Come with us and see how your shoes are made.

August 9, 2014 9:15 PM

How To Make Shoes (silent SLYT), from the 1930's
posted by Confess, Fletch (10 comments total)

The video was great, but it'd give OSHA a heart attack! "Next, a worker trims the sole by holding the shoe against the spinning sole-trimming blade with his bare hands. Also no eye protection."
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 11:02 PM on August 9, 2014

Yeah - I was watching this and wondering how many people retired from that place with all their fingers. Fascinating to watch though.
posted by YAMWAK at 1:54 AM on August 10, 2014

It was both odd and revealing seeing how the work was delegated between men and women.
posted by Ferreous at 2:05 AM on August 10, 2014 [1 favorite]

I enjoyed this. Thanks for posting!
posted by SpecialSpaghettiBowl at 2:14 AM on August 10, 2014

Here's a more contemporary video about how shoes are made.
posted by pxe2000 at 5:36 AM on August 10, 2014

Here's an Allen Edmonds video from the 1940's about their shoemaking, and here's a recent factory tour.
posted by The Michael The at 5:46 AM on August 10, 2014

My father, who grew up in Lynn, MA, which was once upon a time the shoe-making capital of the world, was a delinquent kid who was constantly in trouble. At the age of 13 (in the mid 1940s) he got sent to shoemaking school instead of reform school, which was quite a progressive idea at the time.
posted by briank at 6:06 AM on August 10, 2014 [2 favorites]

Oh, watching old machinery-driven production lines is just fascinating.

(also, pxe2000, I wore Miracle Cana at my wedding!)
posted by crush-onastick at 7:25 AM on August 10, 2014 [1 favorite]

Blue Jello Elf - "but it'd give OSHA a heart attack!"

I've trimmed freshly stitched-in leather soles and new high-heel tips on a machine that dated back to that era.

It does take some grip strength, but the machines are designed well. Although there's a ton of torque and lots of moving sharp things, its actually kind of difficult to hurt oneself. Accidental slippages usually direct the hands and shoes away from hazard, and shavings are rationally directed away from the operator.

My dad was a traditional shoemaker/cobbler/repairperson for a number of years and the worst accidental injuries he received were all from doing stuff by hand (ie., awl through the palm) but he never got injured by the machines (well, I think the super high torque sewing machine might have got him once).
posted by porpoise at 11:54 AM on August 10, 2014 [1 favorite]

I will never balk at the price of good men's shoes again.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 5:41 PM on August 10, 2014