IMPROVED SOLES FOR BOOTS, SHOES, AND SLIPPERS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, JAMES BOOTH 41 Paradise Street Birmingham in the County of Warwick
Manager do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for IMPROVED SOLES
FOR BOOTS, SHOES, AND SLIPPERS, to be as follows:-
:-
My Invention consists in Improved Soles of leather or other suitable material for
Boots, Shoes, and Slippers,-I prepare them by taking an ordinary machine cut
sole, and near to the edge of and all round the sole I pierce holes through, the holes
being a quarter of an inch apart inore or less.
On one side only of the sole, between the holes and adjoining every hole I make
a vertical indent, partly or nearly through the sole.
The holes are pierced through, and from either side of the sole receive the needle
and thread, or other suitable tool and material, in attaching to the sole, the upper
part of the shoe or other suitable covering for the feet.
It is on the outerside of the sole which comes in contact with the wear of the
floor, that I make the herein before described vertical indents, which receive, and
protect the thread from wear, thus prolonging the stitch work considerably, as the
hereinbefore described soles are adapted for more delicate thread than used and
more delicate work than produced by the practical shoemaker, and yet from the
aforesaid protection of the thread, there is a production for great durability, and
especially will this be the case from my further Improved Invention, of omitting
every other of the as hereinbefore described vertical indents, because, in the first
hereinbefore described method, if the indents are cut very nearly through the sole,
the edge of the sole is too much weakened, but in the second named method, the
indents can be made deeper and very nearly through the sole, yet sufficent strength
maintained, and so, a production for more durability can be made with the as
hereinbefore described thread, because the stitches can be so much more embedded
in the as hereinbefore described deeper indents. The stitches which attach the
aforesaid feet coverings to the as hereinbefore described soles, can be so arranged as
to be, when on the outerside of the soles, only where they can be embedded in, as
herein before described every other indent. The innerside of the soles may be
covered with felt, wool, or other suitable material.
JAMES BOOTH,
41, Paradise Street, Birmingham,

page_text: Improved Soles for Boots, Shoes, and Slippers.
I JAMES BOOTH 41 Paradise Street Birmingham in the County of Warwick
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVED SOLES FOR BOOTS,
SHOES AND SLIPPERS and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention consists of the improvements in the soles of boots, shoes, slippers
and other feet covering equivalents hereinafter described.
I take an ordinary sole, made of leather or other suitable material, by preference
one that has been machine cut, I pierce stitch holes through the sole near the edge,
the distance from centre to centre of each hole, corresponding with the length of
the stitch; these stitch holes, will be pierced all round the edge of the sole, that is
to say about one fourth of an inch more or less from the extreme or outside edge.
On one side of the sole I in some cases provide a vertical indent that forms one
continucous cut, passing through each stitch hole horizontally but extending
in depth vertically, through a portion only of the material forming and con-
stituting the sole.
Soles pierced in the manner described, can be fastened on to the upper part of
the boot, shoe, slipper or other feet covering equivalent, by passing a needle and
thread through the stitch holes in the sole, thense through the upper, thus forming
stitches, equal in length to the distance from centre to centre of each stitch hole in
the pierced sole.
The stitches on the outside of the sole, that is to say the side that rests on the
floor when in use, would pass into the vertical indents provided to receive them ;:
It will be apparent that the thread or other inaterial forming the stitch being
imbedded in the indent away from contact with the floor; I can use a thinner or
more delicate thread to fasten the sole on to the upper, than I could if the stitch
was left lying flat on the outside surface of the sole, to be quickly worn away by
continual contact with the floor.
Instead of making a plurality of vertical indents, forming in appearance one
continueous cut, all round the edge of the sole, I prefer in some cases to leave
breaks, or parts uncut, for instance I can join two holes by means of a vertical
indent, and then leave the next space uncut or solid and continue these alternate:
cuts uniformly all round the edge of the sole, the stitch on the outside, would sink
into the indent and the stitch on the inside would ocupy in length a space
equivalent to the uncut part on the outside.
;
It will be readily understood that a sole provided with alternate indent cuts,
would be stronger than a sole provided with a continueous indent cut of the
combination of a regular series of seperate indent cuts forming when completed
one continueous indent cut.
Altho I prefer to provide one indent cut, and then a space, and next a cut, and
again a space, and so on alternately, all round the edge of the sole, yet I can where
desired make one cut and then leave a solid space equal to twice the length of the
>

page_text: cut, or of any convenient length; in like manner-conversely-I can where desired
make the cut or indent twice the length of the solid space or of any convenient
length.
The under side of the sole may be covered with felt, wool or other suitable
material.
.
In piercing and indenting the sole, I prefer to use a punch, formed to pierce two
stitch-holes and cut one indent, at one operation; the punch would be formed with
the necessary punching points and cutting edge to pierce the stitch holes and cut
the vertical indent the punch may be formed to cut several holes and vertical
indents and be opered by hand, or it can be made and formed to fit in a press and
cut the whole of the indents and pierce the whole of the stitch holes at ene stroke
of the press.
I will now proceed to describe in reference to the accompanying drawings the
various ways in which I purpose piercing the stitch holes and cutting the vertical
indents in the sole.
Figure 1 represents a blank sole.
Figure 2 represents a sole pierced with stitch-holes and also with a plurality of
vertical indents forming in appearance one continueous cut.
Figure 3 represents a sole pierced with stitch holes and alternate vertical
indents.
Figure 4 represents a sole one part of which is provided with stitch holes
together with one vertical cut and four solid spaces, the other part of the sole
being provided-converseley-with four vertical cuts to one solid space.
Figure 5 is au enlarged section of figure 3 at A B.
Figure 6 is an enlarged plan of figure 3 at A. B.
Figure 7 is a section of figure 3 at C D.
Figure 8 is an enlarged plan of figure 2 at E F.
Figure 9 is a section at E F.
The plan or figure, 2 a portion of which is enlarged at figure 8, clearly indicates
that the plurality of vertical cuts (one cut between each of the stitch holes)
produces the continueous cut represented all round and near the outside edge
of figure 2 and further represented in section on an enlarged scale at figure 9.
The plan figure 3 enlarged at figure 6 and represented in section at Sigure 5
definately points out the solid breaks.
The section figure 7 of figure 3 at C D clearly shows the vertical indent beyond
the stitch hole.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is performed I declare that what
I claim is
1st The providing of stitch holes and vertical indents in the soles of boots, shoes,
slippers or other feet covering equivalents in the manner illustrated and described,
and for the purpose illustrated and described.
2nd The making of the vertical indents by means of a punch operated vertically
either by hand or by press or by other mechanical means.