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HOME BOOK 
 
 TO LEARN 
 EXPERT 
 
 SHOE REPAIRING 
 
 ^v^_ BY — 
 
 J: M. Levinson 
 
 PRICE 50 CENTS 
 
 The best part of a man's work is when he sees how it 
 is done by others and tries to better it himself. 
 
 Any inexperienced shoe repairer can learn 
 
 from this book how work has to be done, so 
 
 it should give the wearer comfort. So this 
 
 will increase his business. 
 
o9)2> 
 
 ^^'V 
 \'\^ 
 
 L^.^t^ 
 
 Copyrighted October 21, 1916, 
 
 by J. M. Levinson, 
 
 725 West Fifty-Fourth Street 
 
 Los Angeles, California 
 
 JAN 13 1917 jH^IP^ 
 
 481)85 I 
 
 5C1.A1 
 
This is a Home Book on How to 
 Learn Expert Shoe Repairing 
 
 — BY — 
 
 J. M. LEVINSON 
 
 This book is written so that any intelligent person 
 can learn the art of expert Shoe-repairing. All over 
 the country, people wonder why schools have not got 
 the art of shoe-repairing in boys' manual training. 
 
 This book gives you a full course on how to do 
 expert shoe repairing, from beginning to the end. If 
 you want to experiment on shoe repairing, study every 
 detail Ave have written in this book. I am an expert in 
 the art of shoe-repairing, and I have a good record with 
 the State Board of Education at Sacramento. This 
 book Avill give more knowledge to shoe-repairers who 
 are in business now. 
 
 3 
 
Anyone who Avants to make a success must learn 
 the best way how. There are schools where people are 
 learning and learning good. It takes many years of 
 hard study for a doctor to get his diplomas. And then 
 he must practice all his life to become an expert phy- 
 sician. A designer or a draftsman must work out his 
 plans before. he can complete machinery. An inventor 
 works many years on his invention before he can get 
 it in perfect order. Every line of trade must take sev- 
 eral years of practice, and in many trades you cannot 
 find experts. The differnce between the man who has 
 a trade but is not an expert at it, and the man who is 
 an expert is, the man who is not an expert at his trade 
 always tries to get through his work as quickly as 
 possible, so he can get the money quicker. He is the 
 one that will lose in the end. 
 
 The expert does the work and studies the best way 
 he can do it. They are the ones who get a better price 
 for the time they spend at their job. E\ery man is try- 
 ing to better himself as far as his ability will let him go. 
 From many years of practice in shoe repairing I find 
 that today the shoe-repairing trade is a very important 
 one. No matter how stockings look in a shoe, whether 
 they are silk or cotton, it doesn't show. But if a shoe 
 is torn, that will show, and it must be fixed. Nowadays, 
 
 4 
 
the shoe-repairers are established with the best machin- 
 ery, and the machine does all its work in stitching and 
 finishing. Bnt in the meantime you cannot call your- 
 self an expert when the machines do the Avork. Now- 
 adays, we have thousands of shoe shops where the owner 
 of the shop never has learned the trade thoroughly to 
 be an expert. Although he may have business ability, 
 you can call them speculators, or as I would call them 
 "fakers." No man has a right to call himself a doe- 
 tor when he is not. Such doctors, or quacks, are get- 
 ting prosecuted by the law. A man who is starting 
 a shoe repair shop and doesn't know how a shoe has 
 to be repaired, not only ruins the shoes, but makes it 
 a danger for the people. That is why such shoe-repair- 
 ers cannot make a success. There are thousands of 
 dollars' worth of shoes thrown away. People claim 
 they cannot wear their shoes after the inexperienced 
 shoe-repairer has fixed them. 
 
 No matter how badly a shoe has been worn and 
 torn, it can be repaired and put in shape so that it can 
 give the wearer comfort and will have an appearance 
 like a new shoe. After the shoe is worn out again, the 
 shoe can be repaired as long as the upper of the shoe 
 lasts. 
 
 5 
 
Ill shoe repairing there is just as great a profit as 
 in any best line of trade. With my many years of 
 experience I find it necessary to have this book published 
 so people can study and experiment on how the repair- 
 ing must be done. Nowadays, the public look on shoe- 
 repairing as a low trade. That is because shoe-repairers 
 do not know hoAv to repair shoes as they should be. 
 And the public suffers from the comfort they need. 
 To Prepare a Sole So It Should Be Comfortable. 
 Tiie sole should be flat and the shoe straight after 
 it is repaired. 
 
