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To order products
send credit card information, name and address via telephone or fax or send check made out to Sharon Raymond to address below:

Sharon Raymond
145 Baker Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072

Tel: 413.259.1748
Fax: 413.241.6119

Email:
sharon @ simpleshoemaking.com (please eliminate spaces when using this email address)


  Shoemaking Resources

Here are some websites I enjoy looking at for shoemaking inspiration:

This photo was taken in Paris, I don't know the name of the shoemaker.

La Belle Fortoise

Art Peaux

LE MOULIN

Machado

Conker Shoes

Green Shoes

To communicate with other shoemakers, go to Boot Maker, then scroll down on the left to "The Crispin Colloquy". This is a forum for The Honorable Cordwainers' Society, a shoe and bootmaking group that meets annually on the weekend closest to St. Crispin's Day, (the patron saint of shoemakers) October 25. Aspects of shoemaking are shared, and cameraderie is experienced. Recently, these gatherings have been at Larry Waller's shoemaking barn in Delevan, WI.

To order an inexpensive hand-operated Chinese stitching machine that uses thick (138 or thicker) thread, contact Ron Glassett, Rt. 1, Box 630, Eastsound WA 98245, (360)376-2600.

Stitch-down Shoemaking Resource List

Sources:

S = Siegel’s of California www.siegelofca.com (order $75.00 worth of tools and/or leather, and get free shipping)

T = Tandy Leather – www.tandyleathercompany.com If possible, get a wholesale account

H = Hide and Leather House – www.hidehouse.com

GN = Garlin-Neuman

SR = Sharon Raymond, www.simpleshoemaking.com

W = Henry Westphal, (212)563-5990 -  this business sells Osborne Tools and is based in New York City

WL = Weaver Leather, www.leathersupply.com

Lasts: . I sell copies of my low-heeled (1/2”) , round-toed lasts in women’s whole sizes from 6-10 medium for $75.00/pair. My women's shoe patterns were made over these lasts.

To find other lasts, look on Ebay, www.shoedoo.com, www.walrusshoe.com, www.globalfootwearsolutions.com

Lasting tools: (S) or (W)

CS Osborne Lasting Pincers # 233 - $33.90

CS Osborne Shoemaker’s Pincers #93 - $26.00

CS Osborne Tack Hammer No. 236 – 30.40

Lasting stand: (SR) - $40.00 (made by a local welder)

Scissors:

CS Osborne EZ-cut Leather Shear (S) or (W) - $28.00

Or purchase (T) Craftool scissors if you have a wholesale account – 3050-00

CS Osborne Scratch Awls # 4 in sizes 1 (2 ½”) (W)

If you plan to stitch the upper to the topsole by hand:

Wing dividers – T

1/8" distance between prongs, three-prong thonging chisel, #493 – (W) available at Westphal, makes stitches ¼” apart. It's handy to also have #491, the one prong chisel, and #492, the two prong chisel

 

Stitching awl consisting of: CS Osborne Sewing Awl Haft –

You can get a “speedy stitcher from Tandy’s, but I prefer Osborne Sewing awl haft (S) (W) – TL-145 $9.70 with Osborne TL413N8 straight sewing awl needle, (S)

To insert needle, screw off the part that screws off, and pry the 4 prongs that hold the needle apart a bit so needle can be inserted deeper into the haft; then replace the part that screws off!

Another method for making stitching holes for sewing upper to soling (I don't recommend this method, but if you need a motorized way to make holes, this is it: Dremel tool with above speedy stitcher needle inserted instead of a drill bit. A Dremel drill press makes the task more manageable. Dremel tools are available at hardware stores, and the drill press at Amazon.com

Hand-sewing thread:

Sewing awl thread #1205 – (T) - $24.99/spool

Punches and maul:

I think the best rotary punch comes from (WL) – 656230 –  $21.35 (you have to order a minimum of $50.00 from Weaver – order a maul from them too – 652500 - $49.95 or a Novolene Chopping Block 65-2910, $19.25 – it’s the only board for placing under leather when punching holes that I recommend)

Supplies I keep on hand from Tandy Leather:

Glover’s needles – 1191-11 large, or 119113 small, $8.99/pack – sharp diamond-shaped tip makes these the best needles for stitching through thinner leather without needing to make holes first.

