Woodland winter moccasins

[tahgahjute]

cool,let us know how they work out.

[IsaacW]

Very nice.  I am new here and running through old posts and came across this.  Mike G's vid is great stuff.  I wrote an article awhile back on winter footwear (historically in the Great Lakes) for On The Trail Magazine.  Here is a copy of the article for those interested... http://frenchinwisconsin.yolasite.com/resources/articlefootwear.pdf

I also did a how to on centerseams sewn with thong instead of thread/sinew here...  http://frenchinwisconsin.yolasite.com/my-blog/makazinan-moccasins

Isaac

[nclonghunter]

Small world Isaac. I am friends with D. Dykema. We first met you and One Moc in Tnn., then on Howard's Creek with Gerry Barker. You did the best Native Indian. I gave you a blue/white wampum bracelet. Very cool seeing you here.

Read Issac's articles, he does a great job and is very knowledgeable about the Native American ways.

Lyman

[Outbackbob48]

Here's a pair of fair weather type that i made last year from some brain tan deer that I did last year also, haven't wore these alot but feel pretty thin. Need to tuffin up my feet Bob

[SA]

those are all nice shoes, also alot af native people went barefoot in summer months and shoes were ment to keep out frostbite,snakebite, ect. there feet were as hard as rock. i have a hawian freind that never wore shoes as a child and could walk through landfills(his words) without a scratch. i have a pair made in canada that i can go just about anywhere in and the are real comfy crepe sole .  keep on makin'em.

[nclonghunter]

I have worn center seam woodland mocs a lot when portraying an eastern longhunter. I have worn the mocs barefooted, with thick wool socks and made a second moc liner from blanket wool.  Depending on my feet condition at the time and the general terrain I have cut a "Dr. Shoals" insert from what is called oil tanned or belt tanned weight leather. These are then slid into the moc as a buffer.
 
I never did it, but wanted to make an non-tanned deer hide, hair on (to the inside) winter moc. You could then wear your summer weight moc as a sock and slide it into the deer hair moc. It would be for very cold weather.

I will probably miss quote this, but "moccasins are just a decent way of going barefoot". Do not "EVER" think you can add oil, bear grease, lard or silicone (etc)and make a moccasin waterproof. You may get a commercially tanned leather to be water resistant for a few minutes. Also if you do not put any kind of "waterproof treatment" on the moc it will dry much faster.

Last, it is my thought that those who wore mocs as a way of life had soles like leather. The moc was to prevent briers and sticky things from getting between the toes as you walked or ran through the brush and brambles.

Here is a link to the eastern center seam moc...http://www.nativetech.org/clothing/moccasin/mocinstr.html

[stickbender]

     Coming to this site a bit late, but nice Mocs.  Eddie beat me to it, I was going to suggest you cut some sheep skin for soles, and even make a bootie to keep them piggies warm.  When I was a kid, I hardly ever wore shoes, and I could run full out down our shell rock road, and not have the least problem.  Even after the grader went down it.  Not now!   I watched a documentary about a guy who visited some south sea islands, and when a boat or supply boat would show up, the natives would all run out to greet it.  The water was fairly shallow, and they ran out on the reef!  The guy doing the video, showed the reef, and then his tennis shoe soles, that were cut to shreds, after ferrying supplies on to shore.
 
                                                                              Wayne

[Gaur]

Nice work.  Boy 3 hours, you work fast.  Mine took me a few days and I still have the other one to make.  I finished one and then didn't ever get to the other one.  Thinking of getting it done and hunting with them this fall.  In terms of purpose I think that have a place for stalking/ground hunting.  We don't have slippery mountain slopes in MN.

Mine were from elk and I used buckskin for the wraps.  Used artificial sinew for the thread as well. I have three layers in the bottom section but you can still feel the ground pretty well.

[Cameroo]

Very nice, makes me want to have a pair for hunting!  They would make it easy to sneak through the bush when you can feel every twig below your foot.

[agd68]

Dane,great looking mocs. I wear them out and about the woods at home, even wore em for a 3D shoot once. Most comfy footwear I've worn in the woods, I was realy suprised and impressed the first time I wore them . The only drawback I find with them is they are slippery on wet leaves or grass. I wear them outside in the snow when I take the dog out if I'm feelintg too lazy to put on boots. If you never wore a pair in winter let me tell you those things can be a death trap. The heat from your foot turns the packed snow into ice and can be as slippery as hell.