Shooey this is amazing stuff, and excellent pictures! I am really looking forward to more.

I'm a little surprised that the V-cleat stays in with one massive nail, how does that work? I would think it would come loose after years of walking (though it obviously doesn't).

Thanks for the info.  I have owned 5 pairs of Florsheims (real ones of course, not the modern travesty).  I have had suicide cleats fall off 6 shoes (i.e. 60%).

Good stuff shooey. I knew it would turn out well.

I must make a confession when I got the shoes - I thought "I'll give 'em to shooey and he can cut them up". But what I imagined in my head was you or me running an electric saw through one pair length ways and one pair sideways and then taking photos!!

You've done it well. I feel I've made a good investment.

A small story for others::
It was good when we went into the Florsheim store in Bourke street. We were looking at shoes. Shooey more closely than me. We moved over to some newer shoes that they had on display and shooey remarked that they weren't all that bad and were a reasonable gunboat sort of brogue for the new "youth market".

One bloke started talking to us and seemed a bit more knowledgeable, about Floresheim shoes at least, than we expected. We got onto talking about Imperials and what used to be made in Melbourne etc. We chatted a bit about the old Imperials. I think he thought he had a pair of Internet wankers rabbiting on about Imperials from what they had read. Then I think shooey mildly disagreed with him about some detail on old Imperials, maybe the V cleat, I cant remember. I do remember it was no big deal.

Anyway, I reached down into the old rumbled plastic shopping bag shooey was holding and pulled out these (above) genuine old long wing USA made Imperial with V cleat in good nick. The sales bloke didn't say anything but I watched him as shooey started pointing things out - he nearly fell over and was a bit more respectful to us. Shortly afterwards we just left.

I like to think we might have been the only two blokes in the whole world who were in a Floresheim store talking Imperials and able to pull a pair out of an old plastic bag, just to illustrate a point. Then off we walked into the distance, with a pair of old shoes in a plastic bag.

jealousy 's a curse - but a belly ache is worse

Ahh, Shooey, This is GREAT!
More, please

That wish-clash-boom/voom.

shooey - have you sewn them back together?

lt would be good to be able to learn this skill so l can pull all my goodyear welted shoos apart, cut a new insole and completely remake them into hand stitched shoos.

Been thinking of even relasting one of my Grampa KISS shoos on my bespoke last and remaking them too, but l would need John to cut a new pattern.

Mr X used to pull his glued shoos apart and make them into blake-rapid shoos.

lf l got good l would rip my Zegna's apart and remake a completely handmade shoo. lt would be worth it because the uppers are very good quality. The biggest hassle is that l would need to build up the metal last to imitate the original, a couple of mm's out and l could be screwed.

Last edited by The_Shooman (2012-10-26 23:11:35)