Author Topic: moccasin weight leather?  (Read 18541 times)

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Offline larze_fat

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moccasin weight leather?
« on: January 27, 2011, 05:40:45 pm »
I'm looking at making a pair or two of the knee high mocs like the pattern on PP, I was wondering what weight leather would be best and any suggestions and tweaks to the pattern would be very helpfull.     

PS I am probably use deer leather if that makes a difference.

Offline nclonghunter

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Re: moccasin weight leather?
« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2011, 10:24:36 pm »
I have made and worn several pair of Eastern style or Creek style center seam mocs while enacting an 18th century hunter. Deer hides are good, but you must have your feet conditioned for them. I prefer a heavier weight elk hide in chrome tan. I have also made a moc liner from blanket wool, which adds cushion and comfort. Not certain what type of moc you are wanting to make. I truly like the Creek style pucker toe style. Also, you will likely make a couple before you get a good fit so consider costs for beginning.  Good Luck and watch for the small rocks.

Go to Frontier Folks message board and search moccasins, I think you will find some good reading there... http://frontierfolk.net/mb/
There are no bad knappers, only bad flakes

Offline larze_fat

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Re: moccasin weight leather?
« Reply #2 on: January 27, 2011, 11:43:20 pm »
Thanks for such a quick response, but the tutorial on how to make the knee high mocs on paleo planet are the style Im interested in building. I just have one question, what do you mean when you say you have to condition your feet?

Offline Pappy

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Re: moccasin weight leather?
« Reply #3 on: January 28, 2011, 09:56:10 am »
With no sole ,it like walking barfoot. I took the pad out of some tennis shoes and put in the bottoms of mine,That helped a lot and gave me some arch support. :)
   Pappy
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Offline mullet

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Re: moccasin weight leather?
« Reply #4 on: January 28, 2011, 10:21:52 am »
Without a pad inside you sure don't want to walk down a rail road track with them on.
Lakeland, Florida
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Offline nclonghunter

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Re: moccasin weight leather?
« Reply #5 on: January 28, 2011, 11:06:25 am »
Condition your feet by going barefoot as much as possible during the warm months. Walking on paved roads is great for this. I can remember going barefoot pretty much all summer as a child.
Daniel Boone and his group took after the Indians that kidnapped his daughter and the Calloway girl from the Kentucky River. Traveling up Howard's Creek, Boone and his group tracked until dark and encamped. One of the men returned back to their home for the purpose of getting the mens moccasins. They had ran the entire day without any footwear.
I know an ex military man named Gary Barker and he would go on an 18th Century trek barefooted. We traveled some rough country and cold weather, but he never wore shoes. He carried a bare of brain tanned deer skin mocs and would occasionally wear them.

Point is that light weight mocs are worn as an added protection from briers and rocky ground, but you should be able to go bare footed first with out any trouble. The thicker elk hide and a wool liner is very much doable for tinder feet like me. The first time I ever wore mocs was a trip into the Virgina mountains and I wore only the mocs. By the next day I was hobbling around with severe pain. I located a fallen maple tree and cut squares of bark from it, then shaped them to fit my foot. The inserts were great and I got two days of wear before the bark split apart and needed replaced.

Heavy tanned cow hide is a great protection to the feet and a company named Carl Dyer's Mocs can supply them or at least show some great examples of construction.
There are no bad knappers, only bad flakes

Offline larze_fat

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Re: moccasin weight leather?
« Reply #6 on: January 28, 2011, 03:02:38 pm »
I was already thinking about putting a liner in them, and I already condition my feet. Basically once its warm enough to walk around bare foot I do any where i can.  :)

Offline larze_fat

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Re: moccasin weight leather?
« Reply #7 on: January 31, 2011, 05:27:30 pm »
To get back at the question at hand, what weight leather should I use for moccasins 3.5 oz?

Grunt

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Re: moccasin weight leather?
« Reply #8 on: February 01, 2011, 06:37:25 pm »
I would use 6 or 7oz for the soles. 3 or 4oz for the body. I'm talking double soles. The 6 or 7 oz should be taken from the top of the hump or shoulder area. Best if the toes point towards the animal's head.

Offline larze_fat

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Re: moccasin weight leather?
« Reply #9 on: February 01, 2011, 08:40:01 pm »
The plan I'm going to use is the one piece moc pattern from paleo planet, if i make it out of 6 oz leather it would all have to be made with it. This is the hyperlink to the tutorial I'm going to use



 http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/15249/t/Moccasins-101-How-to-make-one-piece-moccasins.html 
 
 
 
 

 

Grunt

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Re: moccasin weight leather?
« Reply #10 on: February 03, 2011, 08:01:11 pm »
You can make them totally out of the lighter weight leather and then add a second heavier sole on the outside bottom with contact cement and sewing. Kind of like the construction of a traditional shoe. If you do it by this method every time you wear a hole in the outer sole you just replace the sole and you don't have to make new moccs.