Measurements are taken and the last is made to them. The pattern is then made from the last and templates are cut. I then plan out where each part of the boot will be cut on the hide. The sections of your boots are cut out using a curved clicker knife. The uppers are then moved over for skiving. I could do this by hand, but choose not to because I am able to get a more precise stitch with my Sew Pro Skiver.
Sewing begins. I use a single needle post bed sewing machine for the uppers, this process is called closing or fitting the uppers. The closed uppers are then soaked in an alcohol water solution, lasted (the process of wrapping leather around the shoe last), then left to dry for a day and moved to bottoming. When it comes to bottoming there are a couple different ways depending on the sole you want and again with what job you are doing.
There are three ways to continue; a hand welt, stitch down, or mckay stitch. I use a hand welt in all dress boots that I make because it’s a very strong connection between the sole and the uppers making it perfect for dress or heavy work. A stitch down is used in our work and hunting boots. It's great for water resistance. A McKay is used in other hunting boots as it has an extremely strong connection between the sole and the uppers and all the seams are underneath the boot giving more protection from water and dirt. The stitch down and mckay stitch are used back and forth in hunting and work boots depending on what sole you want and what job you are doing.