scoring leather soles

[flyingwind66]

I'm wondering who scores their leather soles and how you'd normally to do that? I've only worn suede soles though I'm thinking about picking up a pair with leather soles.

Now, with my ballet pointes I'd go at the leather sole with a box-cutter to make the smooth leather more 'grippy' ... you wouldn't go at the sole of a pair leather soled tango shoes with a box-cutter right? I heard some people use a wire brush or steel wool?

 

[Subliminal]

Peaches said once that she just walks out to the sidewalk and does a few swivels on the concrete.

I tried that with my one pair of leather soled shoes, and it seemed to work.

 

[Peaches]

Yep. Works like a charm. No need to get complicated.

 

[Zoopsia59]

you wouldn't go at the sole of a pair leather soled tango shoes with a box-cutter right?

No, no no!!!! The leather sole on a pointe shoes is thicker and the rigidity of the toe box means you need some traction because the shoe works against you for control.

Also, you probably aren't expecting your pointe shoes to last nearly as long as you hope your $200 tango shoes will last.

I don't do the outside concrete method because I don't want dirt ground into my soles. I use a wire shoe brush (NOT a regular hardware store wire brush) that is made for roughing up the suede on suede soles that get packed down. Depending on the leather, you might have to be a little .... insistent with the brush

The more I danced tango, the more "slip" I wanted on my soles. When I was starting out, I felt I needed more grip on almost every floor I danced (in all fairness, one of them was like walking on ice) But as my technique got more solid, I relied less on the grip of the shoes to feel secure. Now I am far more likely to be complaining about the floor being too "sticky".

And of course, you only have to wrench your ankle once on a sticky floor to be leery of them forever!

Making the transition from suede to leather can be a little awkward the first time, especially if you've been reaching too far and counting on the shoe grip to help you get over the new supporting leg. However, I'd suggest that you do only a little scuffing up to begin with. You can always scuff them more if it isn't enough. And dance in them first at a place that has a floor that your suede seemed too "grippy" for.

Eventually, you'll probably be wearing your leather more than your suede except for certain places that have very slick floors.

 

[Zoopsia59]

Yep. Works like a charm. No need to get complicated.

No reason except... this is tango... we MUST make it complicated. Or it wouldn't be tango.

 

[jfm]

No reason except... this is tango... we MUST make it complicated. Or it wouldn't be tango.

Ahem. I beg to differ.
The only correct way to rough up your soles is to stand on your LEFT leg, on an aluminium bucket (plastic or steel won't do). You must point the index finger at 45 degrees to the toe box as you use your other hand to brush the wire brush exactly straight 43 times to the right. All the while you must flex your LEFT foot such that the toe lands first.
If it doesn't work perfectly, it's because the follower isn't forcing her knees together using her adductor muscles and is pivoting with her weight 6mm to the side of her centre of balance while she holds the shoe for you. Find a better one, preferably 20 years old 98 lbs and a former gymnast.

 

[opendoor]

I'm wondering who scores their leather soles.... I've only worn suede soles though

I don´t know exactly what you mean by suede soles, but I guess you mean chromium-tanned leather soles, do you?
Chromium-tanned leather soles are for indoor use, because they are adjustable with water or paraffin to the conditions of that specific dance floor. In my area the tangueras/-os only use vegetable tanned sole materials for out-door dancing in summer.

you wouldn't go at the sole of a pair leather soled tango shoes with a box-cutter right?

Some actually do, but the majority still is using a wire brush.

 

[dchester]

I don´t know exactly what you mean by suede soles, but I guess you mean chromium-tanned leather soles, do you?

At least in the US, suede is a type of leather that's made from the underside of the skin (i.e. the tough exterior of the skin has been removed). The main attribute is that it has a soft nappy feel to it.

