IN 1939 A GERMAN-BORN SHOEMAKER named Peter Limmer got the
first U.S. patent for a “ski boot”—a stiff, square-toed leather shoe made
to order. Today, gray-bearded Peter Limmer III hammers out about
200 pairs of hiking boots a year using his grandfather’s tools in the
Intervale, New Hampshire, shop his grandfather opened. There’s a per-
petual waiting list for the custom boots, priced at $775 and up; loyalists
come from as far away as Tasmania for final boot fittings. Limmer, 63,
still loves his work. “The best part,” he says, “is seeing customers dance
in the driveway with their new boots on.” —JENNIFER S. HOLLAND
- Lasting pincers
These two blue-handled
tools are part leather grab-
ber, part hammer, used to
stretch and form leather
over a foot model (10). - Jack stand
This steel device holds a
shoe upside down for rel-
atively quick work on the
sole or heel. - Rubber cement pot
Limmer has used his grand-
father’s glue-crusted pot
for 45 years. Cordwainers—
another word for shoemak-
ers—brush the adhesive
on soles to attach them to
shoes’ undersides. - Jack stand with vise
Used for custom work,
it has a soft, leather-
wrapped rest for the toe
of a nylon (shown) or
wooden foot model. - Nail nippers
For pulling out and cutting
nails used in boots. - Button hooks
“Back when shoes had
tiny buttons, they helped
cobblers with fat fingers,”
Limmer says of these
100-year-old hooks. - Rotary hole punch
This cuts the holes for
bootlace hooks. - Tools, back to front:
Rasp, for sanding and shap-
ing; knife sharpener; striker,
for smoothing knife edges;
and mandrel, for setting
nails and smoothing rough
spots inside the boot. - Cordwainer’s hammers
Hammers for tamping
soles and tapping nails
and tacks, such as those
in the dish near the tools. - Wooden foot model
Limmer puts additions
on standard-size models
until they match the mea-
surements of customers’
feet. Boots are built
directly on the models;
Limmer says “strong mus-
cles and a beer belly help”
when it’s time to pull the
models out of the boots.
PHOTOGRAPH BY HANNAH WHITAKER910JANUARY 2020 31