How are Swedish clogs made?

The wooden clog production process is quite different from that of normal footwear that is made on a leather or rubber sole.  Since a traditional Swedish clogs is made on a base of wood, a large part of the production process is woodwork for a wooden clog producer. While most Swedish clog producers do not make the wooden bottoms themselves there are still some clog factories that both produce wooden bottoms and do the final assembly of the clogs in-house.

Wooden clog bottom production

Producers of Swedish clogs usually buy logs directly from forest owners or wholesalers and then saw up planks in different dimensions depending on model and shoe size. Those planks are then entered into a wood kiln to dry for several weeks until the moisture level is around 12 – 15 percent. This is essential in order to get a clog bottom that will keep shape after being produced. Once the planks are dried, they will be sawn into shape depending on the size of sole and then those pieces are put into a milling machine where the bottoms and foot beds get their shape. After this stage, outsoles are attached to the wooden bottoms and then they go into a fine milling machine to get the final shape and a finer finish.

What wood can be used in the production of wooden clog bottoms?

Wood suitable for producing clogs should be hardwoods that are relatively light and remains stable after drying. It’s also important that the wood can absorb moisture well. Swedish clogs are traditionally made out of alder wood and most Swedish clog producers still prefer to work with alder. Birch and lime wood is also common in clog production. Below you can read about some of the properties of these three types of wood:

• Alderwood is part of the birch family and is generally considered light and soft for being a hardwood. It’s not very susceptible to shrinkage and importantly remains stable after drying. Alder usually grows in moist areas like next to rivers and lakes and the wood usually remains stable when used under water. One of the important properties that make alder popular among Scandinavian clog producers is that it is easy to dry and doesn’t crack easily. It’s also easy to work in machining and turning and can be nailed without the wood splitting while also being easy to glue. It’s uniform, small pore structure and relatively consistent color makes it good for sanding, painting and for staining.
• Lime wood is also known as Tilia, Linden or basswood and is a soft hardwood that can be easily worked by hand or machine. It has an even, fine pored wood structure that makes it ideal for staining, painting and varnishing. The wood is stable once dried but it is not very durable and is therefore mainly used indoors.
• Birch is also a hardwood which has a medium-weight and good strength properties, it is quite elastic and tough but not very hard. Birch is relatively easy to work with and can also be turned and cut easily. Similarly to the above wood types, it can be stained and polished which is important for clog makers. Its bending properties are good but splitting properties are unfortunately not so good.

Making of the Swedish clog upper

Any Swedish clog factory will also need skilled workers for making the leather uppers. The craftspeople will need to understand the different properties of different leathers. Padded insteps and linings are then stitched on before the clog parts enter another part of the clog production stage, nailing and lasting. Here the uppers are shaped into the three dimensional shape of the last and attached to the wooden clog bottoms with nails or staples. The clogs are then inspected and heel pads with the clog producers’ or the clog brands logo are attached to the footbed.

Swedish clog makers are continuing a traditional craft that has been handed down from generation to generation. Working with natural materials takes patience and skill that is not something many factories have a lot of these days.