 Follow the Model 
 P^'ig. A. The sole is worn out in the toe. It presses 
 out a hole inside. Fig. E. Then it leaves a bump. 
 First scive off at Fig. E the inner sole. Then fill in with 
 felt in Fig. A so it will become level. Then the inner 
 sole is thicker in Fig G. Scive under a little, fill out 
 the bottom with the felt. It should then be level witli 
 welt. Fig C is worn out in the center. Some times 
 it is Avorn through the inner sole. So it leaves a bump 
 at Figure F. Scive off a piece of leather and put it in 
 where the inner sole is worn in. Figure C. Paste the 
 piece of leather on and put it in the shoe so it shall all 
 be level. Figure F. In this place the inner sole is bent 
 
 6 
 
Model of a Sole 
 7 
 
If you put on the sole the bent part will press in the 
 foot and it will be very uncomfortable to your feet 
 when you walk. Then by sciving in Figure F it will 
 relieve the bent part and then it will work like a spring. 
 
 Figure B. Prepare the same Avay as Figure A. 
 
 Figure D is worn on the outside. Then you turn 
 the sole toward the inside. Hold your hand at Figure 
 H, press the shoe back to the outside, hammer down 
 tlie bottom, put a tack in the shank of the shoe where 
 you see Fig. H. Press so it holds the shank from moving 
 toward the inside; when you feel the bottom don't fill 
 in Figure F as this place has to be repaired so that the 
 bent part of the inner sole should have room to go back. 
 
 By putting the sole on the shoe, it depends on how 
 the sole should be put on to put the shoe in good shape. 
 
 Figure H 
 
 Figure II shoAvs you the right measure from the 
 soles to the heels. Where you see double H, when you 
 put the sole on, put it on from the shank and drive 
 in each side, and one nail in the center. Then raise the 
 toe of the shoe with your hand and then have the sole 
 straight, drive a tack in the sole near the toe, then 
 trim the sole so that you don't cut the welt from the 
 shoo. You cannot take much pains by putting on a 
 
 8 
 
sole on a hand turned shoe, when the old sole is worn out. 
 A good many inexperienced men don't prepare the 
 old sole before they put on the new one. They trim 
 the shoe so that the stitches are getting loose. So there is 
 no sole left to sew to it, as they cut the edge of the sole 
 away, that the foundation of the shoe is gone. 
 
 How to Nail a Sole in a Turned Shoe 
 
 Examine the part wliere the sole is Avorn so the 
 stitches are disaffected. First scive the sole so it should 
 \>() n]\ h'\e!. in Figure F. Scive off the sole so it should 
 be the same thickness as it is worn in Figure C or Figure 
 D. See which part of the sole is mostly Avorn, then 
 scive the sole all around the same thickness. Around 
 tlie edge leave enough extra sole leather so you can put 
 your nails in, and nails % of an inch are big enough. 
 F>ut before you put on the sole it must be level as any 
 little Avill hurt. 
 
 The young will learn if they study this book. Some 
 slioe-i'cpairers will tell you that the bottom has to be 
 inside the way the shoe is worn. It is more comfortable. 
 '^\y experience is that the inside of the shoe has to be 
 level. It is unlevel because the sole from the shoe is 
 worn. If you ever tried to play with a little ditch, and 
 you put water where it is lower the water will flow 
 
 9 
 
down, and if it is hilly, it stops, and if you want water 
 to run the place you Avant it to, so you will get it to a level 
 place, so it won't flow either way. And this is the way 
 Avith the veins in your feet. If one place is lower and 
 the other place higher it stops the vessels in the vein 
 to run and it weakens your feet> and it produces all 
 kinds of trouble, and by doing the right way will get 
 away with the ignorant Avhich they call first-class shoe 
 repairing. 
 
 There is a model for a nailed shoe. You can't take 
 too much care to nail on a welt shoe. A good many 
 shoe-repairers, when they nail the sole on, clinch the 
 Avelt to the upper. That draAvs the shoe in and pulls the 
 welt out of shape. 
 
 Ahvays repair the sole and follow the model A. B. G. 
 etc. It shoAvs you hoAv far apart the nails have to be 
 from the edge. By preparing the sole, have the sole 
 Avider than the Avelt. If you trim in close, and by nail- 
 ing on, the welt spreads out. Then you have to trim 
 the welt from the shoe, and that ruins the shoe. Before 
 you nail the sole around, put rubber cement between 
 the sole and the welt and let it dry a little before you nail 
 it. Ahvays drive the nails toward the sole so it will not 
 clinch the upper. 
 
 10 
 
Model of a Nailed Half Sole 
 
 11 
 
To Prepare a Sole on a Slip-sole 
 
 If you notice uneven places in the inside of the shoe 
 and you haven't any way to take it out, split the slip- 
 sole from Figure F to Figure C. Take a screw driver 
 and dig out the cork which conies together in one place 
 hy v/eaving the shoe. Then scive the slip-sole and 
 fill in more with felt in the worn part, so it will be 
 level. Then put your sole on. 
 
