Skip to Top

Wanna Know How Skates Are Made? Motley Cruz Takes a Trip to the Riedell Factory

Posted on Friday, June 01, 2012 by

I recently had the pleasure of touring Riedell's facility in Red Wing, Minnesota. It was an eye opening experience to say the least, and I have a new respect for the time and care each pair of skates receives. Almost everything is hand made right there in their warehouse and 1 pair of boots can pass through upwards of 15 different hands. Run by the Reigalman family, the company has very little turnover and many of those employed by Riedell have worked there at least 20 years. Knowledge of their boot-building craft is apparent and they have made a proficient system for each detailed step involved in fabricating every pair of boots. I was surprised to learn that some of the machines used in their manufacturing have been around since the early 1900's!

Needless to say, it was an enlightening experience and I thought I'd share what I learned so you can get the lowdown on what it takes to get those pretty boots under your feet….

 

Hides

Although there's a local tannery in Red Wing that Riedell gets much of their hides from, they get leather from all over the world. Two hide segments come from one cow and different areas of the hide are purposed for certain boot components depending texture and grain of the leather among other considerations. The hide starts thick and then gets rolled until it reaches the desired consistency for a given component.
     
 

Dies for Uppers

This shelf is one of many that are full of dies used for cutting the boot shapes out of the leather. There's one for each boot in each size and a machine handled by a skilled operator stamps these out of sheets of hide like a cookie cutter. There also dies for the small boot pieces like speed straps, back stays and tongues.
     
 

Logo Stamp

A heat press machine stamps the logo onto the areas of the boot where it will be featured.
     
 

Templates

Each boot piece that needs eyelets punched and various slits, holes or other seams and features gets a template placed over it and is marked in those areas for workers to use as a guide.
     
 

Boot Pieces Tote

This tote has what will become 6 pairs of 122's. The uppers, padding and liners have been cut and all the little components to add to the boot are in the bin including ankle snug ties, reinforcement material strips for where the lace grommets punch through and backstays.

     
 

495 pre chinook

Here you see a pair of 495's that have had the heat moldable counter added to the outside quarter and reinforcements sewn in to where the lace eyelets will get punched through. There are also reinforcements across the boot diagonally to aid in holding the boot's shape and prevent it from stretching excessively. You can also see the strip run through at the back of the heel for the ankle closure system lace loops.
     
 

Chinook added

Now the quarters will have the Chinook liner sewn in, complete with size, model, width and lot numbers stamped on the leather.

     
 

Marked 965

This shell of a 965 boot has had the toe seams, back stay seams, Velcro and tongue with tongue stay elastic sewn in and is marked by the template shown earlier, awaiting eyelets to be punched.
     
 

Lace Eyelets added

Lace eyelets are punched through at the marked spots and a temporary lace is placed on them for the next part of the process; when the boot shells are introduced to the lasts.
     
 

Lasts

These are boot lasts; plastic molds made to resemble that of a human foot. Each pair of to-be skates will be placed atop one of these and literally shaped around it. Riedell's original last is over 65 years old and they have introduced a small selection over the passing years to accommodate a variety of foot shapes and widths.
     
 

Stock Lasts

Riedell's stock speed boot lasts. Beginning with the 248 which was a "D" throughout and adding the 395, also a "D" but with a more roomy toe box, they have recently added 2 split lasts where the heel is more narrow than the ball, offering a more snug heel fit along with a taller toe box. This has been well received by women who typically have a narrower heel to ball ratio. Also pictured is a last for "EE" width; basically a 248 built out in the ball area and toe box to be wider and a bit taller.
     
 

Boot Shells on Lasts

These sewn quarters have been placed upon their respective lasts with an insole temporarily tacked to the bottom of the last.
     
 

Heel counters

Counters are hard supports made of dense fibers that look like stiff cardboard. They are placed at the heel, the arch and sometimes the outer right quarter to aid in keeping the boot's shape over time and offer support where your foot needs it. Here, the heel counters are being dipped into adhesive so they can be bonded to the uppers.
     
 

Bottom bonded

The counter, liner and upper are tacked together at the heel and the front and sides get folded over and bonded with adhesive.
     
 

Boots awaiting outsole cementing

After the bottoms have been filled with putty to even out the surface, they get a strong glue applied to them for the outsoles to stick.
     
 

Stitching outsoles

A machine is used that applies heavy pressure downward to the boots and holds them in place for a bit to ensure that the outsoles are bonded well. After that, an industrial sewing machine is used to stitch the soles.
     
 

Heel added

The heels are added using tiny nails and this machine that quickly tacks them into place. Since they are raw and uncolored, rubber heels then get hand painted black to match the outsole, leather ones are left natural. And they're done!
     
 

Riedell Custom Work

Riedell does some great custom and special make up work for folks. From different colors and materials to custom shapes cut, they can accommodate most requests and you can get pretty creative.
     
 

Me and Lee

This is Lee. He is the guy who makes all full custom skate boots. Using foot tracings and detailed information provided by the customer, he genuinely customizes them to your unique foot shape and special requests.
     
 

Custom last

They are made by taking an existing last and building it out with foam and various materials to match the foot shape as closely as possible. This is a great option for those with growths or bunions that affect their boot fit or for people with different lengths and widths on each foot.

Pretty sick, huh? If you want to geek out even more, you can check out Riedell's "How It's Made" video. Feel free to hit us up about any questions you have about how skates are made, what customizations are available, and what skates and components and features might work best for you.

--Cruz Skate Shop

Comments