Thursday 15 September 2016

Stabo Make some Proper Oxford Shoes


Northampton - The home of fine shoes and a great place to learn the gentle craft of Cordwainery.  So armed with note book, camera and an inquiring mind I hopped in the Stabo wagon and motored the 40 miles for the 3 day course.

Over the long weekend we worked on a pair of men's Oxford shoes, transformimg a few pieces of leather, nails, glue and thread into a pair of high quality footwear.  Although, this did take many hours and hundreds of nuanced steps along with specialist tools.  

Here are some of the steps:


Outer and lining cut, skived (seams thinned) stuck together and a first lasting

A second lasting, adding a toe stiffner and preparing the underside for the sole

Preparing the sole, adding a leather rand and preparing the sole and upper for attaching
The workshop, the finished Oxford shoes and a sample pair of our own Chukka style of shoe we are working on.

A great course, learnt new skills, knowledge and contacts.  Feeling inspired to develop our own simple shoe.