US1862878A

US1862878A - Heel and heel covering and method of making the same

Info

Publication number: US1862878A
Application number: US413370A
Authority: US
Inventors: Lewis J Bazzoni
Original assignee: United Shoe Machinery Corp
Current assignee: United Shoe Machinery Corp
Priority date: 1929-12-11
Filing date: 1929-12-11
Publication date: 1932-06-14
Anticipated expiration: 1949-06-14

Description

3m i4 1/932 L. J. BAZZONI HEEL AND HEEL COVERING AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Fil'ed Dec. ll, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WW. iummmm...

June 14, 1932. L. J. BAZZONI 1,862,878

HEEL AND HEEL COVERING AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Dec 11, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 14, 19.32

UNE EEE SETATES PATENT orrica LEWIS J. BAZZONI, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED SHOE IVIA- OHINERY CORPORATION, JERSEY OF PATEBSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW HEEL AND HEEL COVERING AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Application filed December 11, 1929. Serial No. 413,370.

This invention relates to heels and heel.

coverings and to improved methods of making covered heels and heel coverings.

For some time covered wood heels have been employed almost exclusively in the better grades of womens shoes because of the many superior qualities and advantages of wood heels, such, for example, as lightness, uniformity of shape and finish, and the fact that such heels can be made in a wide variety of shapes and styles impracticable to produce in heels built up of leather lifts. Moreover, in covered heels it is practicable to employ covers made of such material and finished in such a manner as to produce various artistic and stylish effects, the color or other characteristic of the finished covers harmonizing with the color or finish of the shoe upper materials or contrasting therewith, as may be desirable. Leather lift heels, how ever, are better adapted than the usual covered heels to harmonize with the finish of the sole of the shoe and more particularly to match the finish of the sole edge.

In view of the foregoing, one object of the present invention is to provide a covered heel embodying the well-known desirable features,

of heels of that type and having, in addition, a surface appearance of leather lift edges with a finish correspondlng to that of the edge of a shoe sole without, however, hav

ing certain disadvantageous characteristics of the less desirable leather lift heels.

To the accomplishment of this object, the present invention provides a cover for the rear and sides of a heel comprising a plurality of thin leather strips secured together in abutting edge-to-edge relation. The illustrated cover is composed of strips of sole leather and, in accordance with another feature of the invention, the grain or fiber of the leather extends endwise to the wearing surface of the cover, as the fiber in a leather sole or heel lift extends endwise of the edge face of the sole or lift. Thus the illustrated cover not only is composed. of the same material and has the same color and shade as that of the sole of a shoe, but it also has aimpart to a covered heel the surface appearance of leather lift edges, the strips constituting the cover herein shown correspond in width to the thickness of leather heel lifts and moreover,.as shown, strips which gradually diminish in width toward their ends are so arranged in combination with strips of uniform width that the cover imparts to a heel to which it is applied the appearance of a solid leather heel in the manufacture of which wedge lifts have been employed.

Invention is also to be recognized as residing in a heel having a covering comprising a plurality of thin narrow strips extending around the rear and sides of the heel and arranged in abutting edge-to-edge relation. The heel cover is herein shown as being reinforced by a fabric backing which is adhesively secured to the cover and to the heel.

Considered in one of its method aspects, the invention consists in an improvement in the manufacture of covered heels which comprises making a plurality of thin narrow strips of material suitable .for covering a heel, and applying said strips to a heel in abutting edge-to-edge relation and with the strips extending around the rear and sides of the heel. As herein exemplified, the strips are produced by cutting through a laminated block composed of a plurality of elongated layers of sole leather stock in which the grain or fibre extends widthwise of the layers, the layers being adhesively secured together in face-to-fa-ce relation and the cutting being crosswise of the layers in a plane transverse to the run of the fibre therein. As a result of such action the strips, before being applied to a heel, are adhesively secured together in abutting edgeto-edge relation to form a composite heel cover which is applicable as a unit to a heel. Broadly considered, however, invention is also to be recognized in a method of making heels which comprises cutting leather stock crosswise of the grain to produce a plurality of strips having the grain extending endwise to the surfaces of the strips, and wrapping the strips around the rear and sides of a heel in abutting edge-to-edge relation.

