Hardcore Boot and Shoe Craftsmanship Explanation - The Goodyear Welt Structure Loved by Red Wing

I. Preface - Series Introduction

Currently, the popularity of American - style vintage work boots is on the rise. More popular work boot brands such as Red Wing 875, Dr. Martens, and Timberland are gaining increasing popularity among the public. More professional work boot brands like Wesco, White's boots, Viberg, Tokusada, Clinch, and Julian are also gradually coming into the public eye.

The author's Red Wing 875, purchased in 2016.

What makes work boots special is that their uppers are often made of genuine leather, and the soles are generally connected by traditional stitching methods. The "Goodyear welt" is probably the most frequently heard term regarding work boot craftsmanship. It is praised for being "cost - intensive, time - consuming in production, more durable, resistant to delamination, wearable for a decade, and resoleable". However, the public has little understanding of the specific structure of the "Goodyear welt" and doesn't even know that it is just one of the many "sole - upper connection methods".

Therefore, I will use five articles to systematically elaborate on all traditional boot and shoe manufacturing techniques around the theme of "upper - sole connection methods". I also hope that this series will become the most comprehensive and accurate articles introducing boot and shoe craftsmanship on the Chinese Internet.

As shown in the above mind - map of boot and shoe craftsmanship, there are many traditional boot and shoe manufacturing techniques. Besides the Goodyear welt & Hand welt craftsmanship, there are also the Stitch down & Veldtschoen craftsmanship commonly used in heavy - duty work boots, the Norwegian stitch commonly used in dress shoes and outdoor shoes, the Blake stitch commonly used in Italian boots and shoes, and the Fiddle back craftsmanship used in high - end custom men's shoes.

The order of craftsmanship to be introduced in this series: 1. Goodyear & Hand welt; 2. Stitch down; 3. Norwegian stitch; 4. Blake; 5. Fiddle back.

This article is the first in the series "Hardcore Work Boot Craftsmanship Explanation", mainly introducing the Hand welt, Goodyear welt, and their derivative techniques. Series articles:

Hardcore Boot and Shoe Craftsmanship Explanation (Part 1) - The Goodyear Welt Structure Loved by Red Wing Hardcore Boot and Shoe Craftsmanship Explanation (Part 2) - Unveiling the Stitch down Craftsmanship of Whites, Wesco, and Viberg Hardcore Boot and Shoe Craftsmanship Explanation (Part 3) - The Norwegian Stitch Favored by Top - Tier Dress Shoes Hardcore Boot and Shoe Craftsmanship Explanation (Part 4) - The Blake Craftsmanship Loved by Italian Leather Shoes, Light and Elegant Hardcore Boot and Shoe Craftsmanship Explanation (Part 5) - The Pinnacle of Artisan Skills, the "Fiddle Back" of Gentlemen's Dress Shoes

II. Modern Gluing and Injection - Molding Processes

Most of the shoes we wear daily, such as sports shoes and ordinary leather shoes, are basically made by the gluing process. This process is relatively simple. First, the upper is sewn and fixed on a mold (last) to take shape. The sole is produced by opening a mold according to the designed style. Assembling the sole only requires applying glue and pressing it together.

The gluing process of NB996.

Modern resin glues have extremely strong bonding performance, which can basically ensure the connection strength of the sole. However, the organic solvents used in these glues are generally highly toxic, and the production process is not environmentally friendly. Therefore, in recent years, brands like Converse and Vans have started using low - toxicity and environmentally friendly glues, which have weaker adhesion, leading to the problem of easier delamination in some brands.

Of course, glued shoes will still delaminate under high - intensity use. Nike AF1 added a stitch between the upper and the sole to reduce the risk of delamination.

The stitch between the upper and the sole of Nike AF1.

Another common process is the integrated injection - molding process: The upper is placed above the sole mold, and then the molten sole glue is injected into the mold below the upper. After the glue cools and solidifies, the sole is firmly bonded to the upper. The integrated sole reduces the probability of boot and shoe delamination. This process is widely used in various professional outdoor and labor - protection boots and shoes. For example, a considerable proportion of the shoe models in Timberland's yellow boots and Red Wing's labor - protection product line use injection - molded soles.

The integrated injection - molding process of Timberland's yellow boots.

The integrated injection - molding process of Red Wing's supersole.

