The Cobbler's Children

We need to start re-skilling.

Now.

Not 5 years from now, once the price of gas has doubled, or a UK Bond Default has left the economy reeling, and the urge to repair vs. replace, and quality over quantity finally takes hold in North American markets.

Now.

For many years, I have had a bit of a shoe fetish. Not an ‘Imelda Marcos' kind of acquisition fetish, but a fascination with footwear; how it was designed, how it was made, and how it was repaired. It probably came from the 5 years or so after University where the only job I could seem to find was in shoe sales, but the curiosity has stayed with me for some time.

So for the first time ever, I finally had the convergence of time and resources needed to give shoemaking a try first-hand.

The teacher in question was none other than Robert Land. An institution if you’re at all into the historical re-enactment scene, he’s been making civil war/battle of 1812 reproduction shoes in his workshop near Guelph for years. His shipping terms are no-nonsense, but his commitment to quality is well known.

I made it to the workshop for just after 9:00 on a Saturday morning, and without even pausing for me to take my jacket off, Robert launched into a brief description of how we would be spending the day, and we were off to his shed looking for lasts (the moulds shoes are based on).

Over the course of the next 8 hours I stopped three times: Twice to pee, and once to eat a muffin. The rest of the time I was moving non-stop; cutting leather, sewing the uppers, gluing the uppers to the midsole, nailing, stretching, grinding and polishing.

In that time, I made one pair.

To be fair, Robert tells me that once he gets going, he and his helper can complete 15 pairs a day each – pretty good turnout for a small operation.

Here’s the catch: Robert is not an old fashioned ‘Pinocchio’ cobbler bent over his workbench with nothing but a sharp knife and pair of needles. No, he has what would probably be $250,000 worth of industrial equipment at his disposal. That is to say if he were to buy it new, and not at close out auctions as shoemaker after shoemaker in Ontario systematically fell under the weight of cheap overseas imports flooding the market.

With all of that equipment, and an unlimited supply of propane and electricity, Robert's two person shop can turn out 30 pairs a day. One piece of equipment in his workshop was rated for 400 pairs a day, but was so fiddly that neither of us could imagine such a high rate of production while using it.

Now imagine what it would be like if that equipment wasn’t there, or if it were prohibitively expensive to run, or if the parts simply weren’t available?

After a day of steep learning curves, the finished product you can see for yourself above, and I like to think I took to it fairly well.

Not bad handiwork considering it was the first time I had used a sewing machine, much less a double needled machine sewing through leather. Also, to be perfectly honest, he completed several of the most difficult tasks, including grinding the heel, and stitching on the sole using a McKay Stitcher - a large sewing machine that looked like something my Junior High Shop Teacher would have called 'the widow maker.'

I asked him though, based on what he had seen me do, if he thought it would be possible for me to sew a pair of shoes entirely by hand. No machinery.

His reply was ‘no’, he didn’t think so, because I (or at least most people) would give up in frustration.

“It’s possible, in theory, to make a pair of shoes with no tools other than a knife and some leather needles.” Robert explained. “The question is, would it look anything like what we currently think of as a ‘shoe’?”

So now, of course, my next challenge is to sew a pair entirely by hand. I’m going to start with a nice easy pair of moccasin style shoes (like a Topsider style), and work my way up from there.

In the meantime, I will repeat my call for an increased return in Hamilton to learning those skills we will need in the near future. Not in a hobbyist’s context, although that is an important first step, but an industrial one.

If some enterprising handyperson who had a good knowledge of bicycles were to combine Kenneth Moyle’s article about the pleasures of commuting on a Dutch style Bicycle, with Undustrial’s ideas about making those bikes right here in Hamilton, some pretty exciting things might just happen.

I nominate Sean.

Unfortunately, if Robert's experience is one to judge by, governments and banks won't exactly be beating down the doors to help these new manufacturers get underway. That is a serious oversight that needs to be remedied while capital is still (relatively) abundant. Securing local sources of financing and expertise will be crucial to helping Hamilton find it's feet quickly should the ground underneath the global economy start to tremble.

As for you, is there an ‘old fashioned’ skill you have always been curious about? Have you jumped on the knitting bandwagon yet, or maybe even something more esoteric like spinning your own yarn, or marquetry, or herbal remedies? Perhaps the time to start learning is now, because if shoe-making is any indication, the ramp-up time for these skills may be uncomfortably long, and our leisure to learn them surprisingly short.