Shoe repair machines

[joycepk]

Is there anyone that can tell me about a machine made by Landis Mach. Co. St.Louis MO USA. With a serial number of CSW 9898. I have been awarded the privilege of cleaning out an old shoe repair shop and I am trying to find out any information that I can on the machines that are in it if there is anyone who could help me out then I would be eternally grateful. Thank you.

 

[paulz]

A picture is worth a thousand words.

 

[sfriedberg]

joycepk, I can think of a half a dozen different kinds of machines you might be talking about that one might find in a shoe repair shop. Does it grind? Does it skive or pare? Does it sew? Does it punch? Does it heat cure or vulcanize? Does it stretch?
In this case, a picture is absolutely imperative, or we are just guessing.

 

[M.B. Naegle]

Landis made LOTS of different machines (and before anyone asks, its an entirely different company from the Landis grinders).

The original company technically isn't around anymore. The Canadian branch of Landis (Canada Landis) is still going as well as a couple third-party firms that service or support select machines.

 

[boslab]

I found the old cobblers shop in the local town fascinating as a child, shoes were taken in for “sole and heel” there was a long multi wheel machine with sanding drums, polishing brushes and all sorts on it, dirty as a coal mine from black boot polish, there was a really weird sewing machine on what looked like an anvil stand ( apparently for sewing uppers to soles) heaps of shoe lasts, like iron feet to fit a hardie hole in the bench, stink of solvent glue, the old guys apron was really worn, dust everywhere but the shoes in the window ( dominated by mens boots including “hob nail” work boots were shining beautifully, the guys hands were really ingrained with shoe dye and polish) my dad had a pair of shoes left to him by his father! I’m going to guess they were still in use after 80 years and numerous soles. The world was different, some things aren’t better but our quest for cheapness seems to have burnt our bridges to quality , can’t imagine modern shoes lasting 8 years now.
Bet there will be a demand for the shoe machines in 10 years!, store them safely
Mark

 

[David Utidjian]

Bet there will be a demand for the shoe machines in 10 years!, store them safely
Mark

Just a guess but... I would bet that if there is a demand for shoe machines in ten years there will be an even higher demand for people that know how to use them!

 

[sfriedberg]

our quest for cheapness seems to have burnt our bridges to quality , can’t imagine modern shoes lasting 8 years now.

When I was in Wisconsin, I discovered that the Danner 2 last for Danner boots fit my feet very well, and I started wearing those boots pretty much constantly. I was delighted when I moved to Oregon to find the now-local Danner factory would resole (and generally recondition) their boots. I now have three pairs in rotation, one of which has been resoled at least four times since 1988 (not sure which year I bought that pair but it was between 1988 and 1996). That one probably can't be resoled again (you tend to lose a bit of the uppers each time you disassemble and resew the boot), but it has certainly lasted more than 8 years! I'm sort of astonished how well the mixed leather/Cordura uppers hold up, especially given years of abuse where I crushed the heels trying to get swollen feet into them, the showers of hot and oily steel chips, and the perennial dampness around here.
I definitely give these very high marks for "value for money" and "renewable". In contrast, a lot of the cr*p they sell at places like Designer Shoe Warehouse falls apart in a season or two and is utterly irreparable. So the value is a special treasure because it is also rare.

 

[Tom A]

Look over here - These guys are the experts, and can give you an evaluation :

Leatherworker.net

leatherworker.net

 

[DDoug]

I found the old cobblers shop in the local town fascinating as a child, shoes were taken in for “sole and heel” there was a long multi wheel machine with sanding drums, polishing brushes and all sorts on it, dirty as a coal mine from black boot polish, there was a really weird sewing machine on what looked like an anvil stand ( apparently for sewing uppers to soles) heaps of shoe lasts, like iron feet to fit a hardie hole in the bench, stink of solvent glue, the old guys apron was really worn, dust everywhere but the shoes in the window ( dominated by mens boots including “hob nail” work boots were shining beautifully, the guys hands were really ingrained with shoe dye and polish) my dad had a pair of shoes left to him by his father! I’m going to guess they were still in use after 80 years and numerous soles. The world was different, some things aren’t better but our quest for cheapness seems to have burnt our bridges to quality , can’t imagine modern shoes lasting 8 years now.
Bet there will be a demand for the shoe machines in 10 years!, store them safely
Mark

it could have been worse eh ?