 

[Zoopsia59]

Ahem. I beg to differ.
The only correct way to rough up your soles is to stand on your LEFT leg, on an aluminium bucket (plastic or steel won't do). You must point the index finger at 45 degrees to the toe box as you use your other hand to brush the wire brush exactly straight 43 times to the right. All the while you must flex your LEFT foot such that the toe lands first.
If it doesn't work perfectly, it's because the follower isn't forcing her knees together using her adductor muscles and is pivoting with her weight 6mm to the side of her centre of balance while she holds the shoe for you. Find a better one, preferably 20 years old 98 lbs and a former gymnast.

You obviously don't know anything about traditional tango...the bucket must be WOOD. When tango started, aluminum hadn't been invented yet. In fact, about the only things that had been invented other than tango were the wheel and fire. If it weren't for tango, we wouldn't even HAVE buckets! Everyone knows that the aluminum buckets only came into fashion for the neo-tango craze.

 

[AndaBien]

... In fact, about the only things that had been invented other than tango were the wheel and fire...

Well, you have to recall that our use of fire was heavily influenced by the European Neanderthals.

 

[jfm]

Actually, like fire, Tango really comes from the Neanderthals, some argentine sailors travelled back in time 50,000 years to Northern France when they were caught in a storm, where they amused and entranced out cousins with their primitive canyenge moves. The Neanderthals then developed and refined the dance into something palatable to their sophisticated, classy fire side dance sessions resulting in what we now recognise as Tango de Salon. Humans then stole tango from them while appropriating their culture and systematically exterminating them. When Argentine playboys visited Paris in the early 20th century to learn how to play rugby properly and to find a classy wife, they spotted this elegant dance and took it back to BA with them where it flourished. Thus the origins of tango are really old and indisputably french.
Ps I stand by my aluminium claim, whatever happens, to my death I will insist that Aluminium is the bucket material no matter how many 'facts' and how much 'evidence' come my way. So there.

 

[Peaches]

Ahem. I beg to differ.
The only correct way to rough up your soles is to stand on your LEFT leg, on an aluminium bucket (plastic or steel won't do). You must point the index finger at 45 degrees to the toe box as you use your other hand to brush the wire brush exactly straight 43 times to the right. All the while you must flex your LEFT foot such that the toe lands first.
If it doesn't work perfectly, it's because the follower isn't forcing her knees together using her adductor muscles and is pivoting with her weight 6mm to the side of her centre of balance while she holds the shoe for you. Find a better one, preferably 20 years old 98 lbs and a former gymnast.

BWAHAHAHA! Love it.

 

[Peaches]

Favorite thread ever.

 

[flyingwind66]

Also, you probably aren't expecting your pointe shoes to last nearly as long as you hope your $200 tango shoes will last.

haha, my pointe shoes last like 2 months when I was dancing a lot of pointe

I don't do the outside concrete method because I don't want dirt ground into my soles. I use a wire shoe brush (NOT a regular hardware store wire brush) that is made for roughing up the suede on suede soles that get packed down. Depending on the leather, you might have to be a little .... insistent with the brush

The more I danced tango, the more "slip" I wanted on my soles. When I was starting out, I felt I needed more grip on almost every floor I danced (in all fairness, one of them was like walking on ice) But as my technique got more solid, I relied less on the grip of the shoes to feel secure. Now I am far more likely to be complaining about the floor being too "sticky".

And of course, you only have to wrench your ankle once on a sticky floor to be leery of them forever!

Making the transition from suede to leather can be a little awkward the first time, especially if you've been reaching too far and counting on the shoe grip to help you get over the new supporting leg. However, I'd suggest that you do only a little scuffing up to begin with. You can always scuff them more if it isn't enough. And dance in them first at a place that has a floor that your suede seemed too "grippy" for.

Eventually, you'll probably be wearing your leather more than your suede except for certain places that have very slick floors.

thanks for all the advice I noticed that most people were wearing leather on the dance floor of the Milonga I normally attend. When I first started I definitely didn't think I could dance on that floor wearing leather but I'm feeling much more confident now

Favorite thread ever.

agreed ;D