I have some feet that have a hard time getting a good fit for a budget but i always had the itch to make my own pair bit soo many projects to do haha. How would natives do It because i think their sole last shorter then the rest of the shoe, would they make a shoe and pad the sole with An extra layer of leather and when the first layer worns out replace It?
I kind of like what the Highland Scots used to do: Kill a red deer (or a cow), cut simple moccasins out of the raw, wet hide, strap them to the feet hair-side out for traction, and wear them dry. The moisture in the ground and from the foot would keep them soft enough to be comfortable (and I suspect the tannins from running through peat bogs would partially tan them). They lasted about as long as it took the family to polish off the meat from the animal, then they'd start over. Since it only takes about ten minutes to make a pair (I make them from tanned leather, as the Wyoming Game and Fish frowns on my killing an elk every time I need a pair of shoes), their wearing out so fast was no big deal.
Edited to add: I don't hunt in these. My ancestors might have been tough enough to run over rocky ground all day in wet rawhide moccasins, but degenerate, modern wretch that I am, I need some rubber strapped to the bottom of my feet.