 To Straighten a Heel 
 Sec which part of the heel is worn. See how the 
 counter is. Sometimes a person will wear a heel out- 
 side, and the counter will turn to the inside. Straighten 
 the heel where it is worn. Raise the inside a little 
 higher. Extend the top lift to the inside. This will 
 prevent the counter from turning down. 
 
 If a toe wears on a hand-turned sole it should not 
 cut the foundation from the old sole. You can take a 
 file and file it out as far as you want to put the tip on. 
 Then you can cement both parts and this Avill make a 
 neat job when finished, or you can nail it on so that 
 the nail w^ill not be too heavy so it wall go through 
 the shoe. Some people, if they wear on the side of 
 the sole, like to have it fixed with a piece of leather. 
 As they don't feel like spending their money for a new 
 sole, and this can also be neatly done. 
 
 12 
 
COUNTER NAILED AROUND HEEL 
 
 (Piece of Sole Leather) 
 
 13 
 
Mark on the sole how far you will have that piece 
 of leather on. Scive the old sole so the new piece of 
 leather will set in a level, and make it so it should be 
 a level edge. 
 
 A shoe is turned to the inside of the counter. Notice 
 how the heel is turned to the outside. This can be easily 
 straightened up so it will be as good as ever. 
 
 Take the heel off and remove the sole from the 
 counter. See that the inner sole from the heel is in 
 good condition, so that the nails should hold. Then 
 open the side from the counter which is turned down. 
 Make it wet and hammer it to your last so it gets straight- 
 ened. Cut a thin piece of sole leather and scive it 
 around. The leather could be shaped like the counter. 
 Paste the piece of leather on and put some paste be- 
 tween the counter and the upper. Then put piece of 
 leather in. Hammer down the outside of the counter 
 so it should move to the inside- where it is turned. 
 Next take and last the counter in. Put your sole back. 
 Then move to the inside, put your heel on; also move 
 to the inside. This will never turn down again. 
 Broken Counter from a Heel 
 
 On page 13 you will notice models of a counter and 
 a piece of inner sole the model of a heel. Take the old 
 counter out from the shoe and cut a piece of thin sole 
 
 14 
 
leather. Scive the edges around on the counter. The 
 next line indicates how far to bend it so it should go over 
 the inner sole. Take the piece of inner sole like the 
 model. Take the counter, nail it around the inner sole, 
 so it will look like a box. Cut in the heel the old inner 
 sole so the new piece will set to a level. Paste the new 
 counter all around. Put in the shoe and push it back 
 as far as the upper leather from the sole allows so it will 
 hold the inner sole tight. This counter will stay in the 
 shoe as long as the sole lasts. 
 
 The Right Way to Sew Rips in a Torn Shoe 
 It has to be sewn the same way as Avhen it Avas 
 new. If you sew it from the upper to the sole, the 
 stitches wear off and it gets loose. The right way to 
 do is to take a double waxed end from the place you 
 start to sew the rip. Take the sewing awl and pull 
 through both ends to the waxed end. If you have a 
 knot it should be left on top of the sole. Then take one 
 line from your waxed end, take the awl and go through 
 the same hole that you see under the sole. Then take 
 the other line from your waxed end, and you will see 
 the holes where it has been sewn before. Take it 
 through the outside upper, the same end which you 
 have gotten through the upper. Take it through again 
 to the next hole. Then take the outside end and go 
 
 15 
 
through the hole from the sole. Pull the end out only 
 half way. Take your awl and put it in your waxed 
 end. Take the inside end; the bristle from the inside 
 put in the other waxed end — not far in. Pull the out- 
 side end out, so you can get the inside end out. Take 
 the bristle from the waxed end, and pull both ends 
 from the inside and the outside. Do this over again. 
 Take the next hole and pull the outside end through 
 the upper. Take the same end to the next hole. Put 
 the outside end through the sole. Do the same till you 
 have it sewn. When it is sewn you cannot see any 
 stitches from the upper to the sole. 
 
 How to Prepare a Patch on a Sole 
 Put a stretcher in the shoe and straighten the shoe. 
 Take a piece of chalk and mark around the hole where 
 it is to be patched. Take a new piece of leather, same 
 as shoe. Put it on the chalk mark. Then cut piece of 
 leather where it is marked. Scive that piece of leather 
 very thin. Then scive off the grain of the shoe where 
 your mark is. Take piece of sand paper where the 
 patch has to set in. Sandpaper heavier, so the patch 
 will rest in. Then take leather cement and put it on 
 the patch on the shoe. Let it dry till the cement is 
 fairly white. Then warm up with a match so it will 
 melt. See that you keep the match far enough away so 
 
 16 
 
Model of a Sewed Half Sole 
 
 17 
 
you Avoii't burn the leather. Put patch on, hammering 
 sliglitly with a warm burnishci- iron. Press it down and 
 that will make a perfect job. 
 
