Last

A last, used in shoemaking, is a wooden or high-molecular weight, high-density polyethelene shape which approximates the finished shoe. It is carefully designed to fit the foot, add the toe style and is used in production to add the sole and heel after stretching the leather around the top. It is much more than a rounded oblong block used to approximate the form of the human foot used by a cordwainer or cobbler to help make or mend shoes.

Almost all shoes are made on lasts. There are many types of lasts and they reflect the type of footwear and indeed the feet they are designed for. Different types of footwear require lasts with different characteristics. For example, an open-toe sandal style will use a last that allows the toes to spread out. This is different from a boot last which is designed to hug the foot at the instep. Lasts were traditionally made of wood but are now normally made from blocks of special, expensive plastic, and lathe-cut using CNC machines. The design of lasts is often completed on a computer system like Lectra and includes the top pattern. Lasts are made from soft materials which do not change size when wet because water is used in shoemaking. And also, small nails (called lasting tacks) are used to hold parts of the shoe in place during manufacture and then removed.

Lasts can have many different characteristics, most of which will affect the way the shoe will look and fit. Many custom footwear makers make lasts for their customers, designed specifically for the individual's needs.

External links

Note above that cobblers' only repaired shoes. Cordwainers made shoes and had unions in both France and Great Britain beginning in the mid-17th century. From about 1660, France was the fashion capital of Europe.

• View a machine that cuts lasts, and learn about cowboy boot lasts. (RexKelly.org)
• What is a shoe last? (ShoeSchool.com)
• Shoe lasts and metrology (Department of Podiatry, Curtin University of Technology, Australia)
• Shoe lasts (Winkle)

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Last updated on Monday March 03, 2008 at 14:44:38 PST (GMT -0800)
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