In making the block from which the heel covers are to be cut, the bloc r, as herein shown, is so formed that its cross-sectional contour, in any plane perpendicular to the run of the fibre in its component layers, corresponds to the marginal contour of a heel cover and thus the covers when skived from the block are ready for application to heels without any preliminary trimming or shaping operation. The fabric backing which is employed to reinforce the illustrated cover is preferably cut on the bias so that the threads of the backing extend diagonally with respect to the margins of the cover, this expedient rendering the backing more readily stretchable and thus enabling the cover to conform smoothly to the contour of the heel. As illustrated, a backing for a cover is conveniently applied to the face of the laminated block before each slriving operation so that each cover has its backing secured thereto as soon as the cover has been split from the block. In applying the cover to a heel, the cover is wrapped around the rear and sides of the heel in the usual way and the end portions of the cover are overlapped on the heel breast. As exemplified herein, the end portions of the cover may be trimmed to meet at the middle of the heel breast and laid with their trimmed edges abutting, the cover thus completely covering the breast as well as the rear and sides of the heel.

The invention will be explained with respect to the accompanying drawings, in

1 which Fig. 1 is a per pective view of one of the leather strips of uniform thickness which is employed in the making of the laminated block from which the covers are cut, the strip having been bent into the general form it is to assume in the block;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the wedge strips which are used, in conjunction with the strips of uniform thickness, in the making of the block;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the block-forming mold showing a plurality of strips assembled therein;

Fig. at is aperspective view of a heel cover block after it has been molded, a portion of the figure showing the block as it appears after the fabric backing has been applied thereto;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of. a heel cover block of modified construction hereinafter referred to;

Fig. 6 is a conventional view, partially in section and partially in elevation, illustrating a mode of cutting or slriving a cover from a block;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a completed cover;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a wooden Cuban heel in process of being covered;

Figs. 9 and 10 are, respectively, sectional jand perspective views of a covered Cuban heel in which a single cover covers the breast as well as the rear and sides of the heel;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a laminated block from which striped coverings may be cut for application to the breast fa es only of a heel;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a Cuban heel having a striped covering on its rear and side faces and a separate striped covering, such as that shown in Fig. 11, upon its breast face; and

Fig. 18 is a perspective view of a portion of a shoe having a Louis heel to the rear and sides of which a striped covering has been applied.

Referring first to Figs. 8 to 10 of the drawings, 12 indicates a wood heel or heel body and 14 indicates a cover for the heel. The heel body 12 is of the type commonly employed in the manufacture of covered Cuban heels, but the illustrated cover 14. is of the novel construction hereinafter described. The cover 1%, as best shown in Figs. 7 and 8, consists of a thin slriving 16 of leather, and a fabric backing 18 which is adhesively secured to one side of the leather skiving. The skiving 16 is composed of thin sections or strips of leather comprising a plurality of strips 20, each of uniform width and thickness throughout its len th, and a plurality of strips 22, each gradually diminishing in thickness lengthwise of the strip to provide a wedge formation at its opposite ends. The

strips

20 and 22 constituting the leather portion 16 of the cover are arranged in abutting edge-to-edge relation and each strip is curved edgewise so that the lateral edges of the cover will be curved as required to adapt the cover to fit properly when wrapped around a heel. Inasmuch as most heels are higher at their rear portions than at their breasts, the middle portion of a cover, which is the portion to be applied to the rear of such a heel, should be wider than the end portions of the cover which are to be ap plied to the breast of the heel or to surfaces near the breast. As herein illustrated, the desired excess width at the middle of the cover is obtained by employment of the wedge strips 22 which are interposed at intervals between the strips 20, a greater or less number of wedge strips being used according to the difference in height between the rear and breast faces of the heel to be covered. As shown in Fig. 10, the cover 14 is made long enough to cover the breast as well as the rear and sides of a heel and the cover is wrapped around the rear and sides of the heel while the ends of the cover are arranged in abutting edge-to-edge relation to form a flush joint 26 extending heightwise of the heel breast. The joint 26 is not very noticeable and, therefore, does not lessen to any substantial extent the resemblance of the covered heel breast to that of the breast of an uncovered leather-lift heel. If desired, however, and as hereinafter explained,the line.

