Isbister

For those interested in the British hunting scene, or in bespoke riding boots or the Northamptonshire footwear industry more generally, the Gentleman's Gazette is running an occasional series looking at shoe and bootmaking in the county. Here is their recent review of Horace Batten:

http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/riding-boots-leather-horace-batten/

Thanks for the clarification. I am a huge fan of Laszlo's book, which is such a useful reference book for my work. I bought a pair of Budapest brogued shoes when I visited Budapest this Spring; the quality is superb.

 

Back to the topic, most of the canvas ribs are attached to the insole by using adhesive. But, for many Goodyear welted safety boots, the ribs are not only attached to the insole with glue, but also stitched to the insole, which makes the stitches exposed. But usually, those safety boots are equipped with cushion insert insoles that will cover the insoles and stitches. 

 

Something popped up in my mind while I was typing the words above - the difference between Goodyear welted construction and handsewn welted construction. Many people seem to use "Goodyear" to represent welted shoes. But, for me, Goodyear welted construction and hand-sewn welted construction are different.

 

Hand-sewn welted construction is a traditional shoe-making process that most of jobs are done by hads, including welt-sewing, sole-attaching, and so on. A shoemaker can only produce 1-2 pairs of hand-sewn welted shoes a day. Mr. Laszlo Vass's book - Handmade Shoes for Men - is talking about hand-sewn welted construction.

 

On the other hand, Goodyear welted construction is a shoe-making method based on the same idea as traditional hand-sewn welted construction; the difference lies in machinery replaces the human labors. At the end of 19th century, Charles Goodyear Jr. invented a series of machines to do the jobs that are done by hands originally, which increase the production quantities and lessen the production time greatly. That's also why it's called Goodyear welted construction. Canvas ribs play an important role in the development of Goodyear welted construction. Without the ribs, the needle of welt-stitiching machine cannot punch through the the uppers, lining, welt, and ribs easily at the same time.     

 

However, this is my personal preference. Goodyear or hand-sewn? People can still call whatever they want to 

I think you're correct in making this distinction between hand-sewn and Goodyear - clearly hand-sewn shoes would not have been described as 'Goodyear-welted' before Mr Goodyear had invented and patented his machines. But whether the original machines relied on the use of a canvas rib, or more closely followed the hand-sewn technique, only a shoe-historian can say.

Going back to the Vass book, it's a fount of wisdom (for me, at any rate), although I suspect each bespoke shoe maker has his own slightly different technique, and they certainly don't all make their own lasts starting from a block of wood. I know of at least one, and I suspect there are many others, who start with an ordinary Spring Line last and file it down as required, or build it up with patches of leather here and there.

 

 

The shoemaker slices the edge of the insole with a machine, which cuts the edge of the insole and forms the "lips." Then, the lips perform just exactly the same as what canvas rids do nowadays - connecting the insole to the welt and uppers. The lips are part of the insole, which is very similar to the traditional hand-sewn welted construction. So, my guess is that perhaps the lips were introduced earlier than the canvas ribs. But, this is just my guess. Please correct me if you have any correct info. 

I think the machine is cutting the feather, where the upper and welt are sewn onto the insole. This is the original method of Goodyear welting and is still used for bespoke footwear (except the feather is cut by hand) - see e.g. p. 136 of Vass and Molnar, Handmade Shoes for Men. I don't know when the canvas rib was introduced, but the technique - apparently now almost universally used for bench-made shoes - is reliant on very powerful and quick-setting adhesive. 

Are you suggesting that Japanese feet are a fundamentally different shape?  Smaller on average, sure, but I seriously doubt that the last shape is anything wildly different than what we're used to.

They are somewhat different. I recently visited Sanders & Sanders in Northants to write an article about them. They sell shiploads of shoes in Japan, which they make using Japan-specific lasts.

Apparently American feet are also different to British feet - narrower on average, although less so than used to be the case.