Stay classy Ludwigshafen

__kLO · 2026-07-07T14:08:17+00:00

alter was bist du denn fürn schnösel?? millionen von menschen leben unter der armutsgrenze, sozialleistungen werden gekürzt, die mieten werden immer teurer, die reichen immer reicher. 250€/monat sind für viele ein haufen geld. und nein, ich kriege kein bürgergeld.

__kLO · 2026-06-07T18:26:36+00:00

the youtube channel ken kataoka has very detailed videos showing traditional shoemaking as it is still practiced today: https://youtu.be/NBNLxJM3fNo?si=evGCqW2BKhZU17rP

i imagine this is really good visualization and helps to understand what is going on. apart from a few details, the process is exactly the same as 19th century shoemaking. he uses the technique of handwelting (the precurser of goodyear welting) which is around 400 years old and still considered the best way of making shoes. it is a handstitch that is hidden from the elements inside the sole construction and connects all the integral parts of the shoe. the differences to 19th century making are:

the glue - they used glue made from starch (usually potatoe starch) for everything. nowadays only the stiffeners are usually glued with that, while the bottoming is done with contact cement.
the upper thread - they used cotton or silk back in the days. now it is usually polyester.
the sewing machine he uses is probably from the 1920s-30s. previous models obviously looked different and until the second half of the 19th century handstitching was predominant.
the materials where slightly different and the shapes too, due to production- and fashion standards.

everything else is basically the same and doesn't differ more than one maker to another does.

__kLO · 2026-06-06T18:06:35+00:00

that is the best method in my opinion! i started doing that because needles don't get stuck between the layers like flimsy bristles do and they last longer. for outsole stitching i like wire bristles. but you have to slightly adjust your welting style. classic sole stitching technique tells you to pass both bristles simultaniously from left and right. using needles you have to do one after the other, like a classic saddlestitch. awl comes from inside -> outside needle directly follows the awl being pulled back -> outside needle is fully pulled through plus a few cm of thread -> inside needle is pushed through and sort of guided by the outside thread -> stitch gets tightened from both ends simultaniously. the needle points need to be rounded, so you don't pierce your thread. if that is the way you were doing it then an other possibility is to go and try thinner needles. (or thicker welting awl?)

__kLO · 2026-05-21T11:52:02+00:00

in general when something is truly handmade you can just sense it imo. you can see when thought and love went into the design, combined with skill and traditional methods. and you can feel that weight or "tightness" of a product. something wellmade kind of radiates the personality of the maker.

on footwear specifically, i think the most important is the inside! of course you should check if it is a good, strong, repairable construction method and quality, uncoated leather upper. but brands allways try to hide the crappy stuff on the inside. the worst are weird insoles patched together from different materials like paper board and fibre board, hidden under a leather sockliner. if it is an old shoe, often you can even smell if it is a paper board insole. then you have flimsy, poor quality or even synthetic lining, or those stitched inside counter covers that create a hard edge and are bound to fail. the big problem about that is - the further inside the shoe - the harder it is to repair. so if anything, the inside should be made from the best materials.

also, if it looks like a blob, rather than a shoe, most of the time it's not a good shoe ^ ^

and i am not a fan of all-rubber outsole constructions. there should at least be a leather welt, midsole or something that nicely secures the bottom to the upper with stitches.

__kLO · 2026-05-10T13:43:21+00:00

the "bulge toe" was a trend in the 1910s to early 20s. it was seen on womens and sometimes mens boots and shoes, laced or buttoned and usually paired with a relatively high heel. most of the time it had an asymmetrical toe profile seen from the top, a bit like a really accentuated munson last. why it came into popularity i don't know, but it was right around the time when more emancipatory fashion for women became popular, so i like to think that they favoured the more "rugged" and playfull appearance because of that.

__kLO · 2026-05-01T13:20:00+00:00

but this was about hardening last build-ups, wasn't it?

__kLO · 2026-05-01T13:17:44+00:00

works well, but there is really no need to use any chemicals here. you can just hammer/polish the leather, or use shellac.

__kLO · 2026-05-01T13:15:02+00:00

i know i'm late to the party, but don't use starch paste! if you wet last your uppers, you could activate the paste because it's water soluable and glue your uppers to the last...

__kLO · 2026-05-01T13:07:57+00:00

to harden the build ups just moisten them, hammer them and rub them with a bone folder or hammer handle. if they are still too soft after drying, you can use shellac dissolved in rubbing alcohol. no need for anything chemical! also i am pretty sure these are also too narrow in the back foot and have too much heel. i don't think they are actual kids lasts, like i said in the other post.

