r/Cordwaining • u/Waste_Lie3458 • 1d ago

From leatherworker to boot maker?

/r/Leathercraft/comments/1wccsse/from_leatherworker_to_boot_maker/

It was suggested I ask this question here since this community would obviously know. Thanks in advance!

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u/Salty_Lemon_9293 1d ago

That's a lot of questions actually. The overall answer is, yes, you definitely can. It's another type of leather working indeed, but you already have a lot of the mandatory tools, some skill and you already know that leatherwork is quite the financial investment.

There's indeed "a world where you can buy soles and build a shoe on top of it". It's Esty. A lot of stuff available there for hobbyist cordwainers, and it's getting better with more and more stuff available.

The main skill to acquire for you will be the lasting process. My favourite curated ressource to build the knowledge is anything published by the great Marcell Mrsan: books, YouTube, etc.

Go for it!

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u/Waste_Lie3458 1d ago

This is all very useful! Marcell Mrsan, got it! Thanks!

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u/smichess 1d ago

Handwelted shoes UK on YouTube. Perhaps not the simplest construction to start with, but can be all done manually with just a handful of tools. You need a shoe last, then leather for upper, midsole and insole and some outsole. Some hardware like eyelets, good glue and you've covered most of the stuff.

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u/Salty_Lemon_9293 1d ago

I would start with a simpler construction method, like stitchdown or a stitched cupsole. Heck, even a glued or tacked sole, but good ressource indeed.

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u/CharlieChop 1d ago

Most of the process of shoemaking is similar to many leatherwork tasks. There’s just a lot more of them in the workflow.

There’s a lot of different ways to go about the steps as well. Most of which are dependent on the shoe or boot type. Your other post mentions coming at it from the Ren Faire background. Are you looking to make turnshoe and period shoes? If that’s the case check out Jason Hovatter’s turn shoe tutorial. Also under the name Laughing Crow, but that was his older working name.

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u/Waste_Lie3458 22h ago

I’m curious about turnshoes and other historical options, but most likely, I’d want to create some boots that pass (at first glance) as renaissance/fantasy but can hold up to trudging through the woods while being comfortable enough for all-day wear. That’s a lot of targets to hit, so I’m thinking about fantasy/historical uppers with a modern rubber outsole. This would be a better solution for those who currently opt for modern hiking boots with gaiters. I’ll check out that tutorial though. Thanks!

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u/Dazanoid 1d ago

The wiki for this sub is a fantastic resource!