Chapter IV: Boot Making

In making a pair of boots or shoes, the lasts are the first requirements; and these cannot be done without. To know the size wanted, it is necessary to take the measurement of each foot. To do this, place a sheet of paper on the floor or any smooth surface, then let the person stand full weight upon it, and draw on the paper an outline of the foot, being careful to hold the pencil quite upright, especially at the toe, D, and heel, C (Fig. 64). Then, to show the curvature of the waist, draw a second and third line, as A and B. It is customary to take the length of the foot with a size-stick, but as the only use for this tool is to measure the last, it is not necessary to give an illustration of it. A size-stick is in the form of a rule, and has at one end an upright at right angles, and another to slide along so that it can be set to the top of the toe to indicate the length on the foot, as the stick is pressed against the sole of the foot and the fixed upright at the back of the heel.

Fig. 65 represents a shoemaker’s penny tape measure; on one side it has inches, and on the other sizes which are three to an inch. With this tape take the length of the draft from C to D (Fig. 64), and, supposing it to measure size 5 (A 5’s last measures just 10 in), you will need a last size 7. The length taken with a size-stick, with the foot off the ground, would have shown size 4, but a 7’s would have been needed just the same. This proves that the joints in the toes elongate in walking, and it shows the necessity of having the boot or shoe longer than the foot. When the length of the foot has been ascertained, it should be marked upon the drawing.

The next measurement to be taken is the joint; and this should be done in inches. The tape must encircle the whole joint, and be drawn only just tight; it must pass under the foot at E E (Fig. 64), and over the great toe joint and knuckle of the little toe, A B (Fig. 66). This measurement is then marked on the draft, and so with each until all are taken. Take the second joint, C D (Fig. 66), passing round the larger parts of the ball of the foot. Next the instep, E F (Fig. 66), letting the tape pass under the hollow of the inside waist, E, across the bone marked F in Fig. 64, and the instep bone, F. The heel measure is taken, passing round (G) the extremity of heel, under the ankle bone (H), and across the throat of the foot (I). The leg measure is taken about 1¹⁄₂ in. above the ankle bone (H), and encircling the leg from J to J.

The measurements generally taken are those shown in Fig. 67, where A B is the length, C D the girth round the toe-joints, and E F the girth round the instep.

In fitting up the last to the measures taken, if the boots are wanted to be a good and not an easy fit for a gentleman’s foot, one neither very bony nor very fat, let the last be exactly the same measure as that of the foot. For a lady’s foot, the last will need to be about half a size--that is, one-sixth of an inch--smaller than the measure at the joints and instep, unless the boots are wanted very easy. If wanted easy for gentlemen’s boots, make them about half a size over the measure. For all children’s work about a quarter size over the measure must be taken.

German-made lasts can now be got at prices ranging from 9d. to 2s. per pair, according to whether they are ladies’, gent’s, or children’s sizes. These lasts are often not of good shape, but those of four or five fitting have nearly always enough stuff to allow of their being trimmed down to make a good-shaped last. Select a last the toe of which is as nearly as possible the shape required, then place it on the sketch of the foot, and see if the lines of construction are similar in both, and if the girths are right.

The dotted lines in Fig. 68 indicate the parts of these lasts that are usually faulty; but with a little skill and trouble the superfluous material can soon be removed with a good rasp. In doing this, the bottom of the lasts should be shaped as in Fig. 69. This method will save the trouble and expense of having a pair made by the last maker, and a really good shape can be got to match the shape of your foot by yourself as well as by anyone else; you then take the credit of making the boot and also of fitting the last, and this will give you confidence to fit a pair to any other person’s foot.

Fig. 68 shows the proper shape of a last--it is not rounded too much at the bottom (A), nor does it project too much at B or C. A round bottom will make the toe turn up, and, while the boot is being worn, will cause undue strain on certain parts of the front or vamp part. Too much stuff at B will tend to throw the heel of the boot too far back, and also make it higher at the waist (D) than at the back, as shown by the two lines B and D. If the last has the dotted part at the heel rasped off, the heel can be built all round in proportion, as shown by D and E. The disadvantage of a last being too prominent at C is that it makes the toe of the upper exceedingly difficult to last in.

