The Hooks' Adventure Continues!: Anatomy of a Shoe

I haven't posted on this, because I wanted to surprise Jeremy (!) with a brand-new pair of shoes. This time around, I told Signor Zoppini that I wanted to build everything by hand, including the soles (which is usual for him) and heels (these are mostly purchased, and are plastic).

So, from leather to finished product, I offer you Jeremy's shoes!

I didn't show cutting the pattern out, so you'll have to imagine
the full sheet of leather. Each piece is hand cut individually
using a paper pattern created by Signor Zoppini

Because the leather was really thick (Jeremy likes his things
to be durable), I had to grade the leather with a rather dull shiv,
created by the maestro himself

One piece done! You can imagine the rest. Each piece took 10-15
minutes to grade and was pretty tiring on the hands

The edges are then turned under and glued. I then sewed
the back seam, and added a ribbon stabilizer to go around
the top of the shoe

These are the little tabs
that go on the back of the shoe,
also graded before gluing
and sewing

First pieces sewn...incorrectly...I think I had to take it apart,
but time has blurred that memory.

Lining sewn

Stabilizer at the eyelets for the laces

Inserting the lining

More lining details

Upper sewn (more) correctly now.

Eyelets inserted, top-stitching, back heel flap sewn on prior
to lining insertion

This is the fun bit: adding a very HARD leather reinforcement
at the heel. It has to be soaked overnight, sanded to grade it,
and then manipulated into place for gluing. It's a great way
to get rubber cement up to your armpits.

Lining tacked to the form.
If you look at the top right of the
green leather, you can see a bit
chewed out.
That was because Zoppini was mad
at me...said I'd cut out the pattern
wrong (I hadn't) and there
was "far too much" leather so he
hacked it off precipitately
when I wasn't there. Yeah, turned out later
that that part was somewhat lacking in
leather....

The laces have to be put in to help everything retain its shape
as the shoe is stretched.

The grey bit under the heel is the sole into which everything is
nailed and/or glued. It's a composite with the green piece at the toe

First look at it as a shoe. The
bubble in the center is because
I didn't sew the pieces together
quite right. We were never able to get
it out, sadly, but we made it
a bit better.

Second shoe done to this point!

We also provided toe reinforcement, which is often done, as well

Again, the toe reinforcement is a very heavy, stiff leather
that must be graded using the sanding belt, and then glued onto
the lining

You can just see the tack holding
the correct height.

From this angle, it looks like a shoe!

The lining is glued to the insole, then the upper is glued to the
lining. Then the nails are hammered down to make everything
nice and tight while the glue dries for a while.

Nail removal!

Prior to the next step, all the areas with bunched-up leather
(primarily toes and heel) must be graded with the shiv and
then sanded

The sanding and grading is done, mostly. More work is
required on the toes.

This is like a bias tape to provide the border. The zigzag section
is actually lower than the outer edge, so the shoe nestles into
the bed.

This is the top view of the edge binding

We also needed to cut out a preliminary sole shape.
The leather is actually damp still.

Binding is glued but drying for a minute before the next step.

Putting the sole on. This involves putting glue on the entire base
of the shoe, on the entire sole, and letting both dry. Then
the sole is hammered on firmly all over to prevent bubbles and
to provide a firm grip.

Post hammering. Next step is to pull out the shank and trim
to the edge of the binding.

Starting the heel cup. These are
done by hand because the
edge binding has the higher part, which
we don't want. This allows some
air space and consequent cushioning
in the heel.

Again, this is the tough leather.
I can testify that the cutting
is no joke on this part! Yes,
I was only allowed to do one of them.

Awaiting the heel addition

While I was gone, Signor Zoppini used his magical machine
to sew the insole to the sole.

Here's the first part of the heel. You can see the cup here.

Drying...

First layer of the full heel. Note that there are two because
it will be two thicknesses high.

The glue is drying here.

Hammering on the first layer

These are square nails that have
a propensity to bend. In this
case, it's a desirable trait.

You nail the heel into the cup and the insole on top of the
metal support. The metal makes the nails bend beautifully
on the inside of the shoe so they don't poke into feet.