Words and Expressions used in the Shoe Industry
The Irthlingborough Historical Society published a book entitled ‘Clicking to Closing’ about the history of the Express shoe factory in Irthlingborough.
As a sequel to this, we have now built up this table of words and expressions used in the shoe industry in Northamptonshire and in particular, those terms that were commonly in use around the factories in Irthlingborough and the surrounding towns. Some of the words may sound positively rude to the unaccustomed ear, for example :-
Bottom Scouring, Bottom filling, Skiving, Clicking, Breasting, Slugging and Studding.
But you may rest assured that none of them are rude and they are all familiar words to those who worked in our local factories for many years!
With grateful thanks to all who contributed to the list !
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Albert slipper | Slipper, usually men's made in one piece |
| Ankle boot | Type of short boot |
| Ankle shoe | Reaching to ankle bone |
| Ankle strap | Strap fastening round ankle |
| Ankle strap shoe | Type of shoe |
| Antique spraying | Put dark edge on shoe (as in brogues) |
| Applique | Modern synthetic material imprinted with style or pattern |
| Apron front shoe or boot | with shield shaped front covering |
| Army shoe | Type of shoe |
| Awl | Pointed tool for making stitch holes in leather |
| Back strap | Band covering back seam of shoe |
| Back stripping | Quarters joined with back strip |
| Ballet shoe | Type of shoe |
| Ballroom dance shoe | Type of shoe |
| Balmoral boot | Closed front ankle 'Dress' boot |
| Bar | Single double or cross - strap across instep fastening with button or buckle. If strap added along length of foot becomes a T- Bar or a bar under the sole of the shoe to raise it and alter the styep |
| Bar shoe | shoe with instep strap and button or buckle |
| Barring | Levelling and strengthening fronts of Oxfords |
| Baseball boot | From the American game ankle length boot usually canvass with white moulded sole and apron also had white rubber padded discs over ankle bone. Predecessor to training shoe |
| Beach shoe | Type of shoe |
| Beading | Edge turned over neatly |
| Beeswax | Used to lubricate thread |
| Bellows tongue | One joined to shoe on both sides forming waterproof underlayer to laced front |
| Belly | Leather from the area of animal with top of leg on |
| Bend | Leather from back of cow |
| Blind eyelet | Eyelet inserted from the back so it cannot be seen |
| Blocker | Wooden block on which shoe is lasted to make shape of vamp |
| Boat shoe | Casual with lace threaded through collar |
| Bone and a stone | Tool with stone one side and bone other for sharpening clicking knife |
| Bunking | Finishing the sole |
| Boot | Footwear with the leg extending above the ankle |
| Boottee | Infants soft boot |
| Bottom | Underpart of shoe including 1 or more of sole, heel, insole, welt |
| Bottom filler | While on last material used to fill in the bottom of the shoe before the sole |
| Bottom polishing | Wax on brush - polish sole |
| Bottom rolling 1st explanation | When sole attached, shapes it to insole of foot |
| Bottom rolling 2nd explanation | Sole of shoe rolled |
| Bottom Scouring | Bottom finishing on a soft polishing brush (may be sandpaper) |
| Bottom Spraying | Leather buffed and sprayed with wax polish |
| Bottom Stock | Tough durable leather used to cut soles, heels, insoles and welts |
| Bound foot shoe | Type of shoe, often in silk or cotton,once used mainly in China to constrain foot growth |
| Bow and flat | Flat shoe with decorative bow on front |
| Bowls shoe | Type of shoe |
| Bracing | Hemp and bristle used to hold shoe for fitting (temporary) |
| Brad | Type of tack |
| Bradawl | Tool for making marks on leather |
| Braid | A strip of leather to tidy up edges of sole etc |
| Breast | Front surface of heel |
| Breast scouring | Cone shaped wheel with sandpaper to tidy up heel |
| Breasting | Trimming front of heel |
| Bristle | Straight hard end attached to end of thread |
| Broach | Design for front of shoe |
| Brogue | Wing toe design and bold punching on shoe |
