I am by no means a factory shoemaker. I’m not fast enough! But in reading about the history of shoemaking, the interplay between craft or hand and factory methods interests me more than any other theme. And then there’s the whole other dialogue of manufacture versus repair. What do bottoming departments and cobbler shops do differently? Why?
I can see how repairers might start lockstitching welts with jerk needles in imitation of their machines. But I can also see how they’d get away with it these days, well into the era of synthetic cord. Is a welt sewn double-needle with flax or hemp coated in rosin really stronger or more durable than lockstitched twisted poly? Braided poly? Is double-needle stitching poly an improvement, or just massive overkill? It’s definitely slower than lockstitching.
@cjackson, to touch back on a theme from your intro, I’d say that it’s a big hope for me to see all the new energy and sharing hobbyists are bringing to shoemaking produce some new methods and ideas that follow the old path and trickle down to affordable, mass-produced shoes. Maybe part of that is just being more open to learning not just from repairers, but from machines, as well. It’s probably really hard for pro custom makers to admit to doing machine work slower and more expensive, by hand. But those of us poking our fingers for fun can try anything.