This is the first time I really understand how Goodyear welt works. I've read a lot of articles and watched a lot of videos about that before. None of them is as clear as yours.
For the first time I really understand the difference between Blake and Goodyear. You are an amazing teacher Robert and thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Great job Robert. I was out for dinner with my wife recently and we had considerable snow that evening and it was cold! I wore my Allen Edmonds Higgins Mill boots and my wife had some designer named boot, (more properly should be referred to as a ‘throw away’ boot). Well to make a long story short my feet were dry and warm, while my wife complained of her feet being wet and cold. I think the moral of the story is that one should look for quality in the brand of the shoe and not get caught up in name of the fashion designer shoes. I’m digressing a bit but feel there is a connection to the essence of the message in your video. Keep up the good work and have a good 2019!
Just recently decided to start buying more consciously higher quality shoes. I just heard in general to look for a sole that is sawn and not glued - had no idea there are different types of stitching. Thank you for your explanation. I already have ordered a blake stitched shoe, now i will know how to recognize both and what to look for😊
Talk about a high quality video! I love that you supplemented the clear diagram with a real-world example-either in isolation wouldn't be nearly as effective.
I'm here because i work in a shoe department and i have a lot of clients who ask me if the work boots are stitched. I answer i don't know. Well explained.
Thank you very much for using clear and easy to understand words and an amazing methodology to explain. I am impressed by your ease in answering my old and controversial question ... I congratulate you on your extraordinary work ...
Many times….In NYC walking home 1.5 miles in a driving rain wearing wool socks & Churches shoes with Goodyear welted construction….never did the interior feel wet, damp or cold.. same walk home wearing many Italian style shoes was a disaster in terms of comfort…the Goodyear difference is amazing.
A very good video. Cutting the shoes apart really shows off the methods well. Robert you can make videos the rest of your life just on construction methods. The waters are very muddy with construction. For instance there are some factories that do Bologna construction. This is where the upper is sewn into a tube. You are actually standing on the upper. At this point the maker can cement a sole on or Blake stitch on a sole or Blake Rapid. Yet the shoe in all these configurations is still referred to as Bologna construction. Just like when a GYW company decides to cement a sole on a welted shoe. Your intent was to show the difference between a GYW and Blake and you have done a good job.
Great video Robert. The gray canvas in your diagram is called the insole rib. It is usually glued to the insole and that is what the welt an upper are stitched to. In bespoke shoes they don't use a rib. They bend the insole into an L shape and Stitch directly to be in insole. I will add a disclaimer that as you say I am not a professional cobbler so the bending of the L shape may not be 100% accurate but it gives you a rough idea of what is going on
trekvana thank you... I think it’s also referred to as “gemming”? And yes, I’ve seen bespoke shoe makers do what you’re talking about, but the way I would describe it rather than “bending“ the insole is they actually take a thicker insole leather and carve out the area inside of and outside of the rib, to leave an edge standing up like an “L” to which they stitch.
Great video. Excellent explanation. But the gemming issue is eally not a bespoke versus non bespoke distinction. It’s a hand welting versus Goodyear welting distinction. Goodyear welting always uses the gemming method where the insole is glued to the gemming which is then stitched to the welt rather than a hand welt where the insole is stitched directly to the welt. You’d be crazy to get a bespoke shoe that is Goodyear welted and don’t know any that do that. But some non-bespoke shoe makers, e.g. Buday in Budapest use a hand welt. It’s significantly more expensive to create a hand welted shoe because, as the name implies, it most be done by hand.
Hey Bob, there's in fact a _third_ method of construction that's commonly used, known as "Blake/Rapid" or "Blake-Rapid" construction. It's like taking a Blake-stitched shoe and then stitching a second outsole to it (basically, the original Blake outsole becomes a midsole). This process results in an obviously thicker sole that's more durable and resistant to moisture and the elements than a traditional Blake-stitched shoe, and more comparable to Goodyear-welted shoe. However, confusingly, a lot of shoe brands don't make a distinction between Traditional Blake and Blake/Rapid construction; if they offer a Blake/Rapid shoe, they'll often just call it Blake. You kinda just have to use your eyes to figure out which one it is.
kaikaichen - I’ve read / seen videos about this method, but I cannot honestly say I’ve actually seen a shoe with it. Are there any popular or common shoe brands that use it that you know of? I’m assuming the way you’d ID it is that outside it would look like a Goodyear Welt, but on the inside of the shoe you would see the Blake stitches coming through the insole?
