What is
The sabater (shoemaker's) bench: the tools to cut the leather, sew it by hand and assemble the shoe on the last. It is the basis of the trade that made Inca and Raiguer the center of footwear on the island, before the factory.
How is
- Trinxet — skin cutting blade. It has its own file: trinxet .
- Alena — fine iron with a steel tip and wooden handle to open the thread holes in the sole. The one on the sabater has a curved and double-edged tip (DCVB). That of the saddlers is straight or curved (alena Torta in Manacor) and has a square section.
- Tirapeu (in the Balearic Islands also tirapeu) — leather strap closed in a circle that holds the shoe to the knee while sewing (DCVB).
- Formes — wooden lasts where the shoe is assembled (Majorcan typology to be verified).
- Martell de sabater, mounting tongs and fil empegat (thread with fish) for sewing (check local names).
- Banquet — low work seat (general sense of banc petit; to verify use in the workshop).
How is fa
- Irons (trinxet, alena) from the ferrer or the cutler ; handles and wooden lasts, from the fuster or the former (to verify trade in Inca).
- The tirapeu was sewn by the sabater himself with a scrap of leather.
Com s'usa
1. Pattern and cut the skin with the trinxet on a board.
2. Sew the cut (the top pieces).
3. Mount the cut on the form and provisionally nail it.
4. With the shoe held on the knee by the strap, open with the alena and sew the sole.
5. Finish edge and heel. The sabater de vell only mended.
Vocabulary
- sabater: shoemaker.
- sabater de vell: cobbler (DCVB).
- alena: awl.
- alena torta: saddler's curved awl (Manacor).
- tirapeu / estirapeu: tirapeu.
- donar estirapeu: in Mallorca, give spanks (DCVB).
- forma: last.
- trinxet: skin cutting blade.
- qui és sabater, que faci sabates: saying: each one to his job (DCVB, partial).
History
- 13th-14th century: the sabater is already a profession with a name in Llull y Desclot (DCVB).
- 1875: the train arrives in Inca; The footwear leaves faster towards the port of Palma (Museu del Calçat).
- 20th century: from the bench shoemaker to the mechanized factory (see trade).
- 2018: the Inca Calçat and Industry Museum reopens.
- 2025: «Trenar» exhibition on leather braiding (May 9 - November 2).
On veure'n
- Museu del Calçat i de la Indústria (Inca) : restored tools and machines, from hand work to industrial work.
- Museu de Mallorca, Etnològica Section (Wall) (without confirmed sabater section).
- Factories and workshops: Carmina , Calzados Bestard , Lottusse , TLB Mallorca .
Why is it design
- The body as a bench: the tirapeu turns the knee into a vice.
- Tool according to material: curved blade for sewing soles, straight for thin leather.
- The last as a prototype: it saves the measurement and is reused pair after pair.
- Repairability: the stitched shoe can be repaired; Sabater de Vell lived off that.
For the project
- Document the last bank sabater of Inca with his complete kit (trinxet, alena, tirapeu, formes) for the atlas.
- Open workshop at the Museu del Calçat: sewing a sole by hand.
- Trade: espardenyes-i-calcat-inca . Files: sabata-porquera , espardenyes , avarques .
Frequently asked questions
What is Shoemaker's tools (eines de sabater)?
The sabater (shoemaker's) bench: the tools to cut the leather, sew it by hand and assemble the shoe on the last. It is the basis of the trade that made Inca…
What are the traditional words for Shoemaker's tools (eines de sabater)?
Some words: alena, alena torta, donar estirapeu, forma, qui és sabater, que faci sabates, sabater, sabater de vell, tirapeu / estirapeu.
Sources
- dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?Word=sabater
- dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?Word=alena
- dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?Word=tirapeu
- dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?Word=banquet
- museu.incaciutat.com/en/collection/
- erih.net/i-want-to-go-there/site/museum-of-footwear-and-industry
- museu.incaciutat.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Trenar.-Una-Accio-un-ofici-una-m
Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.