YouTube video series of Amara Hark Weber making a pair of bespoke shoes
Feet Measuring
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kP3TWZLYDk&list=PLwC33qrNZRbD7TbLzHKmPoji72brt3bTh
- sitting down
- Amara measures early in the morning, definitely before noon
- hips, knees, and ankles at 90°
-
foot tracing
- manilla folder
- foot at crease to avoid shifting
- pencil
- 90° and 45°
- angled ball girth
- centimeters, not inches, for easier work with tiny measurements
-
D.W. Frommer II taught measuring with marked strips of tape
- never tempted to round
- “fit what’s there”
- arch girth
- “magic spot”: where leg meets foot/instep
- ankle height
- ankle girth
- short heel
- retake all measurements with legs crossed
- sensitivities
- experienced issues
-
pedigraph
- partner built Amara’s
- chopstick to trace the foot, without hurting the mesh
- stand with full weight
Designing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib_bN75hCCk&list=PLwC33qrNZRbD7TbLzHKmPoji72brt3bTh
Bespoke
- found Instagram, eBay more helpful than shoemakers’ websites
- “bespoke look”: can’t get from factory shoe
- shared folder of ideas
-
people use different words for the same thing, and the same words for different things
- pictures faster than explanations
- share things ahead of first meeting
- two hours
Lasts
- lots of lasts implies experience
- sleek Paris, robust Budapest
- they’ve already seen and measured your feet, can feed back based on that
- Amara has a “magic” base last that fits many people well
- the final shoe will look softer and smoother than the last
- shoe will be thicker than the last due to material thickness
Details
- down to the type of nails to use
- can stack a heel wet or dry
- maker usually has base way to do things if not customized
- Amara usually does 8SPI, but could do 12
- the slimmer the waist, the slimmer the heel should be
- toe spring, no toe taps to avoid scratching parquet floors at home
- considered true wholecut, but Amara hadn’t done one, wasn’t cure that could, but willing to give it a try
Material
- leather
- Russian Reindeer from Baker
Design
- Amera drew side profile
- need to procure tools for broguing
Lastmaking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1oJVIO6luE&list=PLwC33qrNZRbD7TbLzHKmPoji72brt3bTh
- Amara starts from a blank last for cost
- customer usually not present for lastmaking
- "carving down"
- anecdote:
- building shoes for a speed skater and a classical musician at the same time
- through fittings, one kept getting tighter, the other looser
- “fit models”
-
- [also last build-up]
- moistened leather bubbles where it matters, cork where it doesn’t
- Amara avoids epoxy and polyester putty due to their long dry times
- Sutton line finisher
- remove tacks from bubbles before sanding
- Renia adhesive
- DIY fume hood
- shoes should fit without lacing up
- lays the lasts on foot impressions
- largely self-taught lastmaker
- lots of time comparing fellows
- about 45 minutes of shaping
- focuses on joint and arch
- Amara prefers simple trial shoes
- heel block, not glued on
- didn’t feel like wearing the final shoes
Trial Shoes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1_0FfHY95c&list=PLwC33qrNZRbD7TbLzHKmPoji72brt3bTh
- undyed crust leather
- some makes skip trial shoes, since nearly always remake the final anyway
- Amara does one or more trial shoes
- with cheap leathers
- without full heel block
- can’t walk long in them
- no lining
- cheap insole
- no outsole
- “fast-and-uglies”
- [seems to be a seam running up the vamp along the main axis]
- double-check the last
- material softens edges of last
- ball seems wider
- waist seems narrower
- [looks like trial shoes were made in two halves, split down the main axis all the way to the heel]
-
patterning from the last
- last taping
- single layer of tape
- very quickly
- separates along main axis
- lasting allowance
- clicking
- assembly
- Texon for the insole, trims with shears
- places over last
- wets uppers with spray bottle
- talcum powder
-
lasting
- Swedish style lasting pliers, maybe Schein
- uses old pegging awls as lasting tacks, hardened steel
- [appears to be pasting the upper down to the insole]
- hit fingers a lot of times, lose feeling
- testing
- delasting
- Amara has two- and three-piece lasts
- last puller
- Amara compares to opening champagne, not always graceful
- felt very soft
- really had to focus on where it touch the foot
- would have preferred walk-around trial shoe
- stood and sat
- all points of contact
- Amara prefers not to cut test shoes, but touches it [palpation]
- looseness in throat
- a little contact on small toes
- one shoe felt different
- looseness in left heel
- ridge of leather near big toe of right foot, caused by pulling elsewhere
- adjustments for tighter waist
- increased size of toebox
- second trial shoe with adjustments
- [different leather]
- immediately felt better
- pressure on little toe
- mark pressure points
- even tighter waist
- throat still loose
- made more last changes
- third trial shoe
- reused the same uppers
- a little looseness in the heel, but would have counter in the final shoes
Uppers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWjPY1xP30Y&list=PLwC33qrNZRbD7TbLzHKmPoji72brt3bTh
- really sharp knives
- Blanchard L'Indispensable
- a couple Kobito Knives
- one bar extension blade wrapped in leather
- paddle strop
- draws curves freehand
- hand sewing
- too irregular
- not strong enough
- rubs the last in paraffin, so it’s easier to remove the tape, resist taking on moisture
-
last taping
- two layers of tape in different directions
- unique pattern for each customer
- draws on the tape
- reference points and center line
