Boots For Guys

Bootmaking is a centuries-old art and a beautiful one.

Bootmaking is a centuries-old art and a beautiful one. Sadly, in the hurry-up days of the 21st century, where nearly everything we wear is manufactured in huge, impersonal factories in the Far East, it is an art that is seldom encountered anymore, except in a few small intimate workshops like ours, in the village of La Boupere, in the Vendée region of western France.

To give you a better appreciation of the long hours of work, care and craftsmanship that goes into making every pair of our custom and made-to-order boots we have put together this brief outline of the process, a little peek behind the scenes. We hope you will find it interesting. We love what we do, and so if you have further questions about how your new pair of boots will be made, or want to know more about the fine art of bootmaking, please feel free to contact us and we'll be happy to explain.

We also attend many events and exhibitions around France and the UK, and if you would like to meet us, please contact us for the dates and addresses of these venues. We'd love to talk. Similarly, if you are passing through the Vendée, we would be delighted to show you our range of boots, first-hand, and give you a tour of the workshop.

Making The Unique Pattern For Your Bespoke Pair Of Boots

Depending on the style of boot you have chosen, we use as a basis for your order one of a number of different types of Lasts. These are the foot-shaped blocks that a boot-maker uses to create the shape and character of the boot. Each last is adapted to a particular style in our range. Because a separate last is needed for every individual foot size, as well as for every style, we have hundreds of them in our workshop.

After selecting the correct last for style and your general foot size, we modify it to the measurements which you supplied with your order. In other words, we might widen the last around the ball of the foot or build up the instep so that your new pair of boots will fit perfectly and be uniquely your pair of boots. It's why we have you take so many measurements when you order.

The next step in the process is the preparation and cutting of the card pattern that will allow us to make the leg of the boot. Once again, we start with a pre-prepared set of basic patterns for each foot size, and from these we create the unique pattern for your particular measurements. From this pattern, we make additional patterns for the lining leather and the uppers. Each of these custom patterns is then marked with the customer's name and then filed along with the full order details. This ensures complete traceability for a future order.

The Leather Cutting or 'Clicking'

We only use the finest quality leathers. These are full grain and chrome tanned and sourced from the finest tanneries in France or Italy. For certain applications we also use "Box calf" hides, which come from the world-famous Tannery du Puy in France. This leather is amongst the most expensive, and when boots are ordered in this material, we have to make an extra charge to cover the additional material costs. The leathers we use for our linings are calf. All of the leather for our boots is hand-cut using each customer's unique pattern.

Now comes the artistry. Creating a boot is in essence crafting a beautiful three-dimensional object from several flat elements, building it up around uniquely shaped lasts and patterns and using leather, one of the world's most beautiful and tactile materials. This is an art than cannot be hurried. To stitch or "close" a boot requires no less than 24 or 25 different operations.

The various sections are assembled step by step. The simplest of these operations are carried out on a flat surface. The more difficult and complex are worked by hand. Even today no machine exists that can replace the human hand in these tasks, which is what makes the decades of experience and the sharp-eyed dexterity of our team so irreplaceable.

Soles

The sole is the foundation of a boot and getting it right is the key to crafting a pair of perfectly fitting boots. As genuine custom bootmakers we make each boot sole to your specific measurements. This is something that sets us apart from most other so-called custom bootmakers who typically source their soles in bulk quantities from companies who sell them in standard widths and sizes.

Assembly

After the linings and uppers have been stitched and bonded together the 'counters' and 'puffs' are added to the toes and heels. What are these? Toe puffs are the reinforcing we use in the toe of the boot to help it maintain its shape and give added protection. Heel counters do the same thing in the heel of the boot. Both are made with a thermo-reactive material that we form with heat and hold in place when we 'last' the toe and seat the back part of the boot.

From here we proceed with what is one of the most difficult and delicate operations in the whole bootmaking process: the assembling and stretching of the uppers on the foot last. This is carried out partly by machine and finished by hand.

We then machine off the excess leather and prepare to stitch the sole onto the boot. Prior to this we remove and sole together. The leather tongue is then glued.

The sole is then pre-positioned and held in place by a strong adhesive, in the case of a leather sole we rout out a groove (see photo).

We then stitch the uppers and sole together, the leather tongue is then glued down over the stitching and the sole sanded to a smooth finish.

For a rubber or composite sole the procedure is slightly different, we stitch a spacer to the uppers and them press assemble the finishing sole to this.

The outer edge of the soles are now finished, we mill them with a high speed (12000 rpm) cutter. The sole is then finely sanded and polished. On a leather sole, once the milling and sanding has been carried out we wax the base and edges. This is then brushed and buffed. If requested, we can add a rubber sole protection prior to carrying out the finishing operation.

The Finishing Shop

The first stage in finishing is a complete clean-up of both the interior and exterior of the boot. We remove any traces of adhesive and tracing pencil and the cushioned leather in sole is then fitted into the foot bed. The boot is then placed on a machine that has a heated aluminium leg, this is articulated and can be expanded by means of a compressed air-ram. We carry out a full measurement check at this stage, for the pressure applied to the boot also corrects any folds in the lining. The boot is then removed to the polishing bench, and apply a high quality polish. This is then allowed to dry, then using a warm smoothing iron and tissue paper we iron the whole of the foot and leg of the boot. This opens the pores in the leather and helps the polish to penetrate but the final finishing, is the classic "spit and polish" technique. For crust leather we use a different system, waxing and polishing the leather to a sheen finish.

A final inspection is carried out prior to your new pair of boots being wrapped in tissue paper and boxed ready to be shipped. All of our items are sent either via recorded parcel post or FedEx, depending on their final destination.