| Broguing | Punched patterns forming decorative feature on toe cap, vamp and facings |
| Buckle shoe | Type of shoe |
| Buff Knife | Knife used to clean up the top of the leather |
| Bunking | Pattern on leather sole |
| Burnishing | Turning under edge of toecaps |
| Button top boot | Type of boot |
| Canvass shoe | eg Plimsoll |
| Carriage boot | Foot warmer lined with lambs wool for use in carriages |
| Casual | Shoe without laces and less formal look |
| Cemented Process | Bottom and sole roughed and cemented and compressed together |
| Centre design | a punched design on a toecap |
| Channel | Groove in sole where stitches go |
| Channel opening | Open channel for stitching |
| Channelling | Groove in leather to accommodate stitching |
| Cheeks | Off cut of shoulder |
| Chelsea or jodhpur boot | Ankle high boot with elasticated side |
| Chopped | the angle at which the sole pieces were joined like the skive but straight |
| Chrome leather | Usually a bend treated to be fireproof (most upper leather) |
| Cleated sole | Heavy duty sole unit with good gripping quality |
| Clicker | Leather cutter The name comes from the brass edging on the pattern and the knife clicked against it |
| Climbing boot | Type of boot |
| Clog | 18th century fitted overshoe, usually with wooden soles |
| Closing | Term used for stitching the upper component parts together |
| Closing room | Part of factory where all the parts that make the shoe are stitched together except the sole |
| Collar | Part of top of shoe that wraps around the ankle |
| Co respondent | 2 tone brogue usually brown and white |
| Colour coding | On bottom edge of parts of shoes |
| Comb | Section of last just above the instep |
| Combinette | Combined steel andf rubber tip for heel |
| Compressing | Compressing lifts |
| Console lasting | all round shoe, toe to heel, tackibg to insole |
| Cordwainer | A Wainer was a 'maker' and Cord was short for Cordoba in Spain where leather came from - hence a Cordwainer was a Shoemaker |
| Corner Ironing | Indent of line on heel by hot iron |
| Counter | Section (stiffener) added to heel of shoe covering back seam and coming forward |
| Court shoe | slip on, ladies shoe (not flat) with no adjustable fastening |
| Cowboy boot | Type of boot |
| Cricket boot | Type of boot |
| Crowing | Decorative work on shoe bottom |
| Crows foot | Pattern on breast of heel - dots in a cured pattern |
| Cubs | Open cupboards underneath the skin room shelves |
| Cutlan Nails | Nails used to attach rubber top pieces on heels |
| Cut out | eg An inset piece in a heel |
| Cutters | for cutting off head of tacks |
| Cycling shoe | Type of shoe |
| Dance clog | Type of shoe, worn for dancing - with heavy stamping steps |
| Dance shoe | Type of shoe, worn for dancing |
| Dead | less curvature at the front of the last |
| Derby shoe | Eyelet tabs stitched on top of vamp |
| Dexter | Paste made from flax |
| Diamante | Ladies Court shoe with diamante finish |
| Digging iron | Iron strapped under boot for digging |
| Direct Moulded Process | Rubber sole made and stuck to upper in one operation |
| Dividers | Used to mark eyelet holes |
| Dog ear | On a 'quarter' the dog ear was leather & is longer on the inside edge of the shoe |
| Doping | Ink or crayon to cover blemishes in leather when finishing the shoe |
| Drafting | Pulling uppers into shape over last |
| Drags | A pair of drags were wide pincers for pulling the waist of the shoe |
| Driver | Tool, usually made from a file, to drive tacks in |
| Edge setting | Wax after ink then hot iron |
| Edge trimming | Smooth welt ready for ink (or cutting sole and welt together) |
| Elastic sided boot | Type of boot |
| Espadrille | Women's casual sandal which ties around the ankle with plaited fibre sole |
| Eyelets | Metal or plastic rings crimped to edges of lace holes |
| Eyeletting | For laces. Done by machine |
| EVA | Ethylene vinyl acetate - an expanded form blended with synthetic rubber becoming lightweight |
| Facings | Area of shoe through which lace holes or eyelets are cut, usually lined with leather or fabric |
| Fellowed, rounded | To cut components |
