Pt 1. Shoemaking...Making Wooden Shoe Lasts, Shoe Forms, By Hand.
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- Опубліковано 18 лип 2020
- I am making some shoe lasts, also known as shoe forms, by hand, so that I can then go on to make a pair of handmade shoes. Shoe lasts are usually made by machine these days, but I thought I would have a go at making my own, and I soon found out that there are a lot of factors to consider, and I cover many of these in the video.
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why is it that we older chaps always find these crafts in later life instead of learning them at school and pushing ourselves to learn more. great video and good luck Harry.
Because school is there to educate you sufficiently to become a tax-producing slave to The State. That's why. No joke intended at all.
You make a very good point...I feel my options were fairly limited, but I guess the internet has opened up so much shared knowledge it makes it easy to find out about things more quickly....any way you make a very good point.
Cause school is generally about preparing for an adult work life, making shoes (or other leather items) by hand is not a skill that is in demand in the west. At a younger age you're preparing for later stages in education and no one can claim that making things in leather is more important than learning how to read or write, basic mathematics and a general understanding of the world as a whole. When I went to school we had about an hour of wood working and an hour of sewing per week, wood working also included a limited amount of leather working and as we got older also a bit of metal working. But let's be honest here, most kids (and that's what we were... as it was in 4th to 7th or 8th grade I believe) find this boring at that age. The very limited time that we had this didn't really wet an appetite for it either, I think that in order for people to get into it more they need to learn more meaning they have to spend more hours at it.
I was gonna say "Speak for yourself!" then realized at 54, I'm sorta there, huh?
So I give you Brian The Bootmaker, He's rather young. Almost as young as he looks.
I’ll second that. Although I’ve been leathercrafting for over 30 years it really took off when I turned 50
Oh yes , learning as you do the project.. teaches far more... it builds instincts and intuition.
Gained by no other means.
Hi Harry, well done mate. I am a shoemaker and I did not cringe once. Looking forward to watching you make a pair of shoes🙂
That was really great to watch. I'm looking forward to more of the shoe making films.
Very well done Harry...i agree with the outhers on teaching in schools...i at 15 took trade school and got a job at 17...and worked it for 45 yrs...keep up the great video's...really enjoyed....
Super stuff. I am actually making my first shoe rat the same time and it is indeed a big big learning curve. Thanks for your time.
Thanks for the video Harry. This is very interesting. Love the fact that you just give it a go. Look forward to the next instalment. Keep safe and stay well.
Very good session. Leather working and woodwork each seem to have a therapeutic effect on many many of us even if we are just watching. Thank you
Very interesting project. I also appreciate your attitude to try and learn new things all the time. Good luck!
You are so brave really. Somethings are so intimidating that I am either incredibly hesitant to even try or resist trying altogether. I love your bravery to try. And the outcome, I think, is amazing! You made a freaking pair of shoe lasts! I CANNOT WAIT to see how this turns out!
Harry, there are some very interesting and correct points made in the responses so far. However, I did just want to say thankyou for your really great video.
What a great work!!! Thanks a lot for sharing!
Nice work... Thank you for sharing!
This is going to be an exciting series!
Good for you, l'm looking forward to seeing your journey in shoes ha ha I know you can do it, I'll be keeping an eye on things and thanks for sharing it all with us.
Thank you for tackling this, I have been wanting to do the same thing for ages! I was surprised to see how little there actually is on you tube regarding the making of men’s shoes. I will be following this series closely and no need to apologize for your approach, as you describe, there is much more to be learned by doing it from scratch!
Thanks...and yes it's odd there is not that much info to go on.
Really enjoyed your video. Thank you for sharing!
I am on the same journey! Woodworker, machinist, welder, fly tyer home cook and general knucklehead. Simply put I love to make things.
Boot making is my next venture. Picked up a cylinder arm sewing machine on the weekend. I’ll follow your journey!
Thank you!
This was a joy to watch!
Good man! I have been thinking about doing the same for a long time. You just made me really wanna get going!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful video I learn a lot from you. Blessings
Hello Harry, and thank you for another lovely fact and fun filled film! I’m looking forward to your next stages. You keep posting and I’ll keep watching. Best wishes, Duncan.
Thanks for your encouragement Duncan.
