How to Make SHTF Shoes

[Mortblanc]

Transfer it to where you want it SD. You could make it a sticky for permanent reference here on the board. Many forums use that method.

MATERIALS

#1=LEATHER

Materials used successfully for foot coverings are limited. All are a poor replacement for LEATHER.

Sandals can be put together from any number of materials, but coverings for the feet need to be made of some durable, flexible material that will protect the feet and allow air circulation to some degree.

The best material is leather. I keep leather in my supplies. when I say I keep leather I am mean that I keep half an American elk hide, two or three boar hides and several deerskins. That is due to the work I do and all the uses I put these items too. I have regular suppliers of these items and I also keep an eye out at what you people call "boot sales". I can use these sources in secure times but what about SHTF?

I have considered the SHTF supply of leather for many years ad realize there are two basic sources, you can make it, someone else can make it or you can "find it".

Making leather is a long term activity. Here in the states there are numerous people that make various kinds of leather as a hobby. It is a long, arduous, nasty and very smelly process. In preindustrial times the tannery was set well away from the dwellings and the people that worked the tanneries were not welcome in polite society due to being saturated with the smell of rotting flesh, stale urine, tannin and all the other chemicals and smells of the tanning process. Of all the "surnames" attached to a craft I have always suspected that "Tanner" was one of the first.

At the very least the tanning and curing of a hide will take two weeks. That is if you have access to the hide from a hunting kill, a road kill or scavenging. At the end of the hunter-gatherer phase and emergence into the agricultural phase hide supplies dry up. One is growing food using large draft animals, killing only the bare minimum livestock to amass wealth on the hoof so dead animals are something one avoids. Suddenly the people outnumber the animals and leather becomes scarce. With that scarcity comes increased value.

So making or producing leather will be a long term activity and needing foot coverings might be an immediate need. Where do you "find" leather in a SHTF era?

There is an immediate and plentiful supply. It is to be found over on the motorway where all those gridlocked automobiles are setting abandoned. It is the leather covering the seats of all those upscale automobiles. There is a secondary supply available in the top line furniture stores covering all those high end sofas and chairs. Take out your knife and skin those car seats like they were a road killed badger!

The average automobile will have enough leather covering the seats to put shoes on every member of a family, or it will clothe an individual from head to toe. A full sized sofa will do the same.

When one is scavenging there should always be a series of levels of usage in ones mind. You might be looking for food, or clothing or tools, but always keep your eyes and your mind open to the secondary uses of things you are not specifically searching for.

FABRIC

There are some fabrics that can be used as short term foot coverings.

Canvas=Heavy canvas is one. Canvas has been used as shoe material for many years. Canvas tennis shoes have always been popular and quite durable for light duty use. It is not very good for cold conditions and it wears quickly. It also requires a separate sole to make it usable at all.

Nylon=Various man made fabrics are major components of modern shoes. They are also usable for fabricating SHTF footwear. The heavy nylon and kelvar used for soft luggage makes excellent shoe material. The heavy fabric used on the automobile seats that are not "upscale" enough to qualify for leather also made excellent foot wear. Any of those long wearing and durable fabrics will suffice for short term footwear.

Naguhide= Stay away from it. It does not last, is not strong, does not breathe, and is not durable. Same for the other artificial leathers or vinyl materials.

WOOD=Yes wood! Remember those Dutch boys and girls wearing those pointy wooden shoes? They are for real! I have a pair and wear them on a regular basis during wet weather or for quick trips around my camp when the dew is heavy. It saves my moccasins and pegged leather shoes. They are labor intensive but they last for an eternity. You can also use them to wreck the machinery in a factory, committing "sabotage".

Right up to and during WW2 wood was used for shoe soles. Not only was it used extensively for shoe soles, nails and metal plates were secured to the wood to extend its life.

Wood can also be used to make "mules". Simple flats of wood lightly sculpted to the shape of the foot with a wide strap across the top as a securing device. They are quick and very easy to make, long lasting and save your other footwear for harder use.

EXPECTATIONS

I put this as a separate consideration. In the modern world we have certain expectations of footwear. We expect it to look a certain way, feel a certain way and last for a specified time.

SHTF foot wear has one purpose, it protects your feet!

Looks do not matter. How the footwear feels is only relevant to comfort and foot health. Durability becomes a relative term.

In this situation wearing shoes becomes either optional or a luxury. One saves his shoes for specific use, preserving them for that use. One goes barefoot as much as possible or uses a special foot covering indoors or in specialized conditions.

One also gears the expectations to the materials available and the labor invested in the foot covering. One does not spend all day making a shoe from materials that will not last but half a day. However, one might invest two hours in a foot covering that wears out in a single day if that covering protects the foot from harm for the entire day.

This is the economics of survival.