Lasting by hand

Are our shoes are hand lasted? well sort of. The toe and seat are lasted by machine and there's a reason why. Lets jump right into it.

Side lasting done by hand

These machines exert the same amount of force throughout the day, unlike a hand-lasted shoe that depends solely on the strength of the person lasting the shoes. So whether it is the start of the day or the end of the day, there could lead to be varying degrees of energy exerted on the shoes, especially if he or she was lasting multiple pairs. However, in a factory where there are hundreds or thousands of pairs being lasted in a day, then the machine is a no-brainer. It only adds to the consistency of the finished shoe.

This is not to say that lasting by hand has no merits. It definitely does, and this is most evident at the waist of the last. The waist or side of the shoes are asymmetric with both inward and outward curves, and a machine would not be able to do justice to this. A machine can apply force evenly over a dimension like the toe or the seat of the last. The sides can be done by machine however This is a process we do by hand for every shoe. The side lasting as it is called is done the old-fashioned way with a trusty pair of leather pliers.

This requires skill and an understanding of how different types of leathers behave. Years of muscle memory and skill kick in and allow a shoemaker to know how much to pull, push and work the leather. By avoiding any excess pulling of leather, it allows the upper to keep its original shape and feel. We started the 3d upper attachment technique precisely to aid in this goal.

The 3d upper attachment method that we use in our shoemaking helps introduce shape to the shoes pre-lasting so we don't need to use as much force to last, allowing the leather to be more true to its original character.

 As a factory we constantly try to find a balance between processes that have merits to being performed by hand or by machine.

Do let me know what you think and if you'd like more such articles.