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Search results
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The Watch Appreciation Thread - Part two (Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger LeCoultre,
A Quote that someone posted (from last year) "I wouldn't mind a Dufour on my wrist, but would never pay for one. The idea is silly to me, sacrilege as it may be to say so. The wristwatch is a purely industrial object, as opposed to the pocket watches that preceded it. What sense does it make to...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #15,897
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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Leather Quality and Properties
Pffft! I think there might be some objection to 'Quokka Shoes' :D Because I start from scratch with so much of my work (I make smooth lacing eyelets from solid brass tube for example) I regularly get asked if I tan my own leather. Short answer: NO. I leave that to the experts, in this case...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #2,614
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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Leather Quality and Properties
That's the 8,000 hours of wear shoes :) Made on the first pair of lasts I carved; and there are soooo many things wrong with those lasts. I will have to lay into them and do a fair few alterations before I use them again. Happy to say I'm a quick learner and the lasts I've made for customers are...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #2,612
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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Leather Quality and Properties
OK... That was weird. It put my whole post as a 'quote', not just the first two lines :/ Dunno how to change it. *Edit* Thanks to Am55 I have now fixed it :)- duncanbootmaker
- Post #2,609
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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Leather Quality and Properties
Ha ha! One of my watchmaking friends has loaned me George Daniels 'Watchmaking' book. Though I lean more towards 17thC - early 18thC watchmaking; hand skills again. And, Oh, that engraving! Currently have a 220yrold pocket watch, with a hand painted dial, ticking next to me (another gift as he...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #2,608
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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Leather Quality and Properties
:) I came across Philippe Dufour a year or so ago, and looked at everything I could find on him. Again, it's taking inspiration from other trades that have all hand practitioners and applying it to shoemaking. And, yes, I'm pre-industrial in my methods. I'm frantically busy for the next few...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #2,604
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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Leather Quality and Properties
Thanks Charlie :)- duncanbootmaker
- Post #2,599
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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Leather Quality and Properties
Taking up DW's invite :) I'll wholeheartedly agree with Equus on this. Many a year ago I made a pair of shoes for our eldest son (then 7yrold). As usual I did all sewing by hand. He would often sit cross legged on the concrete at school, and over time he wore the tops of the stitches off the...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #2,597
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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Japanese Shoes: Bespoke & RTW Super Thread
:) G'day Bamboo, The World Shoemaking Championships are inspired by the competitions in the mid 1800's, and they were an exercise in making the finest example of hand shoemaking, and weren't intended for wearing. A narrow, fine shoe would accentuate the fine workmanship that the master shoemaker...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #4,442
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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Japanese Shoes: Bespoke & RTW Super Thread
I definitely find hand sewing uppers (a couple of mm of Kangaroo) is easier than outsoles (5 or 6mm of welt and compressed sole leather), though I don't sew at those higher frequencies (uppers 14 - 20spi, soles around 12spi). Of course, hand sewing through a 4 layer stacked leather heel is the...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #4,268
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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Japanese Shoes: Bespoke & RTW Super Thread
Don't 'sweat it', DW. I'm, hopefully, not too stuck up to think I should be mentioned in reference to anything about hand sewing :) And this is, after all, a thread about Japanese Bespoke. I just piped up to let you know that your guesstimate of the time to hand sew a top line was very good. As...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #4,262
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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Japanese Shoes: Bespoke & RTW Super Thread
Yeah, 4 - 6 hours sounds about right DW :) It's a special kind of madness. Some of the hand out-soling done in Japan is very impressive. They have the potential to be stunning hand closers, if the right clientele were prepared to pay for it (which they should). And the right leather? Veg...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #4,260
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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shoe construction...behind the veil
Thanks DW, and, yes, Luigi it's possible, with the right leather (Veg. tanned Kangaroo :) ) and hand sewing the seam, to get crazy high spi. The example DW cited was two layers of 'roo that I had shaved down to 1/4mm thick, then hand sewed with a single ply linen thread. The seam was a single...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #1,788
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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shoe construction...behind the veil
Thanks Guys, It was quite awkward peering over the iPod to do the filming, but the clarity of the view in the film is worth it. It had also been quite some time since I'd done that type of seam, but the side I was sewing from will be between the layers of the shoe. Here's a picture my wife took...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #1,782
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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shoe construction...behind the veil
G'day All, If you are interested, I've put together a short film on hand sewing a butt seam (some might know it as a 'skin stitch'), with 1mm thick veg. Kangaroo hide, as a heel seam for a pair of shoes for a gentleman. I do around 2 stitches a minute with this type of seam, so the middle part...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #1,777
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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Japanese Shoes: Bespoke & RTW Super Thread
Cheers ThunderMarch :) I *do* need to pay attention to the form of my lasts and soles; not to copy what is here, but to refine and sharpen up the shape.- duncanbootmaker
- Post #4,147
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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Japanese Shoes: Bespoke & RTW Super Thread
Whew! After about 6 months of reading this thread, since I discovered it, during lunch times and spare 1/2 hours ( or more :embar: ) I have finally caught up to the end of it! Thank You, Nutcracker, and the other contributors, for a very inspiring read. This thread is a challenge to raise the...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #4,145
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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shoe construction...behind the veil
Getting back to the article on Stephane Jimenez, in the part about his Masterpiece for acceptance into the Compagnons guild, he mentions that he did everything, including all the stitching on the upper, by hand! I knew they had to be out there somewhere Now, if I can just find a good, large...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #1,733
- Forum: Classic Menswear
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shoe construction...behind the veil
Oh dear... Your toes must have been curling when I posted the photo of the top-line of my personal pair, a couple of pages back, DW . I *was* trying to get them done quickly, so as not to intrude too much on the orders I was working on... For a customer, I like to turn the edge of both, the...- duncanbootmaker
- Post #1,646
- Forum: Classic Menswear