Fig. 71.--Instep Leather.

Fig. 72.--Joint Leather.

Fig. 73.--Heel-pin.

Figs. 70 to 73.--Leather cut to Shape.]

In Fig. 69 will be seen three shapes for toes; but the shape of the toe should make no difference in the construction of the last. No matter what the shape of the last is to be, space must be given for the great toe, or a bunion will be the result. It will be seen by comparison with Fig. 64 that the bottom of the last (Fig. 69) is designed to suit the requirements of the foot as it is drawn on the sheet of paper (Fig. 64).

Should the last be a little too small in the fitting (girth), or should larger boots be wanted to allow for thicker stockings, or even boots for a foot larger than the last is made for, a set of ordinary fittings will be found very handy. These are best made from flank ends of the leather, which is the softest part of crop belly, and cheap, because it is not much use for any other purpose. The leather must be well wetted, stretched with a pair of pincers, and cut out roughly to the shapes of Figs. 70, 71, 72, and 73. By carefully tacking these fittings on to a small last a larger last can be made of as good a shape as the original. Fig. 70 is called a long leather (abbreviated L. L.); Fig. 71, an instep leather (abbreviated In.); Fig. 72, joint leather (abbreviated J.); Fig. 73, heel-pin (abbreviated H.-p.). Before being fitted to the last they should be skived thin to the edge; then while wet tack them on the last in their proper position, as indicated by the figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 in Fig. 74.

Each piece must be put on the last separately and allowed to dry before it is taken off in order to block it to the last; then the edges can be cut evenly all round, taking care not to destroy the block or shape. Each piece must be served the same way. For facility in booking the fittings, they can be marked 1, 2, 3, and 4, as shown in Fig. 74. Supposing a last, numbered X for reference, is used with no fittings on, book it as 7’s, No. -- bare; if used with heel-pin, toe-pin, and one long leather, book it 7’s, No. --, H.-p., In., and No. 1, L. L., and so on for any fittings. Bunion pieces should be pegged on with fine ¹⁄₂ in. pegs. The leather must be put on wet, and pegged so that it can be skived down all round smooth to the last, leaving an even projection to the shape desired. To put in these pegs, a hole must be made with a peg-awl (Fig. 75) as deep as the peg is long, the peg being driven home with one blow from the hammer.

An old shoe that is well worn to the shape of the foot will be found the safest guide to fit the last up to. If the toe you want to make is wider than that of the old shoe, cut this round, to admit of the leather spreading out to the shape of the last about to be put in. If needed, rasp the last till it just fits in the shoe. Try the old shoe again on the foot, and chalk mark where it in any way hurts; replace the last, and with a fine awl prick these marks through into the last, then put pieces of wet leather on the last at these points, and make room for corns. The last should be as big as the measure--a sixth of an inch larger at the joint--if the shoes are wanted very easy. A last placed inside an old shoe soon shows if it is of the size and the shape to suit your tread. A piece for a corn or bunion can soon be added anywhere by pegging on a piece of leather. The exact spot for such a piece is readily found while the last is in the shoe; if the last is deficient at any part, the leather of the old shoe will be baggy. An awl pierced through it into the last will show exactly the place where room is wanted, and where you will need to make the last larger.

Iron lasts can be fitted up as explained for wood lasts. If the dealers have not got any to suit you, it is necessary to have holes drilled where you wish to nail the fittings. These holes must be plugged with wood to receive the nails. This is the best way; but if put on wet, and bound on till dry, some fittings can be fixed by Le Page’s fish glue. Buy the iron lasts under the required measure, and fit them up afterwards to what is wanted. Iron lasts used for riveted work ought not to get rusty, as the leather for such work does not need to be worked damp. It should be properly wetted and hammered out, and then allowed to get so dry that it is only just mellow. Even in repairing it is not wise to sodden the leather too much before working upon it. If boots have been soaked by accident, or from having been worn in the wet and only just taken off the feet, they should not be worked upon until the leather is at least half-dry, or they will be knocked all out of shape. Any portion of the lasts likely to come into contact with wet leather could be covered with paper--either waterproof packing-paper or that which buttermen use as a first cover for butter; or, failing these, ordinary thin brown paper.

