Reddit reviews Handmade Shoes for Men

http://www.amazon.com/Handmade-Shoes-Men-Lazlo-Vass/dp/3833160454/

bought this book. you should buy it too. put it on your coffee table and let all your guests know you've got shoe game.

First if all, thanks for the series!

I don't know if somebody told you that already, but you should absolutely get the book Handmade Shoes for Men by famous shoemaker Lazlo Vass. It explains all the techniques involved in making a quality shoes - you will no longer be surprised by things like ribbons along the heel counter and such. Great book!

Hi! Sorry for the delay, I had neglected the moderation queue.

If you are just curious to see starting points, I can recommend (in no particular order):

• [Purchasing Handmade shoes for men] (http://www.amazon.com/Handmade-Shoes-Men-Lazlo-Vass/dp/3833160454) (amazon, non affiliate link) It is an awesome resource, showing the technique (without getting into detail though) but serves as a "aha, that's it" for a beginner.
  
• Marcell Mrsan's blog has several tutorials on construction and patternmaking (he's also preparing a book.) He also posts occasionally a video on youtube with construction tips
  
• James Ducker & Deborah Carré's blog They also post tip posts from time to time.
  
  But these are only useful to know what making a shoe it's like. The only way to learn (without wasting countless hours fiddling around) is to attend a course. There are many shoemakers offering courses (yes, it doesn't look like this but it does, once you know :) ) Marcell gives classes in the US, James and Deborah in UK, and as far as I know there are also teachers in Italy and Spain. Of course I think in most European countries you could find shoemaking teachers, too, but I don't know many more examples.
  
  Also, making a shoe from start to finish involves many things: design, patternmaking and construction. And if you work from start to finish, you can't design something you can't build, so a good tradeoff of abilities has to come somewhere. As you get better in construction, you know what you can design. Patternmaking is another thing, since it can be taught kind of "on its own," but requires also a knowledge of the design and the construction process.
  
  If you need anything else, don't doubt about replying to this thread, I'll be faster this time!