Outsole Stitcher Reference Guide (Community Project)

Reference
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A few weeks ago, someone posted a question about the differences between the various Landis outsole stitcher models. It made me realize how scattered this information is—and how much of what I had learned over the past five years had never been documented in one place. Thanks for asking that question and thanks for the public forum to respond.

I originally started by trying to find the right machines for my own shop. That turned into years of searching, buying, moving, comparing, tracking down manuals and parts, talking with mechanics, and learning through the school of hard knocks.

This guide is the result of that blood, sweat, and tears.

It is not a repair manual. It is a practical reference intended to help people understand the major outsole stitchers, the differences between them, the tooling they use, the support still available, and what to consider before buying one.

I do not have an agenda. My days of horse-trading equipment are officially behind me. I am simply trying to pass along what I have learned so the next person does not have to start from zero.

Real life sucks sometimes, and this hobby gives us all a break from the real world. And for those who do this professionally—even Geppetto needs to step away from making shoes once in a while and do something else.

One thing is certain for me: I have had more contentment working with these old machines than I ever had building a pair of shoes. To each his or her own.

This is still a work in progress and I hope to do future revisions. Corrections, photos, original literature, firsthand knowledge, and additional information are welcome. And maybe it even eventually somehow takes on it’s own legs as an online community project.

In the end I wish upon everyone the good fortune to wake everyday to the sight of Landis barf green and Sutton baby-poo yellow in your workshop. It has always brightened my day- hopefully yours too.

Outsole Stitchers.pdf (659.5 KB)

2 Likes
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Wow. You went above and beyond making this.

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@44equine, holy cow, brother. What a contribution!

You better come up with some asks and questions quick: Anything you couldn’t pin down for your guide? Any kind of help you could use for it: people to make drawings, 3D modelers to sketch parts, etc.? I for one will want to do a turn back here.

I’ve been struggling to make time and attention for shoe work lately, due to a big push at work for a friend’s company in need. You’ve sure given me a boost.

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yes, pictures would be very helpful.

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Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad some people are finding it useful.

One of the reasons I put this together is because there are always new shoemakers coming into the craft—both hobbyists and professionals—who have a lot of questions about these machines. The shoe repair community has been the keeper of this knowledge for decades, but they’re also some of the busiest people around. They don’t always have the time to answer every question from newcomers, and that’s certainly no fault of their own.

Like you said, this is just a draft. It could definitely use another revision (and probably lose about 20 pages! :joy:), along with a lot more photos and illustrations. My plan is to let it sit for the next six months, collect corrections and additional information, and then revisit it with fresh eyes.

The funny thing is that this guide was really just one piece of research for what has since become a much larger project, so I’ll keep heading down that road.

I think the repair guys are the ones who can really add to the technical details. Shoemakers, on the other hand, can benefit from understanding what’s available and how these machines differ. The irony is that most people probably don’t even need one of these machines in the first place (which I probably should have stated up front instead of later in the text).

If this guide saves someone a little time, money, or frustration, then I’d call that a small win for everyone.

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I wonder if you could make a shared wiki version so people could help edit it.
(not me, I know nothing. other, smarter people)

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The forum here can do “wiki posts” that are open to editing. But whether we do that, or when, are totally up to @44equine.

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What a mensch! What’s the larger project this is part of?

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Imma run for President of the United States on a single-issue platform: a Landis stitcher in every American garage, restoring domestic shoemaking and shoe repair one household at a time.

My key advisers inform me that there is also a growing threat of a foreign takeover by Kazakhstan, using its strategic potassium reserves, a covert network of mall-based pretzel franchises, and an apparent determination to corner the market on historic American shoe machinery. Nothing else can explain why this stuff continues to sell on eBay.

None of the above is a joke. What may be a joke is that I am actually writing a motion picture script.

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Great idea. Yes of course a wiki post would be fab. But the tech on that is above my pay grade.

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Nobody gettin’ paid around here!

Added to my to-do list.

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I just took a firs stab at converting to a “wiki” post here on the forum, which any member can edit:

I’m sure there are little typos and formatting issues. But I’m pretty sure the text is all accurate, since I converted from PDF to HTML with Acrobat, automatically.

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Wow!!!
Thank you for the significant effort to do that Kyle.

Let the good times roll.

I guess lol

1 Like