• Introduction    
  • Tools and Supplies    
  • Sewing Notes    
  • Safety Notes    
  • Material Selection    
  • Getting the Pattern    
  • From Duct Tape 
    to Cardboard       
  • Pattern Adjustments   
  • Cutting out the Pieces   
  • Preparing the Sole   
  • Starting Construction   
  • Assembling The Back   
  • Applying The Lacing Blocks   
  • Making Buttons   
  • Attaching the back to 
    the front       
  • Cementing the Upper 
    to the Sole       
  • Sewing the Upper 
    to the Sole       
  • Attaching the Rubber Sole   
  • Sewing on the Buttons   
  • Lacing Up   
  • Glossary 
         
  • Design Home   
    •      		Click to see the full image...

    Tools and Supplies

    Or: Two great tastes that taste great together©...

    It is possible to sew a pair of boots by hand. If you consider all the time you spend watching TV, or waiting at stoplights, or waiting for your code to compile, time when your hands are otherwise unoccupied, it is possible. I've even done it: my very first pair was made by hand, although I didn't enjoy it much. I've always been a firm believer in using machines whenever possible.

    Hence, the bandsaw. I use it for cutting soles out of that thick heavy leather...beats the hell out of destroying a pair of scissors every time I want a pair of soles.

    I'm making the assumption, by the way, that you already have some familiarity with the rudiments of working with leather.

    Tools

    • Strong scissors -or- a rotary cutter (or both)
    • Leather needles -or- a stitching awl
    • Gang punch (I like the smaller ones)
    • Mallet

      Or you can dispense with all that crap and buy a machine that can handle the strain (that's what I did)

    Supplies

    • 5-6 oz leather: cow, elk, deer, buffalo, about 11 square feet
    • 9-10 oz tooling hide, about two square feet
    • Strong thread (I use upholstery nylon - at least size 69 or higher)
    • A beeswax cake (if your thread isn't already waxed)
    • Barge® cement
    • Barge® cement thinner
    • Leather dye
    A quick discussion about the supplies. First off, I like cow hide, or when I'm feeling wealthy, bullhide. Buffalo is a little stiff for my taste, elk and deer make very soft, supple boots but you'll be constantly pulling them up. Cow seems a nice compromise. Bullhide is thicker by the way, and makes a very nice, very substantial boot.

    Cement: Barge®. When the nice man down at the leather store tells you his store brand cement is just a good if not better than Barge®, he isn't lying to you: he's selling you his product, which is his job. Take it from me: for holding the soles of your boots on, it isn't as good as Barge®. Barge®. Hands down. No compromises.

    However, having said that, it is useful to note that Barge® is a little difficult to come by in any quantity. For a project like these boots, you're going to need quite a few of those little tubes, so it's better to buy the quart can if you can find someone to sell it to you. The problem is that it has a MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) that could wallpaper my dining room, and many distributors are reluctant to sell it to private individuals, so bring your tax number or make friends with the salesperson, and be prepared to pay extra for shipping.

    Update: you can get it from The Leather Factory in quart or gallon sizes, but you have to have a tax number.

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