Wooden shoe

“ When the under-surface of a horse's foot resembles in form the outside of a saucer, fitting a shoe becomes a work of art. Very often the wall is brittle and broken away and it is most difficult to find sufficient bearing-surface on the foot for a shoe. Many of these feet may be safely shod with a narrow shoe that rests only on the wall and the intermediate horn between the wall and sole. ”

“ The filling is woven into a lanyard, which is a light strip of hide firmly laced to the frame through a double row of holes drilled in the wood. The center filling is woven of heavy strands of rawhide, in a fairly coarse mesh, because this part of the shoe must bear the weight of the body and the brunt of wear. The end fillers for toe and heel are woven of lighter strands of hide, and the mesh is, of course, smaller. ”

“ The brush now smooths the surface of the sole, filling in all small holes with wax and leaving the sole absolutely perfect. Finally, the shoe is placed against a rapidly revolving brush which finishes the uppers with a luster that would make any ordinary boot-black green with envy. Another operation that fully completes the process is the hardening of the edges with hot steel, which ends in producing an edge that is as hard as iron. When it is polished with a black dye, it looks exactly like a new sole. ”

“ The shoe is rolled without a heel calk, so that the frog-pressure may be readily secured without heating and drawing the iron:—the nail holes are punched so that the nail furnished by us with the shoe may be driven, without the use of the pritchel to punch out the holes. The shoe, being made of the best quality of iron, may be bent cold to adapt it to the shape of the hoof. ”

“ To the moose hunter snow-shoes are often an absolute necessity, and trapping in many cases would be impossible without them. They are thus brought fully within the scope of our volume, and we give a few simple directions for their manufacture. Our illustration gives the correct shape of the shoe. The framework should consist of a strip of ash, hickory or some other elastic wood, bent into the form indicated and wound around the ends with twine or strips of hide. ”

“ This natural bearing surface is what we want to utilize in shoeing. We put on a shoe merely to prevent excessive wear of the hoof. If we can protect the wall the frog can take care of itself, and we have only so to apply our shoe that we do not damage any useful structure or interfere with any natural function. ”

“ There are other uppers that are treed, [142] such as wax calf, for instance, and split uppers, which are used in heavy shoes. The main idea of treeing a shoe is to give it a smooth and finished appearance and a good “feel.” In the regular treeing operation they use liquid preparations, often called composition, and these are worked into the upper, filling it to some extent. French chalk is used a great deal in some uppers, and oil or some form of grease or gum is also used, all of which make the upper as it was when first put on the cutting board of the shoe factory. ”

“ To those custom shoemakers who continue trying to fit everybody without any specially-made lasts it is suggested that in some of the most difficult they make a trial shoe, the upper for it being cut from some cheap material, such as cotton drilling for representing serge or cloth, and split-leather or sheepskin for leather uppers, while a piece of insole-leather will answer for the bottom. ”

“ To restore the natural action of the foot by putting the bearing on the frog, is the chief object of the system we advocate, and the Goodenough shoe is designed especially to provide for that first and last necessity. ”

“ If a foot came to the farrier in a perfectly normal condition, never having been subjected to the destructive process of common shoeing, the directions for putting on the Goodenough shoe would be simply, to dress the foot by paring or rasping the wall until a shoe of proper size laid upon the prepared crust would give an even bearing with the frog all over the foot ”

“ Hot irons are often used on black shanks and bottoms to give added hardness and luster to the finish.
The turned or turn shoe is a woman’s fine shoe that is made wrong side out, then turned right side out. The sole is fastened to the last, and the upper is twisted over, the wrong side out. Then the two are sewed together, the thread catching through a channel or shoulder cut in the edge of the sole. The seam does not come through to the bottom of the sole, nor to any part inside where it would chafe the foot. ”

“ The ordinary, light hunting-shoe is incomparably superior to the new invention in every respect; indeed, from the presence of toe-calks, the defective position and form of the nail-holes, and its clumsiness, this shoe is a very perilous and unsuitable one for the hunting-field, or even for ordinary road purposes, while the resuscitated method of cold-fitting makes it still less secure. ”