' lateral margins of the illustrative covers overlap the attaching and top-lift-receiving faces of the heel as shown at 28 and 30, respectively, in Figs. 9 and 10. If desired, a cover may be employed of such shape that its end portions, instead of coveringthe heel breast, merely overlap. the lateral margins of the breast as shown at 32 in Fig. 12. In such a case a separate covering 34 may be employed for the breast of the heel. Thisbreast covering, as shown in Fig. 12, is composed of strips 36 corresponding in width to the width of the component strips 16 of the side cover 14, the cover 34 being laid so that its strips are alined widthwise with the strips of the cover 14 and thus appear, in the finished heel, as continuations of the strips of the side cover. In Fig. 13 there is shown a Louis heel 38 having a composite cover 40 constructed in accordance with the present invention, the cover 40 comprising more wedge strips than shown in the Cuban heel covers to adapt the cover to lit the more sharply curved contour of a heel of the Louis type. The ends of the cover 40 merely overlap the lateral margins of the breast of the heel 38 and a flap 42, split from the sole of the shoe 44 to which the heel is attached, covers the breast of the heel as is the usual custom. In both the Cuban heels herein shown and in the Louis heel 38 the strips constituting the heel covering correspond in shape and arrangement to that of the lifts of a built-up heel and the abutting edges of the cover strips simulate the lines marking the joints between the lifts of such a heel.

by cutting or skiving crosswise of the grain or fibre through pieces or layers of leather stock of a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the lifts of a leather heel. To obtain this result, and in accordance with the method of making covers herein exemplifed, a plurality of such pieces of leather, preferably sole leather, are assembled face-toface and secured together by snitahie adhesive, such as pyroxylin cement, to form a laminated block having top and bottom s1 faces made up of the lateral edges of the ieces or layers constituting the block. T 1e eel covers are then formed from such a block by cutting or skiving across the block in i planes parallel to its top and bottom surfaces.

A laminated block built up in the manner above described is shown at in Fig. 4. The block 50 is composed of a plurality of elongated strips 52 (see also Fig. 1), each of uniiform width and thickness throughoutits length, and a plurality of shorter strips 54 (see also Fig. 2) of the same width as the strips 50, the strips 54 being provided with tapering or wedge-shaped ends 56 and having a maximum thickness equal to that of the strips 52. In building up the block 50, the

strips

52 and 54 are arranged as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 to form a laminated structure of a thickness equal to the width of the strips and having top and bottom surfaces formed by the edge faces of the strips, after which the block is molded so that its cross-sectional contour, in any plane parallel to its top and bottom faces, corresponds to that of a heel cover. Thus, by cutting or skiving across the block in planes parallel to its top an d'bottom faces thin leather skivings may be produced which have marginal outlines adapating them for use as heel covers and which are composed of a plurality of strips secured together in abutting edge-to-edge relation and corresponding in width and edge contour to that of the layers-52 and 56 of the block 50.

The difference in height between the rear and breast faces of heels is due to the forward pitch of the attaching face of the heel and is a substantial difference in most covered heels such as high heels of the Cuban, military or Louis types which are used almost exclusively upon womens shoes. This pitch of the attaching face, together with the downward and forward slope of the rear surfaces of such heels makes it necessary for the covers to have a substantial amount of curvature in their upper and lower edges in order to fit properly when applied to the rear and sides of the heels. To provide for this curvature of the cover edges, the block 50 is shaped as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

In making the block 50, the strips or

layers

52 and 54 are assembled in a mold comprising relatively movable mold members 60 and 62 (Fig. 3) having molding faces curved to correspond to the desired curvature of the upper and lower edges of the covers to be cut from the block. In using the mold, the strips are first rough-molded to approximately the curvatures of the operating faces of the mold members. The number and shape of the wedge strips employed and their arrangement relatively to the other strips depends, of course, upon the shape of the heel to be covered. The preliminary rouglrmolding of the

strips

52 and 54 takes place while the strips are in temper, and it may consist merely in bending the strips by hand into substantially the shape shown in Figs. 1 and 2, either before the strips are laid in the mold or while they are being introduced therein. Each

strip

52 and 54 is coated upon its side faces with adhesive before it is placed in the mold. The strips are arranged as shown with the wedge strips 54 arranged at intervals between the strips 52.

After a sufiicient number of

strips

52 and 54 have been assembled between the mold members 60 and G2 to make block, pressure is applied in any suitable manner to the mold members to consolidate the material of the strips and to impart the desired final shape to the block. This molding pressure is maintained long enough to insure the setting of the adhesive between the strips which make up the block. After having een molded the block 50 is shaped as shown in Fig. 4.

