Mois, Mes Souliers...

YouTube video showing Pierre Corthay at work on a pair of brown, cap-toe, five-eyelet Derby, interspersed with segments from a sit-down interview

Notes

Working

• many tools hanging on the wall
• “Des Metiers Sur Mesure” [Works Made to Measure]
• “Moi Mes Souliers” [Me My Shoes]
• wood lasts hanging
• 0:32 lastmaking
  • stock knife with a concave face away from his body
  • bench well below the waist, with leg vise
  • tape hanging around his neck
  • shaping on line finisher with a small, naumkeag-like abrasive wheel
• 1:44 patterning
  • [scoop block shown already cut]
  • marks main axis in pencil, right on the last
  • brown pattern paper
  • shows patterning of the quarter piece by [Lay, Roll, and Trace Patterning]
  • one guess at the process:
    1. He marks either the facing line or the main axis down the cone by laying the pattern paper on the last, marking two points with knife cuts, then connecting them on the flat with a rule.
    2. He lays that cut edge back on the cone of the last, then folds the remaining paper down the last to the featherline.
    3. Pressing the paper down on the bench with the last, he traces the featherline through the outside waist.
    4. To get the featherline around the heel, he rolls the last over the paper until the main axis he drew down the backpart touches down, tracing as it goes. Then he marks the main axis on the curve with a quick pencil slash.
    5. Still holding the last up on the backpart, he angles his pencil to trace the back curve of the last. He marks either the counter point or the back height along that curve with another slash.
    6. Pulling the pattern paper off the last and laying it flat, he sketches the topline curve freehand, then trims it off.
    7. He makes a very quick, straight cut at the front of the piece—I’m guessing the first line he started with was the main axis, and this is him cutting it back to the facing, for the lacing gap, and shaping.
    8. He cuts the quarter curve freehand. If he made a mark the heel breast, I didn’t see it.
  • working over a thick metal cutting board
• 3:02 clicking
  • pulls roll of leather from cupboard up by ceiling
  • lays the pattern piece and cuts directly around it, without marking
  • temporarily glues the vamp pattern to the leather
  • using what looks like a L'Indispensable knife
  • when done cutting, pulls the pattern piece off the leather
• 4:30 skiving
  • over thick glass
  • sharpening stone before starting
  • curved European shoe knife
  • short back and forth strokes to start, then long, sweeping cuts
  • lights an alcohol lamp to burn off loose fibers
• 5:18 edge dyeing
  • paintbrush
  • short strokes
• 6:20 closing
  • post-bed sewing machine
  • very slow
  • two or three stitches at a time
• 6:41 lasting
  • tacks in mouth
  • Swedish-style lasting pliers
  • drafts the toe first
  • then back to the joints
• 7:57 coworker blocking
  • quick swipes on handheld sharpening stone
  • trimming to featherline
• 8:34 last build-up
  • leather fitting
  • cements on, hammers down
  • pares with knife
  • very acute point on knife
  • drops the knife into the part of his apron hanging between his legs so it’s quick to pick up again
• 9:07 coworker welting
  • long, thick awl haft with a flared pommel
  • hand leather
  • casts the stitch on the outside
  • taps awl in wax
  • curved awl, flat duckbill point
  • chases the awl point with the bristle
  • angled channel carved on inside of holdfast
  • wraps hand and awl haft to pull tight
• 9:50 thread making
  • linen
  • coad: friction melts
  • untwisting cord on thigh over apron
  • staggering cords
  • wraps the cords around first three fingers to stabilize for unwinding
  • waxes in his hands, across his lap
  • attaching boar bristles from a wood box
  • black bristles
• 10:56 slow scanning macro shot of finished welting and heel seat
  • seat appears to be whip stitched
• 11:26 coworker finishing
  • lighting a spirit burner with heating tray
  • edge iron
  • rubs wax direct on edge, then melts and burnishes
• 0:44 scanning shot of finished shoes

Interview

• a millimeter’s difference around a toe can make a huge difference
• different feet, some fleshy
• test shoes
• never get fit perfectly right on the first go
• fit is also psychological
• many families of clients

Entries Linking Here

• Sewn Seat