Start shoemaking
Cut, punch and lace real leather into footwear made for your own feet. Start with a pair of lace sandals in a weekend, then work up to stitched shoes. Here's the video that hooks everyone, and everything you need for your first pair.
Space neededA sturdy table
First projectLace sandals in a weekend
Skill levelPatient beginner
Good forWearing what you make
The video that hooks everyone
Making handmade derby shoes in embossed cordovan leather
A shoemaker marks out a big hide of deep red embossed leather and makes a pair of derby shoes by hand at his workbench. Press play and see why it hooks people.
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Tool list
What you need to start
Everything you need for your first project, and nothing you don't. It's a piece of thick leather, a lace and a few hand tools.
Starter kit
01Sole leatherThick vegetable-tanned leather, about 9 to 12 oz (3.5 to 5 mm). One shoulder piece makes several pairs.
02Leather laceAbout 1/8 in. wide, around 5 ft per sandal. Buy extra.
03Utility knife + spare bladesCuts the soles. Thick leather dulls blades fast, so change them often.
04Steel rulerGuides straight cuts and keeps your fingers clear of the blade.
05Cutting matProtects your table and your blade.
06Drive punch, about the width of your lacePunches clean holes through thick leather.
07Mallet + punch boardA poly or rawhide mallet drives the punch. The board takes the hit, not your table.
08Paper, card and a pencilFor tracing your feet and making templates.
09Coarse and fine sandpaperSmooths the edges and roughs the bottom so the sole grips.
The manual tells you what to look for when you buy each one.
- 1Tracing with a tilted pencilHold the pencil straight up against your foot as you trace. A tilted pencil makes the tracing smaller than your foot.
- 2Cutting in one hard passThick sole leather takes many light passes. Pressing hard is how the knife slips and the cut wanders.
- 3Wearing a slick sole outsideA smooth leather sole can be slippery. Rough the bottom with coarse sandpaper and take your first walks on dry ground.