 This model will show you how to prepare a sole 
 for hand-turned shoes. First put your shoe on the last. 
 Take a pattern of the sole. Cut out your leather. Put 
 your leather on the old sole as far as the sole has to be. 
 Take your knife and mark on the old sole the length of 
 the new one. Trim the new sole off from the shoe. Put 
 on the other sole. Cut it even so one sole will not be 
 wider than the other. On the model you will see three 
 lines. The first line is the line from the sole. Take your 
 knife and channel as far as you see to the second line 
 from the edge. Cut that channel out so the upper and 
 stitches will rest on the edge — the edge from the sole. 
 Then channel the third line tOAvard the end so the 
 stitches Avill cover up after you sew on the sole. Then 
 cut off the old sole about one-half inch shorter from 
 the mark you made. Then put on the sole and take the 
 sole through the inside of the shoe. Pull the upper 
 through so the shoe is turned. Put some paste between 
 the upper and the lining in the toe. Then last the shoes, 
 so that, if there are any tips on, one should not be 
 longer than the other. When you start to sew start 
 from the upper. When you have it sewed around, by 
 
 18 
 
tiu'uing the sole, press the toe from the sole to the tip 
 of tlie shoe and push it through until the shoe is 
 turned. Put on the last- hammer it down so that it 
 will conio to a level. Take some paper, put it in the toe 
 of the shoe so the toe of the shoe will get in shape. Let 
 the shoe dry thoroughly before you finish. 
 
 A young man asked me what experience in shoe- 
 repairing is, anj'how. You put on a sole and nail it around 
 and blacken the edge until it shines and then it is done. 
 This is done to protect the foot from the ground. You 
 won't damage your feet if the shoe is fixed right. A shoe 
 which has a slip sole or Avhich has bumps and hollows 
 or the edge from the welt sticks out from the shoe, if 
 the inner sole is tight to the sole and there is no give 
 to it. This is worse than splinters. When you have a 
 shoe fixed you have to put your hand in and see how 
 uiilevel the inner sole is. When you see bumps or hollow 
 places the model gives you the right idea how to relieve 
 this. 
 
 A man should never go on a race track unless 
 he is an experienced driver. Don't hurry with your 
 work unless you know that you can do it good and 
 neatly. 
 
 A young man wants to learn the shoe trade and he 
 asked me if this trade pays, and what a man can earn 
 
 19 
 
if you are a good, experienced man, a man who does 
 good work. There always is a job open for him. And 
 you can make from $3.50 to $4 a day. It also doesn't 
 take much capital to start a business for yourself. You 
 can earn from $5 to $6 a day. It depends on how much 
 work you are getting in. You can always make as much 
 as any good mechanic. And also you are your own boss 
 If you are a good worker, the public will soon know it 
 and will keep you busy. You also can earn an unlimited 
 amount of money if you have plenty of business to 
 supply a couple of men. Good hired men now are very 
 scarce. An expert's idea is not to do the work unless 
 he can turn out good work, and to please the customers. 
 After the people will study and follow the way it is 
 explained, the market Avill have nothing but expert shoe 
 repairers. 
 
 Most starters in shoe repairing have hardships to 
 handle a knife. It is too hard for them to cut leather, 
 giving blisters on fingers and spoiling the looks of the 
 hand. 
 
 Take a piece of leather about one inch wide and 
 measur!e around your finger so it is tight like a glove. 
 Sew it together, cut a hole in the leather the size of 
 your knuckle so you can move your finger. You then 
 will handle your knife without hurting yourself and 
 spoiling the looks of your hand. 
 
 20 
 
A good many people are troubled when they buy 
 a new pair of shoes. The seam from the center is blis- 
 tering their feet. Some inexperienced man will take a 
 hammer and hammer it down as the customer tells them 
 to. The hammering on the seam will break the thread 
 easily. The only thing to do is to roll up a piece of 
 newspaper and put it in the heel of your shoe so your 
 foot will raise up. This will not only prevent from 
 blistering your foot; it will give you more room in the 
 front part of the shoe by raising the shoe. 
 
 If a seam breaks from the back part of the counter 
 sometimes the cause is that a piece of strap inside is 
 loose. The strength of the foot will break it easily. 
 Before you sew it put in a new piece of leather and this 
 will prevent it from breaking. 
 
 The Right Kind of Heel Plates 
 
 A man doesn't have to be selfish and he ahvays has 
 to look what savings he can make to the others. As 
 for many years, I have seen all different kinds and 
 shapes of heel plates. Not one of them suited me when 
 I put them on the heel. So I designed these plates. They 
 are not only perfect but it prevents the heel from turn- 
 ing on one side. 
 
