I remember Buddy Phil was working with cardboard laminates way back in my bad days. I’m considering cardboard as a construction material for the soles. Can I get away with just layering cardboard on top of itself, siding it in some form of waterproof resin, and applying pressure and time? Did Buddy Phil ever get good results? Hell, I don’t even remember why he brought over a 1’x1´x1″ piece that time. Dimensions might be off, but I remember it was hard as teeth. Not that teeth are hard, but it does sound cool.
Thinking of design now. I want a toe cap, but not steel toe. Steel toe’s have an unfortunate habit of rolling backwards when too much weight is dropped on them. My knowledge of history includes the clubbing of feet as a horrific punishment. So. Toe box. Have the soles be bolted on for easy swapping. Especially if I make them from cardboard. Boat shoe style. I like laces, maybe now like a fancy Converse. Leather looks good, but in the effort for sustainability, could I go heavy canvas instead? I’ll need someway to reinforce where the laces go. Do I want to think about adding light up options?
Next steps.
Mod my current shoes to extend there life.
Make cardboard and canvas shoes for testing.
Test at home for one week and then start testng around the neighborhood.
Once those tests are in, start going from there.
I should probably rip apart an old pair of shoes to look at the basic dimensions so I intelligently design. Totally teaching that controversy.