This is such an awesome series of videos, not just for someone wanting to construct a shoe from the ground up, but also for shoe enthusiasts who want to better understand how shoes are made
Thanks very much
Getting there Harry! Good progress. I like the 'analogue method' analogy often the best way of learning. Keep up the good work. 👍🏻
Thanks Dekk.
Very good video. I remember as a kid I would see these in shoe stores here in Minnesota. The shoe lasts. We had a couple of shoe repair shops in town, but they are gone now.
Dare I say it you will have the last laugh. Seriously very interesting I look forward to the journey
Ooooh, this is going to get interesting :D
The courage to keep moving forward at the risk of failure is very important! It goes along with not suffering from analysis paralysis... Yes some extra materials may be consumed during the trial and error process but it isn’t wasted, it’s an investment! In the long run if the first shoes coming off the lasts aren’t quite right you can add and subtract material to the lasts to make them better...
I find this shoe project very interesting. Thank you for taking it on! It also reminds me of the first 4 drawer chest of drawers I made... entirely with hand cut dovetails. I made three sides, eight drawer blades, five drawers, and six feet. Overall I thought it turned out well enough to display at a woodworking show. I went about my day attending seminars, looking at exhibits and visiting vendors. Mid-afternoon a fellow I knew comes up to me and said “Congratulations.” I had no idea what he was talking about... turns out my educational piece was awarded a ribbon. I appreciated the generosity of the professional judges. I anticipate that folks here will judge this shoe project with generosity too.
Thanks very much John...and we'll done to you.
Thank you for your video. I obtained an old pair of lasts from a cobbler/cordwainer but need to shape them down to fit my narrower feet. Thanks for all the information. Your lasts are so beautiful it's very tempting to do the same and start from scratch.
That's good...having something last shape is a great help.
This is awesome! I feel the same way you do about learning my experiencing. Yes I could always buy a pattern, or last in this case, but where is the adventure in that. Thanks for sharing, we are also looking into and starting to make shoes. It is interesting this movement back to shoe making that I am beinging to see.
Great job, thanks for sharing
Hi Harry. Dipping your toe into trying to make a pair of shoes on a shoestring must be quite sole destroying. Still, you'll soon be on your uppers I'm sure. And at the very last, perhaps you could get a patent on them, unless you get stitched up.
Sorry Harry; it had to be done.
Thanks for sharing this with us, and I for one can't wait for the next video.
Regards Mark in the UK
Thanks Harry. Greetings from the colonies. I always appreciate your videos, and it happens that I am planning to make myself a pair of shoes. Looking forward to your progress. We’re planning to add more shoe repair to our leather shop menu, and I can imagine a time when we might take on a few bespoke orders for special customers. Jim in North Carolina
Hello Jim...I get the impression shoe repair is ever popular.
The closest shoe repair to us is 35 miles away in Asheville. The two shops there always have a backlog which can run to three or four months. I need some of that business, and I suspect that the endless supply of cheap shoes will not long be with us. Local Cobbler may soon be an honored profession.
Thank you for that very good explaining, Best wishes from Germany,.
Thanks Anna
I too am a novice. I've now made 7 pairs of shoes and 3 lasts from scratch. I think, maybe, by the time I make ten pairs of shoes that I'll begin to get the hang of it. However, I won't live long enough to ever get good at it.
An Auriou Rasps would serve you well in the last shaping.
I am eager to follow your endeavor, very bold of you.
JIM
Very interesting stuff, I have issues with my feet (old war injury) and have often considered making my own shoes, perhaps it's time I did so.
I'd love to hear your story if you do / did. I'm getting ready to start down this path and I have deformities from a hereditary neuropathy. I've bought the same shoe for nearly 10 years because it's all I've been able to get that fits. I really want to build something different :D
Great new project. Looking forward to the future episodes. When I worked in London I was in a shop next to Lobbs the shoemakers. The first shoe they make a customer costs *£1000*, which included a last and lots of fittings. The next one was a bit cheaper! They have a museum of lasts that included all of the Royal family and lots of other famous people.
Hi I used to work around the corner from there behind the gallery...Lobbs looks amazing.
@@harryrogers I was not accounting for inflation. 2020 prices are now *only* £5,700 per pair according to the john lobb ltd dot co fullstop uk website! Have a look at the shoe trees there. Your shoes demand the same treatment!