Harness needles – 1192-13 - $6.99 – use for butt-stitching leather using x and bar stitch, and stitching topline or any overlapping upper seams.

Tejas Braided Cord – 5060-00 - $12.99/spool – use for making shoe laces, burn ends w/ match

Fasteners:

Mini – Anvil to use as a base when pounding rivets together or pounding nails into soles on a last – 3101-00 - $9.99

Steel double-cap rivets – small – 1371 - $4.99/pack

Line 20 snaps – 1261 – various prices

Craftool Line 20 snap setters – 8057, 58 - $2.99

Buckles:

Sandal buckles – 1515 - $1.79 each

Industrial knife – 3595 - $29.99

Marble slab  - 32228 - $29.99 – use to skive on (or get a piece of safety glass from a junk yard)

Adhesives:

Titan DX from www.veneersupplies.com, 1 quart for $16.99. This is the non-toxic contact cement that I highly-recommend, for any temporary cementing; that is, the two pieces cemented together will need to be stitched together as well. It will not hold on a sole without it being stitched. To operate, I keep the adhesive in a jar, and brushes in a tall glass jar with water and maybe a little bit of liquid soap in it; the brushes need to be dried with a towel before use, but they will last quite a while when kept this way.

Barge All-Purpose cement – 2510-03 – Tandy Leather – use it for adhering outer soles if you don’t want to stitch them on.

There are all kinds of dies and leather finishes.  I am having success with the new Eco-Dies Tandy has developed. I don’t know much about different leather cleaners and conditioners, I use Lexol products and have been pleased with them.

Cushioning: I get the best, poron, from Pel Supply Company. I get 1/8” double-abraded blue sheets – ACPORS. I believe you need a wholesale number to order from them. I will sell poron to you if you can’t purchase it yourself.

Vibram Pyramid sheets or unit soles can be obtained from local shoe-repair supply sources, or from my website.

Natural rubber soling, available in 13 x 48” sheets – from rubber trees, biodegradable: available from Shreiner Company, PO Box 347, Killbuck, OH 44637, 1-800-7229915 – I use black or dark honey#3 (light honey is #5), 9 iron is 1/8” thick, 12 is 1/4” thick, and 15 iron is 3/8” thick. There is a minimum order of $75.00 of any one product

Stitching machines:

To stitch the uppers together using #69 thread, a variety of machines are available. I am using a Singer post machine and another post machine with a post and a roller foot. Look on the web, Ebay, or in the Big Book at Proleptic.com. Run a machine and price by me if you’d like.

To stitch the uppers to the soling, I use #207 thread, and that requires a heavy-duty machine. I have been pleased with my Cowboy Stitcher #CB-3500, imported  from China, cost around $2,000.00, available from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, 3631 Marine Road, Toledo, OH 43609, (866)372-7397, sewmun@aol.com

The Tippmann Boss can also stitch with #207 thread, (T). It is operated manually, which has obvious advantages and disadvantages.  I haven’t tested to see if it can be used to stitch through upper and any kind of rubber soling. It retails for about $1500.00.

Thread for stitching machines is available from Weaver Leather – www.leathersupply.com

Leather:

I get 4-5 ounce leather for uppers at either Siegel’s of CA (chink chap or Rough Rider), Hide House, or Garlin-Neumann. Garlin-Neumann has some great prices and will send you samples, which Siegel will not do.

Pigskin lining leather comes from Tandy. I keep the vegetable-tanned natural and black (99134) on hand. Garlin-Neumann also sells some pigskin lining.

For vegetable-tanned leather for soling, I use 8-10 ounce hides from Wickett and Craig, (800)826-6379

 

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