TECHNIQUE AND ARTICLES FOR FORMING SHOE SHANKS

A strip which will form a rigid shoe stiffener, such as a shoe shank, is applied to the surface of a shoe to be stiffened, such as the bottom of an insole. The shank strip is flexible and includes a carrier sleeve which contains a plurality of fiberglass strands in a thermosetting plastic matrix. After the shank strip is in place on the insole, the matrix is activated by exposing it to an external stimulus such as heat or radiation. Heat can be applied locally to the shank strip and curing takes place directly on the insole bottom. The thermosetting resin can polymerize with or without an exothermic reaction. In one embodiment of the invention, the carrier sleeve is formed in a manner which provides control over the shape of the cured stiffener as well as a means to facilitate handling of the shank strip. In another embodiment sufficient heat is developed from exothermic heat or from the energy source and directed to melt the carrier sleeve to fuse it with the resin and to effect a bond to the insole for forming a unitary and rigid shank attached firmly to the insolebottom. The shank strip may be cut from a "rope" which may be wound onto a reel for storage and to facilitate continuous paying out of the rope to enable a shank length to be severed and applied to the insole bottom.