Not strictly tool related

[Petey83]

Given there was so much "interest" in my expensive shoes when discussing the AI chisels I was unhappy with I thought I would post this video for people.

It may be of interest to some as John Lobb bespoke are one of the few remaining shoe makers who make their own "lasts" by hand from wood. For those of you who are not initiated into the world of shoes the "last" is the form used to construct the shoe around. It is what gives a shoe its shape and fit.

Almost all lasts in Europe are now made by one large company and are usually made of a plastic material. This company supplies most the higher end shoe manufacturers.
John Lobb bespoke (not to be confused with John Lobb Paris) as a bespoke shoe company make all of thier "lasts" in house by hand from wood and each pair of lasts is made from measurements taken from the customers feet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw3bl6kBz5A

As i said not really a woodworking post but i found the whole documentry rather interesting with the making of the "lasts " being of special interest as I have been reading up on the use of rasps and wood files for shaping wood.

oh and for anyone who though my £450 C& J shoes were ridiculous.... John Lobb start around the £2000 mark :shock: :shock:

 

[Glynne]

I saw this on TV a while ago but thank you for posting the link as I found this and other "By Royal Appointment " really interesting.
I seem to remember the £2,000 was for the first pair of shoes (as it included making the last) and subsequent ones were slightly cheaper ( cheaper being a relative term).
I missed the thread about your shoes but if it's any consolation, I got criticised for suggesting a £28 wheel marking gauge was ridiculous as well. Not spent that much on shoes as yet, but I do have a pair of Russell & Bromley that were about £200 - money very well spent!

 

[nabs]

well, I enjoyed it!

As a callow youth I used to live in Northampton (this was getting on for about 30 years ago) and my then boss was trying to educate me in the ways of the world, which included an explanation of how to dress well on a budget. To be honest his wise words were (and still are) wasted on me as I am an inherently scruffy git, however, he had one very good tip re. Crocket and Jones.

One Saturday he took me to their factory on a Saturday at about 12 and it turned out this was the allotted hour when they sold of their 'subs' - you had to knock to get let in and then one of the factory workers would ask your size and see what they had available, they normally had a few in common sizes so it was pretty usual to come away with a pair. It is too long ago to remember the exact price, but I recall it was not a lot more than you'd pay for a pair of Clarks.

It must have been a pretty well kept secret as I went back for years and never saw another soul there. I could never find the defects in any of my shoes either - they all looked perfect to my untrained eye (apart from being stamped 'subs' on the soul)!

I went back last year and the tradition goes on, however, they have built a glossy show room and my visit seemed to have coincided with the arrival of a coach load of Chinese tourists. Despite the competition (I am also of diminutive size) I still managed to get a couple of pairs of Oxfords for £180 each, which perhaps controversially I still think is good value for money.

 

[Petey83]

I've been to the C&J factory shops several times. I've had 3-4 pairs from there but it's a lottery as to what's there and just how bad the damage is that made it a sub. Most of rest of the "collection" came from the Jermyn street store but when in sale as they never have the hand grades in the factory shop. I think it's only the 2 pairs of country style boots I paid full price for as these never go in sale and I've never seen them in the factory.
For anyone wanting a decent pit of shoes I would always suggest the factory shops in Northampton of either C&J or John Lobb (Paris), Edward Green or Trickers for country style shoes. I tend to avoid Barkers, Church's, Cheaney and Loake as I've found they do not last as well or are made abroad and only finished in Northampton.


I find the whole art of shoemaking fascinating but seeing the lasts being hand made was great as it joined up with woodworking to a degree.
I've watched the rest of the by royal appointment series now and it's truly fascinating although a little depressing when you realise companies like Wedgwood now make 90% of their products abroad now.

 

[D_W]

Here's a short allen edmonds tour. Not "bespoke" (to use words you guys), but unique in the US in that our manufacturing seems to have gone overseas with more ease than English manufacturers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVihz2DbPd8&t=2s

Years ago, I ordered a horween shell to make a razor strop, and I had to wait a long time to get it because Allen Edmonds had a strong appetite for them around the same time I was ordering.

(there are, of course, fully custom one-man shops for individually fitted shoes in the US, but I wouldn't know where to find them on the internet. Certain spots around the country have tastes that might support different things. In the Pacific Northwest, some loggers will still pay to have individually made boots as logging boot manufacturing has gone overseas. I guess there are cowboy boot makers in the southwest, too).

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Linking footwear and wood - Walkley's still make clogs in Hebden Bridge - http://www.clogs.co.uk/ - as does Jeremy Atkinson in Kington, Herefordshire - https://www.clogmaker.co.uk/

(Edit to add - from experience, I can thoroughly recommend both Grenson's of Northampton for 'Sunday best' shoes, and Hoggs of Fife for heavy-duty winter '4x4' shoes.)

 

[Petey83]

I've seen that video before - interesting to see the differences between US and English makers. It's a sad reality that of the English shoe makers only a handful still solely make in the U.K. The history behind John Lobb is really interesting and the people they have made shoes for - I'd love a peek around their last room.

Many of the great heritidge brands in the U.K. Now make the majority of those stuff over seas, even the great Gieves & Hawkes make all their off the peg stuff abroad.

I would say the the states seems to have a healthy small business tool making industry - blue spruce, bridge city toolworks, Hamilton Tools, Bad Axe saws, Hock tools and the. You have the larger people woodpecker and Starett who still make top end products en-mass in the states.... My Starett combi square is one of my most favourite things.

 

[D_W]

Lots of those that you mention are one or two man operations for toolworks (not sure about bridge city. Funny thing about bridge city tools is that I don't know anyone who actually uses them, but they sell a lot and some of the older ones are actually starting to show up in the large tool auctions here in the states - like Martin Donnely's auction).

I was a bit lazy in looking and forgot about another factory maker here - Alden - and when I did a little more research, there are some smaller handmade companies in Maine making $300-$600 shoes that look similar in construction to alden and Allen Edmonds shoes. There were about a dozen actual factories, and after a little more looking, there are still some factory boot makers in the PNW here making rebuildable boots for about 600 bucks). So the quality stuff is still around - the mid market stuff is long gone, though.

Allen Edmonds is more of a straight up factory like you would've found in the US or UK 50 years ago - not necessarily any shortcuts in shoes, but the workers work fast like you'd expect factory workers to do. I am partial to them as makes because they are still relatively affordable but excellent to wear and long wearing. Haberdashery and that kind of stuff (stylish dressing, etc) has less traction here in the states, and things tend to be more functional - at least we think they are. When we see men casually well-dressed over here, we usually assume they're from the UK or continental europe.

There are also some very expensive makers mentioned along with those - one person who does individual to individual work only starting at about 4 grand, other things like that, but I'm sure you can find "makers to the stars and powerful" in every country.