Manufacturing mold used by Vans, Inc. to make their famous "Waffle" pattern sole for the original skate shoe
Manufacturing mold used by Vans, Inc. to make their famous "Waffle" pattern sole for the original skate shoe
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- Description (Brief)
- Manufacturing mold used by Vans, Inc. to make their famous "Waffle" pattern sole for the original skate shoe. The pattern of flattened metal spikes throughout creates the "waffle" pattern the Van Doren family created as the first skate shoe. Paul and Jim Van Doren, along with partners Gordon Lee and Serge Delia opened the Van Doren Rubber Company in 1966, manufacturing shoes and selling them directly to the public. Vans uses a vulcanized shoe making process where the rubber outsoles are heated and stretched onto the “lasted upper” of the shoe before the rubber is completely cured. The entire shoe is then heated to over 300 degrees. This process creates a ‘sticky’ sole popular with skaters for ensuring a good contact surface with their board. Using pro skaters to design their shoes, producing pro skater models and creating the trademark “sidestripe” recognizable around the world, Vans became the shoe of choice for a generation of skaters and grew into an international enterprise in just 50 years.
- Object Name
- manufacturing mold
- date made
- 1968
- Physical Description
- metal, iron (overall material)
- silicone (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 19 1/2 in x 13 1/4 in x 2 1/4 in; 49.53 cm x 33.655 cm x 5.715 cm
- ID Number
- 2016.0351.01
- accession number
- 2016.0351
- catalog number
- 2016.0351.01
- subject
- skateboarding
- Manufacturing
- See more items in
- Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
- Sports & Leisure
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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