Cobblers

Jan 2004

A good hand stitched shoe is difficult to find. A local craftsman who carries on this worthy tradition, is even harder to locate. I tracked down Nelson's Footwear shop, which was established in 1847 and is still going strong. The boots and shoes may appear expensive at £200-£300 a pair, but the quality, care and expertise that goes into each, is worth every penny.

Last First

Lasts

Usually many types of lasts are kept in stock. They can be altered by stitching on small pieces of leather, so that the last conforms to the shape of your foot. However, as this has its limits when the leather compresses and deforms in the lasting process, wooden lasts can be made to measure.

All of the handmade lasts are made in the same traditional way.
Hardwood logs (12" x 24" in diameter) are split into spokes, the ends are sealed, and then they are dated. These are then left to air-dry for two years.

When the spokes have dried, they are cut to length, chopped with an axe and an adze into the rough shape. They are then shaped on a rough emery wheel. The last is measured by tape more and more as the wood approaches the desired end shape. The emery wheel gets finer until the finished shape is achieved. The last is drilled and a wedge shape is cut out of the instep so that the last can be removed from the shoe. A single pair of lasts can take two days to make, at a cost of £250.

"Before 1590, there were medieval left and rights (lasts), ...then straights...this was because there was a big panic, (due to fashion) for the desired heel height...Because as the heel gets higher, your joint position moves forward, and out, because your weight is going on your metatarsals, or actually it is squashing them, and so it gets harder to make a matched pair of lasts for a high heel. So they solved the problem...by just making one last! It's easier making symmetrical lasts than it is two asymmetrical lasts, and because you only have to make one...that reduces the cost by half. Most lasts were wooden (very few were metal) now they are plastic."

Costs

Depend entirely on time taken, the complexity of the design, and the construction techniques involved.

Nelsons Footwear
Settle

20 Duke Street
Settle
North Yorkshire
BD24 9DN
Tel: 01729 823523

With grateful thanks to Nelsons Footwear, Settle.

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Construction Techniques

Welted

Vertical welt,
triple stitched

Norwegian
Veltschorn

Stitchdown

Cemented

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Glossary

Welt
Toe Band
Vamp
Eyelets
Quarter
Stiffner
Back Strap
Wood sole
Outsole
Side Seam
Heel Lifts
Heel Top Piece