| Fencing shoe | Type of shoe |
| Fetch out | Make the shape of a knife with a grindstone (eg Clicking knife) |
| Fides | Putting front and back together |
| Fine heel scouring and super fining | Band like sandpaper on wheel to smooth heel |
| Finished Insole | sanded insole to take off shine |
| Fitting | Derby boots - lining exact to outside with solution |
| Flying boot | Type of boot |
| Folding | Type of skiving - wider and thinner than raw edge skive |
| Football boot | Type of boot |
| Fore end | Off cut from bend the heavy part of the leather 'bend' |
| French Chalk | Like talcum powder |
| Fudge wheel | Wheel used for marking edge of heel |
| Galosh | Overshoe |
| Geta | Japanese stilted or solid clog |
| Ghillie shoe | Lacing through loops instead of eyelets |
| Gibson (or Derby) | Low heeled plain fronted men's shoe with 2 - 3 eyelets |
| Gimping | Edges of section of upper cut with a fine dentate edge (pinking in textiles) |
| Golf shoe | Type of shoe |
| Gouged | shape of heel to fit the slightly convex shape of bottom of sole |
| Grader and leveller | Machine that measure thickness of leather and then thins the leather all to same thickness - could also stamp size etc on sole |
| Grading | Grading leather into thickness |
| Grain | The natural looking pattern on a material |
| Grecian slipper | Men's slipper with sides cut low to the waist |
| Hand lasting | Insole tacked to last by hand or machine |
| Handstabbed | Stitching on heavy footwear at back and tabs |
| Half moccasin | As Grecian but only enveloping the front half of the foot |
| Half sole | Part sole used mainly in repairs |
| Hand leather | When sew welt in. piece of leather to protect hand |
| Heel | Component which lifts back of shoe away from ground |
| Heel ball wax | Used to polish up the heel of a shoe |
| Heel Breasting | The shape of the heel nearest to the toe |
| Heel lasting | row of tacks round heel to insole |
| Heel Padding | Composite material in heels |
| Heel Pitch | Accommodates the addition of the heel |
| Heel scourer | Tidy up the heel |
| Heel scouring | Smoothing the heel |
| Heel trimming | Take excess leather off heel |
| Heeling | Attaching the heel with tacks |
| Heeling machine | Attaches heel to shoe |
| Hemp | Thread for stitching |
| Hessian Boot | Army knee boot |
| Hockey boot | Type of boot |
| Horse shoe tips | Steel tip in shape of horseshoe around heel |
| House shoe | shoe for indoor wear |
| Ice skate boot | Type of boot |
| Inkboy | Only an inkboy" was said of someone with little experience |
| Inking | Mixture of ink and beeswax or coloured wax around edge of sole and welt |
| Injection Moulding | Molten plastic injected into mould sticking to upper |
| Inseam Trimming | Takes excess leather off, to put welt on |
| Insert a stiffener | Back of heel of shoe |
| Insole | The inside bottom part of the shoe |
| Insole Tacking | Tacking the insole to the last |
| Iron | Thickness of leather (48 to 1") measured with a gauge |
| Jack pin | Last fits onto this to hold it in place |
| Jelly sandal | Plastic sports casual sandal |
| Jodhpur Boot | Short ankle boot with strap toe |
| Jointing | Cuts of excess leather where upper jopins sole |
| Kiltie (or Kittle) | Decorative flap on golf shoes to protect the eyelet holes from water |
| Lace holes | Holes in facings so lace can be threaded |
| Lace shoe | Shoe fastened with laces |
| Lacing | upper closed lacing shoe up |
| Last | Wooden block on which shoe is made - roughly shaped to the foot |
| Last slipping | Take last out of shoe |
| Last stiffener | Part of upper that stiffens back of shoe |
| Last Stiffening | The task of inserting a last stiffener |
| Laster | Last goes on stands upper on last |
| Latchet | Straps extending from front of quarters across front of shoe over tongue. Can be short with sewn eyelet to take a ribbon or longer to thread through a buckle |
| Latchet shoe | Type of shoe fastened with a shoestring |
| Leather bits | Off cuts of leather of no further use. John White employees were allowed to take home a bagful to use on the fire under the copper. All well until bulges were spotted in the bag one employee was taking out. Closer exam showed new boots in the bag |
