Product Code Database
A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by Shoemaking and in the manufacture and repair of . Lasts come in many styles and sizes, depending on the exact job they are designed for. Common variations include simple one-size lasts used for repairing soles and heels, custom-purpose mechanized lasts used in modern mass production, and custom-made lasts used in the making of bespoke footwear. Lasts are made of firm materials, cast iron, and high-density plasticsto withstand contact with wetted leather and the strong forces involved in reshaping it. Since the early 19th century, lasts typically come in pairs to match the separate shapes of the right and left feet. The development of an automated lasting machine by the Surinamese-American Jan Ernst Matzeliger in the 1880s was a major development in shoe production, immediately improving quality, halving prices, and eliminating the previous putting-out systems surrounding shoemaking centers.
Well into the Industrial Revolution, shoe production was optimized by elaborate division of labor in putting-out systems arranged around central workshops but each step of production still required skilled labor. Attempts at mechanization in Britain by Marc Isambard Brunel during the Napoleonic Wars were partial and proved uneconomical after demobilization. Improvements to the sewing machine to suit it for work in leather took until 1850 and the major breakthrough was the immigrant Jan Ernst Matzeliger's automated lasting machine, patented in 1883. This instantly centralized production, increased production by as much as 14 times, improved quality, and halved prices.
Lasts are typically made from , cast iron, and high-density plastics to maintain their shape even after prolonged use in contact with materials like wetted leather and under the mechanical stresses necessary to stretch and shape the material for shoes. Factory lasts must be able to hold the lasting tacks that position the parts of the shoe and then handle the force of the pullover machines used to bottom the shoe and add the sole. The usual material now is high-density polyethylene plastic (HMW-HDPE), which can be easily, cheaply, and precisely shaped; which withstand more damage from the tacks before requiring repair or replacement; and which can be recycling once they finally do wear out entirely. Wooden lasts are now used only for repair work and bespoke shoemaking, particularly in Europe and North America.
|
|
