Today, we've got a fun experiment for you guys brought to us by
YouTube user Mohamed Fazid,
who wants to know if we can make shoes out of silicone,
and how comfortable they are.
[Captions by Judy V. at Y Translator] [Music]
[Music]
Here's the basic idea:
Using one batch of proto-putty,
I'll make the soles of my shoes.
I'll then wrap my feet in socks and plastic wrap,
and I'll sculpt the rest of the shoes around my own feet.
To get the right size and shape for the soles,
I'm going to trace a shoe that I know already fits.
That'll give me the soles of my two shoes,
so let's start mixing up some proto-putty.
[Music]
That is one entire tubes worth of silicone right there.
See, for the soles of the shoes,
I think we'll go for red.
[Music]
I'm not sure if I've ever mixed up a batch of proto-putty
that used an entire tube before,
and of course, once I get started on the cornstarch,
it's going to get very messy.
It smells great.
[Music]
It's so strong.
Save yourself, Mark.
Run while there's still time.
Sometimes, the fumes from the silicone are a little overwhelming.
This is one of those times.
The fumes that come off of the silicone are acetic acid,
which is basically the main component in vinegar.
So, if you really really love salt and vinegar chips,
this, this is going to be your jam.
You will love this.
If you really love them a lot.
[Music]
Perfectly approximated the color of a pencil eraser.
[Music]
The soles of the shoes are made.
Now, I'm going to put on some long socks,
wrap my feet in plastic wrap,
and try and sculpt the shoes around my feet
as I keep them right on the soles.
To do this, I'm going to have to be somewhere
where I can put my feet on the table,
and work at the table.
So, I think I'll mix up a new batch,
and then sit on the workbench
as I try and sculpt it around my own foot.
[Music]
All right. I've been sculpting this shoe onto my foot,
and it's uh, looking more like a slipper than a shoe.
But as long as it holds itself on while I walk,
I'll call that functional.
It's very stylish.
I think this is really going to catch on a lot of places
as something that a lot of people like to wear.
Crocs had their heyday,
silicone rubber shoes are coming up next.
Okay, my foot's been in here for a good while.
I think the putty has cured enough
that I can try and take my foot out now.
Hopefully, it hasn't bonded too much to the plastic wrap.
Oh, a little.
Not bad.
Now, there are a couple of places
where it didn't stick super well to the sole of the shoe,
and in those spots were gonna just take some caulking,
run a bead,
and use it as a glue to hold it all together.
Once it's all glued together, we can see how well I can walk in it.
Time for the other foot.
[Music]
That is shoe number two.
Sculpted and just waiting to cure.
Shoe?
Slipper?
You know, something like that.
All right, let's try and pop this shoe off.
[Music]
Same thing on this one.
Some of the spots aren't attached really well.
In fact, this one right in the middle isn't attached very well on the sides,
but we are going to mix up a batch of some silicone
with a little bit of water mixed into it,
and just use that as a glue to secure everything to itself.
[Music]
After gluing the soles to the sides of the shoes,
I wanted to make sure everything was really well set and cured,
so I let them sit overnight,
and now I think we're ready to test these out.
First, I'm going to use some scissors and knife
to trim off some of the extra edges.
[Music]
It does seem pretty well trimmed.
I do want to get rid of just the last remaining bits of cornstarch
that are obviously on these,
so, I'm just going to run them under water.
At this point, these shoes should be very waterproof.
So, I'm not really worried about ruining them.
[Music]
Well, these are trimmed, washed, and dried,
and now, a moment of truth,
let's see how they work on my feet.
[Music]
It's uh, it's form-fitting.
It fits to my foot without a lot of space in there.
On the plus side, that means it stays on well enough.
[Music]
I can certainly feel the shapes of the lava rocks under my feet,
but it's not uncomfortable.
It's just kind of like a bumpy foot massage.
[Music]
Well, they may be ugly,
but I would say that these are functional.
These shoes are made out of silicone, cornstarch, and food coloring,
and you know what?
They held up pretty well.
Of course, they are a little bit heavy,
and I don't know how long the soles would last.
So far, I've only put them to a test for about ten minutes.
But they did hold up to that.
They protect your feet.
They stay on pretty well, and they're very custom sizable.
It would probably take me several tries
before I got something that actually started to look stylish,
but for our first try, I would say these slippers aren't too bad.
One downside that you saw
is that because the soles are so very smooth,
they really don't have almost any traction.
When there's water in the floor, the shoes gotten very slippery,
and that's what happens when you have a smooth surface on a wet surface.
Thank you to YouTube user Mohamed Fazid for your idea
to try out making silicone shoes.
Check your YouTube inbox.
We're sending you 25 bucks.
And they are somewhat comfortable,
not extremely comfortable.
A good pair of sneakers is definitely going to be better than these.
But if I were walking somewhere with sharp or rough surfaces,
I'd rather have these than be barefoot.
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