- mirrored left to right, then one shoe to the other
-
topline to avoid ankles
- pull on the last to make higher on the inside
- design
- Adelaide Style
- Amara: hard to say what makes a design attractive
- many makers outsource upper making
- diamond-hole broguing
- pointed toe cap
- pointed heel cap without backseam
- tongue shape
- lace holes can run parallel to the edges of the facings, or not
- Amara: hard because shoes are so small, design differences in millimeters
-
patterns
- onto paper
- “master pattern”
- pattern wheel
- 7mm facing gap to allow stretching
- cuts on folded paper for symmetry
- vamp of two pieces
- Amara prefers all-leather lining
- side counters
- heel counters of leather
- “mystery of the shrinking tongue”: cut it to pattern, then somehow seems shorter
-
clicking
- hatch-grain Baker imitation Russian reindeer leather
- split the hide down the center
- Amara: should never cut a piece across the backbone
-
in general, the best leather is typically the belly area of the bull
- don’t give birth, so no stretch marks
- lots of movement, but no bone structure
- work with the grain
- Amara cuts a vamp with the toe pointing to the backbone at 90°
- white spots are bloom, not defects
- Amara cuts by hand
- usually traces with silver pen, but the pen didn’t work on this leather, so cut directly from the pattern
- scored the seam lines with a scratch awl
- particular care around Adelaide edges, where not folded
- angle of cut important, not just line
- lining
- Amara usually prefers veg-tan
- absorbent
- less reactive to skin
- neutral color won’t come off on socks, but less a concern with modern dyes
- leather burn test
- can sometimes use suede just as heel
- Amara likes thicker leather around heel
- chose turquoise
- different patterns
- avoid seam lines rubbing against each other
- avoid bulging where seams overlap
- Amara usually prefers veg-tan
Finishing Uppers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJDmRc1lKzM&list=PLwC33qrNZRbD7TbLzHKmPoji72brt3bTh
- bell skiver
- some skiving by hand
- burning edges
- broguing
- silver pen to draw brogue holes first
- most prominent, centered holes first
- rechargeable dye pen for edges
- don’t dye the edges of brogue holes, for contrast
- backing of brogue holes
- glue for assembly applied with finger
- fork-style seam gauges to mark stitch lines around broguing
- reinforced facings
- uses hand crank on sewing machine a lot
- reinforcement tape
- stitch density can weaken leather
- “best foot forward” sewn into linings
- excess lining trimmed later
- Amara doesn’t skive top edges of lining
- dyes edges of lining
- topline tape
- folded edges
- punching eye holes is nerve-wracking
- thick leather, so no eyelets
- small binder clips to assemble
- bar tacks with round awl
- Texon thread
Insole Making
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0oisO8Iabo&list=PLwC33qrNZRbD7TbLzHKmPoji72brt3bTh
- pictured: welting heel breast to heel breast
- “the heart of the shoe”
- “the backbone of the shoe”
- leather
- JR leather
- oak tanning
- cuts from a bend
-
sock liner
- often from same leather as lining
- full, half
-
blocking
- 5-in-1
- glassing to avoid cracking
- moistening
- small tacks
- tack hammer [looks like an Osborne 55]
- wraps with ribbon
- thick towel on lab as protection
- runs thumb along the featherline to check trimming
- arch
- high for extra support, e.g. for pronation, weak or fallen arches
- downside: slimmer waist
- uses glass to shape
-
edge beveler along the top
- avoid rubbing and abrading through the upper leather
- looks nicer
- makes easier to find bumps in leather
- burnishes with hammer handle
-
insole carving
- holdfast explanation
- narrator: 360 degrees makes no sense for handwelted
- common error: cut too deep, feel it through the insole
- marks with pen freehand
- double checks measurements
- brushes on water
- incises with knife
- for the feather, knife is angled slightly tip-in-handle-out
- channel opener on incision for feather
- feather plow
- video doesn’t show carving the channel
-
pre-holes
- curved awl
- about 7mm between holes, varying a bit
- twists the awl while piercing
- mostly inside out
- does some holes around the toe from the outside in
- let dry to avoid shape problems from shrinkage
Lasting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzdwj8g6ytk&list=PLwC33qrNZRbD7TbLzHKmPoji72brt3bTh
- “first lasting”
- styles: wet, dry, combination
- major debate
- Amara uses combination, wetting where she wants more flexibility
- drafting
- baby powder to powder the last
- Schein lasting pliers
- left on the lasts
- stiffeners
- keep shape of shoe
- keep shoe on foot
- protect foot
-
side linings
- more structure
- keep toes from poking out
- make sure most flexible part is across the break
- toe puff from insole leather, skived down
- side linings made of thinner, more flexible leather
- moistens leather
- hand skives the edges, flattens the middle on line finisher, finishes by hand
- inserting stiffeners
-
heel counter
- pulls over the last
- shapes by hand
- Hirschkleber by hand
- side linings
-
heel counter
- smooths out wrinkles by hand
- back onto lasts
-
heel lasting
- pastes on the insole
- lining first
- pastes on the insole of the upper
- “one is always easier than the other”
- tack hammer, looks like maybe an Osborne No. 33
- “snaggletooth Cinderalla” of tacks around the heel seat
-
toe puff
- uses the puff as a pattern to mark a line on top of the lining on the last for where to paste
- lays the puff over the side linings
- leave on the last
-
toe shaping
- line finisher, Naumkeag
- “I until I think it’s done and then I work a little more.”
