My Argentum handwelted shoes are constructed in the traditional shoemaking method, by stitching the welt directly to a thicker insole. This is the traditional method of making handwelted footwear, and this is how I construct my Aurum and bespoke shoes. There is no glued on linen holdfast/feather that the upper and welt is stitched to. There is direct leather to leather connection. This is the definition of a handmade shoe.
Argentum handwelted shoes can be ordered in almost any styles in my archives and on most of my existing lasts (except for Aurum specific lasts). Leather options are the same as those offered in my bespoke and Aurum lines, although the base cost of the Argentum Handwelted line includes only the basic French boxcalf.
Argentum Made to Measure service
I offer a last personalization and test shoe service where I modify a last to better fit a client’s measurements (such as wider/Narrower fitting, adjusting the instep, adding arch support, enlarging toe box). After I modify a last (this last bears the client’s name and can be used for future orders) I construct a fully finished, fully wearable Hnadwelted shoe which the client wears for a few weeks to check the modifications before I construct the final Argentum handwelted shoe.
For inquires about my Argentum handwelted shoes, please send an email to: A.dam.Calzoleria@gmail.com
Please click here for a small sampling of my Argentum Handwelted work.
Traditional handwelted vs Goodyear construction:
The most important part of any handwelted shoe is the leather insole (the part of the shoe where your foot rests). This is the backbone of the shoe where the upper, welt, and sole (via the welt) is attached to.
In most Goodyear welted shoes, the upper, and welt are stitched to a strip of linen called a holdfast.
This holdfast is attached to the insole by glue. In a sense, the integrity of the shoe is based on the strength of the bond of the glue from the insole to the linen feather.
The insole of a mass produced Goodyear welted shoe does not have to be as thick as the insole of a handwelted shoe because there is no need for it to be.
In a handwelted shoe, the insole is approximately 5 -6 mm thick. This thickness is necessary for two functions; firstly to be able to carve a holdfast
to which the upper and welt is stitched to, and secondly to create a footbed for the foot. As can be seen from the photo, the insole in a handwelted shoe is the spine to where the rest of the shoe is attached to. There is no glue interface that can fail, it is a direct leather to leather connection.