@@CobblerBob TBH, the only shoes I personally know of that use this method are those from some of the new, popular online direct-to-consumer brands such as Ace Marks, Jack Erwin, Beckett Simonon, and Velasca.
Do you know anything about the Veldshon (I'm not sure if I have spelt the word correctly) sole. The top leather of the shoe is stitched directly to the sole but is stitched on the outside of the sole. This type of sole is said to have come from South Africa and is supposed to be waterproof. I once owned a short brogue style boot with this sole with the top leather being buffalo hide with a sort of pimple finish. They were very sturdy. I no longer see shoes made in this way anymore and wondered why. I really enjoy your videos, very informative.
That grey piece (canvas) is in fact the ONLY thing keeping the insole attached to the welt and the uppers and the outsole. It is the main failing of goodyear welted shoes compared to handwelted shoes, done to cut costs and reduce the need for skilled shoemakers in the production process.
Hi Robert, I think it might be super interesting to get a sense of how easy/hard it is to tear apart the plastic/canvas strip from the insole when exposed to moisture vs kept dry.
Question: In blake-construction is the insole first attached on the upper using glue,and then the outsole is stitched on?..or is the insole stitched first on to the upper and then the outsole is stitched on? I've tried to find some videos who can show the process but no luck so far.
Hi Bob, Thanks for this . I have a question; is that layer of cork mandatory in a Goodyear welted shoe? Do ALL makers of Goodyear welted shoes put it in?
Kenny Desai -no, I’m not sure if you saw the end of the video with the new Allen Edmonds explanation, but I’m pretty certain manufacturers sure can use other materials. I’ve owned Johnston Murphy shoes that feel like they have foam rubber in there.
Hello again Sir, this might seem a strange question, but why is there something called Norwegian welt / stitch? (My (Norwegian friends don't know) Cheers from Denmark 🇩🇰
Hey, man. As far as I understand it, a Norwegian welt is just another name for a Storm Welt. So it's kind of an L shaped welt and double stitched. He kinda talks about it at the end of the video real quick. Quite possibly I'm wrong, but that's how I understand it. 🤷
I have a question that I just have bought a regal leather shoe which was described as blake stitch shoe but when actually I did the same way as you did to spot if it was a stitching inside the insole of the shoe, I got nothing. So I just wonder If I was ripped off?
Cius P. When you say “described as“ do you mean by a sales person? Or on literature on the website? You may want to check out a video I just released: “How to spot FAKE shoe sole stitching!“ I think it will answer some of your questions. Sometimes shoes have an insole you have to peel back to see the stitching. ua-cam.com/video/-oRWEzvoVe8/v-deo.html
Robert Powers Saleman told me that. I notice that there is thin layer that's clued over the insole, but i don't know how to reclue that layer back onto the insole once i peel it off in oder to inspect if it's genuinely blackstich
Well, not really. That's a tough question bc some will say "anything is possible", but for the average professional cobbler? I would venture to say 99% would NOT take that job. Steve at Bedos Leatherworks MIGHT, IF there is a lot of extra leather to stitch the new gemming to the old upper. It's more likely that they would turn it into a Blake Rapid contruction. Picture a Blake Stitched shoe where the new outsole is thinner, and is now not an outsole, but used as a midsole. Then the new outsole would be stitched with a Goodyear Welting machine to the new "midsole" instead of a welt, because there is no welt on a Blake Rapid shoe. It still would not have a corkbed though.
A 360° welted shoe like Allen Edmonds that you saw in my video DOES have the welt go all the way around. 270° because you’re well to choose, the wealth does not go around the hill. Generally speaking, the stress on the heel is compression only. With a 270° GYW shoe, you can get the heel much tighter to the upper. I guess the short answer is the welt is just not really necessary around the heel. Most of the most expensive English Goodyear welted shoes have a 270° welt.
jeremy emilio - to tell you the truth, I’ve never personally handled either one... I wouldn’t feel qualified to talk about either one yet! Although technically speaking, in my video “Resoling at Home FAIL” ua-cam.com/video/ed_h4vVSfJc/v-deo.html I stitched soles on by hand (horribly done as it was my first attempt) but technically since I did it by hand I think that makes it hand Welted?
