derf Posted March 27, 2007 Posted March 27, 2007 After breaking the heels on 2 pair of ballet boots from Devious I have created my own heels made of steel. I have also included pictures of the comfort modification I spoke of in an earlier thread about how to make the toes stiff and add an insert that makes the boots tighter keeping the toes from ever touching anything. This makes the boots very walkable without toe tip pain. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. The insert piece is made of phenolic (layered fiberglass) but plywood works well too. I hope this helps someone else who has had problems. Please keep in mind that I made the heels quickly without regard for appearance as I just wanted to wear my boots again.
derf Posted March 27, 2007 Author Posted March 27, 2007 Here is the insert and it's placement. This makes the boots very tight and keeps your toes safe. The boots need not be purchased in a larger size for this to work. If your boots are very tight the cutout insert will not be needed. My feet are long but not wide so I needed the tightening effect of the extra insert.
Firefox Posted March 27, 2007 Posted March 27, 2007 Impressive; even with the heels shown they are very different to anything else I've seen.
derf Posted March 27, 2007 Author Posted March 27, 2007 Thanks. The rods on the heels are stainless from a clothing display at Macy's that they were throwing away. A little cutting and welding and you have what you see very strong and stable replacement heels.
derf Posted March 28, 2007 Author Posted March 28, 2007 I'm quite suprised. I thought I would get more comments on how they look. Come on folks let me know what you think or if you have any other ideas. If you have questions or comments please feel free. Thanks, Derf
balletbooter Posted March 28, 2007 Posted March 28, 2007 does the insert press against the bolt to keep the toes stiff?
Jarl Ayari Posted March 28, 2007 Posted March 28, 2007 Love the heels, would like some of those on other shoes Smile and the whole world smiles with you, Fart and your on your own!!!
derf Posted March 28, 2007 Author Posted March 28, 2007 does the insert press against the bolt to keep the toes stiff? It was intended to but I got the measurements off on this pair of boots. The insert will not move as the foot is too tight against it even with hose on. The metal bolted part is bent into the toe area keeping it stiff. The insert is was my first attempt at stiffening the toe area and it rvolved into the steel bolted in then I had to cut a notch in the insert to fit around the bolt but that was on another pair of boots. On this pair I made the steel longer so the bolt was less visible being right under the heel. I would like to think the heels look cool as they are very functional now and not likely to break again. The area between the rods is also a great place to thread a chain through for locking purposes.
eah5151 Posted March 29, 2007 Posted March 29, 2007 What do the finished pair look like on? That is impressive handy work, you should make your own line and sell them.
jmc Posted March 30, 2007 Posted March 30, 2007 Looks like you're pretty handy with the welder! The three rods make for an interesting look. Have a happy time!
pata Posted March 30, 2007 Posted March 30, 2007 I always wanted to have balletboots with a steel-heel.. what you´ve done is completely another kind of idea as I had but it looks really great. and it seems quite stable?
derf Posted April 5, 2007 Author Posted April 5, 2007 Pata coming from you that means a lot. As I get time I will try to perfect the idea and who knows scream ballets? With Platforms?
