There is a newer Japanese shoemaker youtuber, Shoe Place By.
The techniques are similar to other Japanese makers. He doesn’t title his videos in English so the algorithm doesn’t pick them up.
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Nice-u! Thanks for sharing!
Youtube cobbler “Oliver the Shoe Man” has recently begun posting a video series on shoe repair. looks like he’s also going to start selling shoe repair tools. It looks like a very good beginner level intro to the craft.
the second episode has some great advice for sole sanding on a line-finisher, including “what are all those different wheels for?”.
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Nice. On a related note: Do you think there’s more I could do to make this forum welcoming for repairers?
I think the first step would be finding where shoe repairers gather online. It’s very likely that they already have their own online forums. It may not be a problem with being welcoming, it may simply be that there isn’t much overlap between the cordwaining and shoe repair communities, or they may be content with their current online spaces.
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The primary space where I’ve seen cobblers gathering online is a Facebook group called Shoe Repair International (SRI). It’s fairly active.
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List of links to a whole series of videos on UK-style bespoke making: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cordwaining/comments/1bcnc4g/free_video_course_of_handwelted_shoes_from_start/
All on Facebook. I’m tempted, but won’t be signing up.
I’ve watched this series a few times and it’s one of my favorites. The shoe facebook groups used to be really active with lots of professionals. I have probably read the majority of posts from the last 10 years. David (the original poster) works primarily (maybe exclusive?) for George Cleverley. Its really rare to see Outworkers share their work but everytime they do I am just astonished at the speed and quality. Andrew Gadd was also active in the groups and he has some nice youtube videos. My favorite part of the series was the heel building. He did it the traditional way with paste and nails (wooden pegs were not used in West-end tradition). Its the best tutorial I have found for building the heels this way, which has the advantage that it finishes much nicer/cleaner. The fillings part is also quite nice and shows the common way it is done in England, with a leather shank and felt filler. Plenty of others would charge $300+ for the information David shares in the videos.
I have the videos downloaded and I can send them to you, not sure how would be best.
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what is that tool he’s using to hammer nails into the insole?
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Not sure if this is the one you mean since he changes what he uses a few times but if its the flat thing then its a rivet driver like this:
Basically a heavy file.
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To a man with a nail, everything looks like a hammer.
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