 My design relates to sole and heel protectors and 
 the principal object is to provide a sole and heel pro- 
 
 21 
 
IMetal Plates, Sole and Heel 
 
 22 
 
teetor that will be inserted to greater or less extent into 
 the material of the sole. It is also an object to provide 
 means for fastening the protector and also the inserted 
 edge. Heretofore, Avearing plates have been applied to 
 soles and heels and various methods have been invented 
 for efficiently securing the same. A difficulty, how- 
 ever, has always been experienced in co-apting the 
 adjacent edges of the leather and the wearing plates 
 resulting in an irregular surface* the edges of which are 
 liable to catch obstructions and trip the wearer with 
 consequent danger of receiving injuries from falls. 
 
 My dsign overcomes these objections. My plates 
 are adapted either to fit the outer contour of the sole 
 and heel, or to be entirely inserted as shown by the cir- 
 cular on page 22. 
 
 The portion of the protector formed by the rabbit 
 forming a lip is provided with a series of openings 
 adapted to receive shoe nails or other fastenings clinched 
 in the material of the sole. In securing my improved 
 protector to the sole or heel a recess is cut in the sole 
 in depth equal to the thinnest portion of the body-por- 
 tion of the protector and corresponding in contour to 
 the body portion. 
 
 A groove is then cut in the leather parallel to the 
 surface and flush with the bottom of the recess, a dis- 
 tance of the material of the sole. 
 
 23 
 
A good many repairers do not understand how to 
 put the plates on. To make a good job, straighten the 
 heel. First put on the nails in the 3 holes on the out- 
 side. Cut your top lift so it will fit, with the even in the 
 groove. Drive four nails in half way. Take your top 
 lift, put on the nail and hammer down the top lift 
 so that the nails will receive the top lift. 
 
 The side plate, which you see the two screws and 
 two nails underneath the plate. Put the plate close to 
 the edge. 
 
 Hammer doAvn so the two nails under the plate will 
 hold. Then drive 3 nails in the side and this will pro- 
 tect the sole from wearing off. This plate is designed 
 right and left above. 
 
 What Makes Crime? 
 
 One man learns a trade like shoe repairing, plumb- 
 ing, carpentering or machinist, as high as a financier has 
 to have experience. Only by his doing good work, being 
 steady on his job, he will not have a thought of commit- 
 ting a crime. If he is discharged from one place, there 
 is always another place open for him. An inexperienced 
 politician, as soon as he gets on his job, the first thought 
 he has, is where and from whom he can graft. As 
 his time is limited he isn't fit for the job. 
 
 A man who learns a trade and has been working at 
 
 24 
 
it and his only thought is tho 6 o'clock whistle, that 
 man didn't learn enough, and Avhen this man gets fired 
 he finds it very hard to get another job. Being idle he 
 is taking up one thing, how to make easy money' and 
 stealing is not so easy when he gets caught. He occupies 
 a room in prison. If that man Avould put his knowledge 
 in good work, he wouldn't have to steal. Good work 
 pays for life. We have some inexperienced financiers 
 which they represent themselves with the first thought 
 on how to get money from the class of working people. 
 They are expert crooks and the people should not try 
 any more. 
 
 Everybody is an expert, and the next shoe repairer 
 knows it. 
 
 If a customer comes to a shoe repair shop and had 
 shoes fixed and the shoes are ruined, the next time the 
 customer tries another shoe shop, and the customer 
 thinks the next man is better. Then she tells him how 
 the other shoe-repairer ruined her shoes. And as the 
 second less than the first one, he did not consider how 
 the job was done by the first one. And instead of im- 
 proving the shoe, he ruined it all. And now she gives the 
 good shoes to the junk man. 
 
 Mr. Man, at home your Avife does sewing; she never 
 did it before ; like sewing up the sleeves of a coat for 
 
 25 
 
her children. And when the children come home she 
 fixes the coat, and if you learn shoe repairing from this 
 book you can fix your children's shoes, and it will save 
 you many dollars. The sooner you fix the shoe the later 
 you will have to buy new shoes. A young man who is 
 stuck up is a lazy subject. And that kind of a man is 
 not fit for a job. As I was writing this book a young 
 nian came to my shop and wanted to know what I was 
 doing. I told him that I wrote this book so that any 
 one can learn how to fix his own shoes and learn the 
 trade so that he can go in business. Then the young 
 man said, ''Who wants to fix his own shoes? I would 
 rather pay to got my shoes fixed, to let someone else 
 do the job." Then he tells me he is out of a job for 
 about two months, and that if I fix his shoes he will 
 pay me next week. But I told the young man that this 
 book is for his future. Then I told him he wouldn't have 
 the money next week as you haven't today if you do not 
 learn the trade. 
 