“ See that all nails are clinched. With a level bottom, smooth joints and edges, the shoe can be made to look like a new shoe and yet feel like an old one.
On account of the heel being more directly under the body and the first part to strike the ground, it generally wears out first. For this reason in repairing a heel great care must be taken to see that good [170] leather and solid work are put into it. Pull off the worn top piece and see that what is left is hammered down solidly. Next split a piece of solid, easy-cutting, scrap sole leather, so that two pieces can be made out of one. ”

“ Every contrivance permanently to fix the shoe on the foot without the use of nails, has failed; but a make-shift shoe has been contrived, and is to be procured at most saddlers, which is easily carried in the pocket, and put on in a minute or two if a shoe is lost in hunting or on the road; and which will remain securely attached to the foot, and prevent injury to it, during a journey of thirty or forty miles. ”

“ A shoe should be as wide as the natural bearing surface of the foot, so that it may occupy the whole of the space offered by nature as useful for bearing. Even when it is wider no harm is done until the width is such as to afford a lodgement for stones, etc., between the concave sole and the web of the shoe.
A thick shoe raises the foot from the ground and thus removes the frog from bearing—a very decided disadvantage. It also requires the larger sizes of nails to fill up the deep nail holes, and very often renders the direction of the nail holes a matter of some difficulty. ”

“ But we subject them to such unnatural conditions by pressure from above over the instep, by adding high heels to our boots and shoes, by taking away all yielding qualities from the soil on which we tread, that very probably they may want artificial support as much as the soles of the feet want artificial protection. If, now, we find that an old, easy shoe has worked the inside surface of its sole into convexities which support the arches, we are safe in imitating that at any rate. We shall have a new shoe with some, at least, of the virtues of the old one. ”

“ A Rodway shoe has two longitudinal grooves and three ridges on its ground-surface. The outer groove carries the nails, [Pg 56] and the inner groove lightens the shoe and increases the foot-hold. It is not the number of grooves or ridges that prevents slipping; it is the absence of a continuous flat surface of iron, and the existence of irregularities which become filled up with sand and grit. A four-grooved shoe has no more anti-slipping properties than a three-grooved, and a one-grooved shoe is as good as either, although it cannot stand the same amount of wear. ”

“ Did you ever stop to think how many different qualities you expect in a shoe? You want the sole to be hard and firm so as to protect your feet in rough walking; and also soft and yielding so as to feel springy and not board-like. You want the upper leather to keep the cold air from coming in; and also porous enough to let the perspiration out. Your feet are not exactly like those of any one else; and yet you expect to find at any shoe store a comfortable shoe ready-made. ”

“ In this country most are hand-made—the front shoes from new bar-iron, and the hind from old shoes welded together and drawn out under heavy hammers. Probably no method of working iron gives such good results as this in producing a hard, tough shoe that will withstand wear. The custom of the trade is to keep a stock of shoes suitable for all the regular customers. ”

“ The Hunting Shoe.—The hunter’s shoe is different from that of the hackney in shape as well as weight. It is not so much bevelled off as the common concave seated shoe. Sufficient space alone is left for the introduction of a picker between the shoe and the sole, otherwise, in going over heavy ground, the clay will get in, and by its tenacity loosen, and even tear off the shoe. The heels likewise are somewhat shorter, that they may not be torn off by the toe of the hind-feet when galloping fast, and the outer heel is frequently and injudiciously turned up to prevent slipping. ”

“ We examine carefully to see that no stub of nail is left in. The heels will be found long and hard. Our object being frog-pressure, to get the vivifying action of this tactile organ upon the ground, we pare down the whole wall; we soon come to signs of a corn—perhaps a drop of blood starts; but as we do not intend to put the weight upon the heels, we are not alarmed. Having cut all we can from the heels and still finding that the frog, when the shoe is laid on, can not touch the ground, we knock down the last two calks and draw the heel of the shoe thin ”