This is really helpful for me since I'm planning to design and make my own shoes and I'm trying to do some preliminary research before buying materials so I know what I need to do before hand. Thank you for making these videos! ^-^
That's great thanks
i love your videos! Ive been watching your phone case and now the shoes. Shoes are somethng Ive always wanted to do. Bespoke shoes. But I want to do them myself. wheres the fun in paying someone else to do them. Regards from the united states. Keep up the exploration.
Great channel Harry. Being an analog guy myself (with Luddite tendencies) and while appreciating the speed and power of the chainsaw blade equipped angle grinder, I don’t like using them. A good vise and a hand stitched rasp is slower but infinitely more relaxing. Iwasaki carving files are becoming my choice for my own personal “wood butchery” and I highly recommend them.
Thanks for posting this. I’m beginning my journey and a proper last is where to start( is there a pun in there?). The best way to get high quality footwear ,that fits ,these days (for my budget) is to make it.
You've done a great job keeping them symmetrical. I would have thought the easiest DIY approach if trying to replicate an existing shoe would have been to stuff the shoe, wrap it in kitchen food film/plastic, coat it in fine weave fibreglass matt to make a mould and cast it in resin. Using the resin casting, if you desired a wooden product you could always mount it on a buck and slice horizontal segments off using a table saw, then cut those segments from plywood sheets and glue them together to make a laminated topographical map of a sort. Smooth the edges to blend them together and you would have a wooden block that looks like a shoe.
None the less, you did an outstanding carving them out.
I would go the other way. Fill the shoe with resin perhaps with something to take up space so you dont have to use as much resin. Then slightly grind the toe box a bit shorter to match your actual feet..
Very interesting and entertaining.
Interesting coincidence, I have that exact contour gauge with the shorter blades. I think I bought it for my wood model shipbuilding.
Looks like you've made a good start, now awaiting the next instalment. As they say in the classics, "Harry, stick to your last!"
Cheers, Frank.
Very good Frank..thanks.
Congrats!
Harry, I have had a fascination with shoemaking/cobblers since a young age too. But it seemed so random and rare/odd I did nothing about it. Other than take the long way round to my job at a jewellers in the mall, so I could go by the Cobblers wee storefront in a snug out of the way corner of the building. lol.
Making your own lasts?! You are fearless Harry! Loving this series. Thanks for taking us along. Yes, the internet has blown our options wide open! I love it. I'm learning sooo many things.
Thank you from Canada and Keep up the great vids.;)
Thanks very much Brenda.
Thanks for sharing.
Harry I believe you would try anything. I love your channel.
Buona sera signor Harry
Grazie per condividere le sue conoscenze, con l'argomento scarpe trovo il canale ancora più interessante! 👍
Grazie di averci mostrato i libri, spero di trovarli anche in italiano.
Buon lavoro
Saluti dalla Sardegna
Grazie Gino.
That contour took really helps, I have one that I will be able to use
I found your video while thinking 'am i crazy enough to try to make my own lasts even though ive never made shoes with commercial lasts' and every part of your video made me realize yes, i am that crazy but at least i am not alone.
Haha yes..it is worth looking at some commercial lasts...make sure you get a squared off feather edge, and not so rounded as mine!!
keep it up. i also need to make a pare of shoes but so far have been too timid. "the courage to carry on" good words good video.
Thanks David.
Making own shoe modes is what going make very comfortable.
Very interesting Harry You could start by making sandals that would prove your last sizing Keep up the good work
Les...I think that is very good advice!!!
Fab video 🤟🏼
Yes!! So glad you're doing this. There's so much on youtube....Have you watch Trenton and Heath, Bedo's Leatherworks....
Best
Tony
Thanks Tony...Bedo"s is really helpful, and enjoyable to watch.
Harry you will never know how thankful and grateful I am everytime I watch your vedios. Please I want to buy a shoe last (UK size 10) but I don't know where to buy one because I don't have the tools to do one now but I will very soon. Thank you again.
Hello Springline sell student lasts....thanks.
Добрый вечер! Привет из России. Мне нравится Ваш канал, Harry. Вы очень интересный мастер, который умеет работать с деревом и кожей. Удачи Вам!