 Instructions 
 If a man has a couple pair of shoes and he doesn't 
 wear them very often, they get dry and then he can't 
 wear them. The inner sole gets cracked so it cuts the 
 foot, the counter is dry and that cuts the ankle. If you 
 ever have your shoes in that conciiiion, put water in the 
 
 26 
 
shoes, and wet the counter so the leather will be moist 
 And it will go back to its place when you wear them. 
 
 If you put on a sole and you see the inner sole is 
 cracked, and the edge of the welt turns up- you should 
 not hammer on the sole while it is dry. Put a little 
 Avater in the shoe, let it soak in the inner sole for 5 
 minutes, then hammer the bottom down and put on the 
 sole. 
 
 If you are in the habit of wearing out a hole in the 
 upper, as the lining wears out in the little toe and it 
 burns the leather, cut a round piece of leather, scive 
 the edges thin, put some paste on the leathr, put it in 
 the shoe so it sticks. This Avill prevent breaking. 
 
 When a lot of shoe-repairers receive children's shoes, 
 they patch them up any old way. Because it takes just 
 as long a time to fix small shoes as big ones, you can't 
 take too much care in fixing children's shoes, as a child 
 will say it hurts his feet. Then the parents will examine 
 tlie shoe and as long as they don't find any nails stick- 
 ing out in the shoes, the job is done right and there 
 are no holes in the shoes. Then you find out that you 
 will have to take the child to a foot doctor and then he 
 finds that the foot is out of place. And this makes hol- 
 lows and humps in the bottom. 
 
 If the top of a shoe breaks from the stitches near 
 
 27 
 
tlie vamp, oj^en the thread from the vamp, put a piece of 
 leather under between the vamp and the top. Stitch it. 
 
 When you repair a sole on a shoe, always see you 
 have leather enough to trim the edge so you can extend 
 the sole, so when you nail a welt shoe you should not 
 have to trim the welt. 
 
 If you cut a sole and it is too small and you're try- 
 ing to press the welt in so you can have the leather, 
 this Avill ruin the shape of the shoe, and it takes more 
 time. Take the sole off and cut a wider sole; the first 
 one you can use on a small shoe. 
 
 As you practice shoe repairing you don't need many 
 tools' as the machinery is the most important. When 
 you are ready to start business on a big scale, so when 
 you have a sole fixed and you want it finished, cut your 
 edge or heel to a level, then take your rasp, file and 
 make the edge smooth and take a piece of window glass 
 and scrape it very smooth. Then blacken the edge with 
 ink, take burnishing iron, make it a little hot and bur- 
 nish the heel to the edge, so it comes to a polish. Take 
 a little shoe blacking, then go over it with a cloth. This 
 Avill make a smooth finish. 
 
 How to Straighten a Shoe 
 
 Sometimes a shoe Avhich has a bad inner sole, and 
 after the sole is worn, and it gets wet, then the shoe 
 
 28 
 
Avill spread. After they are fixed, one shoe is wider than 
 the other. 
 
 To Put Shoe in Shape 
 
 Take one waxed end. If it is a welt shoe put your 
 waxed end through the top of the welt, on one side. 
 Then take the end and put through the other side of 
 the welt. Then put a stitch an inch further and do the 
 same on the other side. Draw it in so it comes the 
 same width as the other one. Then put your sole on. 
 After you finish, put on a stretcher, so the inner sole 
 will come to a level. 
 
 To Put on a Hand Sewed Sole 
 
 Prepare your sole as you sec on the model. Trim 
 the sole close to the welt. Cut a eha.niel near the edge 
 of the sole, as the channel should be cut so it will cover 
 the edge from the stitches. Used a waxed end in six cord 
 thick. This will be heavy enough to .sew any ordinary 
 sole. Examine tiie welt of the shoe. If the edge is cut 
 nearer the stitches you can put your stitches next to the 
 old stitches. If the stitches are further from the edge, 
 then pick the stitches out so you can sew in the same 
 holes. Whenever you start to sew start from the welt. 
 How to Make a Waxed End 
 
 If you make a w^axed end in six cord, first turn 
 around twice on your third finger. Hold together with 
 
 29 
 
the first and second fingers. Then take each cord and 
 untwist by turning to the right so it will get unspinned. 
 Take your finger on the point of the untwisted cord and 
 pull it off. Do each one the same. 
 