Wood lasts must be used in making pegged work, as the peg-awl must go through all the materials, and a little way into the last. This is so that the peg shall go through, and be rubbed down inside by the use of the peg-rasp and peg-knife. Iron lasts would blunt the awl each time it made a hole, and as the peg could not go through all the layers of leather, solidity would not result.

Iron lasts are used for riveted boots, as the rivets are clenched as they reach the last. They are fitted up according to their particular constructions, and a joint or long-leather can be easily fixed with a wax-end to the last before putting it on the last. Of course, the leather must be fitted and blocked to shape on the last first. Or another, and the better, way is to have holes drilled in the last where fittings are wanted to be fitted on. These holes can be plugged with gutta-percha or wood, and the fittings nailed to the plugs. Plaster casts are sometimes taken, so that the customer leaves a model of his foot for the shoemaker to adapt a last of wood to the requirements of that foot. To make plaster casts of a foot, it must be oiled, and a mould taken first.

In choosing the materials, it should be remembered that a boot, like a house, depends upon the foundation, for which reason the leather should be good of its class, and every care exercised to fit it properly. Fig. 76 is a top or upper for a gent’s lace (or Balmoral) boot, and the technical name for each piece is given. For light work the quarters are cut from calf-kid, levant, seal, memel, calf, etc., and the vamps, golosh, and toe-cap, are cut from French calf, krup, patent, etc. For stouter work, English calf, porpoise, etc., are used; for very heavy best work, memel, cow-hide, stout porpoise, neat’s, etc. For rough working kip is employed. There are many kinds of uppers other than that shown in Fig. 76, such as button, elastic, Bluchers, Derby Balmorals, etc. Shoe uppers, as shown in Fig. 77, are termed Oxford shoes. There are button shoes, elastic shoes, tie shoes, etc.

1. Eyelet; 2. Hooks; 3. Quarters; 4. Vamps; 5. Toe-cap; 6. Golosh; 7. Back Strap; 8. Facing; 9. Loop.]

A. Stiffener; B. Side Lining.]

The leather for the bottoms of a pair of boots or shoes is called a set of stuff, and consists of insoles, outward soles, welts, stiffeners, shank pieces, side linings, felt, and, according to height of heel, lifting and top-pieces. A heel about an inch high is made up of the sole, the split-lift, three whole lifts, and a top-piece; and for each additional ¹⁄₈ in. required, add one whole lift. The cost of a gent’s medium-sized “set” should be about as follows:--Insoles, cut from shoulder, 5d.; a pair of long outer soles, 1s. 6d. These should be cut from English butt leather, a pale nut brown, neither very yellow nor very red, these coloured leathers being foreign. The English leather should have a very fine grain, it being a thin layer only, and the fibrous tissues of the true skin should be very firm, close, fine, and of a nut-brown colour. Gent’s soles are cut in one piece, called squares; whereas ladies’ soles, which are also cut in one piece, are called springs. Welts consist of a long strip of oil-dressed leather about ³⁄₄ in. wide, and cost from 1¹⁄₂d. to 2d. per pair; women’s cost 1d. Stiffeners, cut from shoulder or middle, cost 3d.; lifting pieces, from first cut of butt leather, about 6d. for three pairs; top-pieces for the heels must be of good solid butt leather, like that for the soles: a pair cost 4d. Gent’s soles are not cut long enough to go through to the heel, so a piece of sole leather is required to splice on to them; it need not be of very good quality, and with the side-linings will cost about 3d. These prices must serve only as a guide, for much will depend upon the class of boots or shoes to be made.

Having procured a set of stuff, the way to wet, flesh, dry, buff, and hammer it, preparatory to using it, is as follows:--Put the insoles, outer soles, stiffeners, lifts, and top-pieces in a pan of clean water, letting the water cover them. With a pair of compasses mark straight down the centre of the welts, and cut them so that both sides are the same width; tie them up in a knot, and put them in the water. When all the pieces are perfectly wet through, they should be laid in a draught--not near a fire--to dry, with the exception of the welts, which have to be used wet.

