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6:25 pm
September 22, 2011
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Rick Sperko
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| Member | posts 16 | |
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I added some polypropylene webbing and buckles ($5 shipped from strapworks.com) much like another sandal out there. I just really like the invisible shoe sole. Alllows very easy adjustment if I want to go with or without socks. If you try this, be careful with the knife to cut the slits for the side strap, I needed to move one side in a bit further after a quick knife flick :)
I wore them all day, will try to run in them tomorrow. REI also has some 5/8" webbing that is softer, I may try that.
 
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7:47 am
September 27, 2011
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Rick Sperko
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I did switch to the REI webbing. It is much softer.
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8:30 am
September 27, 2011
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FreeYourToes
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Neat idea. I may have to score some and give it a shot.
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7:16 am
September 29, 2011
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Rick Sperko
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| Member | posts 16 | |
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Post edited 10:25 am – September 29, 2011 by Rick Sperko
The REI webbing is very nice. Ran for about 6 miles in them and they are working well. I made a second pair yesterday with this webbing.
1. I cut 3.5-4 foot sections of the REI climbing webbing (5/8") I melted, then rolled one end and wrapped it in masking tape.
2. Using the leather punch I made the largest hole possible, and with needle nose pliers forced the masking taped strip through the hole
3. I marked the side slits using the webbing to figure out the size, I put them just inside of the current hole
4. Using the hole punch (smaller hole size than the middle) I punched holes on either side of the slit markings, then used a razor knife to carefully and SLOWLY cut it out
5. Fed the webbing through like the no-tie method wrapping one extra time on each side. (There is a good youtube video of putting straps on a bedrock sandal)
6. For the "knot" under the toe, I gripped the webbing in the needle nose pliers and melted it and pressed it. I then covered that melted end in epoxy.
I still need to cut the length of the webbing, but want to wear them for a bit first. I rather like the blue lines in the webbing.
With tabi socks
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6:32 am
January 12, 2012
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Rick Sperko
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| Member | posts 16 | |
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three month update: Still working great. The webbing is very comfortable and looks good, the epoxy is holding out fine. These were my primary shoes for a vacation to Puerto Rico and I run in them constantly.
Once again, great product.
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12:17 pm
April 16, 2012
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Rick Sperko
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Not sure if anyone cares, but I wanted to report these are still holding on strong. Seven months, ran a half marathon in them a little over a week ago. I take them on trails. Looked this morning, and the epoxy is holding up well.
I ordered a new pair, some suede, glue, and I still have some webbing from making this pair. I am going to make a best of breed invisible-bedrock-luna sandle as my primary walkin 'round town footwear.
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11:07 pm
April 16, 2012
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runFree
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Hi Rick,
Thanks for posting this – I find it very interesting. Similar to you it seems, I love the Invisible Shoe sole but am not a fan of the rope tying system – both for comfort and style reasons. However, I'm not very much of a handy man and am honestly afraid I'd damage my soles if I tried this project.
I doubt I'm the only one in this boat. Would you be at all interested in customizing others' Invisible Shoes? If I were to send you my soles and a check for whatever you think is fair for your time/materials/effort, would you be willing to add some webbing to my soles? If so, let me know and I'll provide an email address to work out the details.
Either way, awesome job and thanks for sharing your experience with us!
-Mark
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8:13 am
May 15, 2012
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Rick Sperko
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| Member | posts 16 | |
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Post edited 7:14 pm – May 15, 2012 by Rick Sperko
I gave this quite a bit of thought, and I cannot allocate the time to modify soles. I did however figure out a fairly straight forward and consistent way to make the slots on the sides. I used a 3/4" wood chisel. I placed it with the bevel facing inward just slightly inboard of the hole, then i moved it a small distance inward with the bevel facing outward. A single hit with each cut a nice straight groove with no sliding. I then pulled the extra material out from between the two. Worked great, the chisel should probably be sharpened after.
Not sure if this communciates it very well:
1 2
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1 is the first cut with the chisel, then 2 is just a millimeter or two away. You could probably safely get by with only one cut, but i wanted to have an actual slit with space for the webbing. I think the soles are tough enough to work with only one cut.
Hope this helps anyone who wants to try this. My new pair with the luna suede and climbing strap are just finished and so far, pretty nice. I forgot to clean the top of the soles with solvent before trying to glue originally and the suede did not stick very well initially.
edit for a couple additional notes:
A leather punch at both ends of the chiselled cuts would make it easy to get the rubber out. This time I melted the webbing and did not epoxy it. I held the material in a pair of needle nose, kept the flame on the end until it caught on fire itself, then pressed the material onto a flat surface with the needle nose.
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