 Then divide in two parts. Make it a little moist with 
 your lips. Then put it on your lap and have it about 
 an inch apart. Then turn to the left so both parts come 
 together. Then turn it to the right so that it gets in a 
 fine cord. Then take your cord and put on a hook and 
 turn the thread to the right. Then put on shoe-maker's 
 wax. Rub it down so it will be smooth. Then take a 
 bristle and split it from the lower end to about three 
 inches. Take one end. put it on your second finger on 
 the left hand, and hold with your thumb, close to the 
 place where the bristle is split. With one finger hold 
 one end of bristle. Put your waxed end in the split 
 from the bristle. Take the other part of the bristle 
 and put it between your third finger. 
 
 Then take the first part and lay it down with the 
 waxed end and roll it together. Then take the other 
 part of the bristle and roll it. Separate so it is all 
 twisted. Then put on your wax and turn all together. 
 Then make a little hole in your waxed end near the end 
 of the bristle. Pull your bristle through the hole so 
 that both cords of the bristle will hold it together. 
 
 30 
 
When you practice shoe repairing you can be your 
 OAvn judge. When you drive a nail in a sole see that 
 it should be a quarter of an inch apart. Drive them in 
 SO they will be all straight. When a nail goes outside 
 so it Avill clinch the upper, take a screw driver and bend 
 it up so the upper will be free from the welt. 
 
 Sometimes the nail will bend from the inside to the 
 upper, as that nail didn't go in the inner sole and this 
 will draw the shoes. So you can bend the nail back from 
 the upper. If you fix one job, try to see how good you 
 can do the next one. 
 
 The best competitor is the dentist, as he is always 
 trying to pull someone else's teeth. But if a shoe-re- 
 pairer is ruining competition he is pulling his own teeth 
 and ruins the other fellow who has to make a living. 
 What does a fellow mean when he gives a dollar 
 for 50 cents? Then you will think that you have made 
 50 cents profit without working. Now, you will lose a 
 good many dollars by it. As that fellow who gave you 
 the dollar for 50 cents is a crook and he is watching 
 you. A shoe-repairer putting on rubber heels for 25 
 cents. The price is stamped on the box at 50 cents. It 
 is registered by the U. S. Patent Office. Then you claim 
 to put them on in five minutes. So you deceive yourself 
 and the customer. 
 
 31 i 
 
In the first place, it takes five minutes to take off 
 the old heel. Then when a heel is worn on the outside 
 you have to hammer the sole down so it should move to- 
 v/ard the outside so the counter will get to its place. 
 Then scrape the leather with the file and then scrape 
 the rubber heel a little. Put the cement on both parts 
 and the sole and the heel. Let it dry for five minutes. 
 By doing this way it will pay you a dollar an hour for 
 your good work. 
 
 If you think that to put on a rubber heel in five 
 minutes and so it is as an advertisement, then you better 
 go to a dentist. He will fix you right. 
 
 It is not necessary to have too many tools to do shoe- 
 repairing. I went into a shoe-cobbler's. He was about 
 75 years old. His wife died before he was 30. The rest 
 of his life he stayed single. His pleasure was to buy 
 tools, and that is why his wife died, as she was more 
 economical and couldn't stand it any longer. As he 
 was talking about his wife he never shed a tear. Then 
 I understood that he was satisfied to be single. 
 
 The world doesn't stand in one place. As every 
 year he passes by, some new inventions came out. So 
 he spent his life's savings to get some tools. My idea 
 is you do not need many tools and you can save the 
 soles. 
 
 32 
 
This is the following tools you need to do expert 
 shoe-repairing : 
 
 1. 
 
 One stand and four lasts, 
 
 2. 
 
 A pointed toe-lap last. 
 
 3. 
 
 Peg awl. 
 
 4. 
 
 A sewing awl. 
 
 5. 
 
 Two hafts. 
 
 6. 
 
 A hammer. 
 
 7. 
 
 Eight-inch rasp file. 
 
 8. 
 
 Lip point scive. 
 
 9. 
 
 Pincher. 
 
 10. 
 
 Burnisher. 
 
 11. 
 
 Instep stretcher. 
 
 12. 
 
 Sharp stone. 
 
 33 
 
The Levinson Shank Plate 
 
 To whom it may concern: Be it known that J. M. 
 Levinson of Los Angeles, California, invented and pro- 
 duced a new and original design for a "shank-plate" of 
 which the following is a specification and reference, the 
 accompaning draAving forming a part thereof. 
 
 The leading feature of said design being to protect 
 the shank from the shoe, is a body portion extending 
 from the heel to the half sole, the protector is amplified 
 in this recess- the lip of the protector being slipped under 
 the lip of the welt, (Fig. 1) representing a plain view 
 of said shank plate and embodying said lusign (Fig. 2) 
 with a< view of the lip securely held under the welt bind- 
 ing the sole and welt together. Figure 3 forms a series of 
 openings adapted to receive shoe nails, a recess being cut 
 in the sole in depth equal to the portion of the protector, 
 and thus readily be seen that the leather is securely held 
 in relation to the protector, and a flush surface is simply 
 
 34 
 
THE LEVINSON SHANK PLATE 
 
 35 
 
and easily formed, and the wearing qualities materially 
 increased where the sole is protected. 
 