The insoles require to dry whilst fixed on the last. They must be marked with the sewing-awl to the shape of the last, then cut out, and while still wet the grain side is buffed or scraped, and the insole tacked grain side down on the bottom of the last with four tacks in the middle, as A, A, A, and A, shown in Fig. 69, p. 65. The sides should then be stretched all round with a pair of pincers, and the leather tacked down to keep it tight to the bottom of the last till nearly dry; this is called blocking the insoles.

The outer soles should dry till they are only just mellow; then lightly buff off the grain, and skive off the thin layer of flesh or dressing from the back, and do the same with the lifts and top-pieces. Sit upon a low stool, and place the lap-iron face upwards on the thighs, just above the knees; hold the leather grain side downwards, and, commencing from the centre, hammer it all over. Let each stroke be even, straight, and firm: strike with the face of the hammer, and do not bruise the leather. Leather is hammered to make the fibrous tissues more dense, and thus less pervious to damp, and offering more resistance to wear. The lifts do not want to be hammered so hard as the soles and top-pieces.

When the insoles are nearly dry, carefully take out the tacks from the edge, and with a knife round up each to the shape of the last. At the waist the insole must be trimmed narrower than the last, as shown at B B (Fig. 78), where the dotted lines, A A, represent the last.

To make the awl work better in making the holes, rub a little soap all over the leather. With a pair of compasses draw a marginal line the whole way round the sole from ¹⁄₄ in. to ¹⁄₃ in. from the edge, and by drawing the two cross lines C and D, divide the sole into three: the heel (1), the waist (2), and the fore part (3). The margin should be a little wider at the middle of waist, B B, particularly on the inside, the ends flowing into the regular line. The smartness of the waist depends upon this sweeping curve. According to the range and pitch of the last, see p. 103, the width of margin should be increased at the heel (Fig. 78). The more dead the last is in the waist, the more the heel will want under-seating: that is, to prevent the heel, when it has been built, from pitching on the breast, it will want to be feathered wide and sewn under at E, and feathered narrow and sewn full at F and F. This marginal line, when got to its proper shape, must be cut into the leather to about one-third of its thickness, the knife being held perpendicularly to the sole. This cut must be opened with a prick-stitch tool (Fig. 79). The whole of the narrow strip of leather is cut away, and this leaves the feather as shown in Fig. 80. It is of even substance all round the fore part, and of about two-thirds the original thickness of the insole leather. At the waist this can be thinner, and tapered towards the edge.

To hole this insole, make a new line on the face of the leather gauged from the feather about the same distance, and in the same way as that drawn from the edge for the cut in the feather. Put the sewing-awl through at this line, and bring the point out on the edge of the feather, as at A A in Fig. 80, which shows a transverse section of the insole and the feather, B B. After it is fitted carefully, take the insole off the last, and with a sharp knife take off the sharp edge of the arris all round on the grain side, but not cutting away so much as to destroy the feather. Sometimes it is sufficient to scrape this sharp edge, and it can be removed by running the knife round while the insole is on the last; but this needs more skill. If this sharp angle is not removed, it will probably curl up in wear, and hurt the foot.

The stiffeners should be of good leather, and used wet, that they may dry hard. Fig. 81 shows their shape. Gent’s should be 1³⁄₄ in. high at the back; ladies’, 1¹⁄₂ in. The dotted lines at A (Fig. 84) show about where they should come to, and the length can be decided by measuring the tops. They must be skived all round on both sides, but not much on the grain side, or the stiffness of the leather will be lost. Round the top the leather should be skived or tapered to a feather edge, but the bottom reduced only to half its original substance. A knife for skiving is shown in Fig. 82.

The side linings (Fig. 83) can be of almost any kind of upper leather, though, as it is oil-dressed, calf is best. The dotted line F, in Fig. 84, indicates its position in the boot or shoe.