Last edited by The_Shooman (2013-02-23 12:49:38)

That was a great invigorating post, so Thank You. You have made it clear to me what I was always suspecting but never sure. I would like to know a little bit more about what a hand carved feather means/: Does this mean a channel is made in the insole so that the stitches that are done between the welt and insole have a place to sit?
I do see the pros of handwelting very clearly and all the details that you mentioned I agree 100%. Infact having a scientific background I also see a lot of logical reasoning as well as science behind the factual details and why the old time cordwainers invented and did what is unfortunately and sadly becoming less and less common..

These are some of the best information I have received in a while. cheers mate!

And just assuming a factory could do a complete rebuild of a goodyear welted shoe, they are going to lose lots of money on the job because the fast flow of operations is going to be effected, not to mention the upper of the shoe being damaged from re-doing the inseaming. First the factory would need to stick on the fastener to the sole, then the workers would have to take the extra time to make sure they line up the inseaming to go through was is left of the cut off upper (remember that the upper gets trimmed off at the bottom, so there is very little leather to work with), this is fraut with danger and errors could make the attempt futile. And in the mean time the upper gets mashed while resewing the welt to the fastener, and if you misguide the machine (not much leather to work with as l mentioned above) then you mash the upper even more and might need to start all over again, or you might ruin the shoe completely because you destroy the upper. It takes too much time and is a risky job and it will halt the flow of the factory so lots of money will be lost and even a replacement shoe free of charge could be in order.

That's always the problem with factories - they lose money with fiddly work and the machines damage the integrity of the shoes because the sewing doesn't go through the original holes - they have everything to lose with difficult repair jobs. That's why hand sewn soles are so good, the welt never needs to be damaged and the inseaming can always be maintained. Even if the welt and insole was damaged on handmade shoes, they are easily replaced in a workshop because that is what they do...there is no disruption to the flow of things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4lXHo8_mZ8

Women's shoes are a different thing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R2o15kk-0A