Materials
Leather, rubber and other
About the Materials
A shoe can be either a dry clean healthy environment for your foot or mold trap. The difference is in the materials. The shoe components for my shoes are always made from vegetable tanned leather. For example, the insole, toe box, heel counters and liners will always be made from vegetable tanned leather. I purchase vegetable tanned upper leather from Italian tanners who produce some of the finest leather in the world.
Vegetable Tanned Leather
Why care about vegetable tanning? Vegetable tanned leather takes longer to produce and is more expensive when finely finished, but it is also one of the oldest methods of tanning leather. Vegetable tanning soaks hides in a tea made from tree leaves and/or bark. Chestnut and oak are very commonly used.
Even if the sustainability of this ancient process doesn’t motivate your shoe purchase, consider this: after careful washing and neutralizing, there are still residual tannins in vegetable tanned leather. Those tannins can kill mold, fungus, mildew, etc. and help to keep the shoe smelling great even after years of continuous wear. Vegetable tanned leather also absorbs moisture so your feet stay dry inside the shoe.
My vegetable tanned leather shoes will give your conscience and your feet a lot to feel good about.
How much leather does it take to make a pair of leather shoes?
A lot – and of different kinds. Leather shoes mean leather uppers and leather components. Below are pictures of the pieces laid out for you to see. The components include: insoles, counters for heel, toe caps, heel lifts, welt, outsoles and sometimes also a midsole (not pictured) which is the same size as the outsole. The upper pictured includes: vamps, quarters, tongues, backstraps, collars, vamp liners and quarter liners. The two pictures combined are 7 feet wide by 2 feet high. All this gets assembled into a neat little package that looks deceptively minimalist.
Other Leathers
Exotic chrome tanned leathers are used by special request only. The European Union has made a concerted effort to cut down the use of chrome in tanning leather. Most of the glues used for shoe repair and construction in the US were banned some time ago in the EU. I use water based glues where possible.
Your health is as important as mine. In limiting my exposure to toxic materials, I limit yours too.
Rubber Soles
I use a range of rubber or “composite” soles – made of rubber and other compounds. These soles vary in thickness and cushion. When using rubber soles, they are almost always Vibram soles from heavy hiking Montagnas to the lightweight Gumlite.
These soles can mostly be used as-is, but sometimes, they must be customized to properly fit the dimensions of custom shoes and boots.
Basalt Fiber
Basalt fiber is a lot like carbon fiber. I have used basalt fiber to provide performance capabilities as needed by the particulars of specific client feet and shoes.
Basalt fiber can replace spring steel as a shank, or be used to make a 2/3 or full length midsole.