What is the best DIY sole for home made shoes?

[GBov]

I have several times made felted shoes but so far I haven't figured out how to make a good sole for them. Leather only lasts so long and I'm growing wheat right now to try braided soles as a replaceable option but thought I'd ask here.

What is a good way to make a sole for a home made shoe?

 

[stonepark]

Clogs?

 

[forrestdweller]

tyres have been used in the past to make sandals (Ho Chi Minh sandals and huaraches f.i.) but modern tyres have steel wires in them, which makes them tricky to cut...

 

[Toddy]

We just use rubber glue on ours. Copydex type stuff. It sets and flexes.


You can buy rubber soles though, and those are better wearing. They just glue/stitch on.

Google for Outsoles for home made shoes, and loads will come up. Sold for moccasins, felt and crocheted shoes.

This kind of thing.....

https://www.etsy.com/uk/market/rubber_moccasin_sole?ref=lp_queries_external_top-2

 

[Watch-keeper]

I saw some years ago someone wearing shoes with soles made from glue and ground up car tyre rubber. He said when they wore thin he would just paint over the worn sections.
I seem to recall he said the glue was special super strong shoe glue but don't know how or where he got the tyre rubber from.
They were very soft leather moccasin looking shoes.

 

[C_Claycomb]

What kind and thickness of leather have you used?

Out-Sole Hard Leather: Vegetable Tanned Butts

Leather out sole single butts, Italian vegetable tanned leather, thick, hard and strong material used for making the soles of high quality boots and shoes.

buyleatheronline.com

 

[John Fenna]

For my Iron Age shoes I just used 3.5mm Veg Tan leather, for my Turn shoes I used a thinner leather but stiffened with beeswax and for my hybrid combat boot/turn shoe just fom calf leather....
The mocs were calf leather and the sandles wax hardened 3.5mm Veg tan again. None have worn out yet - but I tend not to wear them on man made surfaces...

 

[Keith_Beef]

You can carve wooden soles and nail leather uppers to them, but these too will wear through if you don't put irons or rubbers under them. I keep a pair of clogs by the back door and put them on to walk down the garden to the compost bin. I knew that the rubbers were worn out (I had replaced them several times but had not been able to find new supplies since my self-employed cobbler had decided to pack it in and become a salaried baker) so was walking on the grass rather than the stone flags, but still they wore through.

You can have just a plain leather sole, and for centuries this was the norm until Charles Goodyear developed vulcanised rubber and production of hard rubber soles became widespread and cheap.

The leather to look out for is called a "sole bend"; it's typically 4mm to 6mm and compressed between heavy rollers. It's expensive and heavy, but great for making a leather sole or for making a stacked leather handle on a knife, hammer, bill hook, etc.