 

[M.B. Naegle]

Our company which makes and services leather machinery, dabbles in shoe machines (hardly any Landis), and I'll add that machines for making and repairing boots and shoes are a whole different breed from those used for making saddles, holsters, purses, etc. (our bread and butter). The old lines of shoe machines are out there, and there is call for them, but our experience has been that there just isn't enough of a market to justify stocking a bunch of new parts and supplies for them, much less making new machines. The stuff we carry is new out of Italy, or old stock attachments for our main machines.

I'm hoping that trend changes though. It's an industry that has merit and worth, more than passing trend or an industrial need that gets replaced by improved technology. EVERYONE needs shoes. The current throw-away shoe market is akin to everyone buying decorative new car tires that fall apart before they wear out. I think if enough people out there get it out of their head that they need something "new" to be cool or even to feel like they aren't "poor" in some way, if enough people see the pure value in things that you are familiar with that are reliable for longer than a television season... things could turn around.

In the immediate short term, the technology and skill hasn't vanished, it just keeps consolidating into less heads/hands with more specialized uses. As long as there is still a need for it, however small, it'll exist long enough for things to potentially turn around. We have one inventive customer that has for many years made a lucrative business out of rebuilding expensive athletic sneakers to have custom leather uppers. Some of them look kinda silly to me, but people love them and it keeps that customer and their machines in business.

I've been wearing Red Wings for the last 10 years, and have had a few pair that I didn't care for the uppers enough to the point that they couldn't be resouled, but others I have had resouled and it really is cheaper than buying a new pair! You don't have to break them in again and it's like a weird Christmas day getting an old pair of boots back with new life in them, like unwrapping a present to discover a toy you loved that you thought was broken beyond repair.

 

[boslab]

Many years ago when I started in the steel industry I was issued with hot metal gear, jacket, trousers boots furnace glasses ( cobalt blue round glasses made in USA, ( the Chinese ones were crap, fell to bits, )
The furnace boots were leather, the sole was wood, yes wooden clogs but leather clogs, they were once I got used to them, the best walking and standing expirence you can get from a boot, they were tall, cowboy boot height, we often walked over steel floor plates that were glowing ( don’t fall over, if you did make sure your gauntlets were on!, normally if you tripped or fell you would be lifted off the floor by the guys around you immediately, you did the same) molten metal trousers were very thick wool called Melton cloth, wool can stand molten iron splashes, same for trousers.
Back to boots, wood sole in my opinion is the best sole you can get, when I went to the rolling mills the boots had rubber soles, I was in agony with my feet, longing for my furnace boots, I wish I could buy a pair now I’m retired.
Mark

 

[jim rozen]

I also have three pairs of Red Wing irish setter boots, which they no longer produce. One pair has been re-soled so many times, the leather stitching on the uppers is zippering the leather apart, where it's been repaired.

I would love to be able to purchase those new again. My last new pair was about 5 years ago and won't last forever.

 

[guythatbrews]

When I was a kid there was a shoe repair shop in our little town. A very narrow, alley-like little building. It was dark and musta had 8 guys hard at work. Just full of finished or waiting shoes on shelves.

We've still got one repair shop in town. Usually just one guy who doesn't seem very busy at all. It's hard to buy good shoes anymore so I get vintage ones on ebay and he repairs them as needed. Must be a tough business to keep afloat with most of the new shoes too junky to repair. A shame, really.

 

[e-fishin-c]

This last March on vacation in Mexico, visited a leather shop in La Noria (just outside of Mazatlan, MX). They did all kinds of leather repairs including shoes, boots, belts and horse saddles. Was like stepping into a time machine a hundred years ago with the exception of two Landis stitching machines. Those two machines were probably worth more than the buildings they resided in.

 

[e-fishin-c]

……and oh yes, for all those macho men out there, I know a great place to buy an authentic custom made Mexican canteen. And in various sizes.
And that’s no bull……..