| Leg boot | Type of boot |
| Levelling | See grading |
| Lifts | Thin leather to raise heel to required height |
| Lining | Thin leather or fabric lining. If only at back called half lining |
| Loafer | Casual slip - on style with apron front |
| Long sole | long sole was a complete sole from toe to heel, |
| Loop | Loop of tape or leather at back of boot or shoe to help pulling on |
| Louis Heel | Shaped heel design |
| Mackerel | Avery cheap type of boot in the 1840'2 (cost 1/- a pair) See also Mackled |
| Mackled | Mackerels (cheap boots) were put together very poorly and hence were 'Mackled up' |
| Magazine boot | Type of boot |
| Magazine shoe | Type of shoe |
| Mangle | Machine used in 'Bottom Scouring' |
| Micro cellular | Resin with cellular structure |
| Migration | Chemicals appearing on the surface of the leather of finished shoes forming 'Spue' |
| Moccasin | Native North American shoe |
| Moccasin shoe | Fashion shoe using moccasin construction |
| Monk shoe | More formal men's shoe with strap in place of laces (can be slip on with decorative strap) |
| Motor cycle boot | Type of boot |
| Motor racing shoe | Type of shoe |
| Moulder | Machine used to set the leather roughly to the shape of the last |
| Moorcut | Shoe cut all in one with the quarters |
| Mule | Open heel shoe |
| Mulled | Put in mulling cabinet |
| Mulling Cabinet | Cabinet of warm moist air to partly dry wetted soles before rounding |
| Norm keg | tool used to finish inside front of heel |
| Nubuck | Type of leather with soft suede-like feel |
| Opanke | Balkan, Greek or East European construction |
| Open Toe | Shoe with vamp cut away exposing toe |
| Opening the Channels | Task of making wider the channel to receive the stitches in the sole |
| Overshoe | Skates digging irons crampons |
| Oxford | Eyelet tab stitched under vamp |
| Oxford boot | Boot with front stitched under the top part. Usually with 4 or 5 eyelets and a toe cap |
| Oxford shoes - Barring | Joined with a Barrer |
| Padding | padded bottom filling down |
| Pairage | Numbers of pairs of shoes made per day |
| Painting Ladies Bottoms (or Mens) | Dye on bottom of soles |
| Pampootie | Primitive moccasin made from animal skin with hair outwards |
| Paste | Made from flour and water |
| Part made shoe | eg while still on last |
| Pathfinder | A line consisting of several pairs of a new design through a range of sizes |
| Pattern | Fibreboard pattern used as template for cutting of leather |
| Pattern Cutter | The person who cut out the patterns for the shoes |
| Peep toe | Open toe shoe with only one or two toes showing |
| Perforating | Making patterned holes for brougues |
| Piece sole | the piece sole was the remaining bit when a 3/4 sole was used |
| Pippy | Skins with a loose surface |
| Plaiting | Lattice interlacing of the leather |
| Planet rounding | Shape of insole - on a machine there was a wooden template with a knife that cut the insole to shape |
| Pleating | Design on' boots |
| Plimsoll | Type of shoe |
| Plump | Skins which were softer and looser |
| Pointe shoe | Ballet shoe |
| Poromeric | Synthetic material with leather like appearance |
| Pounding 1st explanation | tacked onto last before insole or sharpen bottom before welt |
| Pounding 2nd explanation | Machine with big drum covered in rings, takes wrinkles out of leather |
| Pricking up | Finishes the welt |
| Printing | Design printed onto smooth leather |
| Pulled over | Upper pulled over after insertion of toe puff and heel stiffener using pincers (important in bespoke and surgical work) |
| Pullover | Design made up in the required materials by the 'Scriber' |
| Punch (2 and 1) | Design on brogue involving 2 small holes and one larger |
| Punching | Punching of holes in leather either decoration or eyelets etc |
| Quarter | Side of shoe upper joining to vamp at front and meeting at back |
| Quarter rubber Top piece | With rubber insert |
| Quarter steel | A steel tip inserted in heel |
| Rand | Strip of leather often white placed between upper and sole visible on outside Feature of shoes from 1650 - 1750 |
