Heinrich Dinkelacker

Heinrich Dinkelacker

was founded in 1879 in Sindelfingen, Germany.

The distinguished company can look back on a 130-year tradition and was run by the family of founder Heinrich Dinkelacker until 2004 it opened a new chapter. Heinrich's grandson Burkhardt Dinkelacker decided to place his grandfather's lovingly maintained legacy into the capable hands of Norbert Lehmann, Wendelin Wiedeking and Anton Hunger. He couldn't have made a better choice, because the three investors have always loved the original Budapest shoes and believe in traditional craftmanship as passionately as Dinkelacker himself did. The company moved to Bietigheim-Bissingen near Stuttgart. Currently, Dinkelacker produces about 8000 pairs of shoes a year.

The manufacture

The manufacture employs a staff of 35 craftmen in Budapest. Visiting the factory is like stepping back in time. In all those years, nothing has changed. The sounds of hammering and the pungent odors of glue and leather fill the air. The craftsmen here are masters of their art. They do their work with tools that their grandfathers might have used: hammer and anvils, nails, shoemaker's awl and twine, brushes and last but not least, the trusty old Singer sewing machine. All in all, it takes about eight hours of work to make one pair of shoes. Each pair is unique and hand-signed by the master craftsmen before it is ready to be sold.

The materials

The leather alone is worth a fortune. Finest buffalo leather from Italy, lustrous aniline calf from France, and cordovan -made from horsehide, which stays smoother because of its high percentage of natural oils from the famous Horween Leather Company in Chicago.

The lasts

The company's most precious property is it lasts, which the master craftsmen at Dinkelacker are continually working to improve according to the newest research on the anatomy of the human foot.

And indeed, what makes Dinkelacker shoes so unusual is that they are handcrafted from beginning to end, and are thus one-of-a-kind works of art. Heinrich Dinkelacker offers a choice of fifteen different lasts to their customers. The whole collection encloses more than 150 variations.

A master makes them. A connoisseur wears them.

In the Budapest suburb of Budafok, 30 Shoemakers make between thirty and forty pairs of shoes per day.

They are built according to the old Budapest craft tradition.

Video from the manufactory

The slogan 'A master who makes them, a connaisseur who wears them' expresses true esteem for a product that is still created by hand today. Come with us and take a look behind the scenes at the Heinrich Dinkelacker factory in Budapest, Hungary.

1. Cutting Out

The individual parts of the upper are cut out of the upper leather with so-called clicking knives.

2. The Budapest punching

Hole for hole, the Budapest pattern of punches is perforated into the upper, using the experienced eye to place them.

3. Stitching

"Stitching" refers to sewing the individual parts of the shoe upper to each other. The finished upper or vamp is the result. These join the upper to the sole. In our video, the insole is being cut.

4. Lasting:

The uppers of the shoes are pulled by sheer muscular strength over the lasts and made fast with so-called 'lasting tacks'.

5. Welt Stitching Part 1 - Inseaming

The welt is placed. The upper, the insole, and the welt are attached to each other with the famous "waxed thread". In doing this, the shoemaker has to pierce through the welt, the insole, and the upper. This entire process is sometimes called "inseaming".

6. Welt Stitching Part 2 - The Hungarian Braided Welt

The shoemaker stitches the welt to the upper and the insole. He has to pierce all three, the welt, the insole, and the upper.

7. Welt Stitching Part 3

A great deal of sensitivity and precision are needed, so that the welt will close exactly.

8. Outseaming

"Outseaming" is a technical term for sewing the outsole onto the welt. At intervals of 8 mm, stitches are again made through the welt and the outsole to join them with thread. Only a few manufacturers still carry out this step by hand.

9. Nailing

A further Dinkelacker speciality is the nailing used. The brass pins used are an expression of classical Budapest craftmanship. Depending on the model of shoe, the outer sole is nailed with up to 84 brass pins, all hammered by hand into the sole. These pins strengthen the sole at the main points of friction, thus contributing to a longer shoe life.

10. The Sole Edge

The black sole edge colour is applied freehand with a brush.

11. Hand finishing:

A very elaborate hand finish gives the shoes a vivid appearance. The master polisher polishes the shoes for up to 20 minutes to give them their gloss.

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