I love watching your videos. A way I intend making a last is to mix a tub of dental mould then put my foot in it. Pour plater of Paris into it. Repeat for the other foot. Once dry add plastercene around the toes. Create a felt shoe to check fit. Go from there.
Thank you so very much for sharing your journey with us!! You, sir, are brilliant! I have researched shoemaking as well, but since it is a dying art, shoelasts are very hard to come by and to be honest, haha, I was too timid to make them myself. So, again, thank you for instilling some much needed courage into me.
Thanks that's great.
🙂
great vid Harry. I wonder if the Arboutech is modeled off a tree stump grinder hence Arbor?
Alhamdulillah ,tanks my brother.
Good on you ! "Pattern cutting!..... man have i cut sum patterns ! 100's eazy maybe 1000's back when i was an apprentices.
i got the "got to make it" bug back in the 90's when ther was one footwear school left in Australia.
making a last is jumping in the DEEP END good on you. today i ed look at 3d printing a last but i can 3d model as well so i can mace it all and send it to a 3d printer serves.
the hard truth is this is a very tough trade there is a lot more touche feeley than precision, to master i had lots of good teachers and a full time job in the industry. the head pattern cutter i still think had "magic hands" ! LOL
I plan to make a vid on patterns soon as i get the time, i hope it will be helpful so if you have eney questions send them my way & iell try and answer them for you :)
Thanks for sharing your, go at it
obrigado por compartilhar!
Hi harry, nice project to taking on. I am sure you will do great. When finalising you’re last measurements make sure your heel width measurement is precise also your instep height and Long heel measurements. Those are crucial. Once you have them sorted you can have as much room around forefoot you want, usually for adult shoes 2 shoe size extra room at toe ends is sufficient but you can have more if you are making square toe shaped lasts. Smooth last makes it easier to drape the leather on top of it starting with lining. Also use lots of chalk powder or talking powder once at that stage. Good luck mate.
Thanks very much for those tips Izzet....I think I need to smooth my lasts some more, and I will check heels...thanks.
Hah!! You've been doing some soul-searching.
I have the chain style cutter. Just shaped a scull from a large log love anatomy. Happy to see the guard on yours as I am going to stop using mine. Much, too dangerous at least the chain saw type. I've done very well with it, but as you may know, confidence is sometimes fleecing. A 30-40grit flap disk will work very well with more control, but more dist. You can run them on a piece of granite to shape them a little. I'm just loving the shoe videos the more I watch. Think I will make one of these shapers, In hopes of getting around to making some shoes.. can't complain about spending $ on a pair of leather hand-made shoes now can you??
Thanks very much and sounds great.
beautiful, I was a shoemaker in my country, I made some last on a 3d printer but I want to try your method, thank you very much.
Thanks...if you can get hold of it there is a book by Koleffe that is very good.
Wonderfully helpful! Would you mind sharing the other videos you have watched on this subject?
Hi Bill Byrd and Bedos Leatherworks videos are both worth seeing, I talk about books in a later episode.
5:18 A profile gauge.
As you said, it would be wiser on the first pair to use standard lasts and then adapt these to match your foot measurements by adding on wood-filler or rasping off excess as required.
Great Job!
I also am a woodcarver and a tinkerer among other things… And I’ve found that sometimes introducing another media to help -can work Wonders…
I wonder if a plaster cast of each of your feet with a fairly thick pair of buttered socks on- (to allow for the natural breathing space in a shoe (the butter or petroleum jelly will act as a release for the plaster-so you can also get your socks back)) -plaster doesn’t shrink when it dries, so it might give you a fairly exact 3d model -including all the measurements of each of your feet.
You’d have to cast them standing to allow for foot spread -and On the toe rise and heel lift you’d prefer -So maybe make that into a flat wood surface that has the heel and toe lift -and stand on that with your foot in a plastic bag, to create the plaster mould of each foot- Be sure to cast your feet up your ankle a bit- to get all the angles and shape of the joint and direction of your leg -so that your shoe openings are correctly cut and angled, so they won’t bind or grind on your ankles or instep as you walk (also useful if you ever desire to make yourself boots) Then use those casts to pour the moulds -to create your plaster feet.
