Finishing Touches for Bespoke Shoe Heels, Soles, & Bottoms

Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette and our bespoke shoe series where we show you how Amara Hartweber makes a pair of custom shoes from start to finish. You can find all the videos of the playlist here. This is the final video of the shoemaking process and then we can see how they fit and what we do in the try-on stage. Today's video is all about the little gritty details that make bespoke shoes so unique. It's about dying the sole edges, waxing the soles, hammering the last little nails, and so forth. In one word, it's all about finishing and how you finish a shoe makes a unique difference. Everyone is really self-conscious about their finishing because nobody is like a zillion ways of doing it and, you know, I've tried to learn all these different ways thinking like there's one way that's better. There's not. So, to kick off the finishing process, Amara smooths and glasses the shoe. The leather is glassed before applying dyes because it opens up the leather fibers so they take the dye better. It also helps to scrape away a thin layer, thus making it smoother all around. Bones such as elk bones are also used in the process to really create a more dense leather surface and create a certain sheen that is desirable. Of course, you can also add water and burnish, which is the process of applying heat, friction, and pressure to get a darker area. Once the surfaces are prepped, we're ready to dye the leather edges. Basically, that's the heel and the sole edges. Bespoke shoemaker Amara Harg-Weber uses an alcohol-based pigment dye. There are also water-based ones and oil-based ones and your shoemaker may choose whatever they prefer. Amara prefers to use alcohol dyes because they have a strong adherence to the leather from the pigment. It also dries quickly and evenly because, as you know, alcohol evaporates much faster than water. Moreover, the color intensity is not affected by water, which is why she really loves it. Now, can you mix a different type of alcohol, water, and oil-based stains? I don't think so. For me, it's like a system. So, either it has to be alcohol-based or water-based or oil-based because if you cross them, then you get irregular results. Before trying it on a live shoe, Amara uses a scrap piece of leather. Yeah, there's two tones. One is a little bit darker than the other. Amara has different dyes and she can mix them up, too, to get different shades. You can also add a bit of alcohol to change the color. When she applies it on a scrap piece, you have to actually let it fully dry before you see the real color because while still wet, they may seem darker than they actually are. This is one and this is one with two layers. And this is what's on the edge here. That's just like a less amount. Now, in this case, I could choose something that would work well with the dark burgundy brownish upper leather. I wanted something that was a bit darker but I didn't want it to be too dark. So, it's always easier to make something darker. It's not so easy to make something lighter. So, when in doubt, always start lighter and then go gradually darker. Amara uses a brush to carefully and evenly spread the dye on the heel while preventing any forms of drips. This process can also be done with a cotton ball, but at this stage, a brush is quicker as it covers more surfaces more quickly. Subsequently, Amara dyes the edges and then the welt. Notice how even the dye is and you can even admire the fine welt stitching. Subsequently, they're put in front of a fan or maybe a heat gun can be used to dry it more quickly. She first tests the dryness level with her finger and then uses a bone. Basically, she's burnishing the leather and removing excess moisture that way. Also, everything will get smoother. Now, before a layer of wax is applied, she sands everything again just to make sure everything is truly smooth. So, if that surface isn't perfectly smooth, then the shine is not going to be reflected in an even manner. Now, before applying the wax to the sanded areas, Amara hammers in all her nails because sometimes the hammering of the nails can cause the wax layer to crack. So, by hammering the nails before you apply the wax, you don't run that risk. The nails or tacks that are being used have both functional and aesthetic value. Shiny brass nails with a t-shaped head definitely draw more attention. Smaller heads, on the other hand, look finer and more elegant to me. It took Amara a while to find genuine brass tacks without any head that are very fine and elegant. They actually come from Slovenia. It's so magical to open a box of these glittering beautiful nails. I just, I don't know why, just these brass tacks are just so extremely lovely to me. Well, because they're glittery. I mean, who doesn't love shiny glittery stuff? These tacks are also cone-shaped and some shoemakers may prefer the traditional t-shape of a nail. You can discuss with a shoemaker what works best for you. I definitely was all for the finer cone-shaped tacks. To make sure the tack ends up in the right spot, Amara uses a compass-like tool. It helps with spacing so the nails are the same distance from each other but also from the edge. Originally, I would have been okay without any nails but Amara was encouraging and so we got this kind of horseshoe shape and some accentuating nails in the corners and around the tip. Of course, I could have also asked her to become creative and maybe put an initial in there or whatnot. But, considering I'm going to have a rubber piece at it, I'm glad we didn't go to all that extra work. Amara marks where a hole is going to go, uses an awl, and then hammers in the tacks. Amara is very particular of where she puts nails because she definitely doesn't want them to work their way through the sole. Frankly, I don't want nails in my feet, either. To ensure overall smoothness, Amara grinds everything down by machine before a layer of dye is applied. Each layer of dye penetrates less, which is a good sign because it means we're anodizing the leather with a dye. This also means that the leather basically becomes sealed up. Once one shoe is done, she can move on to the other while the first one is drying. Now, the leather is dyed and the decorative nails are hammered in, it's time to apply wax. Now, not all waxes are alike and you want the right wax for the shoe to ensure the right color, shine, and reflection comes through. For example, a clear wax shows the unobstructed original dye color but it's typically prone to cracklings. Therefore, Amara typically chooses a wax that is similar to the original dye color so the two harmonize well together. For this shoe, two types of waxes were used for finishing and sealing the edges. The first one is called Yankee wax. It has more pigments and is used to establish the base color. And with a name like that, it is, of course, from, you guessed it, Germany. Yeah, yeah. Believe it or not. The