| Rand Making | Tacking pieces together |
| Ranger | Machine used for cutting leather |
| Rapstick | Knife sharpening board (from rasp) |
| Rasp | File for roughing up leather |
| Resin rubber | Vulcanised rubber based on synthetic |
| Revolution Press | Machine used up to 90's to cut out leather - knives underneath press goes down onto them |
| Ribbing | Flat insole fabric 1/4" high at edge to sew through - a lip |
| Riding boot | Type of boot |
| Rifle | Tool with sandpaper one side and leather other for sharpening knives |
| Rimforts | Thin steel reinforcing for edge of heels |
| Ring Tip filler | When heel has a steel outer, this is the middle bit |
| Roller skate boot | Type of boot |
| Rough Rounding | Taking the sole from full size nearer to final shape |
| Rough stuff | Cut soles and heels by machine |
| Rugby boot | Type of boot |
| Running shoe | Type of shoe |
| Sabot | Wooden clog French |
| Saddle | Design detail up side of foot at waist or quarters |
| Sample handling | A sample is an original made from a new design - handling is done by experienced staff who can perform all of the tasks in shoemaking |
| Sandal | Footbed. Tbar |
| Sandal shoe | Type of shoe |
| Screwing | 2 ‘through’s on shoe then sole is stitched. Screwing machine had bundles of gold wire that went through up to 1" of leather or steel screws in army boots but brass in miners or navy boots to prevent 'sparking' |
| Scriber | Both the designer and his steel marking tool |
| Seamed | Creating a seam up the back of the shoe |
| Seaming and taping | Linings made up |
| Seat | Back of shoe where heel sits |
| Seat board | Part of shoe that sits beneath the shoe sock |
| Seat lasting | Flattens heel onto insole |
| Seat Lift | After welt, leather that sits on shoe before heeling |
| Seat lift | A strip of leather at bottom of shoe like a welt |
| Seat Lift and Shanking | The shank is a piece of metal between sole and insole to strengthen it |
| Seat Paring | Round heel |
| Seat Plough | Tool used to level the back of the shoe |
| Seat tack | Type of tack |
| Sequinned | |
| Set on the wood | Uppers left on the last to retain shape |
| Shanking | Piece of metal or wood between heel and shoe |
| Shoe | Generic term for any type of footwear including boots |
| Shooting boot | Type of boot |
| Short cut bend | part of bend |
| Shoulder | Leather from the shoulder of animal |
| Side stapling | staples upper to inseam |
| Sidelinings | Lining sides of vamps and fronts |
| Slashed elastic | Leather stitched on elastic to hide the stretch |
| Ski boot | Type of boot |
| Skiving | the angled cut between the lift joins and at the end of a sole to thin it to fit |
| Sleak stick | used to polish the sole before buffing |
| Slingback | Open heel shoe with single strap around heel |
| Slip - Middles | Section between sole and welt in the forepart of the shoe |
| Slipper | Type of shoe |
| Slugging or Studding | Nailing on Top pieces A slug is a piece of wire cut off into small pieces |
| Sock | Lining inside base of shoe covering up the roughness left from making |
| Softee | Type of split of leather |
| Sole | Part of shoe in contact with ground |
| Sole laying | Put sole on shoe and sticks it |
| Sole stitching | Stitching the sole and the welt together - by hand or machine |
| Split (bend or belly) | thin leather used to make lifts |
| Splitting | Taking the lift down to the required thickness |
| Sports boot | Type of boot |
| Sports shoe | Type of shoe |
| Sprung | Greater curvature at the front of the last |
| Spue | Bloom appearing on finished shoes |
| Stamping | Stamp mark on shoe (eg 'Made in England') |
| Standfard Pattern | Pattern used to make other patterns from |
| Staple welting and welt sewer | Both attach welt, pulls welt to upper |
| Stiffener | Extra layer inside back of quarters to prevent shoe being trodden down |
| Stilted sandal (shoe or clog) | Type of shoe |
| Stitch down | Where the insole is stitched to the sole |
| Stitch marking | Marking of welt at distance apart where stitches were to go |
