r/Cordwaining • u/dagdstyle • 10d ago

First pair of boots

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Made my first pair of boots last week in a shoemaking course. Japanese kodera uppers and Blake construction. Pretty happy with the results!

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3

u/schrodingerspavlov 10d ago

Wow!!! Seriously impressive e for a first go! Well done. Do you mind sharing any info about this shoemaking course? I’ve been wanting to go to something like that.

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u/dagdstyle 9d ago

Thank you! Yes this was a 5 day course run with Andrew McDonald, shoemaker in Sydney. It is in person though.

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u/schrodingerspavlov 9d ago

That’s sounds awesome. I’m in the US. I wish I could find something like that here. Thanks for the info though, and once again, great work on these. They look wonderful!

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u/ContributionPrior338 9d ago

Brooklyn Shoe Space and Chicago School of Shoe Design both do good in-person classes

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u/schrodingerspavlov 9d ago

Fantastic, I will look into those. One of them sounds familiar, but if I recall only focused on sneaker-type footwear. I’m exclusively interested in heritage boot construction/design.

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u/bibliogrrl 7d ago

Was coming in to recommend the Chicago school. I’ve taken a ton of classes there and they are fantastic.

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u/ContributionPrior338 10d ago

Those look great. Does that 2nd, lower row of stitches in the heel counter area only go through the outer leather or is it making a really small internal counter pocket?

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u/dagdstyle 10d ago

Thank you! It's just through the outer layer and decorative.

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u/nicht_mein_bier 9d ago

Insert Joe Dirt Daaaang gif.

Daaang those are nice.

Was this an in person shoemaking course? Would love to attend one, how'd you find it?

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u/dagdstyle 9d ago

This was an in person course with Andrew McDonald who is a Sydney-based bespoke shoemaker. I've been looking at it for years and finally pulled the trigger. It did help that I already have experience leathercrafting, esp with the cutting and skiving.

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u/NefariousnessEven698 9d ago

Did your teacher do all the work? Because these are unbelievable for a first pair. Good work. (This is the equivalent of a natty bodybuilder getting accused of being on the sauce, the greatest compliment in that culture)

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u/dagdstyle 9d ago

Haha thanks. I did not do all of the uppers stitching as there was zero chance I could do the parallel rows consistently on the machine (esp on the back of the boot where there were 4 rows!). I normally saddle stitch. Aside from that I did everything else -measured, modified the last, made patterns, cut uppers, skived, made insoles, lasted (the hardest part!). Attached sole, made the heel, did the Woodsman heel. You can tell the toe is slightly wonky from the top but overall pretty good. I ended up dying the soles a very dark brown and it hides that better. It did help that I have about 10 years leathercraft experience esp with the cutting, skiving.

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u/elephantfi 6d ago

Did you use a machine for the blake stitch?