Originally Posted by dbhdnhdbh
As long as we have experts on this thread, a few more questions. The old Florsheim gunboats had heels full of iron nails, apparently to make them wear longer. Would their famous slipperiness have been controlled if they had used brass instead? When having heels replaced, is this an option? Does anyone make brass V cleats and nails of the appropriate size? Given DWF's comments about the brass nails bending, would this be practical for a cobbler to attempt? The old Florsheims also had the famous 5 nails in the soles. These were not on the wear surface, so presumably it was not to protect from wear. What were they for, did they work, and do people replace them when resoling such shoes? If one has shoes with worn soles, soft in the center, but no hole, is there any reason to resole now, versus waiting until a hole appears? When resoling double oak soles, do you replace both soles? Or only the outer sole, assuming the inner sole has not developed wear? And last, for DWF: Cordwaining a 10,000 year old trade? That is amazing!! I am an emerging ancient history buff and I am curious how people came to that conclusion. I would have thought that such a trade would have required relatively stable civilizations, agriculture and development of specialization that, I thought, had not occurred that long ago. Can you elaborate on where and when such an old trade was found to have developed? Did someone find a 10,000 year old shoe factory? Did that rewrite the history of when agriculture and civilization came into use?
Lot of questions...some I can't answer. Last to first...
I'm not an historian, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night.
Actually one of my best friends is the head shoemaker at Colonial Williamsburg and an internationally recognized shoe historian. Despite my best efforts, I have absorbed a considerable amount of useful information from him.
As I understand it, what makes the "10,000 years..." bit so notable is the inclusion of the word "Trade." Humans have been wearing some form of footbag/foot covering time out of mind. IIRC, the "shoes" in question were found at Fort Rock, here in Oregon. The archeologists in charge of the dig determined that these shoes were made by a third party...for some sort of recompense. How they determined that I don't know. Maybe just seeing other pairs with some form of distinguishing mark or technique--like nail patterns on heels today. But just as not everyone who used or needed flint knives or points had the knack to knap flint and had to trade with someone who did, so too, at some point it would not be unusual for a particularly skillful individual to make shoes for other folks. Ipso facto--a Trade.
The minute a hole appears in the bottom of your shoe, some damage has already been done to the insole. The deformation alone can be significant. But even if the outsole appear intact, moisture can wick into contact with the insole.
On a double soled shoe, if the "midsole" is undamaged, or minimally damaged, it is not necessary to replace it. But caution is the better part of valor here--any thinning of that layer affects the way the shoe functions and impacts...albeit marginally...gait. Not good, IOW.