Wooden Shoes
History
Since the end of the middle ages, wooden shoes have been worn in many parts of Europe. It is mainly associated with the Netherlands. However, not many people wear them today, but at many jobs, wooden shoes are still used. It's also a popular souvenir for foreign tourists. That's why most of the three million wooden shoes are made every year.
A few centuries ago, there were thousands of 'clog-makers' in the Netherlands. Those clog-makers were mainly farmers who made them with tools which they also used for other activities. They were very good in it, but it was never their main source of income.
In the past there were always professionals, mainly in the cities. In 1870 there came many more than before because the populations of the cities grew fast.
How to make wooden shoes
The wood
The wood which is used for the wooden shoes is poplar. The advantage is that it's long lasting, so wooden shoes wear well. The clog-maker works on the wood when its damp, making it easy to shape. When the wood is dry, the wooden shoes are hard and ready to sell.Hand-made
First of all, the log will be divided into some parts. One log can be divided into four to eight parts. Two parts, which are the same, will become a new pair of wooden shoes. Some wood will be removed, so that there is a very rough shape of the wooden shoe. Then the craftsman cuts off small parts, so it will be well-shaped: the heel, the top side, and the front side.Then he pierces two holes in the front side and several wooden parts will be removed. Then the two holes are connected with each other, and is it a long corridor. Then the maker cuts off more wood, so that the foot can be in the wooden shoe.
To make the wooden shoe flat and even, the maker uses a very sharp, small knife. When finnished, the wooden shoes are tied together with a bit of a string in order to keep them from being separated so different sizes won't be mixed. Then they have to dry for a while. For the best quality they have to be placed in the shade and, if possible, where the wind is blowing. Then the shoes are decorated with paint, completing the shoes. The whole process takes around two to three hours.
Machine-made
Since 1950, it's been possible to make wooden shoes with a machine. Most of the work is taken over by machines, but the clog-maker still divids the log into parts by hand. However, the rest of the process is all machine-powered.In special drying rooms, the wooden shoes are dried. There was a problem with machine-made shoes versus man-made shoes: one wooden shoe shrinks more than the other in a pair, resulting in two different sized shoes. The machines now have been fixed of that problem, so all wooden shoes are the correct size.
With a factory, 20,000 wooden shoes can be produced a month with only ten employees, adding up to be 240,000 a year.