video by Jake Dobbins on outseaming
- inspired by inability by reliability problems with curved-needle sewing machine
- knew could hand sew from saddlery
- help from Al Saguto and D.W. Frommer II
- stronger saddle stitch
- cheaper
- enjoys the process
- a lot slower
- glue on outsole, peg it, let dry
- if still mellow, will distort the outsole
- number 6 french edger to mark the welt with a line for trimming
- Naumkeag to smooth shank
- wing dividers to lightly mark line at distance from edge that looks good
- once happy, really mark it, emboss a groove with compass point
- used to stitch groove it, but was pulling thread too far down into welt
- wants stitches to look like little white pearls after pricking
- do the top first, otherwise you’ll just close the bottom up
- uses horsebutt welts
- Seagull [spelling?] of California
- Horween
- tight grain
- better feed in welt going around toe, will be tight
- does not stretch much
- Barnsley stitch prick
- can use wing dividers
- about 8 SPI for 6-cord
- mark in the groove
- press down hard for good impression
- to keep the stitches straight
- very hard, especially with a square awl
- can use fudge wheel
- one prick at a time
- last hole as guide
- polished surfaces of arm of tool can run along the upper
- doesn’t use linen anymore
- now splits 40 lb mono and tapered Dacron like DW
- 6 cord is 415
- uses Bulldog, 3 strands, fewer to taper
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Handmade Shoes for Men: prepunch their holes
- long round point stabbing awl
- just through the welt
- straight down
- keep perpendicular
- pilot hole for curved awl
- keep compass set to same distance to use on the bottom side
- uses a welting stand
- if you like the first line, go back and deepen it
- guideline for knife
- cuts a vertical groove, just like curved-needle machine
- American groover tool has small fence, can slip off
- now uses an old, sharpened-down hoof pick knife from furrier with a notch added
- just cuts it freehand
- tries for halfway into the outsole
- can cut deeper than curve-needle
- really careful on first cut
- probably only slightly angling the knife, just so he can see the point cutting
- open the channel
- want a wide groove
- twist creaser to open
- gives fudge factor for awl
- mimic curve needle cutter with a thick blade
- lift up around the toe
- substantial force cutting deeper and opening up
- usually makes three grooving cut
- might need to wet again
- cased with Ivory dish washing solution
- cheap
- also uses to clean off boots before repairs
- pH balanced
- bristles
- split 40 lb monofilament
- don’t buy at WalMart
- age makes it hard to split
- UV light
- gets his from Cabela’s
- spends nights during week splitting bristles watching TV, put in box
- can reuse bristles
- doesn’t like steel bristles
- hard to find hog bristles
- can make mono real long
- can twist with hand drill
- 6-cord bulldog dacron/polyester
- no linen anymore
- used to dye linen and finish it
- now just orders different colors, put some beeswax on
- uses Ludlow pre-made tapers for inseaming
- just three plies to taper
- cut each a little shorter
- sandpaper to feather out taper
- pulls through sandpaper
- 12-14 inches waxed
-
coad
- hydrous lanolin, pine rosin, no pitch, a little beeswax
- bought lifetime supply of rosin from a naval stores supplier
- don’t worry about discoloring the taw
- wind back together tight
- mounting bristles
- places right in the crotch of split
- wind around bottom strand
- then go around top
- go around bottom one more time
- start winding to braid two legs to the taper
- at length of fingers, “take a hooey” (half hitch)
- has to be tight
- punch hole to lock leg
- big hole will close under tension
- wind the upper leg the opposite direction
- pierce twice to secure leg
- taper the point of the bristle
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Dick Anderson made an outsole stitching fixture
- had to talk him into it
- can hold and sew in your lap
- has been experimenting with a square awl
- allows putting stitches really close together
- learned using sewing awl sharpened in the other plane
- lubricate awl with wax
- uses baby powder to lubricate lasts
- pierce at consistent angle
- pre-pierces holes so can get fluid, consistent motion
- using a Barnsley awl
- Dick’s too big
- started at 6 SPI, then want up to 7, now 8
- has done 10 SPI with a square awl
- no cranking on the awl
- can wiggle a little bit
- can cover upper with masking tape or scrap of leather
- sewing
- jerk the threads through
- don’t pull through really slow
- will burnish the wax, make it easier
- learned to hand sew from The Art of Hand Sewing Leather
- consistent stitch to avoid crookedness
- doesn’t use a half hitch to lock
- does when inseaming
- thread isn’t heavily waxed
- has seen saddles with all the stitching worn away on both sides, but the plugs of thread and wax in the leather holding strong
- no need to pull really tight like an inseam
- takes about 45 minutes per boot to sew start to finish
- holes will stay open
- surgeon’s knot to end, laying in the channel
- coated just with plain beeswax, not sewing wax
- Ludlow tapers come with paraffin, will hold things tight once burnished
- only uses pre-made nylon tapers now, doesn’t get grinning stitches, uses 10 or 12 cord
- over-refined? yes
- with modern glues, can cement together very strong boot
- 8 SPI looks good, will hold
- comment: nobody uses more than 16 or 18 in practice
- wood slicker to close the groove by burnishing the edge
- RM Williams saddle dressing on the outsole from King’s Saddlery in Sheridan
- uses a thick boomerang to slick the bottom
- uses a lasting stand bolted to the floor, so can really press hard burnishing
- make the groove disappear
- Ludlow minimum order pretty big — one gross, buy and resell
- straightening crooked stitches
- slick side of stitches with bone
- when pricking, can tighten thread