You cannot say that GYW is better than BS because you are comparing totally different things.They both have pros and cons. You said it yourself BS can make the shoes slimmer thus more elegant. If all you do with yourr shoes is walking pavements and going indoors...no diving into mud and deep puddles chances are you don t really need GYW. The cost is significantly higher even with resoling. And there is a limit on how many times you can resole. At some point the upper is going to be beyond repair or might even go out of fashion (ie monk straps they aren t so classic as the oxford) and you don t know when you buy the shoe, how long can you expect for an upper to last?For sure a GYW is going to outlast a BS but can it outlast 2 of them the cost would be almost the same.But 2 BS shoes would offer you more options with your look. BS is as good as it gets. I would choose finesse+lower cost over sturdiness any day of the week.
This is by far the clearest explanation I've seen of the differences between the Blake stitch and the Goodyear welt.
Mike Blast 👊🏼😊
Yes
And it's not even close. A+ job
This is the first time I really understand how Goodyear welt works. I've read a lot of articles and watched a lot of videos about that before. None of them is as clear as yours.
Ge Yi 👊🏼😁👍🏼
“I’m not a professional.”
Yes you are; and you rock, Robert.
Kenny Ingram 🙏🏼 thank you!
For the first time I really understand the difference between Blake and Goodyear. You are an amazing teacher Robert and thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Ergon Hardroll 🙏🏼 👊🏼😉
Great job Robert. I was out for dinner with my wife recently and we had considerable snow that evening and it was cold! I wore my Allen Edmonds Higgins Mill boots and my wife had some designer named boot, (more properly should be referred to as a ‘throw away’ boot). Well to make a long story short my feet were dry and warm, while my wife complained of her feet being wet and cold. I think the moral of the story is that one should look for quality in the brand of the shoe and not get caught up in name of the fashion designer shoes. I’m digressing a bit but feel there is a connection to the essence of the message in your video. Keep up the good work and have a good 2019!
Watched so many videos on GYW shoes for years, this is the first video where I actually understood whats happening! This channel needs more views!
Thank you! I LOVE hearing this!
Another great video, thank you Robert! You did an excellent job illustrating the differences between GYW and BRS. Please keep up the excellent work!
Just recently decided to start buying more consciously higher quality shoes. I just heard in general to look for a sole that is sawn and not glued - had no idea there are different types of stitching. Thank you for your explanation. I already have ordered a blake stitched shoe, now i will know how to recognize both and what to look for😊
I have a fairly recent video showing how to spot fake stitching!
ua-cam.com/video/-oRWEzvoVe8/v-deo.html
By far the best breakdown I’ve seen on this topic. Really enjoy your channel and passion. Subscribed!
John Billings - thank you!! 👊🏼
Talk about a high quality video! I love that you supplemented the clear diagram with a real-world example-either in isolation wouldn't be nearly as effective.
I’m glad it helped!!
I'm here because i work in a shoe department and i have a lot of clients who ask me if the work boots are stitched. I answer i don't know. Well explained.
Thank you very much for using clear and easy to understand words and an amazing methodology to explain. I am impressed by your ease in answering my old and controversial question ... I congratulate you on your extraordinary work ...
Thank you for the education, sir. Great video and exactly what I was looking for
I'm glad it helped!
This is so so so helpful! Thank you a million times! Those shoes weren't sacrificed for nothing :D
Fantastic video breaking down AE’s construction!
Love the vids! I'm learning a lot. And, yes, you ARE a professional!
REM977 thank you!
thanks for posting always like watching your videos
Many times….In NYC walking home 1.5 miles in a driving rain wearing wool socks & Churches shoes with Goodyear welted construction….never did the interior feel wet, damp or cold.. same walk home wearing many Italian style shoes was a disaster in terms of comfort…the Goodyear difference is amazing.
Interesting testimony!!
Excellent video! Thank you so much Bob
Same as Ge Yi, very clear and understandable great content.
This is very well explained. Thanks so much!
You're very welcome!
A very good video. Cutting the shoes apart really shows off the methods well. Robert you can make videos the rest of your life just on construction methods. The waters are very muddy with construction. For instance there are some factories that do Bologna construction. This is where the upper is sewn into a tube. You are actually standing on the upper. At this point the maker can cement a sole on or Blake stitch on a sole or Blake Rapid. Yet the shoe in all these configurations is still referred to as Bologna construction. Just like when a GYW company decides to cement a sole on a welted shoe. Your intent was to show the difference between a GYW and Blake and you have done a good job.
Phil Schiavone - 🙏🏼 thank you! And very good points! The question is how do I get samples of those without blowing money?
