up mounted right along the edge of the tongue, and the pull of the flap when walking tended to cause the screw on the bottom side of the button to put pressure in an uncomfortable spot on the top of my foot. (The buttons are brass rivets that I drilled and tapped to accept a stainless machine screw. I added a bit of blue loctite for final assembly)
I solved the button pressure issue by adding a little flap to hold the button, allowing it to sit more squarely over the tongue. The flap itself is two layers of leather laminated together with PVA glue and then skived back down closer to one layer on the wider side with the rivets. This was to give a little more rigidity and strength to that single fastening point.
Overall I’m pretty happy with the outcome. They fit me well and are comfortable to walk in. The main quibble I have from a fit point of view is that I wish the back line curved in just a bit more toward the ankle and grabbed my heel just a bit more. And I was a little surprised how stiff and rugged they felt. The rubber midsole and Vibram wedge sole add a lot of rigidity even without a shank and with a thinner insole. Aesthetically I think they came out pretty close to what I imagined, so I’m happy about that.