Craig Corvin Seattle

Bespoke Footwear / Handmade Custom Shoes

Here’s a way to deal with cones of thread to prevent them from unspooling all over the place.

I’m using a spool of twine to demonstrate because It’s much easier to see the procedure. It also stays in place much better than nylon thread.

Make a loop…

pass the loose end around the cone…

feed the loose end through the loop…

pull on the loose end, just a little…

feed the loose end behind itself…

drop the loose end through the loop to make a knot…

pull the loose end to tighten…

Voilà!

Ok, so this isn’t a mind blowing tutorial by any means, but this way is better than trying to tape the loose end of a cone of thread down, especially when it’s nylon thread.

Shu-Lok Shoes, Part 3:

The Talon Shu-Lok fastener was used by several different shoe manufacturers, including Thom McAn, in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. They came to be knows as “Snap Jacks,” “Mousetraps,” or “Grasshoppers,” and were apparently prized in Rockabilly circles because musicians like Carl Perkins were photographed wearing them.

And that’s all I’ve been able to find out. If you know anything else about them, drop me a line.

Shu-Lok Shoes, Part 2:

The Shu-Lok Fastener was manufactured by Talon, Inc., Shu-Lok Fastener Division, of Meadville, Pennsylvania, and a freelance inventor-mechanic named Clive B. Forrester originated the idea for the shoe fastener and brought it to Talon in 1948. It was not until 1955 that Forrester, retained by Talon for seven years, had improved his closure enough to go into production.

Shu-Lok Shoes, Part 1:

I found these shoes in a thrift-shop over a decade ago. I really didn’t know anything about them, just thought they were cool. I wore them a few times, but they were slightly too big, so I put them in a box and then completely forgot about them.

Recently I was searching for something and found them again, and looking at them now through a shoemaker’s eye, wow I thought, these shoes are crazy!

So with the only information about the shoes that I could find, “TALON SHU-LOK” stamped on the closing fastener, I did a little research…