-
toe lasting
- paste on stiffeners
- doesn’t really show the process
-
upper tapping
- “thousand tiny taps” shaping the upper
- sharp featherline around heel seat
- one shoe’s leather stretchier than the other
Welting and Outseaming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI8BB_MwTM0&list=PLwC33qrNZRbD7TbLzHKmPoji72brt3bTh&index=9
- making welts
- straight welt bent around
- curved welt
- takes more time
- wastes leather
- wetted to form
- made own welt
- stitching groove
- adds wax to pre-waxed thread
- possibly Maine Thread tapers hanging on pegs
- needles made by a cowboy boot maker out of Los Angeles
- begins at heel breast
- curved awl
- tapered holes
- swaps out needles
- bends own needles
- wetting with a paintbrush
- pulls taught from the inside, wrapping around the awl
- hammers each stitch
- [looks like it might be a Dick Anderson inseaming awl]
- pushes down welt with pliers at one point
- as little excess lining and upper leather as needed
- fill voids with cork
- second welt stretched differently
- saddle stitch
- up-front about how the leather reacting
- pegging
-
shanking
- likes steel, because strongest
- downside heavier, metal detectors
- shapes with the ball peen of a really broad-faced hammer
- leather shank cover for fiddleback waist shaping
- creates paper pattern for shank cover by rubbing
- outsole leather for shank cover
-
bottom filling
- uses cork sheet
- Amara tried cork paste, but didn’t like it
- uses cork specifically marketed for shoes
- glues oversize piece down, then trimmed
- another leather layer over the shape for shaping
- line finisher
- [host says “heel seats”, but clearly means split lift and heel lifts]
-
soling
- used Italian oak-bark leather
- carved waist area on outsole ahead of time
- then lay down layer of cement, while still dry
- then soak for a couple hours
- wrap in newspaper and plastic, sit overnight
-
outseaming
- by hand
- invisible stitching
- closed channel from bottom
- wears more evenly
- hidden channel
- no line
- edges can fold over
- closed channel from bottom
- fudge wheel
- usually 8-10 SPI
- asked for 12
- hand roller on outsole after cementing, especially in waist
- pinched the edges with pliers
- wets before stitching
- heats fudge wheel with heat gun
- line mark for channel
- thimble on finger for protection
- synthetic thread
- less expensive
- more durable
- pull each stitch taught
- keep moisture level constant
- but avoid water stains
- hard on the body
- story about Japanese shoemaker: “it’s so slow”
- “serenity now, but insanity later”
- needle split
- sharpened needle with sandpaper
- took about three hours
Heel Building and Soling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_DT6KhJmsw&list=PLwC33qrNZRbD7TbLzHKmPoji72brt3bTh&index=10
-
heel building
- stacked
- slight Cuban heel, angled front and back
- leather better than wood because dampens, makes nicer sound
- outsole leather
- precut oversize
- sand to break surface for adhesion
- wrapped in damp newspaper for 48 hours
- pointed heel breast shape to echo toe cap point
- rubber caps very practical
- decided on leather only
- was wrong, brought back to add a rubber piece
- positioning
- “heel rest”
- “rand” used to mean first heel lift
- Hirschkleber for stacking
- layers with wood pegs
- can peg on top of other pegs
- peg placement
- as close to outside as possible
- can’t have them showing
- cut herself
- “When you start talking to shoemakers about their wounds, it gets, like, really grisly really fast. People take a perverse pride sometimes in battle scars and this job is no different.”
