Before you start to make button shoes, make sure you have these two pliers:
The first one makes the holes (I don’t think that you can’t make it by a knife and a hole punch, but perfectionism.. you know what I mean) Continue reading Button Shoes II.
Category Archives: New shoes
New tools and a new wholecut
This is my last post from Hungary for a while, as I am leaving soon to the States (NY) to teach people to my lovely craft.
I just got ready some new tools from my tool maker, who works a lot for my. He makes perfect replicas of my old, sophisticated tools, what I intend to share with the shoemaker community. Photos comes very soon, and I hope soonly I can make a deluxe collection, a complete KIT for shoemakers with 30-35 tools, covering all the technologies. You will hear about it, I promise.
A new pair of wholecut.
I post this shoe, because some small, lovely detail. Red fiddleback + red felt around the tongue. Style. ..and metal toe plate, which is just practical, as the open laces, what he alse asked for. He got it and loves it.
Black and Black
Two new pairs from Koronya Workshop.
The front one – yes, this is THE SHOE. BUDAPESTER. Timeless beauty, maybe a bit heavy for a few taste, but no doubt, that comfortable. The one on the background is the second pair of my RTW collection. A simple black wholecut, with high gloss finish, simple sole, bevelled waist. Maybe I will leave the medallion from the toe, and change the shape a bit.
And let’s talk a bit more about the Budapester. That’s why we call it gunboat form:
If you ever consider to start shoemaking studies – do not start with this last form, or at least with a soft leather. French calf and this toe, can cause a really hard hour to last… if you don’t want to accept the creases, which will appear surely.
My opinion: it is a must in a gentleman wardrobe.
Year of the Bull 2.
It is almost ready… These are the main steps of designing a shoe – in this case the “Year of the Bull” – my new limited serie. As it it only the prepateration part, I don’t know yet:
– how many I intend to produce,
– which style I will choose for the sole finish,
– which technology I choose for the sole… thats why I love shoemaking! 🙂
Do you recognise the adlaide-style bull-head symbol? I never wanted to “express myself” with shoes, but in this case I just love it.
Next step: stitching around the embossed lines. Frankly: I was hesitating a lot about it, then finally I asked a few people. This version won.
Here is the half-ready upper. Small step for me, big step for the cmera.. 🙂 Sorry, I should have make more pictures, but.. I forgot. Sorry.
Same phase, different angle.
Stitching the lining. I chose a super soft beige lining. This is actually what I will use for my RTW serie too. I am crazy about the quality – this is one reason, why I do this upper now. I try to be very precise with skiving – A shoe look ugly if you can see the lining pattern through the upper leather.
Last – chosing is my other favourite. This is a brand new model: assymetric (which means in my vocabulary: symmetric uppers look assymetric on it), and anatomically exact on the balls:
And the lasted shoe..
to be continued…
Rebirth of an old boot
I got an order, approx a year ago to reproduce an old Swedish boot. The job was interesting, not because I didn’t have any space for creativity (what is actually not what you call “interesting”), but concur with old masters – that is something. They were so precise. Sometimes when I take their work in my hand I just can’t imagine how they did so exact work, sharp lines without machines.
This is the original:
Not what you can see in new style magazines, don’t you? 🙂
The technology wasn’t a question: with this thin welt, it can be only pegged. Actually – most probably there is no welt on it.. never mind. This is one detail, what I had to change – my customer wanted to have double sole and English stitch. I could understand it: he didn’t want to put int a showcase, but selling it. So we changed a few details. Finding out the what leather they used, was more interesting. I would say the darker was waxed one, to keep out the water, the upper part is reindeer. I had some waxed leather, but no reindeer. No problem, a similar will be perfect. The toe stitching is a bit more interesting – that is not just a folded edge on an other one. Pattern-making was also a challange, but finally we could solve it, here is the result:
I used traditional German-style nail decoration on the sole – who knows, maybe Swedish makers did the same? As far as I know, the German shoemaker’s school influence is strong there, so why not?
It wasn’t that easy, than make even a very sophisticated oxford. Respect to the old masters.
I made this boot cooperated with my great friend and collague: Janne Melkersson, Sweden.
This is his website. Nice person and very good shoe (and boot-) maker
ICON No. 3 is booked – 9 to go
I just get an order from a dear customer for the 3rd pair of ICON. As I decided to make only 12 pairs per year, most probably this quantity will be enough only for the first few month. Anyway I don’t change my mind. This shoe means real exclusivity, a belonging to a really small club. I don’t mean that I want to make an elite club, just give something special beside this shoe.
I am proud to see that style fans like my creation – so I will come up very soon with some new one.
Sneak Peek from a Shoemaker Workshop
A prototype of the RTW serie. I plan to make some small changes in them – pattern and sole finish as well.
Custom made orders, ready to send away. The cognac goes to Asia, black to NYC. Good travel boys!
Also a bespoke order. Very durable, double spinned goyser stitch, and a Vibram sole. I had to order it like this, because Vibram is not prepared to the wide goyser welt… or I didn’t find the right sole. I tried to contact them, but silence. So I ordered a sole and a heel block like this. This is “bespoke” – whatever the customers wants he (or soon she – yes I plan to make women shoes) will get it. Two travel to Vienna, many letters, phonecalls, etc.
This is the first step after designing the pattern. I call it “pullover”. The right one is the first version – I wasn’t that satisfied with the toe cut – you cat see the silver line, different than the toe cut stitch (and that one doesn’t have lining). The left one is an almost perfect, only small changes needed. The lining hopefully was perfect – I make it in a special way – you will see it in the next picture.
This is what I mean – toe and tongue lining together. There are some problems to make it (if there is any demand I can explain, but I think it is interesting only for shoemakers).
And a finished upper, with a prepared bespoke last.. yes, this will be an ITEM. This leather looks like this before it gets the final finish with antiqued toe. This light chocolat colour will become almost black – unbelievable, isn’t it?
Finished uppers – ready to work with them. Actually I don’t plan to make shoes from them, maybe apprentices will do.
Aren’t they just beautiful? There belong to an old shoemaker (passed away recently). He made them for himself, and when I visited his shop, buying tools, his son gave me them as a present. The stitches on the upper are unbelievable small, and nice made. When I employ a new upper maker (I had some in the last few years), I show them – this is what I wait. This pair is around 50 years old (maybe more, know knows?)
Old last from an other workshop. I wouldn’t call them stylish, but I don’t want to through them away. Some of them are very nice and precisely made actually.
And the new generation waiting on the shelves to form a new pair of shoe. They are made from high densitiy plastic, also very precisely. 🙂
Stingray skins – also for bespoke orders. It is always a nice experience to see a wide selection in a workshop, even you will choose a regular boxcalf after.