 Honest and remunerative labor should be a pleasure, 
 and while at work, one should be alert as to the world's 
 needs, not merely for your own benefit, but mankind in 
 general. You will observe that the model of a shank pro- 
 tector which farmers, miners and pole-climbers all wear 
 out the edge of the shank, the steel shank under the sole 
 breaks them in half, also the sole, and inner sole too, and a 
 problem in repairing, necessitating the removal of heel 
 and sole and replacing with new ones, and if your time 
 is of any value, it will be found unprofitable, and more 
 especially so when you consider the high price of leather- 
 and my shank protector will prevent the shank from 
 wearing out, the metal slat protects the edge from wear- 
 ing away, the sole of the shank, and bottom of sole, 
 being protected and holding the welt from the shoe tight 
 to the sole and the edge being beveled the same as the 
 shank, from the sole. 
 
 These come in all sizes, if the sole in the shank should 
 be too thick, you can scive the leather a bit, so that it 
 will fit, then place the shank of the shoe on edge of iron 
 last, and hammer slightly down so the lip which goes 
 under the welt will hold tight, and then add nails accord- 
 ing to holes indicated. 
 
 36 
 
The shank protector v.ill hold the shoe in shape and 
 will protect same from turning, the shoe of either side, 
 and if you put a now sole on scive the sole a little on top, 
 put on the shank protector so it will hold the corners 
 from the sole. 
 
 Instead of putting the nails in the edge of the sole 
 put them in the shank protection they will hold better, 
 the edge of the sole will not loosen so easily being care- 
 ful that your nails are not too long, causing them to 
 clinch on the inner sole, 4-8 nails will hold any sole and 
 be less trouble to remove. 
 
 Many persons wear out the leather on the inside of 
 the counter when thoy walk, striking one foot with the 
 other, until the leather is gone, and some shoe repairers 
 will not take the time to patch invisible ; and in the back 
 of all shoes there is a seam ; take a piece of white chalk, 
 and draw a line from the back seam from the top 
 stitches of the counter, and go down to the heel, then 
 mark on the edge of the sole, from under the heel, and 
 take your chalk on top of the counter under the ma- 
 chine stitches, going down as far as the leather is worn, 
 then mark with chalk a half inch farther and a straight 
 mark down to the heel, then take your leather and chalk 
 pressing down hard enough so the mark on the leather, 
 cut around the mark, this will give you the right pattern 
 
 37 
 
for the patch, and with your knife cut slightly in the 
 grain of the leather from the shoe, and cut no deeper 
 than a piece of paper. With the point of your knife 
 peel oi¥ the grain all around Avhere you made the cut' 
 but do not peel the leather towards the heel, and then 
 take a piece of sand paper and smooth it off, and take 
 leather cement and put on where you peeled the leather, 
 let it dry until it gets white, and then take your patch 
 and scive the leather down on the left side so the edge 
 should be very thin and sharp, and with a screw driver 
 lifting the sole a bit from the counter,and take your patch 
 with the left side up and lay it down around the heel, 
 as far as you made your mark and put in a tack on each 
 side. Leave the patch down so that it will reach the 
 counter from the heel, with your screw driver press your 
 leather down a little so it goes between the heel and the 
 counter, take your awl and make one stitch close to the 
 l)atch, then with your waxed end put your awl in the 
 patch so it goes between the sole and the counter, so 
 the patch will sink in, and then make three or four 
 stitches all around and then put cement on edge of your 
 patch and leave to dry. 
 
 When the work is dry, warm up Avith a match until 
 the same is in liquid form, and do the same to the shoe, 
 then pull the patch up as far as the top of the seam 
 
 38 
 
where you made the mark, and handle so it will not leave 
 any wrinkles and hammer down slightly, and with a hot 
 burnisliing iron press it down hard enough so the patch 
 will not show. 
 
 Before you repair ladies shoes, be sure and examine 
 the inner sole to see if leather or caiivas> as a canvas 
 inner sole will not receive the nails when the sole is put 
 on, and before you cut the old sole off take the lining out 
 of the shoe and cut your leather inner sole a trifle smaller 
 than the lining, then put the inner sole in the inner sole 
 straight and put a nail in each side of the shank to 
 hold the inner sole, then cut the old sole off, put a tack 
 in the toe so the shoe will be straight on the last, and 
 ready for the finishing work. 
 
 39 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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