The heel covers which are to be cut from the block 50 are preferably to be reinforced by a suitable backing, such as the fabric backing 18 already referred to. As shown in Figs. t and 7, the fabric constituting the backing is died out to correspond in outline to that of the heel cover, the backing being preferably made slightly larger than the cover so that no great amount of care is necessary in locating the backing upon the cover. As indicated in Fig. 4, the sheet of backing material is cut on the bias, i. e., the threads which make up the fabric are disposed obliquely with respect to the edges of the sheet, this arrangement permitting the fabric to stretch readily as the cover is being applied to a heel and thus insuring that the cover will conform smoothly to the curved surfaces of the heel. Preferably the backing is stained to match the finish of the cover so that the backing would not be readily noticeable if a small portion of it should become exposed because of a hole or defect in the cover. It is to be understood that, while the cover herein shown has a backing secured to it, the use of the backing is by no means essential inasmuch as good results have been obtained by applying directly to the heels covers made up 0 strips as hereinbefore described and having no backing or reinforcement of any kind thereon. The backing, however, in addition to reinforcing the cover against wear, insures against separation of the strips during shipment and handling of the covers as well as opening-up of the joints between the strips after the covers have been applied to the heels.

It has been found advantageous to apply the backing for each cover blank to the block 50 before the blank is cut from the block. In Fig. 4 there is shown a portion of a sheet of fabric backing 38 adhesively secured to one face of the block. It has been found advantageous to secure the backing to the block by means of an adhesive of such a character that it will not act as a solvent for the adhesive employed to secure together the layers of the block. Rubber cement has been found to be suitable for this purpose.

The block 50 is now ready to have cover blanks skived therefrom and, as herein illustrated, this is effected by repeatedly feeding the block, with the backing material 18 thereon, edgewise past a skiving knife 64, the block being conveniently advanced to the knife by means of feed rolls 66 and 68 arranged to engage opposite sides of the block. As a result of each movement of the block 50 past the knife 64, a thin skiving 70 is produced which has a fabric backing thereon. When the skiving 70 has been entirely severed from the block 50, it has the outline of a heel cover and is ready to be applied to a heel. The leather portion of each heel cover is composed, as already described, of a plurality of thin

narrow strips

20 and 22 which extend lengthwise of the cover and in which the fibre or grain of the leather extends endwise to the surfaces of the strips. Moreover, the

narrow strips

20 and 22 are disposed in abutting edge-to-edge relation and each strip is the counterpart, in marginal contour and surface texture, of the exposed edge face of the corresponding lift of a leather-lift heel of the size, shape and style to which the cover is adapted to be applied.

The heel covers 14 are applied by wrapping each cover around a heel in the usual manner, a coating of adhesive having been first applied, either to the heel, or to the cover, or to both the heel and the cover. Rubber cement has been successfully used for securing the covers to the heels, it having been found that such adhesive will not have any tendency to interfere with the adhesion of the edges of the strips composing the cover and that it will coact with the rubber cement employed between the cover and its backing to provide a secure bonding together of the cover, the backing and the heel.

The cover shown in Fig. 8 is adapted to cover not only the rear and sides of a heel but to cover the breast surface as well, the opposite ends of the cover being trimmed to meet in a straight line extending heightwise of the heel along the middle of the breast, and the lateral margins of the cover are laid over the top-lift-receiving and attaching faces of the heel in the customary way, as hereinbefore explained. Inasmuch as the

strips

20 and 22 which constitute the cover 14 are of the same width as the component lifts of a built-up or all-leather heel, a heel after having the cover 1% applied thereto as above described has the desired surface appearance of leather lift edges. Furthermore, since the component strips of the cover are cut crosswise of the grain, the grain or fibre in the strips extends endwise to the wearing surface of the cover, thereby enabling the cover to be finished to correspond to the finish of a shoe sole or a. leather-lift heel. When a top lift 76 has been applied to the covered heel and the heel has been attached to a shoe, so that both the attaching and top-lift-receiving faces of the heel are covered, there is nothing except the line or joint 26 to indicate that the heel is not actually a solid leather heel. The line or joint 26 may be entirely obliterated by buffing or other finishing operations. The heel cover may be stained or dyed, preferably after being applied to the heels, to match or harmonize with the finish of the bottoms of the shoes to which the heels are to be attached and, if desired, certain of the component strips of the cover may be finished in contrasting shades corresponding to those of the individual lifts of a leather heel. It has been found desirable also to impregnate the heel covers with a suitable solution for waterproofing them. This re sult has been accomplished by coating the covered heels with a solution of celluloid, the celluloid serving to stiffen and strengthen the covers as well as to render them impervious to moisture. Preferably, the covered heels are ultimately finished by buffing and waxing operations.

If the cover is to be made as shown in Fig. 12 of such length that its end portions will merelyoverlap the lateral margins of the breast, a separate breast covering may be employed, such as the covering 84, which is composed of a series of strips corresponding in number to the number of non wedge strips in the side covering, such a covering being laid so that its strips will be alined widthwise with the corresponding strips of the side cover so that the strips of the separate breast covering will appear to be continuous with those of the side covering. Breast covers 34 are formed, as illustrated in Fig, 11, by cutting crosswise of the laminations of a block 72 in planes parallel to that indicated by the i line 7474 in that figure. Such breast covers may conveniently be trimmed to fit the lateral edge contours of the heel breast after being applied and the trimmed edges reduced by buffing or otherwise so that no substantial edgethickness will be visible to detract from the appearance of the heel as a leatherlift heel. If desired, the separate breast covering may be cut from asingle integral piece of covering material such as leather or celluloid in the usual way. In the case of a Louis heel, such as that shown in Fig. 13, a separate breast covering has been provided in the form of the flap 42 split from the sole of the shoe 44.

l/Vhile the laminated block from which the covers are cut has been herein described as having substantially the marginal contour of a single heel cover, it is advantageous from certain points of view tomake the block of i such shape that each skiving taken therefrom will form two heel covers joined endto-end. A block of this modified formation is shown in Fig. 5 wherein a block 80 is shown as being composed of a plurality of strips 82 ofeven thickness and two sets of wedge strips 84. The strips 82 are approximately twice as long as the corresponding strips of the block and are bent into the form of an ogee curve. The block 80 is made into cover blanks by feeding the block endwise past a knife arranged to cut in planes parallel to the top and bottom faces of the block. Each cover blank skived from the block 80 is divided crosswise into two parts, each forming a single heel cover, by cutting the blank along a line bearing the same relation to the blank as the line 8686 bears to the block 80 in Fi 5.

The invention having been described, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A heel having a covering comprising a plurality of strips of leather in which the grain extends endwise to the side faces of the strips, said strips extending around the rear and sides of the heel.

2. A covered heel consisting of a heel body, and a covering secured to the heel body and comprising a plurality of thin strips of leather in which the grain extends endwise to the side faces of the strips, said strips being secured together in abutting edge-toedge relation and extending around the rear and sides of the heel.

3. A heel having a covering comprising a plurality of thin, narrow strips extending around the rear and sides of the heel and arranged in abutting edge-to-edge relation.

4. A heel having a covering comprising a plurality of narrow strips arranged in abutting edge-to-edge relation, said strips extending around the rear and sides of the heel and across the breast face of the heel.

5. A heel having a covering comprising a plurality of strips secured to and extending around the rear and sides of the heel, the strips corresponding in width to the thickness of the individual lifts of a solid leather heel.

6. A heel'having a covering comprising a plurality of strips arranged in abutting edge-to-edge relation and extending around the rear and sides of the heel, said strips being of contrasting shades and simulating the component lifts of a leather-lift heel.

7. A heel having a covering comprising a plurality of strips each of uniform width throughout its length, and a strip tapering Widthwise at its ends, said strips being arranged in abutting edgeto-edge relation and extending around the rear and sides of the heel.

8. A heel having a covering comprising a plurality of strips each of uniform width and thickness throughout its length and a plurality of wedge strips each of uniform width but diminishing in thickness toward its opposite ends, said wedge strips being severally interposed at intervals between the strips of uniform width and the strips being secured together in abutting edge-to-edge relation and arranged on the rear and sides of the heel.

9. A heel having a cover comprising a plurality of strips arranged in abutting edge-toedge relation, and a piece of cover-reinforcing material interposed between the cover and the heel.

10. A heel having a cover comprising a plurality of thin strips arranged in abutting edge-to-edge relation and extending around the rear and sides of the heel, and a backing coextensive with the cover and adhesively secured to the cover and to the heel.

