Tag Archives: leatherart

See the pieces of heavy thread laying over each boot? The thread used to sew on the welt is tapered at each end so it can be attached to a bristle, and it’s waxed with a sticky wax first so … Continue reading →

“Honky Tonk Song”

Dale and I are flying to Chicago this weekend for the Shoe Service Institute of America (SSIA) show, and he decided the pair of boots he wanted to wear were the ones in desperate need of a shine and new … Continue reading →

Celastic toe boxes, shaped The “toe box” (or “toe puff” in Europe) is a stiffener that holds and reinforces the toe shape. It’s inserted between the lining leather and the upper leather. Toe boxes can be made of: Leather, which … Continue reading →

I always found it difficult to teach students how to properly shape cowboy boot shank covers (the heavy leather piece over the steel shank). It’s a simple little piece of leather but how it’s shaped determines how well the sole … Continue reading →

Six months ago the future of traditional cowboy boot making was looking rather grim. There are/were three companies left in the world who make wood pegs for shoe making, and all three stopped making them during the pandemic with no … Continue reading →

One shoe is inseamedThe second is left undoneI’m going home now

Me and this indigo alligator have been eyeing each other for months now so today I decided to see if it was actually big enough to make myself the pair of boots I want. I made the patterns, laid them … Continue reading →

I got one of these boots on the last and paused to show it to Flora so she could admire how precisely the design details were in the correct place. She looked at it, and without missing a beat said, … Continue reading →