The last shape on my bespoke shoes from Japanese maker Main d’Or has a rather special shape, which might not be apparent at first glance. Since the toe is round and classic in shape it signals that that goes for the whole last, but if you look closer you’ll notice that especially the outside of the shoe is rather heavily chiseled, something that’s very unusual on shoes with a round toe.

Eiji Murata, the man behind Main d’Or, is trained in a domestic Japanese shoemaking tradition where you like to have sharper edges not only on lasts with a more square and chiseled toe box. Usually for Main d’Or both sides between the toe and the waist are rather chiseled, but since I have sensitive inner ball it’s more built-up and rounded on the inside, while the outer side still has a relatively sharp edge and straight vertical line.