11. A wood heel having a cover comprising a plurality of thin strips of leather in which the grain extends endwise to the surfaces of the strips, the strips being arranged in abutting edge-to-edge relation and extending around the rear sides of the heel, and a fabric backing for the cover.

12. A. wood heel havin a cover comprising a plurality of thin strips of leather in which the grain extends endwise to the surfaces of the strips, the strips eing arranged in abutting edge-to-edge relation and extending around the rear and sides of the heel, and a backing for the cover comprising a piece of woven fabric arranged with its threads extending obliquely with respect to the margins of the cover.

18. As an article of manufacture, a cover for the rear and sides of a heel comprising a plurality of thin leather strips secured together in abutting edge-to-edge relation.

14. As an article of manufacture, a cover for the rear and sides of a heel comprising a plurality of strips joined together in edgeiTO-QCl Q relation with the strips extending lengthwise of the cover.

15. As an article of manufacture, a reinforced cover for the rear and sides of a heel comprising a plurality of thin leather strips, arranged in abutting edge-to-ed 'e relation, and a fabric backing for said strips adhesively secured thereto.

16. As an article of manufacture, a leather cover for the rear and sides of a heel, the cover having the grain of the leather extending endwise to the wearing surface of the cover.

17. As an article of maufacture, a heel cover comprising a plurality of curved leather strips in which the grain extends endwise to the faces of the strips, said strips being secured together in abutting edge-to-edge relation to form a cover shaped to lit the rear and sides of a heel and having its component strips arranged to extend in directions transverse to the lateral edges of the breast of a heel to which the cover is adapted to be applied.

18. As an article of manufacture, a cover for the rear and sides of a heel comprising a plurality of sole leather strips corresponding in width to the thickness of the individual lifts of a built-up heel, said strips extending lengthwise of the cover in abutting edge-toedge relation and being of contrasting shades to accentuate the striped appearance of the covered heel.

19. As an article of manufacture, a cover for the rear and sides of a heel comprising a plurality of strips each of a uniform width throughout corresponding to the thickness of the non-wedge lifts of a built-up heel, and a plurality of wedge strips corresponding in contour to the edge face contour of the wedge lifts of a built-up heel, the strips extending lengthwise of the cover and being secured together in abutting edge-to-edge relation and the wedge strips being interposed between the uniform width strips to simulate the rear and side surface appearance of a laminated heel which is higher at the rear than at the breast.

20. That improvement in the manufacture of covered heels which comprises making a plurality of thin narrow strips of material suitable for covering a heel, and applying such strips to a heel in abutting edge-to-edge relation with the strips extending around the rear and sides of the heel.

21. That improvement in methods of making covered heels which comprises cutting leather stock crosswise of the grain to produce a plurality of strips in which the grain ext-ends endwise t0 the surfaces of the strips, and wrapping the strips around the rear and sides of a heel in abutting edge-toedge relation.

22. That improvement in methods of making covered heels which comprises cutting leather stock crosswise of the grain to produce a plurality of strips in which the grain extends endwise to the surfaces of the strips, applying the strips to a heel with the strips disposed in edge-to-edge relation upon the rear and sides of the heel and extending beyond the heel breast, and utilizing said extending portions of the strips for covering the breast of the heel.

23. hat improvement in methods of making covered heels which comprises cutting leather stock crosswise of the grain to produce a plurality of strips in which the grain extends endwise to the surfaces of the strips, applying the strips to a heel with the strips disposed in edge-to-edge relation upon the rear and sides of the heel and extending beyond both lateral breast edges of the heel, and trimming the extending portions of the strips and laying them against the heel breast with their trimmed edges abutting.

24c. That improvement in methods of making covered heels which comprises cutting leather stock crosswise of the grain to produce a plurality of strips in which the grain extends endwise to the surfaces of the strips, applying the strips to a heel with the strips disposed in edge-to-edge relation upon the rear and sides of the heel and extending beyond both lateral breast edges of the heel, trimming the extending portions of the strips and laying them against the heel breast with their trimmed edges abutting, and finishing said trimmed edge portions of the strips to obliterate the joints formed between said abutting edges.