“ In the common system of shoeing, to avoid slipping in winter upon the ice, and in the cities upon the wet, slimy surface of pavement, or to assist draft, it is customary to weld a calk upon the toe of a shoe, and to turn up the heels to correspond. ”

“ The workman, it will be noticed, cuts the leather upon a sloping bench, exactly like that of the shoemaker already engraved.
The warmth and mildness of the East, rendered a close, warm shoe unnecessary; and, indeed, in the present day, they partake there more of the character of slippers; and the foot, thus unconfined by tight shoes, and always free in its motion, retained its full power and pliability: and the custom, still retained in the East, of holding a strap of leather, or other substance, between the toes, is represented in the Theban paintings ”

“ One very important thing to be attended to, is, that the golashes and toecaps of all boots should come above or below the joint of the great toe. Very frequently the edge of the leather comes at the very worst part of the foot; and, strange enough, sometimes we see a hard seam put exactly on the corn, and running across the bunion. If no leather be put at all, the boot or shoe being made entirely of stuff, frequently a secret enemy lurks between the outside and the lining, in the shape of a leather side-lining ”

“ Besides good, tough iron for the shoe, we need an anvil with a round horn and a small hole at one end, a round-headed turning-hammer, a round sledge, a stamping hammer, a pritchel of good steel, and, if a fullered shoe is to be made, a round fuller. Bodily activity and, above all else, a good eye for measurement are not only desirable, but necessary. A shoe should be made thoughtfully, but yet quickly enough to make the most of the heat. ”

“ The Oxonian Shoe is, however, a very useful article, and if properly made, is the best shoe for walking and for wear. It laces up in front with three or four holes, and sits snug about the quarters and heel; the vamp comes well above the joint, and never hurts, by seams or pressure, the little toes: if it were not for the seam across the instep, girding and making it difficult to get the shoe on, and the frequent breaking at that part from the strain it undergoes, no shoe could be better. ”

“ A narrow strip of leather that is sewed to the upper of a shoe with an insole leaving the edge of the welt extending outward, so that the outsole can be attached by sewing through both welt and outsole, around the outside of the shoe. ”

“ If the case is recent, shoe as advised in our paragraph upon "Incipient Unsoundness," being sure to cut the heel well down, putting the bearing fully upon the frog and three-quarters of the foot. If the hoof is weak from long contraction and defective circulation, lower the heels and whole wall, until the frog comes well upon the ground, and shoe with a "slipper," or "tip," made by cutting off a light shoe just before the middle calk, drawing it down and lowering the toe-calk partially. ”

“ Most woodsmen prefer to leave both frame and filling in their natural condition.
The Indian-made snowshoe is always thong. However, Indian makers are likely to make the toe small and leave the wood to form a rather heavy heel. Some few woodsmen and sportsmen may prefer this model, but the majority favor a fuller toe and a lighter heel for general use, because the regulation Indian model, cutting down at toe and heel equally deep, increases the difficulty of easy traveling over soft snow, although it is a good shoe when used over broken trails. ”

“ Counters and toe boxes (stiffening which is placed between the heel and toe cap and the vamp of shoe) are prepared in the same room with the heels. After they are made, they are sent to the making or bottoming room, where the shoe upper is awaiting them. As the counter is an important feature in the life of a shoe, much depends upon the quality of leather that goes into it.
The sole is next fed to a “splitting machine,” which reduces it to an absolutely even thickness. ”

“ The top of the foot being covered with leather, thus allowing the perspiration to escape, the gutta-percha sole acts only as a protection, thus avoiding the unpleasant effects realized in wearing India-rubber shoes. Shoes or boots may be made, if desired, by cementing the edges of the inner sole and outer sole only. This process obviates the objection just alluded to. We have manufactured shoes in this manner, which have worn at least one-third longer than when pegged or sewed, the materials being the same. For perfectly dry walking they are a very desirable article. ”