Rockpup Posted April 12, 2007 Posted April 12, 2007 Hope you don't mind if I hop onto your thread, maybe it will start a trend of people trying new ideas with ballet boots An odd idea I had a few weeks back was to try build a pair of ballet boots around a pair of pointe shoes. My thinking was that ballet boots are not usually designed to properly support the foot in the long run. One issue is the leather, even if you custom fitted them to do the job they will eventually stretch and not function correctly. I figured if you can use a pair of pointe shoes to support the foot and keep your weight off your toes you can use the boots to hold your foot in position. I suspect the cost of such a project would be a bit high even though I can't think of a custom boot maker in my area. I happend to have a pair of thigh high zip up TLSB boots that I bought thinking they were listed by US size, but they were UK size. They fit my boyfriend but he only wore them once, and wouldnt wear em again even for my birthday several months later. I slipped on a pair of gaynor minden point shoes I recently got and slid my feet into the TLSB boots. They -kinda- fit, and were easy to walk in Well, the leg portion of the boots do not fit at all, so I decided to stop on by The Fetish Factory in Fort Lauderdale and see if they would be willing to let me try the idea with some of their Devious brand ballet boots. The guy handling the shoe area was very confused, but let me try it.. although after finding the boots in the size requested a girl from the kink side of the store came over so he could hit the bathroom. She asked if I was a pro dancer (pointe shoes are not a common kink item), and said she's done some photo shoots wearing the boots, but cant walk in them. Just realised I was getting a bit long winded, rather then my usual purge of a post I'll cut it short. Ended up getting a pair of size 11 knee high boots. I am thinking I should have gotten the size 12's, but since this is experimental I think I'll be ok. I lopped 1/2" off the heel to take some strain off my ankle, and just spent 20 minutes wandering around my house wearing them. About 10 minutes in I took a short vid. Here are the pointe shoes. Here are the pointes inside the boot. I filled the toe with paper untill my foot was snug against the back of the boot). And of course the vid of me wandering around is here. (formerly known as "JimC")
derf Posted April 14, 2007 Author Posted April 14, 2007 I had that thought several times but was unable to find pointe shoes in my area. I also saw on ebay several years ago a pair of ballet heels made out of a pair of pointe shoes. Basically pointe shoes with heels. I wish I had saved the picture. They were like yours with a thick heel that had been adorned with some type of jewels. They were very sexy and even my wife who says ballet heels look like lobster claws liked them but they weren't in her size. I would like to see people expand upon the idea of ballet heel creation or modification and create new things. They may not look the best but I hope the manufacturers see that there are other ideas and start making new things. Please keep this thread going and continue to share your thoughts and ideas. As for my modification I made the heels the same height I was used to walking in. The new heels are so solid that they don't bend under like the originals which effectively make them higher and I have to cut them down about 3/8 of an inch to make them more walkable. I will try to do a video of me walking in them soon.
derf Posted May 23, 2007 Author Posted May 23, 2007 I have received a couple of questions regarding this modification so I am going to add some detail here. The metal bar is a piece of what started to out to be a large angle brace 4 inches on each side. I cut off about 3.5 inches from one side of it and rounded off the corners with a grinder. This keeps the edges from hurting the boot in the toe area. The .5 inches end goes into the toe of the boot. The other end will come up into the boot at around the arch area. Here you will drill a hole through the sole to bolt it in. Do not drill through the exact center of the arch area as there is a metal shank in the boot that this will destroy. Offset the hole towards the inside of the foot by about 3/8 of an inch. Place a mark through the angle brace hole at the end closest to the toe of the boot. Drill a 1/4 inch hole at this point. Some wedging is needed to get the bolt through as the hole if drilled correctly is not centeres in the hole. Shove down on the metal bar and force the metal against the toe area until you can get the bolt through then place a nut on the sole side to secure it. This will not be able to be seen when standing and will add more support and reduce toe wear on the boot. Befor doing this I always seen to have heavy wear on the leather around the toe area dut to the toe box bending down. It also makes the heel seem shorter as the toe gets a little longer. The 3/8 inch plywood is cut to fit the boot area from the toe to where the bolt goes through. This reduces the size of the boot and adds strength. This will allow the boot to be laced up tighter and keep the toes from touching the bottom. I hope this helps if anyone needs more information please feel free to ask publicly or privately.