III. Hand Welt and Goodyear Welt

1. Historical Evolution of Stitched Work Boots

Glue and injection - molding are products of modern chemical industry. The ancients did not have suitable glue to bond shoes. In traditional techniques, the upper and the sole were mostly connected by stitching, nails, etc. This connection method can be traced back to the origin of human civilization. The current stitched leather shoe craftsmanship originated in medieval Europe, which is also the reason for the developed high - end shoemaking industry in modern Europe. The most representative "Hand welt craftsmanship" is the result of long - term practice and communication among many European shoemakers, and it probably took shape around 1500.

European shoemakers.

After the discovery of the New World, traditional shoemaking techniques were introduced to North America. With the westward expansion and industrialization of the North American continent, work boots designed for various industries were produced, which are what we know as work boots today.

With the development of the logging industry, brands like Whites, Wesco, and Chippewa started by making logging boots.

The United States also developed unique cowboy boots.

As the Industrial Revolution deepened, hundreds of machines dedicated to shoemaking, such as sewing machines, lasting machines, and grinding machines, were invented, and shoemaking entered the era of machine - powered assembly lines. Machine stitching replaced manual stitching, and the Goodyear welt craftsmanship was the product of this era. (The author will start a new series about the development history of the shoemaking industry during the Industrial Revolution: "The Shoemaking Industry Rising in the Industrial Revolution")

A shoemaking factory in Switzerland around 1881.

Later, after World War II, work boot culture, together with workwear culture, cowboy culture, and vintage military uniform culture, formed the American vintage culture. The development of this culture was boosted by sub - cultures such as skinheads, rock bands, and hippies after World War II. As part of the soft power of American culture, it spread all over the world.

A still from Marlon Brando's "The Wild One".

2. Basic Hand Welt Craftsmanship

2.1 Basic Hand Welt Process Flow

The cross - sectional structure of the Hand welt craftsmanship is as shown in the following figure. The core of its structure lies in the welt and the two inner and outer stitches on it. Taking Red Wing 875 as an example (actually, Red Wing uses machine stitching, but for the convenience of understanding), the sole structure can be divided into three layers: the insole, midsole, and outsole. Along the upper, there is a welt that bridges the insole and the midsole/outsole.

The Hand welt construction. The schematic diagram is for illustration purposes only and does not represent the actual size ratio.

The sole layering of Red Wing 875.

The specific process flow of the Hand welt is as follows:

A. A groove is cut on the leather insole to leave a position for stitching. Then the upper, lining, welt, and insole are sewn together to form the first stable structure. This stitch is eventually hidden inside the sole and can be called the "inner stitch".

B. The concave cavity in the sole is filled with cork or other deformable materials to provide deformation and cushioning.

C. The welt and the midsole are sewn together to form the second stable structure. This stitch can be called the "outer stitch".

D. Finally, the outsole is pasted. The outer outsole can be torn off and replaced after it is worn out.

The schematic diagram of the Hand welt process flow.

The Hand welt process flow (view from the sole).

2.2 Variable Outsole Connection Forms

There is a certain degree of flexibility in the connection between the outsole and the midsole. Some shoe models do not have a midsole, and the welt is directly sewn to the outsole, such as the 8111 model. In some cases, the stitch directly sews the welt, midsole, and outsole together, such as the Red Wing 9011 Beckman series. There is no essential difference between these outer - stitch sewing methods, and the key is to understand the principle.

The 8111 model has no midsole.

The outer stitch of the 9011 model sews three layers together.

2.3 Resoling

We often hear that work boots made by traditional techniques can be resoled or even rebuilt. After understanding the above structure, the characteristic of resoleability is not difficult to understand. The multi - layer structure of the sole allows people to remove the worn - out parts and replace them. In this process, the style and shape of the sole can also be appropriately changed according to the customer's needs to meet some personalized requirements. For example, the common materials for the outsole are leather, EVA foam, and rubber, and customers can make a "second choice" when resoling.

Common outsole materials.

3. Machine - Sewn Goodyear Welt

3.1 Origin of the Goodyear Welt

After talking about the Hand welt craftsmanship, let's explain the Goodyear welt craftsmanship. The concept of "Goodyear welt" is well - known in the vintage circle, but most people have a wrong understanding of it, including many practitioners. Before the Industrial Revolution, shoemakers had to use awls to make holes and manually sew the welt, which is the Hand welt craftsmanship mentioned above.

