Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-03-23
HINTS ABOUT HEELS.
Some Safeguards gainst Wearing Them
Down Surgested

Some persons wear down the heels of
their shoes directly at the back long be-
fore there are any other signs of wear.
either upon the heel or the sole. Others
invariably wear them off on the outside.
and very few wear them down on the
inside of the foot. The aforementioned
class are, almost without exception, per-
sons who walk in an erect position, and
who habitually take long steps. The fact
of the body remaining erect in walking
while the leg is extended forward will ac-
count for the foot falling at each step. on
the center OF the heel behind. This must,
of course, begin the work of wear and tear
at this point The second class are those.
as general thing, who are more or less
afflicted with malformation of the tibia
(the large bone of the lower leg), nature.
or the too early use of the limbs in child
hood having curved this bone outward,
more or less in the shape of bow, and
furnished the owner with what are gen
orally termed bow legs TO a greater or less
degree. Those who wear away the in
side edge of the heel first are usually men
who, in addition to walking erect, turn
the toes considerably outward as the foot
is propelled forward in the action of walk
ing.
The usual precaution observed by the
maker against either of the above faults is
to drive row of hard steel nails across
| the portion of the heel which is observed
to wear away soonest. If this is done when
| the shoes are new, ii is undoubtedly the
| best safeguard that can be adopted. The
gradual wearing away of the steel nails
from the moment the breaking-in process
begins will be entirely unnoticed by the
wearer. But it is very different thing
when it becomes question of building up
| the heel of shoe that has become worn
down from walking. Almost every one
knows how awkward ana unnatural partly
worn shoe that has had the heels built up
to their original shape feels. All comfort
in walking in such shoes is for the time
lost, and 1t is much more difficult to break
IN pair of patched-up heels than an en-
| tire new pair of shoes.
| When workmen is called upon to mend
pair of shoes, his first task should be to
examine them carefully and observe lust
in what manner they are worn. He should
assume at the beginning that the present
form of both sole and heel are of the exact
shape required by the particular walk of
|
that to secure the greatest degree of comfort
to the wearer, the mending process should
adapt itself as nearly to the form as posi-
bic. To do this properly, as far as con-
Germs the heel, the worn part should not be
rebuilt quite as high as it was originally,
and the heel should be trimmed off flush
with the lower part of the counter
at this point. All the extra breadth that
can be given it by this mode of trimming
will add SO much more to its future wear,
without causing the unnatural feeling that
sudden accession in hight always pro-
duces. When the heel uniformly wears
away directly at the center of the back, it
is an advantage to have it at least an
| eighth of an inch lower at this point than
at the shank. The manner of walking that
wears the heel in this way will find that
formation the most acceptable. The same
| principle should be observed where the
wear is upon the other side; let the re-
newed heel have gradual slant from that
point upward to the side opposite, and trim
of, as nearly as possible, flush with the
| bottom of the counter.
| Erect walkers, who are accustomed to
| take short, quick steps, do not usually wear
| away the heels unevenly. These can in
dulge taste in high heels if they prefer
| them, without suhjecting themselves to the
inconvenience noted above. The heels of
| shoes worn by ladies, although invariably
higher in proportion to size than mems,
very seldom wear down either at the back
or at the sides. The reason of this is that
In walking their steps are shorter than
those of man of the same hight, in con-
sequence of which the foot, when it falls,
I is planted more evenly upon the ground,
the wearing being thus more uniform on
all parts-Shoe and Leather Reporter.