BBLoverEric Posted June 28, 2007 Posted June 28, 2007 So I had the aforementioned "heel snap" and have been quite depressed about it. I put the one on and it just doesn't feel the same without the heel. So now I'm in the market, so to speak, for someone who can fabricate me a heel setup but I'd like to be more ambitious, if it's possible, and make it so the heel is also removable for sleeping in. Anyone up for that challenge? I'm already sort of working on ideas, I just lack the materials and the tools to make it happen.
pata Posted June 28, 2007 Posted June 28, 2007 thank you for reviving this thread:)... ... the idea and who knows scream ballets? With Platforms? do you mean these? I´ve compared the heels height of these with ballet-heels in my size: that´s the same height, so if you meant using these for modifying a ballet heel- it might function. but I do not know how it is fixed in that wood sole .. and I won´t make any experiments with these ...
derf Posted July 4, 2007 Author Posted July 4, 2007 Pata, Those shoes are beautiful and I would not want to modify them unless something broke. I was thinking about putting platforms on regular ballet boots with the steel heels I made only longer. Actually I am contemplating making a pair of ballet heels entirely out of steel with chain locking straps from scratch. The problem right now is I am so busy with my work that I don't have time to do this. If I were not so busy right now I would offer to replace heels for someone to spread this idea. Maybe in the fall when things slow down a little I will be able to do that.
HeelMeNow Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 Hope I'm not sidetracking the topic, but my question is: has anyone made his / her own shoes from scratch? I'm considering some designs using a basic wood slide ~ 4 to 5 inches tall (buy something for parts then improve it) with rainbow colored electic wire for strapping. Or perhaps using rubber O-rings cut into lengths for vamp, arch, ankle strap etc. Is this idea too far off the topic? Please refer me to the appropriate post if this should be relocated. I am interested in anyone's feedback. I should have a pair completed within the next six weeks and will provide pictures. My target completion date is end of August. The follow-up pair will have some sort of lighting, so she can find me in the dark. My motivation is a unique shoe to wear clubbing. TIA for your commentary.
derf Posted August 17, 2007 Author Posted August 17, 2007 I wish you the best of luck. I have plans to attempt to make an all steel ballet shoe at some point when I have time to play. I have been thinking about it for years and am about ready to start. Pata if you want steel heels for your ballets lets talk about sending me a pair to modify. I honestly did not think anyone would like them that much.
DR Who 3 Posted September 28, 2007 Posted September 28, 2007 Hi. I'm new at this ballet boot thing. I just bought a pr. of the anlkel boots w/locks on e-bay. I have been practicing though with a homemade pr.of boots made from a pr. of ninja tabi boots that I screwed to a wooden platforrm sole/heel combination. I have to duct tape these to my feet so that they don't flop around while I practice walking on them. I have found this to be a great exersize work out as I can't standupright without keeping my knees bent. This plus the strain on all other muscles and realy gives me a wonderfull work out. So far I can only keep this up forr 30 min. with a pauses to re gain muscle control in my legs. I plan on making the mods. you mention here also I plan to fasten the heel to the sole of the boots with a steel gusset in the design of a spider web. I hope this will prevent me from braking the heels off. when I finish all the mods I'll try to post pictures. Also I might buy another pr.and explore making them in to platform boots. I have done this with a pr. of combat boots that I added a 3'' patform to the sole and heel. I was inspired be a web site that shows different elevated mods to shoes for people with one foot shorter than the other. I also enjoyed seeing the video:wave: s of Pata walking in her ballets. Later, DR WHO 3
pata Posted September 28, 2007 Posted September 28, 2007 thank you derf - but I think in october I can show you more about *my version* of steel-heeled ballet boots! As I had broken a heel of my ankle high ballets, a friend of mine offered me to try that, so in some days I will get them back.... One shoe was already prepared one or two weeks ago - it looks great in my opinion - not sure if they will be walkable!!! as the steel heel is super thin now! but looking nice is more important for a ballet heel than beeing walkable, isn´t it ?
