Making hand stitched Vellies leather shoes for the 1885 Era Black powder hunt

[Ridgewalker]

Amazing! They look pretty comfortable.

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Members, I completed my set, still putting neatsfoot oil on it to make it soft and pliable, disadvantage is that it turns to a dark color, I do not know if this coloration will subsides in time and return to a lighter coloration..I will post photos on this forum...directly...

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Here are two photos..will upload more..this is what the neatfoot oil does , it makes it darker, I will finish the whole shoe using the neetfoot oil finish and the set I am making for HWL will be finished using the normal colorless finish that only water proof the leather and then it will be completed with a leather dye, a tan color dye..

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Here is another photo , showing a nice texture of the leather where the neatsfoot oil is filtering through the leather..I will add more oil tomorrow..notice the thick leather sole , it really is a comfortable pair of leather shoes..

 

[Gert Odendaal]

This pair of leather velskoene I am making for one of the forum members, HWL who will be participating in the 1885 Era Black Powder hunt. I made a few changes to this design. Here are a few photos of the progress I made, I will upload more photos as I make progress, but it is nearly finished..
Soft leather inside of the toe part :

My hand stitching work seems to get better

Centering the sole and upper leather to ensure all the lines get lined up correctly

Sanded down with eighty grain sand paper..

Difference between the new leather and the completed shoe with three coats of leather conditioner .

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Here is the pair I made for HWL, I applied three layers each of the conditioning lotion as well as the Neatsfoot oil..I will wait until it soaks in before applying some more finishing...

 

[nztimb]

Looking good Gert. they will make for quite stalking

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Thank you Garry, yes, it will be why I am making these vellies since it is the softest walking /hunting shoes you can get..in any bush veld scenario..

 

[Shootist43]

Gert, these look very comfortable. How do they feel when walking over thorns, broken branches, rocks etc?

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Gert, these look very comfortable. How do they feel when walking over thorns, broken branches, rocks etc?

Shootist, I used vellies since 2015 and it really walks extremely soft , dampens any noises, it can take thorns , walk over any structure...

 

[Gert Odendaal]

While completing my second pair of vellies I commenced with my leather water bottle for the Black Powder hunt as well...here are some photos:
Designed the bottle:

Drawing the design onto the leather:

Cut it out using a carpet knife:

Inscribing the stitching lines:

Punching holes for the carry sling

Drawing furrows for the waxed thread to lay in level with the leather surface

Rounding the edges for better burnishing later

Wood glue-gluing the two leather panel together>

Stitching the panels together