Then it would be much easier for you to create- in wood, your unique lasts- because you’d have your plaster foot models to compare and contour against- with your contour guide and eyes and all… So all your hard work goes into perfectly shaped lasts that will last! and you’ll get in the carving- all those important micro measurements- that are too hard to measure or even see- linearly…
I always wanted better shoes- that actually fit me-
Your video has inspired me to try- Thanks so much for sharing-
Please ignore the strikethrough line- those words actually belong- ….technology 🙄
Hello and thanks. I think you may find it interesting to get hold of an old plastic or wood last and to study its shape compared to your feet. They are designed to hold the shoe on your foot, and as a result are not an exact copy of it. I have done a lot more research since making this video and you may find it best to buy some ready made lasts to get going from Careducker or Springline in UK. If you want to have a go in wood, make sure you have a squared off base featherline to facilitate stitching. Good luck.
Nice one Harry, you dare to tread where others fear to go, take it a step at a time. Yeah I know bad puns, ha ha. Have you tried flap sanding disc, they are brilliant, not as aggressive as the monster your using, they fit on a grinder & let you get rid of a lot of material allowing you to form curves in a more controlled way, once you've tried them you will wonder how you got by without them. Great videos done in an almost gentle way that I find absorbing & informative.
Thanks Bruce...I may try a flapwheel for a final smooth off...thank you.
Wow I wanna learn from you
Thank you for this
as i get older i become more and more keen on these endangered arts and manual labour work. we lost part of our humanity going digital (i say that as a web developer as well. the internet is my job) i dream of quitting and turning towards a much more analog life.
Where i work we make bespoke surgical shoes we have the cnc last cutter but before that came along they were all done by hand and sometimes still are. Your lasts look very good indeed good luck with your shoes.
Wow...thanks.
I'm starting to think you may be psychic Harry. I've made a few pair of simple moccasins and enjoyed the process. Just recently I've committed to building a pair of lasted shoes and woke to find your video today. Looking forward to seeing more.
Thank you for this! I am in the reading/gathering tools and supplies stage. I was thinking of filling a nice fitting pair of shoes with plaster or casting resin and creating a last that way. Thoughts?
You could purchase a pair of shoes and fill it with plaster or fiberglass then you have your lasts and can shape it
That arbor tech can turn into a piranha pretty quick!!
Yes very well put....one slip and the wood is gone.
Me too Harry 💪🏿 why pay $4500 for bespoke shoes when I can try it myself
maximum efort respect
After watching Brian the boot maker I been wanting to do this. 300 to 500 redwings very good grad. Then you have 1k to 3k for Brian boot maker. Walmart mart boot are $29.99 and if lucky there last a week.
Me too! Making shoes, that is. I'm going the duct tape mold route.
That's a good idea for me to check my lasts...thanks.
Nothing better than own shoes specially from horse but leather
Nice runner beans harry picked my first today
Excellent...trying to get mine to set...all a bit hot, so spraying the flowers now and again.
Found some self settling ones maybe give them a try next year d t brown Newmarket 👌
Молодец дядька!Всё покажет и обьяснит!Хотя трындеть он совсем не любит...
"so my soul is shaped like that" - very philosophical 😁
Haha very good.
Hi Harry. You may not have a need for it anymore, but a Shinto Saw Rasp (available on Amazon, among many other sites) is a fantastic freeform wood shaping tool. I have the 9" version and it's very capable of letting you create some delicate shapes. Easily worth many times its price.
I must nick my son's!
That's awesome! I bought some shoe lasts (plastic/nylon???) They weren't wide enough and the toe box wasn't deep enough so I had to glue some veg tan leather on them...still not sure I like the results. I have huge duck feet! Wish I could make them out of wood.
Hi Springline in the UK sell them.
You'll do fine!
I have sewn my shoes on my patcher.
Theres alot of different style shoes.
Goodyear welted can be done completely by hand, and so does the cemented one. If your going for a Goodyear welt, find your self a thicker inner sole so you can sew the welt on it. It's really hard to do on those standard insoles. You can even glue a welt on afterwards, I think that's a bit of "cheating". :P
Hope it goes well!
Like what you are doing. :)
Thanks very much for the tip to use a thicker insole...I hope to do this method.