- hammers and sands for next layer
- peens the edges
- tapering of heel lifts created fan pattern in the point of the heel breast
- constantly comparing one to fellow
- four total layers
- longer pegs in last layer
- can have fewer pegs the higher the lift
- “that’s a sassy heel”
- line finisher to reduce to desired height
- 1 mm space at the breast without bodyweight, shoes standing alone
- “building heels is hard for me”
- “so much back and forth”
- clips of nails to spank on the top lift
- dog Elvis
- screw-type sole press, “the smoosher”, with heel and vamp screws for each shoe
- shapes the heel breast with a head knife and rasp
- reshaped forepart and waist for proportions
- cardboard templates to match angles
- edge beveler on top lift
- compares heel back to heel back
- decided to increase height by 3 mm
- concern about effect on toe spring
- took off top lift and put on an additional lift
- bone folder, specifically Elk bone
- sending photos with phone during making
- water reduces dust while working
- rhan file
- glassed one sole, sanded the other, compared
- chose to glass everything
Finishing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnyfA48ZMdY&list=PLwC33qrNZRbD7TbLzHKmPoji72brt3bTh&index=11
- “everyone is really self-conscious about their finishing”
- glasses the outsole before dyeing to open the fibers
Dyeing Edges
- paintbrush
- Fiebing’s bottle
- “alcohol-based pigment dye”
- don’t mix alcohol-, water-, and oil-based
- tries on scrap leather
- lighten as they dry
- when in doubt, start lighter
- can use cotton ball
- dry in front of fan or heat gun for speed
- bone folder to burnish
Heel Nailing
- nailing after waxing can cause the wax to crack
- brass, round heads, cone shaped
- tack hammer
- tacks come from Slovenia [likely Blackbird]
- marks with mini wing dividers, spacing from the edge of the heel
- awl to mark the point
- smooth out with naumkeag
Back to Edge Dyeing
- each layer penetrates less as the leather saturates
- work one shoe while the other dries
Waxing
- sands first
- clear waxes often crack
- find wax similar to dye color
- two kinds used
- Yankee Wax: more pigments, establish base color
- Columbus Wax: fewer pigments, shinier
- embosses lines between welt stitches with seam detailer
- light sanding, burnishing, then waxing
- wax melts into the leather
-
alcohol lamp, but can use a heat gun, to heat heel iron
- too hot: wax burns off
- too cold: useless
- tests with finger
- rubs Yankee wax onto the heel like a crayon
- some makers press the iron into the wax instead
- burnishes wax with cloth
- three total layers of Yankee Wax
- same process for the rest of the edges, but with edge iron
-
Columbus Wax
- doesn’t have to be heated
- rubs on the edges like a crayon in a single layer
- polish with natural fiber cloth
Bottom Staining
- paper template for fishtail
- drew the line on the sole with a pencil
- scores the line with an empty ballpoint pen
- glasses the waist
- paintbrush
- best to break leather before dyeing
- sands, glasses forepart
- pick-like scraper to clean out where heel breast meets {{waist}
- naumkeag on the edges
- porous-point dye pen to create a 1 mm line around the edges of the soles
- massages the forepart with water by hand
- bone folder again in spots
- waxes the edge of the waist very last to avoid trapping water within the leather
Try-On
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgTil7ZQAyM&list=PLwC33qrNZRbD7TbLzHKmPoji72brt3bTh&index=12
- remove all laces to avoid stressing leather
Delasting
- divided last, screwed together
- screws in top planes
- last hook with twine loop under her foot
- hard to pull
- screw in the next part, as well
- hard time pulling out of toe
-
peg sanding
- uses sandpaper and fingers
- good to have small hands
-
crowing
- Amara usually avoids, since can ruin nearly finished shoes
Trying On
- lace up
- towels underneath, since will photograph later
- shoe horn
- typical socks
- supportive in the arch
- loose in one heel
- extra space in vamp
- palpating
- first bespoke pair usually not perfect
- can play with the sock liner to affect fit, add cork or foam
- the last part of making is wearing them and letting them conform
Sock Liners
- masking tape to get bottom paper from last
- cut slightly wider than footbed
- insert to check fit
- rubber cement to adhere
- can feel the difference
- improved heel feet, ball space, arch support
- still noticeable space in vamp on the left
- Amara considering redoing the left shoe
- suggestion: cork from ball forward
- in person, so can test things in real time
- padding to sock liner with rubber cement
- left heel feeling shallow
- tried foam of various thicknesses
- applied rubber cement inside the shoe to avoid getting it on things
- skives the edges over marble
- burns the skived edges with alcohol lamp
- diamond pattern detail inlaid at heel
Waxing Openings
Belt and Trees
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eZmNn4SzcE&list=PLwC33qrNZRbD7TbLzHKmPoji72brt3bTh&index=13