Ken Hishinuma Reddish Brown Shoes Series

YouTube video series of Ken Hishinuma making himself some Oxfords from ILCEA box calf

Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMR2BuMYtWE

Part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_UGKQa-sbQ

Part 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muZdLQVO5eo

lasting

Part 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htbsduc0ra8

welting
- premade Italian leather welt
- 1:56 replaces the lasting tacks with staples so his inseaming thread won’t get caught on nails
- draws a line for the inseam on the upper with a silver pen
- 3:28 Tiger Thread for welting
- self-made bristles from wire
  - folded in half to make a loop
  - twisted together
- used to use hemp, but polyester easier
- knots the tread past the needles
- wets the insole with water
- staple remover
- staple gun for staple lasting
- curved awl
- lap board with foot strap
- hand leather on left hand
- removes staples as he stitches
- holds bristles in mouth
- starts at the heel breast on the inside, works forward toward the toe
- initially tightens with the fingers, not pulling very hard
- first pierces the upper, then lays the welt over the tip of the awl
- inserts the bristle while withdrawing the awl
- inserts both bristles through the hole at the same time
- now tightens hard, wrapping the awl haft and using the hand leather
- tensions the welt while sewing
- avoid unattractive wavy welt
- [Ken appears to be piercing the upper just outside where the staples lie, between the staple holes and the featherline.]
- purpose of welt to avoid damage to upper when resoling
- hand sewing takes about an hour per side
- discussion of Goodyear welting
  - t-shaped canvas ribs inflexible
  - more flexible
  - can choose where to place the welt
  - comfort
  - advantages and disadvantages
- 14:47 around the toe
  - shorter distance between holes
  - threads in twine as rib reinforcement
  - never had an issue without it
  - taps the welt with a hammer to help bend it
- finishing
  - cuts the welt square, then skives as a separate step
sewing the seat
- marks stitch spacing with a compass
- no pre-pierced holes
- pierces from the outside in
- looks like he saddle stitches, but it isn’t fully shown
welt a bit distorted
smooths down with a stick
trims the lasting allowance
- “the most refreshing of all the steps in shoemaking”
- cuts right up to the welt
- does just the upper leather first
- then does the linings and stiffeners
shows how the feather led the upper to lay flat
hammers down flat
removes tacks holding insole to last

Part 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VgyiLz7_gM

bottom filling
affects cushioning and stiffness
affects the rolling motion during gait
reduced the width of the welt
saved the strip of leather from carving the channel
fastest and most efficient to cut one strip and replace it
starting out, thought that difficult, but tried it and succeeded, and saved time
likes the look of it
applies glue to both channel and the strip
hammers down
cork sheet filling
- glues down through heel seat and shank first
- pares flush with leather knife
- rasps flat
shanking
- bespoke: bamboo shanks
- made to order: iron shanks
- “is no big difference.”
- uses iron here
- wraps the shank in tape
- two-rib premade shank
- tape helps the adhesive hold the shank
- bent to fit the shape of the arch
- leather for leather shank covers about 3mm thick
- made a tracing of the heel seat and shank area to cut
- pares by hand
- combined steel and leather shank to made more rigid behind the ball joint
- supports bodyweight
- controls bending and twisting during gait
- alternative: also cork underneath, but that just fills the recess
- glues and hammers down
- pares down with knife, especially beveling the edges at the welt
- rasps
forepart
- covers the forepart in masking tape
- traces the shape of the cavity with felt marker
- uses to cut cork sheet
- one template for each side
- gives some cushion, but not so thick that feels “fluffy”
- flatten out the surface
- make sure the ball meets the ground correctly
- feels weird to land on the wrong part of the foot
- center of gravity
- contact point slightly behind the ball joint
shaped forepart somewhat concave, so the foot rolls
shaped shank more concave

Part 6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpLpF0gYQ0Y

[low-tack tape above featherline around heel and forepart]
oak-bark-tanned sole leather
- lasts longer
- from Dusini
- applied glue then cased overnight
carved the outsole to improve the beveled waist
hammers down with French hammer, over a piece of scrap leather
uses a stick to press the welt down in long, continuous strokes
trims the sole with a Japanese leather knife, backhand
trims through the waist at an angle, creating a bevel
hidden channel
- about 5mm thick sole
- about 1mm thick flap
- cuts with Japanese leather knife, backhand, very slowly
- stops at the heel breast
- hammers the flap down, then lifts it back up with a stick
- wets the welt
- heated fudge to mark stitching
- gum tool to create a stitch channel under the flap
outseaming
- golden thread
- ramie
- This is the easiest Japanese thread to use.
- cobbler’s wax
  - from a mixture of oil, rosin and wax
  - [seems to be bluish in color]
  - wax allowed to soak into ramie
  - ties one end to a bench
  - ramie originally white, later dyed
  - rubs hand leather with wax against the thread
  - darkens the thread, makes it shiny, reduces fluffiness
  - increases durability and strength
  - works like adhesive
  - prevents water penetration
  - burnishes again with cloth to remove excess and soften the wax
- as a final step, coats with wax to make slippery [looks like light beeswax]
- thread becomes hard
boar bristles
- twists off a taered end
- scrapes over a wire brush
- applies cobbler’s wax to taper and bristle
- wraps the thread around the bristle
outseaming
- bristles in mouth
- foot strap
- twists the curved awl a lot
- starts from inside waist toward forepart
- coarser stitches through waist since the bevel will hide them
- can only stitch deeply beveled waist by hand
- fine for strength, since doesn’t bend or touch the ground
- [puts both bristles through the holes at once, starting with the bristle up from the bottom]
- more efficient to punch and stitch as you go, not pre-punch
- holing all at once too much strain on hands
- piercing the next hole closes the previous one, so have to widen the hole again
- keeps the awl in right hand
- wraps the thread with the awl haft
- hand leather on left hand
- doesn’t pull as tight as inseaming
- very curved, narrow awl blade
- final stitch: just from top to bottom, leaving thread under flap
- presses the leather around the stitches on the bottom of the sole down with a stick
- lays the flap down
- hammers through the waist with the pane of a French hammer
- lay the flap down ASAP to avoid wrinkles
flap will dry faster, since thinner
roughly 2.4mm stitch length