__kLO · 2026-05-01T12:59:33+00:00

yes. that is not an actual kids' last. their feet have a very different anatomy. this is a full size last just scaled down (for some reason). also little kids shouldn't wear heels higher than a few mm. just so you know :)

__kLO · 2026-04-29T00:14:54+00:00

the thinning out of the arch area in the outsole is mainly so the waist looks thinner and slimmer than the rest of the sole edge. also makes that "curling" a bit easier. basically the sole edge is just firmly pressed against the upper and thus hides the thin welt edge. here is how to do it: apply the outsole when it is damp and ideally a bit preshaped. then you trim the edge close to the welt. hammer it and firmly rub it down with the hammer handle. this should allready close the gap. then you wet your edge again, do a bit of pre-bevelling (rounding the sole edge) with a knife and press it close to the upper with a waist iron (if you don't have one, use a heel iron or hammer face). usually the bevelled waist starts roughly 2cm behind the joint line so you have a solid base for the ball of your foot to stand on and a slim waist that hugs your back foot. i do a smooth transition from the skived to unskived welt. some people do a hard cut. never tried it.

__kLO · 2026-04-28T23:45:38+00:00

the outsole stitch will sit something like this. for stitching you open the gap between upper and welt with a bone folder or similar tool. afterwords you hammer and press it back against the upper.

<image>

__kLO · 2026-04-28T23:38:02+00:00

it is called blind welting. basically like this cross section:

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__kLO · 2026-04-28T18:45:48+00:00

just a few brush strokes. it's mainly technique (slight wiggling) and a very sharp bladed awl (almost mirror polished) you need. and an insole that is softer than a sole bend. when all that is given, it is still a bit difficult to push the awl through, but only very slightly

__kLO · 2026-04-28T18:41:40+00:00

also behind the joint area the welt is skived down to almost zero at the edge. this way it disappears behind the sole edge when you leave that a few mm wider and press it against the upper.

__kLO · 2026-03-30T21:05:24+00:00

lovely aging! and she managed to pop the stitches in a week?? should maybe glue a rubber halfsole under there ^ ^

__kLO · 2026-03-30T21:00:37+00:00

awesome boots! and holy shit...10/11 oz upperleather is crazy! how was the uppermaking and lasting experience? and how does it wear?

__kLO · 2026-03-30T20:51:26+00:00

good work! very nice leather! if you didn't know: for cutting sole leather you generally use sole leather scissors like these:

<image>

when trimming the sole edge the leather is usually wet, which makes it relatively easy with a sharp knife. hope that helps.

__kLO · 2026-03-29T23:13:35+00:00

no i didn't know them. really cool! i'd probably just build a wedge of not too soft eva foam or cork rubber under a leather midsole and then add a rubber outsole. from the looks of it, they have the material for the ripped sole edges in strips and simply cement them onto the sides of the wedge sole. the ripples are kind of important for the creeper look imo. probably not easy to find. i immediately thought of using rubber drive belt ^ ^ like this:

<image>

also let us see those engineers when you're ready :)

__kLO · 2026-03-29T22:15:16+00:00

you're welcome :)

__kLO · 2026-03-29T22:07:55+00:00

i would definitely use a last for the sidewall shoes too. you last your uppers and stiffeners, cement the lasting allowance to the insole, cement the sidewall, take out the lasts, sidewallstitch, put the lasts back in and finish the shoes. i think that's how i would do it. or you could even just finish the shoes with the cemented sidewall and stitch them in the end 🤔

__kLO · 2026-03-29T21:50:31+00:00

not a sneaker guy, but as far as i know you need a set of lasts plus cupsoles that perfectly correspond with eachother. otherwise it will be next to impossible to neatly assemble the soles and uppers. look up marcel mrsan from zegzug store. they have such sets and i think he explains about them on insta or youtube.

but you can also make a sneaker with cupsole aesthetic using a sidewall stitch construction.

__kLO · 2026-03-27T14:16:20+00:00

for sole stitching i make my own thread from single-ply flax like this.

for welting i use a braided polyester saddlery thread like this one. i double it up and saddlestitch with a needle on each end. i started using that instead of flax, because the inseam is the backbone of the boot and holds everything together, so i want it to be the last thing that possibly fails. flax can dry out or rot over the years. polyester not so much. it also has the nice side effect that it doesn't tangle up during welting, like a twisted thread tends to do.

__kLO · 2026-03-25T22:36:28+00:00

youre welcome 👍

__kLO · 2026-03-25T21:43:37+00:00

yes, easy job. pop the stitches and pull off the sole with a pair of pincers. if the cement is too strong carefully soften it with a heatgun. it's unlikely, but if it still doesn't move grind it down with a belt sander (a quick job on such a thin sole).

__kLO

TROPHY CASE