DR Who 3 Posted September 28, 2007 Posted September 28, 2007 I have looked @ your mods. and plan to use the steel toebox reinforcement on the new boots I have purchased on e-bay. I have a question for you. How were the heels attachet to the soles of the boots you made the steel heels for also what is the original heel material? There a is a story on the web where the person has filled the toe box with silicone sealant and put the boots on until the silicone firmed up and this made a cushion for her toes.
balletbooter Posted September 28, 2007 Posted September 28, 2007 really looking forward to seeing this!
DR Who 3 Posted October 1, 2007 Posted October 1, 2007 Well my ballet ankel boots haven't arrived so I put the ninja /ballet /with duct tape boots on and practiced and was able to walk for 35 min. with a few brakes. My ankles and the large musscles on my upper legs are what get whipped the most. I hope with the new boots I can walk better and longer. I still can't believe the workout I get from these things.I think I'll add some hand bar bells for some upper body work. For those of you who have mastered these ballets how long did it take and how many heels did you brake? Thats it for now. DR WHO 3 P.S. That Pata girl is just amazing the way she makes it look so effort less.
derf Posted October 7, 2007 Author Posted October 7, 2007 The original heels were plastic and half way down the heel there is a metal reinforcement. The heels broke off right above the reinforcement metal. The heels were originally attached with screws and a large steel staple. To attach my new heels I simply used screws and nuts through the original holes then drilled a new hole through both the shoe and heel to add reinforcement.
DR Who 3 Posted October 11, 2007 Posted October 11, 2007 Thanks DERF for getting back to me on what the bboots heels are made of. I did some moore practicing last night in my homemade bboots and I think I will have to reinforce the heels because I walk with a lot of stress on them. The homemade bboots have a woodwn wedge heel conected to the sole and it takes this stress but I think the spike heel on the bboots won't without some kind of conection to the sole or making a heel like you made. My walking/standing has gotten better but I don't want to wreck my new boots when they arrive with my first steps. Thanks again DR WHO3:-?
DR Who 3 Posted October 11, 2007 Posted October 11, 2007 I have checked this post out an for some reason the words PAGE RANKED show up and the copy doesn't make sence.To those who read this please ignore these words. Thanks DR WHO3
pata Posted October 17, 2007 Posted October 17, 2007 I started a new topic for these shoes in the fetish area - I think they deserve that http://www.hhplace.org/discuss/ultra_high_heels_fetish_things/9300-unique_ultra_high_beautiful.html The *toebox* can be removed- but I probably won´t as I think them more elegant this way
DR Who 3 Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 Hi Pata. Those new ballet boots are GORGEOUS!! Does the steel sole start at the toe or higher up because from the way thy look in your pictures the toes must bend at the bottom right? I though I would add the new mods Iv'e done to my new ankle bboots if it's OK? Sorry I don't have any pictures yet. First I noticed that the toe box kind of colapses on the untouched bboots when I first walked in them this added to my toe pain. I thought about adding the steel insert that Derf uses but decided to make a fiberglass second sole attached to the boots' original sole that fit on the outside of the sole and starts at the toe and followes up 3/4 of the sole of the boot this is about 1/8'' thick at the curveature of the bottom of the toe and aprox.1/6'' at the top 3/4 of the way up the sole. Next I thickened up the steel heel by wraping fiberglass around it and sculpting it to a pleasing shape ending in a flaired bottom aprox. 3/4'' wide with a rubber cap. I also shortened the heel 1/2''. Then to keep from braking the heel off I made a triangled shaped gusset between the fiberglass sole and the thickened heel aprox. 3/16'' thick and shaped the bottom of the gusset in a concaved pleasing curve. The boots are very stable and a joy to walk in, my main goal, with the thickened heel tapering then widening out at the bottom and the bottom curve on the gusset the boots have taken on a very GOTHIC look. All I have to do now is figure a way to deal with the pain on my big toes I think I'll be able to walkin these for along time. When I figure out how to post pictures I'll show a build up because I have to make my wife a pair now. I hope this discription helps those interested and If any one has questions please ask. Later DR WHO 3
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