A boot and shoe clicker is the person who cuts the uppers for boots or shoes from a skin of leather 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.
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.
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 clicking by clickers.
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 construction of the particular shoe. Another major criterion is the need to colour-shade 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.
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 cutting-stroke
During the late 1960s synthetic leathers called pormerics 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 warp and weft.
Following the introduction of electrical/mechanised presses, 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.
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.
A vintage Rap Stick from 1940s used for sharpening a clicker's knife
The clicker's knife regularly needed sharpening, which was done with an implement called a rap stick. 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 sharpening steel. 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.[1] The main surface is emery cloth 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 aluminium oxide abrasive strip used for tip-sharpening. On the reverse side is a heavy-leather smooth strop, to address any metal burrs left by the abrasive process.[2]
Bottom stock materials
Similar processes are used in preparing materials for the sole and heel of shoes, known as bottom stock, 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.[3]
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
^Overview of clicking Rushden Research Group Retrieved 2014-09-24
^Overview of Bottom Stock Rushden Research Group. Retrieved 2014-09-24
External links
The late Baden Wilson demonstrating hand-clicking, using a hand-knife around a board 3/4 vamp pattern Retrieved 2014-05-05
Hand-forming a press-knife, using pre-sharpened strip steel from a bulk coil Retrieved 2014-05-05
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 Retrieved 2014-05-05
Clicking knife handle and blades
January 07, 2023
boot, shoe, clicker, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, septem. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Boot and shoe clicker news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message A boot and shoe clicker is the person who cuts the uppers for boots or shoes from a skin of leather 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 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 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 clicking by clickers 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 construction of the particular shoe Another major criterion is the need to colour shade 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 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 cutting stroke During the late 1960s synthetic leathers called pormerics 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 warp and weft Following the introduction of electrical mechanised presses 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 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 A vintage Rap Stick from 1940s used for sharpening a clicker s knife The clicker s knife regularly needed sharpening which was done with an implement called a rap stick 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 sharpening steel 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 1 The main surface is emery cloth 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 aluminium oxide abrasive strip used for tip sharpening On the reverse side is a heavy leather smooth strop to address any metal burrs left by the abrasive process 2 Bottom stock materials EditSimilar processes are used in preparing materials for the sole and heel of shoes known as bottom stock 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 3 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 processesReferences Edit Clicking knives Retrieved 2014 09 24 Overview of clicking Rushden Research Group Retrieved 2014 09 24 Overview of Bottom Stock Rushden Research Group Retrieved 2014 09 24External links EditThe late Baden Wilson demonstrating hand clicking using a hand knife around a board 3 4 vamp pattern Retrieved 2014 05 05 Hand forming a press knife using pre sharpened strip steel from a bulk coil Retrieved 2014 05 05 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 Retrieved 2014 05 05 Clicking knife handle and blades Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Boot and shoe clicker amp oldid 1067229288, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