Brilliant explanation, Sir - Thanks 👌🏼
Thanks for the good explanation and the visuals
Excellent description thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Great video Robert. The gray canvas in your diagram is called the insole rib. It is usually glued to the insole and that is what the welt an upper are stitched to. In bespoke shoes they don't use a rib. They bend the insole into an L shape and Stitch directly to be in insole. I will add a disclaimer that as you say I am not a professional cobbler so the bending of the L shape may not be 100% accurate but it gives you a rough idea of what is going on
trekvana thank you... I think it’s also referred to as “gemming”? And yes, I’ve seen bespoke shoe makers do what you’re talking about, but the way I would describe it rather than “bending“ the insole is they actually take a thicker insole leather and carve out the area inside of and outside of the rib, to leave an edge standing up like an “L” to which they stitch.
Great video. Excellent explanation.
But the gemming issue is eally not a bespoke versus non bespoke distinction. It’s a hand welting versus Goodyear welting distinction. Goodyear welting always uses the gemming method where the insole is glued to the gemming which is then stitched to the welt rather than a hand welt where the insole is stitched directly to the welt. You’d be crazy to get a bespoke shoe that is Goodyear welted and don’t know any that do that. But some non-bespoke shoe makers, e.g. Buday in Budapest use a hand welt. It’s significantly more expensive to create a hand welted shoe because, as the name implies, it most be done by hand.
Geez amazing video! You earn a suscriber, and deserve way more
Thank you so much Robert, your efforts is much appreciated.
曾泓銘 👊🏼
Thanks Robert 👍
Hey Bob, there's in fact a _third_ method of construction that's commonly used, known as "Blake/Rapid" or "Blake-Rapid" construction. It's like taking a Blake-stitched shoe and then stitching a second outsole to it (basically, the original Blake outsole becomes a midsole). This process results in an obviously thicker sole that's more durable and resistant to moisture and the elements than a traditional Blake-stitched shoe, and more comparable to Goodyear-welted shoe.
However, confusingly, a lot of shoe brands don't make a distinction between Traditional Blake and Blake/Rapid construction; if they offer a Blake/Rapid shoe, they'll often just call it Blake. You kinda just have to use your eyes to figure out which one it is.
kaikaichen - I’ve read / seen videos about this method, but I cannot honestly say I’ve actually seen a shoe with it. Are there any popular or common shoe brands that use it that you know of? I’m assuming the way you’d ID it is that outside it would look like a Goodyear Welt, but on the inside of the shoe you would see the Blake stitches coming through the insole?
@@CobblerBob TBH, the only shoes I personally know of that use this method are those from some of the new, popular online direct-to-consumer brands such as Ace Marks, Jack Erwin, Beckett Simonon, and Velasca.
Great video Robert, thank you!
Great explanations!
Glad it was helpful!
Do you know anything about the Veldshon (I'm not sure if I have spelt the word correctly) sole. The top leather of the shoe is stitched directly to the sole but is stitched on the outside of the sole. This type of sole is said to have come from South Africa and is supposed to be waterproof. I once owned a short brogue style boot with this sole with the top leather being buffalo hide with a sort of pimple finish. They were very sturdy. I no longer see shoes made in this way anymore and wondered why. I really enjoy your videos, very informative.
Great video! Thanks for all the good information 👍🏻
The canvas strip is called the gemming.
Now I understand! Very good sir!
That grey piece (canvas) is in fact the ONLY thing keeping the insole attached to the welt and the uppers and the outsole. It is the main failing of goodyear welted shoes compared to handwelted shoes, done to cut costs and reduce the need for skilled shoemakers in the production process.
Hi Robert, I think it might be super interesting to get a sense of how easy/hard it is to tear apart the plastic/canvas strip from the insole when exposed to moisture vs kept dry.
Question: In blake-construction is the insole first attached on the upper using glue,and then the outsole is stitched on?..or is the insole stitched first on to the upper and then the outsole is stitched on?
I've tried to find some videos who can show the process but no luck so far.
That's an EXCELLENT question, and to be honest, I never thought of this before you asked. I have NO idea!!
Hi Bob, Thanks for this . I have a question; is that layer of cork mandatory in a Goodyear welted shoe? Do ALL makers of Goodyear welted shoes put it in?
Kenny Desai -no, I’m not sure if you saw the end of the video with the new Allen Edmonds explanation, but I’m pretty certain manufacturers sure can use other materials. I’ve owned Johnston Murphy shoes that feel like they have foam rubber in there.
