So, tools in hand, I have started a pair of rather special bespoke shoes for a good client with a biomechanical problem - one leg is 1.5cm longer than the other. This means that we have to compensate for this in his shoes. What we do is make a 1cm through cork platform inside the shoe (known in the trade as a Sarkozy) and add 0.5cm to the heel. It works very well and the shoes do not look different, which he is very pleased about. From the joint to the toe, we file the cork down to nothing so that there is not any unnecessary thickness. This makes the shoe look more natural.
The insole will now be blocked as normal and the shoe made. The platform is then loose inside the shoe and can be replaced when it gets worn out.
This insole is significant in that is has an arch support called "insole up in waist". This is a curved section of the insole that is skived away, covered in the lining leather and nailed back on. It's like those foam supports you see in trainers, but handmade and beautiful and expensive.
I will show shots of the insole up in waist when the insole is dry and I have made it. More next week.
