Polymer clay qustion

[Polly]

That could be very cool.<p>If you try some, please post a note when you're done ... I would love it if you could also send us a picture!<p>There are a few different brands of polymer clay, and even within each brand, a few differerent products - some are more flexible, some are harder, some blend easier before being cooked ....  but I'm going to leave it to the experts to suggest the best one for something like this.<p>I do have one suggestion though - If you're making something like just a heel (rather than a whole sole) out of the polymer clay, you might want to take a thinner heel of wood or some other material, and then affix the polymer clay to the central heel (with something more than just glue ... some kinds of little dowels and drill holes perhaps).  A heel takes so much weight ... I don't think any brand of polymer clay is designed to withstand 100+ pounds coming down on it a few 100 times per day..

[Kristen]

Thank you both for your info. I am making these heels as prototypes for ready to wear shoes. I am researching what materials can withstand that amount of heat to directly afix the clay too. Any ideas would be appreciated. I have been looking into a two part liquid resin for heels. I don't know what heat limits it has yet. I have a friend in the "plastic bottle" business. They use injection molding (heat) I'll check with him. I do like the idea of using the clay as a glue on decorative addition. I'm going to the art supply this week to buy my first "batch". Weekend play time! I'll let you know how I make out. Thanks again, Kristen

[Kristen]

Would anyone know if this clay would be strong enough to use as heels in shoe making. I am a shoe design student, and would like to try my hand at some art clay heels. Thank you for any information! Kristen

[Luann Udell]

I've been thinking about this one....  

Kristen, am I right in assuming these are either models or sort of "art shoes" you are making up for a project, or prototypes?  In which case, it's not like you are actually making ready-to-wear shoes, but shoes that are more like objets d'art.....  I think polymer would be a fun material for you to experiment with.  

Polly, you are absolutely right about how to go about it.  It's *possible* a solid polymer-clay heel, especially using the stronger brands, could hold up, (although I'll bet you actually *underestimated* how many psi it would have to withstand!), but a regular heel covered with polymer would probably work better.  Especially if the polymer didn't actually cover the bottom of the heel.  A thin skin of polymer could be glued on, or a larger amount molded around the heel as a base, or even carved.   It would simply decorate the heel, rather than directly absorb the actual impact a "working" heel would....

And one caveat--since polymer clay must be baked (usually around 265 degrees for at least 20 minutes per quarter-inch of thickness), exercise caution when baking it on other items which may not tolerate that much heat.  If you suspect the heel or the shoe itself can't be safely baked, then you could apply the polymer clay, carefully remove it (by cutting, if you've got undercutting in the molding process), bake the polymer separately, then glue onto the heel after baking.
hth,
Luann

[Luann Udell]

Wonderful, Kristen!  Just a FYI, I would advise against using Sculpey for this.  It's soft, easily conditioned and simple to work with, but the trade off is it's extremely brittle.  Try Fimo, Premo, Promat or other brands known for their durability.  If you are allowed to post images or link to a web site with an image of your finished shoe(s), that would be awesome!
Luann