Working on a boot for someone with super flat feet. To get the extra support he needs, I am planning on running a much longer counter than normal, so giving a pattern a try with the vamp line pulled forward and a long internal counter pocket. Will probably either do a Thomas heel or a stacked leather wedge for more support.
Some other last changes here… he puts a ton of pressure on the 1st and 5th ball joints with the middle three really lightly loaded, so there’s a small metapad built it to support the transverse arch and a light lift of the big toe based on aome orthotics he currently is using.
This is just a pattern fitter, so missing a lot of the final stitching, lining, etc.
Using Horween washed chromexcel… what a wonderful leather. This stuff is so easy to work with.
Basically an asymmetric heel with a longer medial side. Gives more arch support/resists pronation.
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I just want to add that I’ve been really admiring your progress photos lately. I look up to you a lot, especially on patterning and cleanliness of stitching!
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Much appreciated. I have been juggling a lot of multiple projects at once lately so I can get in lots of repetitions on the same steps and be deliberate with my practice.
I could have cut out a lot of the stitching on this for the purpose of a fitter, but I am still figuring out my sewing machine, so it’s good practice. Still missing probably half the stitching this pair will get though.
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This is what Alden does on their TruBalance lasts, right?
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From what I can tell, they put a twist in the heel section so the medial side sits higher than the lateral side. You end up with a heel lift that’s taller on one side to put some twist into the foot.
My understanding is that a Thomas heel extends further forward on the medial side rather than being taller. That further length provides more arch support and prevents pronation rather than trying to actively twist against it.
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Oh yeah, you’re right. Thank you for the correction, I was mistaken. Do you think it ends up being a similar effect?
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They’re both looking at pronation, but I think they’re doing pretty different things. The Thomas heel is a lot more about arch support and keeping the foot held correctly. Raising the medial side would be more about countering some twist, but in the case of a flat foot where the support is needed, it seems like it wouldn’t help prevent further issues.
It may make sense to actually do both. I know the person these are for currently have an orthotic with about a 2 degree heel twist, so it may be worth adding a little twist there to align the foot and then use the Thomas heel/long counter/stronger shank to provide support.
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After a little more searching, it appears that Alden at some point also offered a “foot balance” heel, which was a thomas heel.
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Fitting went well. Last needs some minor tweaking. Pulled the heel in about 2mm, medial ball brought in about 2mm, lateral ball increased about 2mm and a slight increase in waist girth.
Made some pattern changes too. Decision was made to lower the topline about 3/4 of an inch (basically lower to remove the top eyelet) and open the facings a little. More or less trying to get the counter pocket line to flow with overall shape a little better. Adding a little dip on the back topline for the achilles.
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Went through all the pattern updates yesterday and I decided to give a single piece vamp/tongue a go on these. Height is low enough that it doesn’t become a horrible waste of leather.
Going to give crimping the tongue a try on these as practice before crimping the vamps on the engineer project I am doing. Additionally, the tall boot project I am working on really wants a crimped guessed tongue, so this is a good starting point.
So I took my mean forme and made a small crimping block on the printer:
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Interesting idea, 3D printing a crimp block.
I hadn’t thought of that, I suppose since most of the examples I’ve been looking at have been rather large, close to 12 by 12 inches.
This definitely taxed the usable print volume of my printer, so anything taller would need a multi-piece part, but for all of $2 worth of material and 5 minutes of modeling time, it will definitely get the job done.
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That seems to work reasonably well. Chamfer section needs to be longer, but thats easy to change
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Printed up a matching board for the other vamp. Will let them sit for a few days, then crimp the lining and the upper together.
Also started carving the insoles
