Craftsmanship


Hand-welted Construction vs. Goodyear-welted Construction

Every pair of "Josh Leong" shoes is painstakingly hand-welted, stitch by stitch, using an insole made from full vegetable-tanned cow leather.
Not to be confused with the "Goodyear" or "Goodyear-Welted" construction, the hand-welted construction is arguably considered the "gold standard" amongst the various shoemaking constructions.
It is the ultimate combination of durability and style, and is the most popular construction used by established bespoke shoemakers around the world.
In a hand-welted construction, the holdfast or "feather" is carved out of the leather insole, and the welt is then stitched by hand. This is different from an industrial "Goodyear-Welted" construction, where a synthetic holdfast made from a canvas-like material is glued onto the insole and then a machine stitches the welt onto the shoe.  
 

Closed Channel and Hand-Stitched Outsoles

Another feature of our hand-welted shoes is that we use a closed or "hidden" channel style of outsole stitching, where a thin lip of leather is cut from the edge of the outsole and folded back to allow for the stitching channel to be concealed once the stitching has been completed. 
All of our hand-welted shoes have outsoles that are stitched completely by hand, and this allows us the flexibility to make shoes with square or bevelled waists.
Needless to say, a hand-welted construction will easily withstand heavy duty usage over the years, and can be sent back to us to be re-soled when necessary.