You should plan on a breaking-in period for your new sandals. The arch straps may feel too tight. Those broad straps are the toughest part of my design to get right, since the thick bridle cowhide I use for it has to stretch and form to your feet, but not become too loose over the life of the sandals.
The hide of an animal has to function differently, according to its location around the muscle and organs: the belly has to stretch to accommodate growth & changes in eating patterns throughout the days and life of the animal. The back skin must be the most firm, least-stretchy part of the hide, called upon to carry the weight and support the structure of the cow.
Likewise, the shoulder and rump are different in makeup and function, serving the specific needs of their location. In addition to these many variations, similar to woven cloth, leather has a complex "bias", governing the direction and amount of the required “give” or stretch.
When I cut the long, slim strap, it is from the back, and neck-to-rump, because my LOTR design will stretch that part the most. The broader arch strap, cut further down the side of the hide from the back, is stretched by the foot at every step, but its width minimizes the stress put upon it by distributing it over a wider area - hence, I fit it more snugly and assume it will stretch-to-fit.
That part of the design has been the Achilles Heel of the LOTR. A satisfied customer is one who need not return for adjustments after the initial breaking-in period (whatever that turns out to be), and that's not because I don't want to see the sandals again, it is for the convenience of the wearer. Often my sandals go on trips and wind up far away from me - probably half of orders leave the island permanently.
So I'm tasked with building-in my best guess as to how much the particular section of a strap cut from a particular location on the hide will stretch, and that is also of course influenced by the stature of the wearer - the reason I ask for height and weight. I have no formula for this, rather decisions are based upon seat-of-the-pants intuition/guesses, a result of 50 years of observing my old sandals, feedback on the design, and the amount of complaint or praise.
You will note a heel-print as you break them in. However, to be assured of doing it properly, you should note it now, in the early days, so that you can correct misalignment. Most new wearers walk to the inside or outside edges of the heel in one or the other or both sandals. It shows up to an observer when they are new. If another person, walking behind you, notes a list to either side on either sandal, she can alert you to it, and you can make a correction.
The easiest way to do that is to stop and press against the opposite edge.
For example, if your left heel drifts toward the inside (this is most common) you would stop and push your heel over to the outside of the sandal heel, hard, until it touches the ground. This will stretch the arch strap more on the left side. It is harder to do this if your heel tends toward the outside, but the cure is the same: push your heel against the opposite side while you are standing.
Once you are aware of this you will be more likely to align your heels without someone's assistance.
Your attention to this detail will reward you with a centered sweat-print after some hours of wear.
If you still note heel drift, repeat this action, until your arch strap is looser and has assumed the shape of your foot and stretched to accommodate your gate.
There isn't any way for me to build-in allowance for this drift to the left or the right, but a careful/alert new wearer will likely be aware of it and align it properly without thinking about it. The sweat-print will be the indicator and help to remind you if it could become a problem.
Making the sandals longer or wider than your footprint is always a trade-off between a clumsy, heavy sole and an elegant, light one. Every step you take in your sandals will be affected by this choice. I make the decision based on feedback of others and my own observations.
If convenient, plan to let me see them after a year and I'll saddle-soap them and use a little neatsfoot oil to restore flexibility. Then I'll check all the parts and to keep them roadworthy.
I warn new wearers not to try and dominate in a contest to assert their will over the stretching process, but I present a lot of information at the fitting, so the importance of breaking them in may not have been apparent. It may help to be reminded that you should be able to slip two fingers between your foot and all parts of the straps, once they are broken-in. The long, slim strap will stretch over the years and can be carefully tightened in small increments as needed. Cut the tail off so that it doesn’t drag under your foot. Always leave about 1¼” so that the sheet bend knot won’t loosen and come apart.
I don't make sandals for profit; they will always be mine as well as yours, and I have a responsibility to you to make them fit and be comfortable, as I do to my reputation as a craftsman and designer. My 10 year guarantee is real, and just that: I'll satisfy you or refund your cost.
In extreme cases I offer to replace the arch straps with either a looser-fit or more stretchy leather. If they then stretch too much over the years, I can always pull out the brass clincher nails and take some slack out of them.
I made your sandals and I can re-make any part of them, so take heart and soldier-on!
Prime oak-tanned bridle cowhide straps, insole & midsole
Soletech Soleflex rubber half-sole and heel
An unprecedented 10 year guarantee for fit & finish
You pay only for replacement soles and heels
Saddle-soaping, applying dubbin, repairs
"Loving my sandals! Thank you. I just noticed that there is a difference in the sandals at the front. Does that make a difference?" ❤️ KW 8/2019
Ha ha ha ... you found an error that qualifies you to become my apprentice! I may have mentioned to you that when I have to make two different foot patterns (which is rare; I don't even bother to do that for my own sandals) the way is open for mistakes: 3 layers of insole/midsole/heel & half-sole material and each one paired or not paired, depending upon my use of one or two different patterns) demands too much of my limited focus, since each of them has two dissimilar shapes, leading to 3 x 3 x 2 feet = 18 choices. And that is just the framework of the sandals! Then there are the two pair of thin and broad straps...
You have an obvious talent for noticing subtle differences and that is the first qualification for an aspiring sandalmaker.
When would you like to move here and begin your 7 year apprenticeship?
The truth is that after all these years of making the LOTR pattern, I still have to copy my own pair when I thread the straps, even though I use a vague mnemonic that usually helps. I must have forgotten to use it in the excitement of your presence. Here it is:
The tail end of the strap goes over the front outside strap and under the crossed straps first; the end with the eye in it goes under the front inside strap and over the crossed straps second.
Or perhaps it is the other way around...
I know that sounds confusing, and believe me I find it so, too!
Also, I reversed it on one of your sandals, so clever mnemonics aren't worth shit if I forget exactly what they mean. I wonder how many others I've de-symetrized like yours...
You and I agreed that in order to more closely reflect the actual shape of your individual mismatched foot-profiles, the finished sandals would look different off your feet. But if you would like the straps to look the same, or I should say be a mirror-image of each other, just pull the long one (the tail, which you will be shortening throughout the life of the sandal) out of a slot in the arch strap, through the ring, and copy the other sandal when you reassemble it. You should have no trouble dissembling the design: it was my plan to have them be owner-friendly, because inevitably the slim straps break or get chewed-through by a pet, and when I send a replacement you will be able to easily thread the new one in the old one's place. In fact if you keep paying such close attention to them, you will be making your own next pair!
Of course, this is all moot with the destruction of the tropical forests and fouling of the air by industry and the inexorable march of patriarchy and dominance of Ma Nature and the melting polar ice and lousy mail service.
But let's continue to refine this one small part of a crumbling civilization since we can do so little about the rest of it.
Let me know how it goes and when I should expect you.
Your Own Custom Sandalmaker for at Least 10 Years,
Davy Joel Rippner
begun 9.29.2017