Advice on attaching boot soles.

[Ursus]

I need some advice on how to attach some good thick leather soles to my ranger boots, which are just Bohemunds Medieval High Shoe that Ive added knee length cuffs to. Any and all advice would be appreciated.

[grimwulf]

i would recommend something called shoe goo, tho is the boot bottom is smooth leather, you'll wanna ruff it up a bit to be more like suede so the glue can sink in , then that stuff holds great.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-SHOE-GOO-II ... 51c2d5fe01

[wulfgar]

What grimwulf said, or if you can find it Barge Cement.

[caedmon]

I need some advice on how to attach some good thick leather soles to my ranger boots, which are just Bohemunds Medieval High Shoe that Ive added knee length cuffs to. Any and all advice would be appreciated.

Why add soles? I have been wearing my Bohemond Medieval High shoe pretty constantly all summer, for ranging and lots of outdoor work and they've held up awesomely, and protected my feet admirable on asphalt, gravel, rock, grass, woods and bog, and snow.

If you go the Barge route, and they've been used at all, I would strongly advocate a thorough cleaning before attempting to affix.

[Ursus]

I need some advice on how to attach some good thick leather soles to my ranger boots, which are just Bohemunds Medieval High Shoe that Ive added knee length cuffs to. Any and all advice would be appreciated.

Why add soles? I have been wearing my Bohemond Medieval High shoe pretty constantly all summer, for ranging and lots of outdoor work and they've held up awesomely, and protected my feet admirable on asphalt, gravel, rock, grass, woods and bog, and snow.

If you go the Barge route, and they've been used at all, I would strongly advocate a thorough cleaning before attempting to affix.

I require the support and better traction. I think a lot of it as to do with the fact that Im 6'9 and 255. My size and weight on the current soles hasn't held up well with my set up thus far. I would like to be able to stitch the new soles on if anyone has a good tutorial.

[grimwulf]

from the times i have attempted to stitch a sole on , i have found it to hard to finish up in the toe area, the thing is if you can open the shoe/boot up enough to have full access to the sole i would think it would work.
years ago i had a pair of lancelot boots from ren boots .com loved them except the heal on the sole, so i removed the sole got just a flat sole and i did the shoe goo wrapped it tight while drying and they are still going strong, i have passed them on to my nephew and he wears them allot. the boots have seen better days but the soles are still holding strong.
good luck with the stitching tho and if you have any luck, let us know

[Kortoso]

I'd use barge cement as above mentioned, and clean real thorough like as above. Apply glue to both sides and let them dry almost completely before joining the halves. I would even put a weight on the leather overnight.

It's not that much support, you realize. You're just making your soles a little more rigid.
http://www.bootsbybohemond.net/index.ph ... -high-shoe

[Taurinor]

I don't know that an additional leather sole will add traction or support - I think vibram soles and insoles would be better for that. However, on Woodsrunner's Guide, Keith talks about attaching soles to his moccasins: http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com/2 ... n.html?m=1

[Kortoso]

The "slipperiness" of leather-soled shoes is much discussed online.

We are accustomed to walking quite differently in rubber-soled shoes these days. Among other things, we expect to have our shoes grip the ground laterally, so we can apply force along the ground, in a pushing or pulling manner. This was not the case in earlier times, even in the early 20th century.

Also, keep in mind that much leather that you buy that is thick, is generally tanned with saddle-making in mind, and may have a coating on it that will make for slipperier soles.

EDIT:
http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-ca ... hoe/FH.HTM

"...every different style of shoe, comes a different style of walking. People who wouldn't bat an eyelid at, for example, learning how to walk in high heels, assume that walking in moccasins is the same as walking in tennis shoes. There are different strains on the foot that one becomes accustomed to in a short time, but if ignored, can lead to strained tendons, bruised heels and damaged arches. If nothing else, a little more care must be taken before placing one's feet; in other words, look where you're going.

"You might want to try to keep your feet pointed straight forward when you walk, as opposed to modern society's fashionable 45 degree angle. Keep this in a shorter stride that distributes the shock of each foot step along the outside of the foot. Try not to stomp your heel down when you walk, as a pebble can do far more harm in thin soled shoes than it will in more padded soles. Even with out the pebble, you can eventually bruise the heel. These are all things our ancestors knew without thinking, since they learned them as they learned to walk the first time. We, on the other hand, learned to walk on padded soles. Even so, we still twist the occasional ankle.

"With some simple, common sense preparations, akin to those taken every day, there is no reason that most people can not wear period shoes. "

[wulfgar]

What about this stuff
http://www.sodhoppers.com/html/goop.html

[Ringulf]

Yeah that is a home made product and can be made pretty easily yourself if you want, though I think supporting a cottage industry like this one is cool.
I have also seen this mixture process used with coursely ground leather chunks and hideglue but it does not have the longevity of this product.

[Ursus]

Thanks for all the great advice guys! I think Im going to try Wulfgar's suggestion.

[caedmon]

I just realized that I know how it was done in period. It in the Museum of London book, "Shoes and Pattens" page 90. Here you go.

shoes.png (450.02 KiB) Viewed 17298 times

[Greg]

Good old tunnel stitch. Pain in the butt without a curved awl, such as this one, available from a falconry supplier (used in hoodmaking):

http://www.westernsporting.com/FE5246/R ... -info.html

If you have added a welt between the shoe and the initial sole, you can stitch your clump directly to the welt in saddle-stitch fashion, with a tunnel stitch only going through the clump sole...spares you 50% of the sanity lost doing a tunnel stitch to both sides.

[Ringulf]

Good old tunnel stitch. Pain in the butt without a curved awl, such as this one, available from a falconry supplier (used in hoodmaking):

http://www.westernsporting.com/FE5246/R ... -info.html

If you have added a welt between the shoe and the initial sole, you can stitch your clump directly to the welt in saddle-stitch fashion, with a tunnel stitch only going through the clump sole...spares you 50% of the sanity lost doing a tunnel stitch to both sides.

Ooh that's a nice one Greg! I made one out of a small awl (looked more like a wooden dart) that works alright but it looks like the one you have there has a better handle for the purpose. (and can handle much finer work.)