Hand Made Shoes

[ronald_bne]

Amazing work man. I see its a very careful work to do, but do one needs to have specific skills or anyone can learn (I mean, after training etc)?

I learnt myself. If your coordinated with using your hands (hand tools/power tools) then those skills can transfer over to shoe making. It does however take its toll on your hands, they get fairly sore after making a pair.

You've heard this a lot but again FANTASTIC WORK!!! You are a real talent man, you should think about doing this full time if it's possible...

Thank you so much! I don't think that's possible though. Honestly its really hard work and I'm pretty happy with my day job. This is nothing more than a hobby and if I was to take it further it'd still be something I do on the side. Plus I'd probably look at using a blake welter or a goodyear welter to help speed the process up and keep up with demand. At that point they would loose their 100% handmade tag. I suppose that'd be the trade off...

didnt see the jeans last time,would be very interesting to see will the denim fade through out wearing,or try the black denim?but the jeans already looks great!

I forgot to take a fit pic for you guys. I'll see if I can organise one this weekend.

[p2h]

great work ! Bravo

[zen dog]

Those are beautiful shoes, ronald bne!
I am getting ready to make my first pair of pair of shoes with slightly more modest aspirations. My question for you and anyone else is how important is the steel shank?
I will have a heel similar to yours- is it structural or arch support?

Thanks

[Chikov]

Hi Ronald_bne. I have a question for you. recently I experimented to dye the new pair of shoes. I am pleased with the result,
but after few days the sole adopted its usual form.
please, give me advise how to make a sole more sustainable. maybe you have a secret thanks

[fredcole]

Hi Ronald_bne. I have a question for you. recently I experimented to dye the new pair of shoes. I am pleased with the result,
but after few days the sole adopted its usual form.
please, give me advise how to make a sole more sustainable. maybe you have a secret thanks

Will this help?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb9S3nVa9Oc

Time to sell these on etsy? (https://www.etsy.com/in-en/market/handmade_shoes or etsy clone http://www.similarto.us/etsy.com/)

[thinbuddha]

ronald - quick question as I'm about to start my first pair of shoes as well. when looking at "soling leather," is that just normal vegetable-tanned cowhide but at a larger thickness?

[yubbermax]

ronald - quick question as I'm about to start my first pair of shoes as well. when looking at "soling leather," is that just normal vegetable-tanned cowhide but at a larger thickness?

Vegetable/oak tanned leather can be used but when used for soles it is tanned for a longer period of time to make it more stiff and durable. Oiled leather can also be used and is better in wet conditions since it absorbs less water and maintains a bit more traction than an oak tanned sole.

[thinbuddha]

Vegetable/oak tanned leather can be used but when used for soles it is tanned for a longer period of time to make it more stiff and durable. Oiled leather can also be used and is better in wet conditions since it absorbs less water and maintains a bit more traction than an oak tanned sole.

thanks - i think i understand. i was able to find thicker soling leather online. any other tips on what i should look for?

[devour]

Are you selling any of the shoes you have made?

[newp]

Are you selling any of the shoes you have made?

His shoes are called TYPICAL and sold at hide-m.
http://www.hide-m.com/typical-l-18.html

[ronald_bne]

Hi Everyone,

First and foremost I'd like to apologise to everyone that PM'd me or asked questions in the thread that I haven't replied to. Life has been busy and as you may have guessed I took a bit of a hiatus from shoe making.

I'd like to thank everyone that sent messages and posted replies with praise. I appreciate all your kind words and thank you! I'd also like to again thank Holger from Hide-M who kindly gave me the opportunity to showcase my handy work in his wonderful boutique, truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and hopefully one day I'll be able to visit it in person.

Well you might be wondering why I'm posting on here again? After all the shoes made for friends/family/Hide-M I never actually made any for myself... Well at least not one of the "proper" refined models I had created. Looking at my shoe lasts and spare leather I had an epiphany... Its time to make my magnum opus! (LOL)

Without further delay, here is what I've made. These are the boot version, fully hand stitched, fully hand welted, topy soled and heeled, hand dyed periodically to get that extra dimension in colour, then washed in water, treated with methylated spirits, dyed again, leather conditioned, hand polished and left to dry. As with all my shoes no machinery was used, only hand tools.

Enjoy!

[ronald_bne]

[holger]

! terrific !

[eleves]

Yes, I like these a lot! Hope to see more of your work! I love seeing a magnum opus challenged by its creator through practice and growth!

[castle]

Great job. I'm not good for diy buy I've always wanted to make shoes for myself been reading up about it here and there.

[jimmycs]

Great job! Looks like super comfortable pair.

[raden92]

GREAT!
I really love this kind of shoes :D
Please make another one :D

[sard.wonder]

Incredible work - must feel great to have accomplished this.
Hope you are still going