25. That improvement in methods of making covered heels which consists in securing together fiatwise a plurality of layers of sheet material to form a laminated block, cutting the block crosswise of its laminations to produce a thin, flexible heel cover composed of a plurality of narrow strips secured together in abutting edge-to-edge relation, and applying the cover to a heel with the component strips of the cover extending around the rear and sides of the heel and overlapping the heel breast.

26. That improvement in methods of making covered heels which comprises arranging in face-to-face relation and adhesively securing together a plurality of layers to make a laminated block having opposite surfaces formed by the edge faces of said layers, cutting the block crosswise of its laminations and in a plane parallel to said surfaces to form a heel cover comprising a plurality of thin strips secured together in edge-toedge relation, and securing the heel cover to a heel by adhesive of a character incapable of acting as a solvent for the adhesive employed to secure together the layers constituting the block. 7

27 That improvement in methods of making covered heels which comprises assembling a plurality of layers in face-to-face relation and securing them together by pyroxylin cement to form a laminated block having opposite surfaces formed by the edge faces of said layers, cutting the blockcrosswise of its laminations and in a plane parallel to said surfaces to form a cover for the rear and sides of a heel comprising a plurality of strips secured together in edge-to-edge relation, and securing the heel cover to a heel by means of rubber cement.

28. That improvement in methods of making heel covers which comprises securing together and shaping a plurality of strips of stock to form a laminated block having a cross-sectional contour corresponding to the marginal contour of covers for the rear and sides of high heels for womens shoes, and cutting said block crosswise of its laminations to form a heel cover composed of a plurality of strips secured together in abutting edge-to-edge relation.

29. That improvement in methods of making covers for the rear and side faces of heels which comprises forming a laminated block by securing together in face-to-face relation a plurality of layers of leather, and cutting the block crosswise of its laminations to produce a heel cover composed of a plurality of thin narrow strips secured together in abutting edge-to-edge relation and having the grain of the leather extending endwise to the surfaces of the strips. 7

30. That improvement in methods of making heel covers which comprises assembling block, and cutting the block crosswise of the A laminations to produce a heelcover composed of a plurality of thin narrow strips secured together in abutting e-dge-to-edge relation and backed by reinforcing material.

31. That improvement in methods of making'heel covers which comprises securing'together a plurality of strips of stock to form a laminated block having opposite sides formed by the edge faces of said strips, cut ting a piece of woven fabric on the bias to form a backing for a heel cover, adhesively securing the said backing to one side of said block, and cutting the blockin a plane parallel to said side to form a heel cover reinforced by said backing. I

32. That improvement in methods of making heels which comprises assembling and securing together in side-by-side relation a plurality of layers of leather to make a laminated block having side faces formed by the edge faces of said layers, molding the block to impart thereto a crosssectional contour corresponding to the marginal contour of a heel cover, and cutting through the block in a plane parallel to said side faces to produce a heel cover composed of a plurality of thin narrow strips secured together in abutting edge-to-edge relation with the grain of the leather extending endwise to the surfaces of the strips and adapted for application to the rear and sides of heels having pitched attaching faces and sloping rear surfaces.

33. That improvement in methods of making heel covers which comprises bending a plurality of leather strips into substantially the curvatures of the lateral edges of a cover for the rear and sides of a heel for a womans shoe, assembling and securing said strips together in abutting face-to-face relation to form a laminated block having opposite side faces composed of the edge faces of said strips, and cutting said block in planes parallel to said side faces to form heel covers composed of strips secured together in edge-to-edge relation.

34. That improvement in methods of making heel covers which comprises assembling and adhesively securing together a plurality of strips each of uniform Width and thickness throughout its length and one or more 7 through the block in a plane parallel to said side faces to form a heel cover.

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35. That improvement in methods of making heel covers which comprises forming from leather stool: a plurality of layers each of substantially uniform thickness throughout its length and a plurality of Wedge layers, bending the layers fiatwise and adhesively securing them together with the Wedge layers interposed at intervals between the other layers to form a laminated block having top and bottom faces formed by the edge faces of said layers and shaped to correspond to the outline of a cover for the rear and sides of a high heel for a womans shoe, applying pressure to said block in directions fiatwise of the layers to hold the layers together during the setting of the adhesive, successively skiving thin layers from the top of the block for use as heel covers, and securing reinforcing material to the faces formed on the block by each splitting operation to provide backings for the covers as the covers are successively split from the block.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

LEV-71S J BAZZONI.