This is an inside look at how Joseph Cheaney and Sons shoes are crafted.


What makes a Goodyear wellted brogue?

The first construction stage is clicking and this is the process where the leather is cut. The term clicking refers to the sound made by the knife. Depending on the shoe, this stage can be performed by a press knife – a pneumatic machine that effectively punches through the leather like a cookie cutter or by hand.



Clicked leather, ready for the next stage...

The next stage is closing. The is where the various parts of the upper are sewn together. With a bespoke shoe it would be done by hand, but every other type of shoe is closed by machine.

The upper begins to take shape.

The embellishment of the upper.

Given the intricacy of the pattern it was mind blowing to see how fast the ladies transformed the uppers.

Another closing scene that is only just the beginning for this shoe.

The next stage is lasting.

The lasts.

Throughout the shoe making process the leather loses moisture so here the uppers are placed in a steam machine to soften the leather.

The uppers are then pressed and pinched on to the last...

The shoe is readied for the welted sole with the help of a few staples...

A closer look at the early stages of the lasting process.

Any wrinkles are smoothed out before the iconic lasting stage...

Goodyear Welting is, after two hundred years of shoemaking in Northampton, still considered the finest method of shoe construction. Once the upper leather has been ‘closed’ it is placed onto the wooden last and the insole is attached. A strip of leather called the ‘welt’ is then stitched through the upper leather to the underside of the leather insole. The outer sole is then stitched to the welt. This ‘Goodyear welting’ is time consuming and requires highly skilled craftsmen. However it means the sole can be replaced time and again without damaging the upper leather. As the leather components are stitched rather than glued together all the natural properties of the leather are retained, giving superior thermal insulation, durability and shape retention, as well as the best possible breathing conditions for feet. The more a Goodyear Welted shoe is worn, the more comfortable it becomes as the leather components gradually mould to the shape of the foot.

A closer look at the highly important welting.

The welt is fed and stitched using this ingenious machine.

This process is so important to English shoe making.

The under sole is then prepared for the outer shell.

A strip of wood is inserted to ensure a better structure before the outer sole is glued in to place.

The excess from the outer sole is removed.

The next stages sees the welt sewed to the upper, and both to the sole.

The machine in action

A closer look at how the stitching is locked.

We then move on to the final two stages, the bevelling of the waist and polishing of the the upper. These processes should not be underestimated because they combine to provide the distinguishable aesthetic of English made shoes very special indeed. Bevelling is a particular treatment of the waist of the shoe, specifically that part of the sole at the waist lying between the flared-out ball-of-the-foot area and the heel. The treatment is one in which the sole at that point is shaped into a quite convex form, with the bottom of the curve right in the middle (from side to side), and the sole curving up at the edges.

The sole and heel are sanded and smoothed using various machines.

The heel takes shape.

The surface is smoothed and rounded.


The attention to detail and reliance on the craftsman's eye are key at this point.

A more recognizable form. Simply stunning.

Applying the finishing touches to the sole.

On to the burnishing of the upper.

The final product ready for packing.

Notice the variety of designs.

A final inspection.

A quick finish to ensure perfection in each and every shoe.

The Mentor shoe will be available to purchase very soon.

Using only the best available materials, including calf upper leather and oak bark tanned soles, Cheaney’s craftsmen apply their skills to produce handmade and bench-made shoes which maintain a standard seldom equalled in the world of Goodyear welted footwear. This is a company that continues to learn and strive for the highest quality in an environment that has changed very little in well over two hundred years.