Sounds great mate Your inspiring me!!!! Any chance of some pics? Leo Dawie Coetzee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Joe & Leo They're basically soft leather slipper/socks that fit inside oversize sandals, with greaves, etc. strapped on. The full kit might include poleyns and strap-on storage pouches. The idea is threefold: firstly the "woodsman's axe" principle, where you only replace what is actually worn, even though you might eventually end up replacing everything several times over. Secondly, even good shoemakers are wary of making custom boots, as it is just too easy to get the fit wrong. The idea is something that is as forgiving and adjustable and mistake-proof as a sandal with the protective value of a boot. Thirdly, the definition of the product is the interfaces between the components. The spaces between the interfaces can be filled variously by various people in various materials, so there's a lot of scope for people going wild. The soles are truck-tyre retread. The extreme rear of the heels are worn down at an angle, all the way into the foam. My shoemaker friend says they're the only instance he's ever seen of soles out of that stuff wearing right through. The new ones will have heeled soles better suited to motorcycling (though I don't at the moment), also wrapping up the back of the heel, like driving shoes: I'll see how that affects wear while walking. I keep feeling as if I'm stepping out of them, so the improved version will have a "heel-centric" fit, i.e. it fits snugly around the heel and ends up wherever it happens to end up at the toe end. That should also help for wear around the Achilles region. To keep the fit flexible at the toe end the new ones will also have removable toe-uppers. After a lot of contemplation I haven't been able to come up with anything better than bolt-fixing those to the sides of the soles, so 10# M6x25 set screws it is. I'll keep you posted. -Dawie
" Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Blackspot Shoes Message: 4 I like ur attitude Mack! Publish it under creative commons license and let the people go wild. I'd build a pair. Joe ... Message: 5 I'm forever wearing out shoes and boots. The soles seem to go the fastest, especially on my boots. I walk 8 km a day to and from work. Boots that have a sole hard enough to last are too friggin slippery in winter, and softer rubber just disappears. I wish I had boots withreplaceable soles. Something I could buy and replace myself. The other thing that wears about as fast on boots and shoes is the inside surface around the achilies area. Some kind of replaceable insert would fix this. Duct tape is the closest thing I could come up with. It works! Joe leo bunyan wrote: If you ever get it to publication I would certainly be interested Cheers Leo --------------------------------- To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre._______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com
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