shoe trees

[Guest]

Hi.
what is the best type of wood for shoe trees? Mahogany or beech?
Thanks

[Guest]

Cedar. It absorbs moisture and odours better than other materials.

[Guest]

So why does John Lobb use mahogany?

[Guest]

I am not so sure about cedar as an absorbent wood since it is packed with oils which famously protect it - hence its use in weather baording and roof tiles. Moreover, I am not sure, anyway, that it would be a good idea to have shoe trees which end up smelling like lost used socks! Probably best to rest and dry shoes before treeing them. Beech and mahogany are commonly used as these woods are stable and keep shape - tending not to expand and contract too much. Lobb's also use a similar, lighter wood (the name of which escapes me) for the Jet Set.
NJS

[Guest]

Thanks NJS. How about the usefulness between a three-piece shoe tree and a hinged shoe tree is?

[Guest]

You really need multi-piece trees only with boots from button or 'Chelsea' boots to riding boots; although three piiece trees do have one advantage with shoes - if you put the middle piece in last, you will find that the heels of the trees do not rub and wear as much against the heel lining of the shoes as hinged trees do. I have just been looking at some light-weight trees made by Poulsen Skone 20 years ago and they appeat to be made of beech - with its distinctive flecked grain (much lighter than what these days passes for true Honduran mahogany - often sapele) - I still can't remember the even lighter wood which Lobb's offers.
NJS

[Guest]

. . . . I still can't remember the even lighter wood which Lobb's offers.
NJS

Might it be birch? Quite light in weight, but not very soft.

RWS

[Guest]

Birch might not be a bad choice but, apparently, it is Obeche and, looking at samples of this and comparing with the trees I mentioned above, I think that my Poulsen Skone trees are made of it - very light indeed. Sometimes trees are hollowed out or have holes drilled to decrease weight too.
NJS

[Guest]

Ah, yes: the so-called "air-flight" or "air-travel" shoetrees. Some excellent stock ones came from the venerable New York maker McKay, now sadly defunct.

Some day I must buy a copy lathe.

RWS

[Guest]

I believe that these lathes are very rare now.
NJS

[Guest]

Many years ago I bought the remaining 7C trees from this maker. I later wrote to buy more, and I got back a handwritten letter, from Mr. Mackay stating he had closed the business. Judging from the handwriting the man must have been over 80 years of age!

You don't find businesses and owners like that anymore.

[Guest]

Many years ago I bought the remaining 7C trees from this maker. I later wrote to buy more, and I got back a handwritten letter, from Mr. Mackay stating he had closed the business. Judging from the handwriting the man must have been over 80 years of age!

You don't find businesses and owners like that anymore.

tteplitzmd

[Guest]

. . . . I got back a handwritten letter, from Mr. Mackay stating he had closed the business. Judging from the handwriting the man must have been over 80 years of age! . . . .

I'd heard not only that he was quite old, but that his company, which had been shrinking in size in the face of increasing demand (because of the difficulty of finding or training good semi-skilled workers), was the last (no pun) of its kind in the world. It certainly turned out a very well-made product.

Did Mr. Mackay state why he dissolved the company?

Perhaps I should ask what happened to his copy lathes . . . .

RWS

[Guest]

'Turned out' is yat another pun, RWS. A similar irony to that mentioned here about supply and demand is mentioned by a humorous English writer, who once pointed out that, as the British Empire diminished in size, the number of officials in the Colonial Office grew larger.
NJS

[Guest]

MacKay: the only thing I can say, is that judging from his penmanship, he was very, very old. Good question, what happenned to the lathes.

tteplitzmd