Counters

Q: I just became interested in making shoes a few months ago and bought a book called How to Make Your Own Shoes by Mary Wales Loomis. The book did provide some basic info about shoe parts and tools, but it was catered to cloth pumps and I wanted to make leather boots. So basically I decided to wing it, balancing some of the info and advice in the book with what I found in some of my own boots when I cut them up. I've definitely made a lot of mistakes along the way, but one major confusing issue for me is that of counters. I went to a shoe supply place here in NY and they sold me some counters that are thick plastic and need to be heated in order to be used. A friend who took a class in shoemaking years ago told me that this type of counter requires using some sort of machinery to shave it down to the right size. I felt really confused and overwhelmed by this so tried to make my own counters. The book I had suggested making them with 3 layers of buckram molded over the heel. I tried this, but the results were sort of disheartening. I finally tried using some card stock/board that i bought at an art supply store and this seemed to work pretty well. Will the cardboard work or is it too weak? Do you have any suggestions for counters?

A: Counters are tough. They have to deal with two very different parts of the foot. The bottom of the heel which is brutal, and the inner heel which is very sensitive.

I tried to make my own at first as well. With very little success. I formed vegetable tanned leather over a last. While it was plenty sturdy, it was like stepping into a clamp. When I took a class with Gaza Bowen, she had us use that plastic/melting method. She said that before they found this material that it used to take a half day or more to make the counters, rather than a half hour. I wonder if it's the same material that was recommended to you, if it's the same as the stuff you got in New York, I'd love to know the name of it.

As far as I know, you won't need any special tools. You do need to shave it down at the edges, but you can do that with a belt sander or sand paper. You just want to make sure that, like the leather, it doesn't have a lip. Once you've got a smooth edge, you just put this material in the oven at about 225º until it becomes soft. It should be just hot enough that you can hold it for a second, but not so melted that you will burn yourself. You'll be able to see it wilt slightly on the oven rack. Then you need to glue it to the inside of the lining. The counter will then be sandwiched between the lining and the upper. I have more pictures of this process on the flickr page.

I think card-stock or illustration board may work, but I would sandwich it in between fabric layers with contact cement between all of the layers. Often the combination of layers and the contact cement will create quite a bit of strength. You may also want to insert a bit of padding, maybe just a layer of leather over the counter, but under the lining.

The one thing I'd try to do though is test it many times, maybe even see if you could insert this kind of counter into an old pair of shoes and walk with it. Boots are such an intense investment in time and effort that I'd hate to see them rendered unwearable if a certain method didn't work.

There's also a great book that has some good photography for shoes and an explanation of the process. It didn't help me with counters, but it's a great reference.
http://www.amazon.com/Handmade-Shoes-Men-Lasz-Vass/dp/3895089281

Q: The counter material I got looks a little different - it came in pre-cut shapes to use on the heel. When I heat it and try to smooth it over the heal I get lots of bumps and stuff. So I guess I have to keep practicing this and trying to sand it down better afterward. I hadn't realized that it was supposed to be glued too. Are you applying glue and then sticking the hot counter right on top of the wet glue? Or gluing after you've already sort of molded the counter?

Also I really enjoyed seeing the photos of your process - it answered some more questions. If you have any other photos of the shoemaking process it would be great to see more on flickr!

A: Cool, yeah, I think the photos are so much more helpful than an explanation. I'm trying to figure out how to organize it in a way that makes sense, but is also fast to do.

In terms of the gluing, I did it with contact cement. A layer on the blue mystery material and a layer on the lining of the shoe. (Make sure you put the glue layer face up in the oven)

Once the Mystery material is heated, you then stick the mystery material to the lining and hammer it smooth.

That said, it's kind of a funky process. I bet there's a better way to do it.