Last night was the first night I took any ibuprofen. My right arm didn’t hurt that much, but I’ve lost track of which of the 374 steps of bootmaking I’ve done now, and which ones I’ve still got left to do. I’ve crimped the vamps, and jabbed some stitching holes through the insole with an awl, but I figured I might need my arm again today. I’m terrible with that lip knife…ARGH!…Tex says I should try whittling boots out of wood ’til the knife feels right. The knife is sharp enough…I’m just using it wrong. I’ve never really used knives before. I think something in my girl-brain says pulling a knife through stiff leather straight towards your thumb is a bad idea. Tex showed me the right way to hold the knife is towards the crease of your hand, so if it slips it goes along side your thumb. (I’ll practice.) Tex says you can’t ever know where folks will get hung up learning bootmaking…my guess is that he thinks if I’m serious I’ll spend the next 20 or 40 years figuring it all out anyway, just like every other bootmaker. Tex says I did just fine channelling the insole with that short knife …go figure?