| Stitch Separating or Stitch pricking | Pricked pattern between stitches on welt |
| Stitching | Stitch sole to shoe |
| Stocking boot | Type of boot |
| Straights | Shoes which have no difference in shape from left or right foot |
| Strap - cross | Leather strap across shoe |
| Strappy | Sandal featuring many thin straps |
| Strobel | Where the insole is stitched to a moulded sole |
| Tab | Decorative extension to front of vamp like a tongue but not covered by facings |
| Tack lifter or tack knife | Tool used to remove temporary tacks |
| Tack Lifting | Removing the temporary tacks used to hold shoe on last |
| Tag | Bing on end of lace to enable threading |
| Tap dance shoe | Type of shoe |
| Tasselled loafer | Slip on with tassel detail |
| The rinks (DM’s) | A group of machines in a circle - all operatives are multi skilled - better than a conveyor system |
| Thigh boot | Type of boot |
| Thomas heel | Heel longer on inside than out |
| Thonging | Stitching with leather thongs |
| three quarter sole | 3/4 joined above heel |
| Throat | Central portion of the vamp resting on the instep of foot |
| Through | Built up leather to make the area you walk on |
| Tingle | type of tack to attach seat of shoe |
| Toe lasting | Shoe placed in machine, copper wire round toe to pull in inseam |
| Toe peg sandal | Type of shoe (see 'toepeg') |
| Toe puffing | Material in spirit between lining and upper |
| Toe puller | pulling the toes |
| Toecap | Cover applied to toe area of vamp |
| Toepeg | Feature found mainly in ethno graphical shoes where an upstanding peg of wood is used to hold shoe onto foot. Peg gripped between big toe and other toes |
| Toespring | Elevations at each end which allow for the rocking of the foot when walking |
| Toepuff | Piece of leather lasted over toe as reinforcer |
| Toestrap | Band across front of foot, replacing vamp in some sandals |
| Toethong | Sandal with strap passing between big toe and others then dividing to form 2 straps over foot |
| Tongue | Extension to vamp under facings of laced shoe or boot |
| Top edge | Top layer of upper round ankle opening |
| Top iron | Tool used to finish edge of sole. "He wants top ironing" was an ill wish for an unpopular worker |
| Top line bead | On upper top edge is not turned over but stitched |
| Top piece | Layer of heel in contact with ground (as shoes are made upside down this is the 'top' piece) |
| Top piece | The bottom of the heel |
| Trainer | Type of shoe |
| Translucent sole | Rubber sole that is semi transparent |
| Under edge | Lining made, fitted to quarters, knife to trim surplus leather |
| Upper | Top of shoe covering the foot |
| Upper spraying | Spraying the leather to give shine |
| Vamp | Front of upper covering toes and front of foot |
| Velt | Double welt at side of shoe |
| Waist | Part of sole between forepart and heel |
| Waist Burnisher | Tool used to give burnished effect to waist of shoe |
| Waist drag | Upper pulled over last in waist with this tool |
| Walking boot | Type of boot |
| Wax end | Odd bits of waxed thread left over when stitching complete |
| Wedge | Refers to the heavy one piece sole that does not feature a separate heel |
| Wellington boot | Type of boot |
| Welt | Narrow strip of leather sewn to upper and insole. Sole is sewn to welt and line of stitching is visible on outside |
| Welt beater | Tool to level the welt after sewing |
| Welt butting | Process of skiving ends of welt to meet the seat |
| Welt sewer | Person who stitches the welt to the shoe |
| Welt Sewing | See welt sewer |
| Welt wheeling machine | Put striation pattern marks on welts |
| Weight | Thickness of skin |
| Whipping | Joining 2 pieces of quarters together |
| Whole cut | Upper cut in one piece |
| Wing cap | Design detail over the toe/ forepart of shoe that trails back to the quarters |
| Winklepicker | The pointed toe shape sole unit |
| York shoe | Formal men's shoe with strap instead of laces. May be slip on with decorative strap |
| Zig zag | When stitching the back linings together with a lining over the join |
| Zip Mock | Stitching to look like a zip |
Readers can help to expand or add more detail…