next one is called Columbus wax. It has fewer pigments and is shinier. Can you guess where it's from? No, not Ohio but Japan. Slovenian tags, German and Japanese waxes, English and Italian leather, all made in the U.S. You can see globalization is alive and well even in bespoke shoemaking. Before Amara applies wax in the welt area, she uses a special tool which is chisel-like and helps to accentuate these stitches on the welt. This is really just done for visual appeal. Now, again, one final light sanding, a bit of burnishing, and now we're ready to wax. We're putting on wax and that wax is going to melt into and seal the shoes as well as give shine, some pretty shine. Amara warms the wax with an alcohol lamp. Honestly, you can use a heat gun. It's less beautiful and dramatic but just as functional. I concur. Amara applies the wax with a hammer-shaped iron. There are other ways to apply it, including using a machine, but Amara prefers this way. The hammer tool has to be heated up to the exact right temperature. If it's too hot in temperature, the Of course, she tests the right temperature with her finger. Here, you can see her apply more pigmented Yankee wax to the heel in rubbing motions. Some shoemakers press the iron directly into the wax to heat and apply it that way. That method doesn't work for Amara, though. Instead, she follows the Goldilocks principle, which means not too much, not too little, just the right amount. The iron is then rubbed over the wax to be applied to the heel. Everything is evenly heated and distributed that way. This helps to, on the one hand, shape the soles but also to keep the wax layers in place. Now, the wax is burnished into the heel with a cloth, but this ensures smoothness and a good shine. The Yankee wax layer is applied a second time, then ironed and burnished. And third time is the charm, applied in the same way again. Now, having three layers of wax not only ensures that the leather is protected, but it also gives this visual depth when you look at the shoe. If there are any minor blemishes, Amara tries to touch them up. Here, she just uses some dye with a fine brush. Having finished with Yankee wax on the heel, Amara then applies the Yankee wax to the rest of the sole leather in pretty much the same process, except that she uses different tools for different portions. The iron shapes are slightly different. Ideally, the shape of the tool conforms with the edge that she is waxing. For example, here you can see the edger iron in action. Amara has a treasure trove of different tools. Some she got as a gift, others she bought, and sometimes she didn't even know what exactly they were for when she got them. I have several boxes of tools, and at the time, I didn't know what they were for. And so, every little while, I go through and find new treasures, and this was a treasure that I just found. So, after applying multiple layers of Yankee wax, it's time for the Columbus wax. Unlike the Yankee wax, Columbus wax doesn't have to be heated. It's just there to provide shine. Amara applies it directly to the edges in just a single layer because if you use too much of it, she says, it can crack. Amara polishes it with a cloth, and interestingly, she uses only natural fibers. Finally, the heels and edges are all finished. They're dyed, they're Yankee waxed, Columbus waxed, shiny in all their glory. I think Amara is happy too. Are we done yet? Not quite. With the heels and edges finished, it's now sole time. For this shoe, it meant a nice fiddleback waist. Yes, you guessed it right. Amara first creates a template that separates the sole area from the waist area. I think it helped that I had sent her some images of sole finishes that I liked. She looked at the pictures and then applied lines onto the shoes. You can see how she's tracing everything and how she compares the template to what she traced. Here, you can see her tracing directly into the sole, a comparison of the template with the actual sole. The template helps her to give her the lines where she has to apply the dye. Of course, first, the sole waist has to be glassed to make everything smooth and receptive for the dye. She also creates distinct dividing lines that are scored into the leather so there's a clear dividing line. Now, it's clear where the waist ends and the sole starts. After selecting the proper width and slant of the paintbrush, it's time to apply the dye. As she's working, Amara realizes that she forgot a small step. I burnished this leather on the inside of the heel. I forgot to break it open. On the bottom part, the fibers are all loose and fuzzy. It's more absorbent. Here, Amara is able to compensate for this misstep. But, in general, it's better to break the leather before dyeing it so fibers can take up the dye more easily. I'm glad Amara is the kind of shoemaker who's very upfront and open about the mistakes, but then also has solutions in her repertoire to fix it. Once Amara is happy with the consistency, she cleans up any areas where there may have been some bleeding of the dye. Ultimately, what she wants is a sharp, clean line. First, everything is sanded, then glassed, and she uses a scraper to clean everything out around the heel area. The grinding machine is used to finish the edges. Amara uses a dye pen dipped into the dye color to create about a millimeter-wide line around the edges of the soles and heels. Yes, one millimeter is really small. It's about 1 25th of an inch wide. But, that small line really helps define the lines and it makes a difference in the overall look. Last but not least, water is sprayed in the bottom of the sole, which is then massaged by hand like Japanese Wagyu cows. This ensures a smooth and even texture of the leather. Again, I'll be walking on them, so I'm not too concerned about that part. I mean, who doesn't love a good massage? Before Amara works on the next shoe, she lets the first one dry, then she spot checks again, maybe a little dye pen, and it's everything evened out the way she wants it to. Now, if you take a look at the color and the depth and the finish of the fiddleback waist, I asked Amara to emulate that of a violin because a fiddle is a violin, and so I thought it was an ironic twist to have it colored in that same way. Obviously, as a very creative person, she tried different things and I think she really succeeded in the finishing of the waist. You can also see her that she uses the elkbone once again to evenly distribute the dye in the leather and to smooth everything out. Now, on the waist, you can also apply wax but Amara waits with that until the shoe is completely dry. Why? Well, otherwise, water can be trapped inside the leather and it's never advantageous in organic material because it may mold or bacteria may grow or whatnot. And with that, we are finished with finishing. Now, the last have to come out, the shoes have to be tried on, and the shoe trees have to be made. With that being said, stay tuned for the next video.