Insole has two types, full sock lining and half sock lining.
Full sock lining is easy to comprehend, from the toe to the heel. In most people’s experience, sock lining should be full, right? Taker trainers for example.
Half sock lining in fact is the mainstay in the field of classic dress shoes, especially Goodyear welted shoes.
The forefoot, that’s the vegetable tanned leather that everyone can see, so what does the heel look like? I think most people have never seen it.
This is the heel of the John Lobb St James bespoke shoe with the sock lining removed.
The midsole, which is vegetable tanned leather, no different from the forefoot’s in terms of material, but there are a lot of studs.
Yes, your heels step on nails at all times, and they are the pointed ends of nails.
I’ve watched a few videos on shoemaking and there are two possible explanations about where these nails come from, with a high probability of the former and low the latter.
The former is that when the leather is stretched, it is fastened with nails, and then the nails are hammered into the inside of the midsole.
The latter one is where the heel is glued together on the one hand, and also hammered in with brass nails on the other.
But it seems like the nails in the latter one are not too long and shouldn’t come in.
After lasting, that is, a few days after the leather has been stretched and moulded, the nails are not removed, but the tip end is simply clamped off, which got the form you see now.
So does it have any impact on our wearing experience? The answer is not too much.
Most ready to wear shoes, with a half sock lining, have a layer of elastomer underneath, and even some brands use elastomer underneath the full cushion to make you feel soft and sneaker-like in them.
Sock lining of bespoke shoes that I have encountered, no matter it is half or full, is just a layer of leather with no cushioning at all.
When I wore bespoke shoes for the first time (my experience is with Maftei), after being used to wearing ready-made shoes, I feel that my heel “sits” in them, it’s the feeling of security that the heel is firmly clamped, very “snug”.
I believe that is because my heel sits deep into the shoes, height wise. This is a special experience, and maybe someone can tell me whether it is better than the normal experience with ready to wear shoes.