@@harryrogers in my gathering of stuff for my attempt to make a pair, I have some insoles and soles I bought. the insole tends to be from a "belly" section and is just as thick as the leather sole (both around 10 or 11 iron). The insole is far more flexible and softer feeling than the sole.
a good attempt! last making is not a exact science, the cone line up is important to get a symmetric pair of shoes , from your hand made shoe lasts , i like how you made the break in the last , your band saw could have put a little more flair in the break, but its great to see first timers try at home . its a one of investment , your last can be send to Asia , to make the shoe , as labour is cheaper here , around $80. dollars ,
Ha, I thought I came up with the idea of using a contour gauge. Great minds think alike. You can improvise one with a piece of corrugated cardboard and some bamboo skewers pushed through the channels. You need to find some card with channels that are a little on the tight side for the skewers.
That's a very clever approach Judy.
I've sore far just resoled a pair of Doc Martins (old UK made "dress" Doc's from around 2000), going with a cork filler, leather sole as midsole and crepe glued on then Vibram heels over the crepe. They do well enough I can walk around the neighborhood for exercise, and do yard work in them.
I cheated on lasts, I found a place that had some in close to my size for relatively cheap and added leather to widen and lengthen just a touch, Depending on brand, I wear 8 eee or eeee to 8.5 eee, um . . . 7-7.5 UK sizes iirc . . . but have some boots in 9us/8uk as well and have a set of lasts for those too, as I am trying repairs on some of my motorcycle riding boots. The lasts are marked 7.5 - 8 M and 9 - 9.5M I have shoes that fit very well that both lasts fit in So my bigger set is more like a 9us/8uk, and the smaller ones widened and lengthened fit my 8.5 wide shoes so I did a sacrificial relasting of a pair of size 9 riding shoes on them, and they actually fit! I will add a touch to the toe box upper for my scratch-made pair to get a little more room. Not going for a dress shoe, but a more work shoe/recreational style.
I look forward to watching the rest of your journey.
Sounds great.
i really like the fact that you did last yourself but most of us don't have woodsheds where they can really put in the grind but if you won't mind sharing links with us where we can get the last made for a little fee that would be great
Sorry I do not know any.
I have been watching a lot of UA-cam videos about bespoke shoe making. Today I watch a few videos about moulding and last making.
Good video, Harry!
There is an excellent book on lastmaking by George Koleff. Made 3 pair (different heel heights) from his instructions and the resulting shoes fit perfect.
Thanks Kim....I saw that book after making mine...typical!!
It would be so kind of you if you could share any resources that you found on taking measurements and converting them to a last. I am struggling to find any on the internet. Videos would be very helpful, but books are good too
Hi I used some of the free out of print books on Google, and some cheap reprints on Amazon. In a later video I think I show some of the books, but I am sorry I don't know which one.
thank you for this video. I am wondering if I could make a shoe last without going to a school or learning from a teacher? Mainly self taught. is it possible?
I think you can learn a lot by trial and error and by looking at commercial lasts, but there are a few things you need to know to increase your chance of success including the standard shoe formulae for key parts of a shoe and to understand that a last is not a copy of one's foot, but a design that let's you make a comfortable shoe. I learnt a lot making these and they did largely work out well but it was only when I spent hours researching all of this that I understood more and more about what makes a good last for a particular shoe type. The book Footwear Pattern Making and Last Design is a very good book on this. My own book covers some of the key formulae etc. I think I would on balance say buy some commercial lasts but making some yourself and learning will probably make you smarter in the long run if you learn by doing.
Hi harry, great video as always! Would like to know what band saw you are using or which one would be suitable to use in the U.K? Thanks. Will be buying second hand as only using occasionally.
Hi James...it's an old Axminster model. The Record Bandsaw are also worth considering.
@@harryrogers Thanks Harry, much appreciated.
Have you thought to try a full size CNC last? I've borrowed a laser scanner to scan my foot, but for some reason beyond me Fusion360 doesn't recognise my model as a full shape so I'm stumped again, and without access to shed, machinery and tools I'm left watching others able to do what I'm left dreaming of doing. :( Best of luck on your journey
That sounds like an exciting project Eleanor, my son made a tiny one but I think would need bigger kit for something more. I see last makers like Spenle...probably spelt that incorrectly....use cnc machines.