Hand welt: Holes made by awls and manual stitching.

In 1871, after the start of the Second Industrial Revolution, a patent called the "Goodyear shoemaking technology" was approved by the United States Patent Office. A sewing machine that could replace manual stitching of the inner welt stitch was invented. The patent holder was Charles Goodyear Junior.

Workers using the Goodyear shoe - making machine.

3.2 Goodyear Welt Process Flow

The Goodyear welt craftsmanship can be regarded as the "machine - based implementation" of the Hand Welt. Its core process is as follows: A canvas strip is machine - pasted on the insole to form a ridge structure similar to the one made by manual grooving, or the insole is grooved by machine. Then the curved needle on the Goodyear Stitch machine simulates the process of manual stitching with a curved awl to complete the stitching of the welt - upper - insole.

The outer stitch connecting the welt - midsole - outsole can also be sewn by machine. The machine for sewing the outer stitch is called the Rapid stitch machine, which was invented by Lyman Reed Blake (Blake is also the inventor of another shoemaking craftsmanship, the Blake craftsmanship). The appearance of the Goodyear shoe - making machine greatly improved the production efficiency of boots and shoes and liberated human labor.

The machine - sewn Goodyear welt stitching process.

The sewing curved needle on the Goodyear shoe - making machine.

3.3 Concept Correction and Rumor Refutation

A. The Wrong Concept: "Hand - made Goodyear Welt"

Now we can draw a clear conclusion: When a shoemaker uses an awl to manually sew the welt, it is the Hand welt craftsmanship. The "Goodyear welt" uses machines to replace manual stitching of the welt. The concept of "hand - made Goodyear welt" is widely spread on the Chinese Internet to refer to the Hand welt craftsmanship. This statement is obviously a self - contradictory and unsubstantiated concept. Translated, it means "hand - made - machine - sewn welt". So, is it hand - made or machine - made?

The Hand welt craftsmanship was formed more than 300 years earlier than the Goodyear craftsmanship. Saying "hand - made Goodyear welt" is like saying "the son was born before the father". There is no such conceptual error in foreign Internet materials. For example:

B. The Rumor: The Inventor of the Goodyear Welt is Sir Charles Goodyear, the Inventor of Vulcanized Rubber

A widely spread rumor on the Chinese Internet is that Charles Goodyear, the inventor of vulcanized rubber, is the inventor of the Goodyear welt. Many articles even put up a picture of Charles Goodyear and made baseless claims.

In fact, the patent holder of the Goodyear welt craftsmanship is his son, Charles Goodyear Junior. Junior Goodyear was his father's favorite son, and they had the same name. More importantly, when the patent was authorized in 1871, the elder Goodyear had been dead for 11 years! You can't expect a dead person to invent a machine!

Charles Goodyear (left), Charles Goodyear Junior (right).

In fact, even Junior Goodyear was not the inventor of the Goodyear welt. He just enjoyed the naming right of the invention as the company's boss, and the real inventor was his employee, August Destouy.

The original patent of the Goodyear shoe - making machine in 1866, applicant A. Destouy.

TIPS: The elder Charles Goodyear, the "Father of Vulcanized Rubber", is also a great inventor who changed human history. His life experience was very tortuous, and the story of his invention of vulcanized rubber is very exciting. I will tell the story of the elder Goodyear in the series "The Shoemaking Industry Rising in the Industrial Revolution". The well - known American rubber manufacturing enterprise, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, is named after this great inventor. However, it should be noted that Goodyear boots have no connection with this company.

4. Differences between Hand Welt and Goodyear Welt

The advantage of machine - sewn inner stitch in the Goodyear welt is very obvious: high speed and low cost. Workers can complete the stitching in just one or two minutes. In contrast, the production efficiency of the Hand welt is very low. It takes a shoemaker one or two hours to finish sewing.

However, the Hand welt also has its irreplaceable advantages: The inner stitch of the Goodyear welt is a chain stitch. If one part breaks, the whole stitch will come loose. While the lock stitch of the Hand welt will not come loose even if it breaks due to its structural characteristics.

The inner stitch of the Goodyear welt is a chain stitch.

The structure of the chain stitch and the lock stitch.

Due to the space limitation of the mechanical structure, both the inner and outer machine - sewn stitches cannot be retracted to the maximum extent, resulting in a slightly wider outer edge of the sole, which is called the squared waist. This is not a problem for ordinary boots and shoes, but some high - end boots and shoes require the ultimate "inner retraction of the waist welt" - such as the Fiddle back craftsmanship. In this case, both the inner and outer stitches can only be sewn manually by shoemakers with awls. Sometimes, the outer stitch is even hidden under the upper. The craftsman needs to perform the blind waist craftsmanship, carefully pry open the upper and use an awl to make holes and stitch.

The inner stitch of the Fiddle back craftsmanship, with the waist welt retracted, from Ken.

The squared waist of work boots and the blind waist of dress shoes.

The effect of the blind stitch.

IV. Extensions of the Goodyear Welt

1. High - Edge Welt: Storm Welt

In the basic Goodyear & Handwelt craftsmanship, the fit between the welt and the upper is often not tight enough. In rainy weather, water can easily enter along the gap. Using a high - edge welt instead of the ordinary straight - edge welt can partially solve this problem and achieve better waterproofing effects. It won't let water in even in storms, so it's called the storm welt.

The Storm welt craftsmanship originated from the Norwegian stitch craftsmanship. For an article introducing the Norwegian stitch, refer to the link at the beginning of the article. In general, the current Storm welt just uses a high - edge welt, and the other process steps are actually the same as those of the Goodyear welt.

The high - edge welt and the Storm welt craftsmanship.

The Storm welt of British Trickers.

2. 3/4 Welt and Full Welt

Shoe models like Red Wing 875 with white soles use a 360° fully - wrapped welt. However, not all boots use a 360° fully - wrapped welt. Some shoe models, such as Red Wing 8111, 901X, and most dress leather shoes, use the 3/4 welt craftsmanship, or even the 1/2 welt craftsmanship. That is, the waist and heel parts of the shoe are not sewn with a welt but are fixed with nails/wooden nails/bamboo nails. This method is also called the nail down craftsmanship.

The reasons for this are that it is difficult to sew at the heel where the leather is too thick, and it is also to make the heel and waist narrower and more aesthetically pleasing.

The 3/4 welt of Red Wing 9013, with the heel fixed with nails.

The 3/4 welt, with the heel fixed with wooden nails.

3. Dr. Martens' Fire - Melting Process

Finally, let's introduce the craftsmanship of Dr. Martens, which has some unique features. The welt - upper - insole of Dr. Martens is still fixed by stitching, and it uses a PVC plastic welt. The welt - insole stitch is exposed, which has a certain decorative effect. (In fact, this way of exposing the inner stitch strictly belongs to the Norwegian stitch).

The connection between the welt and the outsole of Dr. Martens does not use stitching. Instead, a high - temperature metal plate is passed through the joint between the welt and the outsole to melt them at high temperature and then complete the "welding". This process can be called the "fire - melting process". To some extent, the durability formed by the integration of the plastic welt and the rubber sole is more reliable than that of stitching.

Dr. Marten's fire - melting process.

Dr. Martens' fire - melting process, from insider.

V. Conclusion

The above are all the technical details of the Hand welt & Goodyear welt craftsmanship. The content is not small, and those who are interested can collect it. In fact, after understanding the structure, we will know that this craftsmanship, which is highly praised in various advertisements and soft articles, is not that complicated.

But now there is a bad trend: A lot of people deliberately mystify the work boot craftsmanship, exaggerate its difficulty, promote its scarcity, create a high - end image, and fabricate some pretentious "craftsman stories" to over - hype a trivial matter.

The Goodyear welt is essentially just a sole connection craftsmanship. A genuine leather insole + genuine leather welt + cork filling + genuine leather midsole can be a Goodyear welt, and a cardboard midsole + plastic welt + foam filling + EVA midsole can also be a Goodyear welt. Don't assume that Goodyear welt shoes are necessarily superior. Out of love for work boots and shoes, we should view the old - fashioned boot and shoe craftsmanship with an objective attitude and an inquisitive mindset, not overly glorify the past, not blindly worship, not be deliberately mysterious, and not focus only on theory and ignore practice. This is also the greatest significance of this series.