@@CobblerBob Thanks so much. Really appreciate the trouble you take.
Hello again Sir, this might seem a strange question, but why is there something called Norwegian welt / stitch? (My (Norwegian friends don't know)
Cheers from Denmark 🇩🇰
Hey, man. As far as I understand it, a Norwegian welt is just another name for a Storm Welt. So it's kind of an L shaped welt and double stitched. He kinda talks about it at the end of the video real quick. Quite possibly I'm wrong, but that's how I understand it. 🤷
Very informative....
I personally prefer blake in formal dress shoes. Looks better.
I can see why...
I have a question that I just have bought a regal leather shoe which was described as blake stitch shoe but when actually I did the same way as you did to spot if it was a stitching inside the insole of the shoe, I got nothing. So I just wonder If I was ripped off?
Cius P. When you say “described as“ do you mean by a sales person? Or on literature on the website? You may want to check out a video I just released: “How to spot FAKE shoe sole stitching!“ I think it will answer some of your questions. Sometimes shoes have an insole you have to peel back to see the stitching.
ua-cam.com/video/-oRWEzvoVe8/v-deo.html
Robert Powers Saleman told me that. I notice that there is thin layer that's clued over the insole, but i don't know how to reclue that layer back onto the insole once i peel it off in oder to inspect if it's genuinely blackstich
DAP Contact cement should do the trick.
May I ask what the point of the "shank" is?
Ergon Hardroll I believe it provides stiffness and support int the arch area of the shoe
Can a Blake stitch shoe be turned into a Goodyear welt?
Well, not really. That's a tough question bc some will say "anything is possible", but for the average professional cobbler? I would venture to say 99% would NOT take that job. Steve at Bedos Leatherworks MIGHT, IF there is a lot of extra leather to stitch the new gemming to the old upper. It's more likely that they would turn it into a Blake Rapid contruction. Picture a Blake Stitched shoe where the new outsole is thinner, and is now not an outsole, but used as a midsole. Then the new outsole would be stitched with a Goodyear Welting machine to the new "midsole" instead of a welt, because there is no welt on a Blake Rapid shoe. It still would not have a corkbed though.
Wooden shank? Maple? Wood because it offers flexibility and shock absorption?? Wondering
Y Pure - I honestly have NO idea what kind of wood it is, or why they choose it.
Why is there no welt stitch at the heel portion in a goodyear welted shoes?
I think it's mainly for aesthetic reasons-some people don't like stitching in the back and prefer a slimmer heel profile.
A 360° welted shoe like Allen Edmonds that you saw in my video DOES have the welt go all the way around. 270° because you’re well to choose, the wealth does not go around the hill. Generally speaking, the stress on the heel is compression only. With a 270° GYW shoe, you can get the heel much tighter to the upper. I guess the short answer is the welt is just not really necessary around the heel. Most of the most expensive English Goodyear welted shoes have a 270° welt.
1:02 Shoop Shoop!
Shadyhunter04 haha! I had to go to that spot to figure out what you were talking about, LOL.
What about norvegese welt and hand welting?
jeremy emilio - to tell you the truth, I’ve never personally handled either one... I wouldn’t feel qualified to talk about either one yet! Although technically speaking, in my video “Resoling at Home FAIL”
ua-cam.com/video/ed_h4vVSfJc/v-deo.html
I stitched soles on by hand (horribly done as it was my first attempt) but technically since I did it by hand I think that makes it hand Welted?
👍
Thanks, I’m smarter now.
Awesome comment!! LOL
You cannot say that GYW is better than BS because you are comparing totally different things.They both have pros and cons. You said it yourself BS can make the shoes slimmer thus more elegant. If all you do with yourr shoes is walking pavements and going indoors...no diving into mud and deep puddles chances are you don t really need GYW. The cost is significantly higher even with resoling. And there is a limit on how many times you can resole. At some point the upper is going to be beyond repair or might even go out of fashion (ie monk straps they aren t so classic as the oxford) and you don t know when you buy the shoe, how long can you expect for an upper to last?For sure a GYW is going to outlast a BS but can it outlast 2 of them the cost would be almost the same.But 2 BS shoes would offer you more options with your look. BS is as good as it gets. I would choose finesse+lower cost over sturdiness any day of the week.
very good points Aris
I think... These shoes look the way bunions feel.
LOL
OK.
hei sir! not understandiger notgintger
Great explanation, thanks!