I was in a hurry to re-sole my Ute mocs before a float trip over Labor Day Weekend. I had two layers on the soles, but the second had a hole in 'em and was picking up debris. I didn't want to spend the whole weekend shakin' my foot tryin' to get the pebbles out from between the two soles, so I decided to do a quick re-sole.

Initially, I intended to cut off the two soles and sew two back on. But since I was short of time, I decided to just add a third layer. I cut the third layer a strong eighth of an inch bigger all the way around and stitched it on over the other two.

What I realized was, I could have been doin' this for the last 38 years instead of pullin' my soles off and re-sewin' the whole shebang.

It was much easier to just stitch another layer on over the other two than line everything up from the git-go. Now, when the third layer wears out, I can cut that one stitch and still have an intact moc to work with. The third sole can be slapped right back on while everything is still held in place by the original soles.

I was amazed at how three layers took a lot of the bite out of rocks and thorns, but the same thing would work if there was one permanent sole attached to the uppers. That could hold everything in place, and a second sole, cut 1/8" bigger all the way around, could be swapped out every time they wore through.

I'm sure someone else has already discovered this, but it was a quantum leap in my moc repairs.

I remembered reading a book as a boy about how a squaw used her families old mocs as a pattern for the new ones she made. I always keep a pattern of my mocs so I don't have to start from scratch every time. The mocs I now wear I call my #4 Ute mocs, because they were the fourth pattern I made before I got the Ute moc fittin' right.

In the photo, the sides and tongue are down, but the tie lace wraps around once before it ties. The sides and tongue can be folded up and the lace wrapped around to turn the moc into a booty. Those Utes, always thinkin'.

Will

Ute_Mocs.JPG (34 KB, 143 downloads)

Oh, as a P.S., In the photo I'm standing on the bottom of the dugout canoe I'm buildin'. It'll be just over twelve feet long and I'm callin' it "Scout", 'cause it's too small to move the family in, but big enough to cruise around the river lookin' for stuff.

Will

Do the same thing with cased rawhide, then wear em till they dry.Saves ALOT of resoleing

quote:

That could hold everything in place, and a second sole, cut 1/8" bigger all the way around, could be swapped out every time they wore through.
I'm sure someone else has already discovered this, but it was a quantum leap in my moc repairs.

Yep Will some of us have been doing it similar for a long time and it is a lot easier to replace the outer sole. Welcome to the club!

In addition what I do is generally use a rawhide sole as a mid-sole and then layer over the top with THICK braintan or German tan which I - it's normally not as slippery as rawhide even when wet and I also like to rub sticky sap (aka pine pitch) onto it and then walk around in sand - the pitch helps seal it from water and makes the soles much less slippery (you can do the same with rawhide soles) - the rawhide helps keep prickly pear and other nasties (like goatheads!) out of your feet.......

Seems like a uniquely modern solution based on our time(or lack there of) based society.

At least in the east, the carrying of multiple pairs of mocs was the norm, at least during wartime.

quote:

Seems like a uniquely modern solution based on our time(or lack there of) based society

It's not a modern solution at all in the West post 1800 - there are several primary docs noting resoling or adding extra soles (including rawhide) to moccasins - resources with such mentions include L & C, Ferris, Osborne, et al......

Extra mocs were also carried, but repairs are well documented for the Upper Missouri and RMFT time periods......

quote:

Originally posted by GreyWolf:

quote:

Seems like a uniquely modern solution based on our time(or lack there of) based society

It's not a modern solution at all in the West post 1800 - there are several primary docs noting resoling or adding extra soles (including rawhide) to moccasins - resources with such mentions include L & C, Ferris, Osborne, et al......

Extra mocs were also carried, but repairs are well documented for the Upper Missouri and RMFT time periods......

Interesting. I know the use of the hard sole makes such a task understandable to our modern ways of thinking, but had not read anything about it. Of course my "World" ends about 1783 on the east bank of the mississippi

You should try living in the southwest!(South Coastal Plains of Texas) prickly pear,cats claw,rose hedge,horse crippler,huisache(pronounced we-satch)Spanish dagger; In other words,If it dont stab,stick or sting ye,It'll bite ye! Should check out Apache high top mocs,They be made for the rough stuff,Comanche mocs had thicker than normal soles also.The Blackfoot would carry extra mocs AND stuff to mend them when on horse stealing raids

In the south west, the separate sole was common among most tribes, just for the "pointy" factor of the environment. There is a big difference between mocs of the eastern woodlands and mocs of the plains and southwest. It's just adaptation to environment.

During the "Plains Wars", tribal warriors would cut the boot tops off the cavalry boots to make into heavy soles for their mocs. I've never gone that far 'cause I still like to feel more connected and responsive to the ground. However, I might just take some of my deer rawhide and try it on a pair of mocs to see if I like it. Might come in handy next time I'm in Colo. or NMex.

That reminds me Chuck, I was goin' ta look ya' up when I went prospectin', but truck problems cut all my time short. Maybe next time...

Will

There are mentions of repairing mocs in the east, AWI period too. I have also seen a reference to double sole on a center seam moc, about the same time period, but I don't remember where.

I also sew a "removable" sole on my shoepacks, with a layer of well oiled canvas sandwiched between the layers. The oilcloth keeps the wet from dew soaked or rain soaked grass off of the feet.

God bless