Being as how most of the people that would wear mocassins, either ndn or white, would travel mostly on foot, they would wear out and would be replaced often. One average size deer hide will produce at least four pair and since the deer hide was turned into buck skin, a by product of killing deer, it was free, if you were doing the killing, bucking,braining, and working. Soft areas vs hard areas, meaning land, they would last longer. Hard western earth vs softer eastern dirt would require the addition of a sole to the mocassin and thick shoulders, rumps, or necks from bison, moose, or elk, would last longer than whitetail or mule deer. The plains people used them on their side seams, desert people used the thickest bottoms them could get. One of the ways that raw hide was made to last and as a form of sizing was peeled cactus paddles rubbed into the rawhide. I wear out about 6 pair a year and have done some additional fixing on some every day wear pairs. Get some nice thick bull shoulder, be it beef, bison, elk, moose, and cut out the shape of the sole of the mocassins and whip stitch them on. Friend uses shoe goo, then stitches them on the mocassins. It works well enough. Mocassins were made to be used and then replaced. Buy enough hide, tan enough hide to make several pair at a time. Rotate them often so you dont wear them out so fast. Leather, no matter what form it is in, aint cheap and it aint gettin any cheaper. :thumbsup:
