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Boot and shoe clicker

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It is a skilled trade because it is the clicker's responsibility to maximise the number of uppers which can be cut from skins of leather, avoiding any thin and damaged areas, and incorporating the (unseen) 'lines' of stretch and resistance which naturally occur in leather according to the style and
224:. To use a rap stick, a right-handed operator would hold it in the left hand, resting the stick on the workbench for support, stroking the blade rapidly but gently back and forth on the abrasive surface to maintain a sharp edge whilst hand-cutting, in a similar fashion to a butcher's knife and 208:
Hand-clicking skills are still needed in low-volume production of bespoke, hand-made shoes or as sales-samples for factory production, although these would not warrant the expense of brass-binding used to protect the edges of the pattern from being pared away.
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The job was historically named prior to mechanisation, due to the sound of the operator's hand-knife blade rattling against the brass edge-binding (including the joints in the binding) used to protect the board patterns which were overlaid on to the skin.
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Placing sharpened-edge steel patterns on to sheepskin, the hydraulic machine has a swivelling cutting head with two vertical handles, each having an embedded button for thumb operation, a safety device to prevent accidental actuation of the vertical
256:, although the materials, whether natural leathers, rubbers or synthetics, are heavier for durability. The clicker would also cut these materials in a small manufacturing facility, whereas larger-scale production would have dedicated operators. 205:, the sounds changed entirely to a heavy thump and/or crack, with the board pattern with hand-knife being replaced by a 'knife' similar to a pastry cutter, although the operator still needed to learn hand-clicking as part of the training. 296:
by manufacturer showing direction where shoe insole patterns should be placed. The board is formulated to have different properties along its length compared to across, to allow for shoe-flex and manufacturing
274: 228:. The knife blade shown is a lighter medical item but approximates the shape of a clicker's knife blade, fitting into a comfortable wooden handle with screw-activated jaws. The main surface is 149:
or piece of man-made material (usually from a bulk roll). This includes all components of the upper, including linings, facings, stiffeners, reinforcements for eyelets and zip-protectors.
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In larger factories there would be many hand-clickers in close proximity to one another, hence there would be many clicks per second, so the informal description became known as
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wrapped over the edge to form a round section where the curved blade can nestle and be sharpened; the top edge is sharper and square in cross-section, with a fine-grain
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Positioning the press-knife/pattern on leather placed on the nylon cutting-board of an hydraulic press prior to swivelling the press-head and cutting via a downstroke
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the respective parts of the shoe uppers which are cut as a pair, not only matching the colour variations but also considering the surface finish and grain texture.
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were first introduced, and together with fabrics these also had lines of stretch and tension, being based on a traditional woven base having threads of
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Vintage Texon 480 insole board offcut showing direction of cut-outs where shoe insole patterns have been placed
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The late Baden Wilson demonstrating hand-clicking, using a hand-knife around a board 3/4 vamp pattern
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Similar processes are used in preparing materials for the sole and heel of shoes, known as
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The clicker's knife regularly needed sharpening, which was done with an implement called a
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Hand-forming a press-knife, using pre-sharpened strip steel from a bulk coil
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construction of the particular shoe. Another major criterion is the need to
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used for tip-sharpening. On the reverse side is a heavy-leather smooth
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A vintage Rap Stick from 1940s used for sharpening a clicker's knife
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Close-up of Texon 480 insole board with direction of cut marked as
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Following the introduction of electrical/mechanised
57:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. 378: 184:During the late 1960s synthetic leathers called 268:Leather cutter's drag knife, for heavy leathers 341:Rushden Research Group. Retrieved 2014-09-24 329:Rushden Research Group Retrieved 2014-09-24 247: 117:Learn how and when to remove this message 211: 174: 14: 379: 55:adding citations to reliable sources 26: 24: 25: 398: 347: 372:Clicking knife handle and blades 285: 273: 261: 31: 42:needs additional citations for 332: 320: 308: 244:left by the abrasive process. 234:aluminium oxide abrasive strip 13: 1: 302: 7: 133:is the person who cuts the 10: 403: 339:Overview of Bottom Stock 240:, to address any metal 66:"Boot and shoe clicker" 248:Bottom stock materials 217: 181: 215: 178: 131:boot and shoe clicker 368:Retrieved 2014-05-05 362:Retrieved 2014-05-05 356:Retrieved 2014-05-05 327:Overview of clicking 317:Retrieved 2014-09-24 51:improve this article 218: 182: 127: 126: 119: 101: 18:Bootmaker clicker 16:(Redirected from 394: 342: 336: 330: 324: 318: 312: 289: 277: 265: 226:sharpening steel 122: 115: 111: 108: 102: 100: 59: 35: 27: 21: 402: 401: 397: 396: 395: 393: 392: 391: 377: 376: 350: 345: 337: 333: 325: 321: 315:Clicking knives 313: 309: 305: 298: 290: 281: 278: 269: 266: 250: 145:from a skin of 123: 112: 106: 103: 60: 58: 48: 36: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 400: 390: 389: 375: 374: 369: 363: 357: 349: 348:External links 346: 344: 343: 331: 319: 306: 304: 301: 300: 299: 291: 284: 282: 279: 272: 270: 267: 260: 249: 246: 180:cutting-stroke 125: 124: 107:September 2014 39: 37: 30: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 399: 388: 385: 384: 382: 373: 370: 367: 364: 361: 358: 355: 352: 351: 340: 335: 328: 323: 316: 311: 307: 295: 288: 283: 276: 271: 264: 259: 258: 257: 255: 245: 243: 239: 235: 231: 227: 223: 214: 210: 206: 204: 199: 197: 193: 189: 188: 177: 173: 171: 165: 163: 159: 154: 150: 148: 144: 140: 136: 132: 121: 118: 110: 99: 96: 92: 89: 85: 82: 78: 75: 71: 68: –  67: 63: 62:Find sources: 56: 52: 46: 45: 40:This article 38: 34: 29: 28: 19: 334: 322: 310: 293: 254:bottom stock 253: 251: 221: 219: 207: 200: 186: 183: 170:colour-shade 169: 166: 161: 157: 155: 151: 130: 128: 113: 104: 94: 87: 80: 73: 61: 49:Please help 44:verification 41: 230:emery cloth 387:Shoemaking 303:References 77:newspapers 297:processes 222:rap stick 187:pormerics 381:Category 294:Cut Thus 162:clickers 158:clicking 203:presses 147:leather 91:scholar 135:uppers 93:  86:  79:  72:  64:  242:burrs 238:strop 143:shoes 139:boots 137:for 98:JSTOR 84:books 196:weft 194:and 192:warp 70:news 160:by 141:or 53:by 383:: 198:. 164:. 129:A 120:) 114:( 109:) 105:( 95:· 88:· 81:· 74:· 47:. 20:)

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Bootmaker clicker

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"Boot and shoe clicker"
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uppers
boots
shoes
leather

pormerics
warp
weft
presses

sharpening steel
emery cloth
aluminium oxide abrasive strip
strop
burrs
Leather cutter's drag knife, for heavy leathers
Vintage Texon 480 insole board offcut showing direction of cut-outs where shoe insole patterns have been placed
Close-up of Texon 480 insole board with direction of cut marked as Cut Thus by manufacturer showing direction where shoe insole patterns should be placed. The board is formulated to have different properties along its length compared to across, to allow for shoe-flex and manufacturing processes

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