Improvements in the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Dec., 1891-Accepted, 30th Jan., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes.
I, SILAS AUGUSTUS LENTZ of 10 Main Street, Allentown in the County of
Lehigh and State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Manufacturer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:—
This invention relates to that class of boots or shoes which are known as
" armored."
Heretofore the soles of boots or shoes have been protected from wear by driving
and clinching nails or tacks in the outer sole, and these nails or tacks have been
distributed in various forms and designs both before and after the application of
the sole to the upper; but I am not aware of any instance before my invention of
the production of an armored sole which could be applied to the upper in any
practical manner, either by hand or by any well-known boot or shoe sewing or
pegging machines, in which sole the extreme edges were protected by nails or tacks;
but, on the contrary, in prior instances the outer margin of the side has been left
unarmored for the purpose of permitting the stitching, pegs, screws, nails, or other
solc-attaching devices to be applied for the purpose of securing the sole to the
upper.
There are several objections attending the use of armored soles both in the
manufacture and completed article and especially in the case of rubber boots or
shoes, which are now very commonly employed in mines and other wet places. If
it be attempted to armor the rubber soles, the nails frequently are drawn out,
because they are so easily detached from the material in which they are embeded.
If a leather sole is applied to a rubber upper, the nails are easily withdrawn, not-
withstanding they may be clinched. Ordinarily, armored shoes have a double sole
in order to give sufficient material to retain the nails, and the double sole is so stiff'
and unwieldy as to draw the nails or fastenings from the upper, separating the same
from the sole and thus destroying the boot or shoe. Finally, it is practically
impossible to drive and clinch nails into the sole at or near and so as to protect its
edges after the sole has been applied to the upper, because the point of the nail
will be driven into the upper, thereby damaging if not destroying the boot or shoc.
The presence of the insole will not permit the entrance of any suitable anvil or
clinching surface between the outer sole and the upper sufficiently far to serve the
purpose of clinching any nails which one may attempt to drive along the edges after
the sole is applied to the upper.
My invention, which involves such a disposition of the nails as to completely
protect the edges of the sole and at the same time to leave an unarmored space
between the outer and the adjacent or next inner row, permits of the use and
operation of the standard screw or any other suitable shoe pegging or stitching
machine for the purpose of securing the sole to the upper.
It will be noted that the application of the nails or tacks to the sole is made
before it is applied to the upper, and a brief description of the operation and of
that employed in applying nails after the sole is secured to the upper shows
another important advantage attending my invention.
In applying nails after the sole is secured to tlie upper an iron last is introduced
into the shoe and a pegging awl is generally required, and the result is that the
nails must pass through the inner sole in order to be clinched against the iron last,
and it will invariably happen that a greater or less number of clinches will be
imperfect and present an uneven surface, which is very destructive of a lining and

page_text: very uncomfortable to a wearer. It also perforates the insoles to such an extent
(especially in rubber boots or shoes which have a rubber sole) as to cause them to
leak. Furthermore, as before stated; it is practically impossible, to drive tacks or
nails along the edge of the sole and clinch the same, and therefore it is customary
to employ clinch-nails on the tread of the sole and Hungarian nails along the edges.
These latter very frequently are in.use withdrawn from the sole and leave its edges
'unprotected.
The simpler operation of applying the nails attending my invention is as follows;
The sole is laid upon a wooden block and the workman drives the nails through the
sole and the points into the wooden block. As soon as two or more of the nails or
tacks are thus driven the sole is held in position by them and consequently the
remainder of the nails are very rapidly inserted and the sole is stripped from, the
wood and placed on an iron plate or anvil and the nails as rapidly clinched.
A space having been left for the attaching devices, a sole is produced which can
afterward he applied by the Standard screw machine as rapidly às can an unarmored
sole, and the result is a boot or shoc which has a single sole with an armored edge,
the sole being substantially as pliable as one that is not armored and the boot or
shoc substantially as light and serviceable as the unarmored shoe of the same grade.
There is no undue stiffness in the sole to tear the attaching devices from the upper,
as in double-thick soles.
Referring to the drawings,
Figure 1 is a plan of a sole armored in accordance with my invention, and
Figure 2 is a cross-section of a portion of a shoe provided with an outsole constructed
in accordance with my invention.
Like letters refer to like parts in both figures.
A represents the outsole, and B represents the tacks or nails which are driven
through the same and clinched within the inner surface of the outsole, as clearly
shown in Figure 2. In the disposition of the tacks or nails B a space A' is left
between the outer and the next row B of tacks or nails of sufficient width to permit
of the introduction of any suitable attaching devices, which may be either stitches,
pegs, ordinary nails, or, what is preferable, the screw wire nails made and applied
by a Standard screw-nail machine. The width of the space A' should not only be
sufficient to permit of the introduction of the fastening devices, but for the operation
of the knives or other device employed in pegging-machines for severing the
fastening devices. The outer nails B', it will be readily seen, can be driven nearer
the edges and thoroughly clinched before the sole is applied, as are all the nails in
the sole, while a glance at Figure 2 of the drawings will show that it is practically
impossible to present any satisfactory clinching anvil or surface between the outsole
and the upper to serve the purpose of clinching nails along the edges of the sole
after the same is applied to the upper.
It has been found desirable, and in fact almost absolutely necessary, that the
outer row of clinched nails should be arranged in close proximity to each other and
that the sole-attaching devices be arranged inside of said outer row, so that the
entire outer surrounding portion of the sole shall be protected and the sole-attaching
devices be arranged so as to take a better hold upon the insole and through the
upper, leaving an entire row of the nails beyond said sole-attaching devices. In
this resides the gist of my invention.
By arranging the outer row of nails with their heads adjacent to each other and
locating the nails along and close to the edge of the sole there is provided a practically
continuous and at the same time a more or less flexible line of metal, which
thoroughly protects the extreme edge of the sole against wear, and this more
effectually than any arrangement of nails heretofore employed. Placing a parallel
and similarly-arranged row not only provides a space for the sole-attaching devices,
but insures their protection from undue wear, whereby a lasting attachment of the
sole is secured.
I do not claim the application of tacks, nails or other armor to the soles of boots

page_text: or shoes either before or after the sole is applied to the upper, as this is very old
and well known but
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
A sole having a continuous row of nails with their heads immediately adjacent to
each other and extending around the margin of the sole and a corresponding row
with their heads adjacent some distance from and substantially parallel with the
outer row, leaving a space between the rows for the reception of the sole attaching
devices, and the central part of the sole having nails driven at some distance from
each other, and all of said nails being clinched in the inner surface of the sole
substantially as herein set forth and illustrated by the accompanying sheet of
drawings.
Dated this 23rd day of December 1891.
POPPLEWELL & Co.,
17 & 18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.