Buckle Shoes

[Rollo]

It is confortable !

[jmercier]

I have a pair of straight lasted buckle shoes from Jas Townsend that are wicked comfortable. That said, standing in them for long periods can hurt your feet if you're not used to standing on hard soled shoes, they're made with stacked leather heals which dont compress much to cushin your standing around. The comfort of the shoes themselves is great though.

[Colonel MacNeal]

Confederate troops were looking for shoes (which happened to be straight lasted) when they blundered into Union troops in Gettysburg, Pa. Ended up being the bloodiest battle of the entire American Civil War. I always think of Gettysburg when the topic of straight lasted shoes comes up.

[Graywolf]

From my experience re-enacting - 1) swap shoes each time you where them - they'll even out. 2) These shoes were made for wear on much softer ground then MacAdam or asphalt - Remember those inventions did not exist for roads when these shoes were designed. They are extremely comfortable on grass, etc. Been there done that.

In heat on asphalt /gravel/Macadam they will be killers - be prepared for blisters.

[DWFII]

From my experience re-enacting - 1) swap shoes each time you where them - they'll even out. 2) These shoes were made for wear on much softer ground then MacAdam or asphalt - Remember those inventions did not exist for roads when these shoes were designed. They are extremely comfortable on grass, etc. Been there done that.

In heat on asphalt /gravel/Macadam they will be killers - be prepared for blisters.

Historians will tell you that even though shoes were straightlasted and might be interchangeable initially, they not only were never intended (by the shoemaker) to be swapped back and forth, they seldom were. Each foot is unique, even on the same body, and each foot wants to create a footbed within the shoe that is unique to itself. Then too, such shoes were intended to form to the individual foot (right or left) and eventually resemble shoes made on paired lasts more closely. Swapping shoes tends to delay, or even prevent entirely, the foot from ever becoming truly comfortable.

Straight lasts came into fashion because of the difficulty of hand carving paired lasts at higher heel heights. And of course the shoemaker only needed one last per size. The basic intent was to make things easier for both the lastmaker and the shoemaker...not the wearer.