These boots are made with a green chrome free Italian leather uppers and orange vegetable tan Italian leather liners, basalt fiber shank, walnut heels and Vibram Montana soles. No seams on the front or rear of the upper. I used almost every shoemaking, pattern and part making technique I know to make these, and learned a few new ones too. They are light and I believe the non-rigid platform makes them more comfortable to walk in.
Last Modification
I thought I understood what my client wanted when she asked for a square toe. I was thinking Frye boot from the 90s. I was wrong. This is a very highly modified toe with some sharp lines and corners. I used some softer materials when mocking it up, but the finished toe was made with Apoxie Sculpt.
Boot Shaft Crimping
I really wanted to eliminate both the back seam as well as the front seam. That meant crimping the entire boot shaft front and rear. Often with a boot that has been “crimped” — the shaping to make a seamless transition to the boot shaft — only the vamp is crimped and the upper part of the boot shaft is sewn on. For these boots, there is only a single piece in the front and single piece in the back (for the upper in green, I did ). The crimping is rather extreme for the front. I used the same technique to eliminate the seam in the back.
Platform and Heels
The soles are rugged Vibram Montagnas. They cover a platform built with a somewhat rigid foam. Because the platform is not completely stiff, they are softer to walk in. The structure to support the shape and the lift of the heel is achieved by reinforcing the insole with a generous basalt fiber shank. The basalt shank provides a lot of stiffness with very little weight. I used walnut to make the heels, then dyed them black.
It’s never easy to make a matching pair of anything by hand, but I think these came out very nicely.
