Shoe Making: Men's Sandal Development V2

My current obsession is Men,s sandals; I wear them all the time, winter in the house (with socks) summer all the time.I have made several attempts over the last few years and have slowly learned what is different about making a sandal vs. a fully closed shoe.
The primary difference (if you are going to last the sandal) is that the foot does not conform to the shape of the shoe as it does in all other types of closed shoes, it floats within the sandal ; you cannot constrain, constrict, or otherwise conform, the foot inside a sandal.

The Process:

For V2 I started with adjusting the last length to increase the toe room but most importantly I added 0.12" on the sole (because I use a neoprene insole, liner, or sock) and I widened the heel 0.25" per side.This in the normal world of last modifications would be unheard of but we have to remember that a last is a form that makes a good shoe not a sculpture of a foot.

I use leather and skive it, rough up the last, and use Gorilla glue to attach it. This is a time consuming project requiring planning and overnight dry time.
Several things make this process effective:

1. I use a clamp to hold the thick leather so I can skive it dry (although it could be done wet)
2. I use Stretch tape to compress the change onto the last while the glue drys
3. The next day I use a pattern transfer tool to make the two lasts the same

I had a new design in my head so I went directly to tape. The themes that interests me most are sandals that cover the majority of the foot (?) I like the most closed style of sandal for daily use (not around the water) they provide the best comfort and lots of air!

So just to be clear; there are way more parts to coordinate then in a typical closed shoe, but as you will see the final "closed upper" look surprisingly familiar.

Although there are many parts, keeping each strap assembly together for the patterns works better than separating every piece.

Each piece has hem & lasting allowances added and the combined strap patterns end up being the lining patterns, there are fewer lining parts than show side parts.

After several hours of skiving I use 3M 2 sided tape # _______ for both the hem and to attach the linings before sewing. The common complaint about 2 side tape is the affect on the sewing machine needle, it is critical to use the thinnest tape meaning the glue is as physically thin as possible thats why I use the # _____. Also it is not a burden to clean the needle with goo gone once each session and I have had good results with Sew-Ease.

To the shoe maker these completed "closed" uppers look like what we expect, just in a few more parts.

Because parts of the insole are visible thru the openings the edges have to be finished. Also each of the straps that are lasted over the edges require offsets and channels cut into the insole before edge wrapping. 

Fully lasted with air stapler.

Stitched all around with the McKay 77 for security.

In order to get a tight fitting ground edge on the Vibram out sole I created an over-sized assembly of one layer 10 oz. one layer of Vibram, and one heel riser. I glued them together and clamped them to the lasts overnight. 

Hard to see but they have been ground to match perfectly and the interesting accident is how the leather peels up as it is ground so you have a lip to cover gaps!

The last step is glue the fitted out-soles to the lasted uppers. Here you can see my patented Best Ever clamping solution; Stretch Tape. Stretch tape is cheap and the amount of evenly distributed pressure that can be applied can only be matched by a machine that I don't figure on getting anytime soon.


To Be Continued: