Wooden shoes

Does anyone out there have any experience making their own wooden shoes? bonus points if you are a hobbies doing it at home with common tools.

Tom Kozak wrote:Does anyone out there have any experience making their own wooden shoes? bonus points if you are a hobbies doing it at home with common tools.

Not specifically, but do you have an idea what kind of thing you're looking for? A clog like the traditional Dutch footwear, or a wooden sole with leather nailed over the top?

Or Geta - the original flipflop

Here is a thread about making Japanese style shoes:

https://permies.com/t/140907/Making-Geta-Japanese-shoes

I bought some klompen, the Dutch clogs, cause my mother in law said they're really comfortable once you get them perfectly shaped to your feet. She says you just sand a little bit down here and there whenever you notice an uncomfortable spot and after a while they're perfect.

I could never figure out how to walk in mine, though. You can't bend your toes the way you do in flexible shoes every time you take a step.  You have to keep your ankles stiff and just lift your foot straight up by the knee and bring it down again. Klompen, indeed.

That's how it felt to me anyway, so I wouldn't recommend that style of shoe.

Anne Miller wrote:Here is a thread about making Japanese style shoes:

https://permies.com/t/140907/Making-Geta-Japanese-shoes

Anne - you are awesome.

Jan White wrote:I bought some klompen, the Dutch clogs, cause my mother in law said they're really comfortable once you get them perfectly shaped to your feet. She says you just sand a little bit down here and there whenever you notice an uncomfortable spot and after a while they're perfect.

I could never figure out how to walk in mine, though. You can't bend your toes the way you do in flexible shoes every time you take a step.  You have to keep your ankles stiff and just lift your foot straight up by the knee and bring it down again. Klompen, indeed.

That's how it felt to me anyway, so I wouldn't recommend that style of shoe.

I find it best to politely smile when my MiL suggests something and then do the total opposite. Sounds like you need to be born into a clog wearing family. It took me months to get used to wearing flip flops. That walking description sounds aweful!

Clog making is a twinkle in my eye as yet. I've got as far as growing alder, although sycamore is what 'the last clogmaker' uses.

Forming clog sole blanks: https://vimeo.com/107803204

An interesting read about the last English clogmaker: Long reads

and his apprentice (not as easy as it looks perhaps)...

So hopefully Jeremy Atkinson won't be the last after all....

Jan White wrote:I bought some klompen, the Dutch clogs, cause my mother in law said they're really comfortable once you get them perfectly shaped to your feet. She says you just sand a little bit down here and there whenever you notice an uncomfortable spot and after a while they're perfect.  I could never figure out how to walk in mine, though. You can't bend your toes the way you do in flexible shoes every time you take a step.  You have to keep your ankles stiff and just lift your foot straight up by the knee and bring it down again. Klompen, indeed.

Clogs are an amazing type of foot wear.  I always wore clogs when I worked in the operating theatres. Being on hard concrete floors all day, they were a blessing to the tootsies and the ankles plus they were easily scrubbed.  An old master made mine over the years.  Scuffs, or other slip-ons did not cut the mustard, causing over heating or foot pain.  I suspect Mr Klem is long gone, but the memory of hundreds of pairs of clogs and lasts (molds) around his walls were a sight to behold. And a blessing for feet being stood on for hours on end.

Paul Fookes wrote:
Clogs are an amazing type of foot wear.  I always wore clogs when I worked in the operating theatres. Being on hard concrete floors all day, they were a blessing to the tootsies and the ankles plus they were easily scrubbed.  An old master made mine over the years.  Scuffs, or other slip-ons did not cut the mustard, causing over heating or foot pain.  I suspect Mr Klem is long gone, but the memory of hundreds of pairs of clogs and lasts (molds) around his walls were a sight to behold. And a blessing for feet being stood on for hours on end.

How did you deal with not being able to bend your foot? I'd really like to figure out how to wear mine.

I also found that the soles were very slippery. Did you do anything to give them some grip? I'd imagine that would be necessary on finished concrete.

Paul Fookes wrote:
Clogs are an amazing type of foot wear.  I always wore clogs when I worked in the operating theatres. Being on hard concrete floors all day, they were a blessing to the tootsies and the ankles plus they were easily scrubbed.  

I'm surprised. I thought that such a hard sole would be tough on your feet over a long day. Concrete floors themselves are notorious for people standing for long hours, and you can even buy padded mats to stand on at work stations for precisely that reason.

What makes the soles so comfortable, given that they don't have any natural softness?

*sigh*

Now I have another project on my to-do list.

It just keeps going and going and going... (my to-do list)

Probably because there are so many cool ideas on the forum!

Jan White wrote: How did you deal with not being able to bend your foot? I'd really like to figure out how to wear mine.  I also found that the soles were very slippery. Did you do anything to give them some grip? I'd imagine that would be necessary on finished concrete.

The walking bit is really easy for me.  It is sort of a gliding step (similar to a military slow march) so the sole of the foot remains parallel to the floor.  It actually is a light heel down first step rather than a hard heel down step. The ankle remains "unlocked" until the "toe off" This, for me, allowed less knee and hip strain.  
I had a look at my clogs, they have a 3 mm (1/8") white rubber type sole on the heal and then on the centre of the sole portion.  It is lightly hatched but not remarkable.  The concrete floor had a welded vinyl cover which was not slippery.

Paul Fookes wrote:
The walking bit is really easy for me.  It is sort of a gliding step (similar to a military slow march) so the sole of the foot remains parallel to the floor.  It actually is a light heel down first step rather than a hard heel down step. The ankle remains "unlocked" until the "toe off" This, for me, allowed less knee and hip strain.  
I had a look at my clogs, they have a 3 mm (1/8") white rubber type sole on the heal and then on the centre of the sole portion.  It is lightly hatched but not remarkable.  The concrete floor had a welded vinyl cover which was not slippery.

The toe off part is the bit I can't figure out. I'm used to walking in thong sandals or other very unrestrictive footwear, so not being able to bend my toes in that toe off phase of the step seems impossible. I don't walk much on my heels, either.

My klompen are just smooth wood on the soles. Yours sound safer, although the whole point of wooden shoes for me was to get away from materials like rubber!

Thanks for the walking tips. I'll dig out my klompen and try again.

Michael Cox wrote:

Paul Fookes wrote:
Clogs are an amazing type of foot wear.  I always wore clogs when I worked in the operating theatres. Being on hard concrete floors all day, they were a blessing to the tootsies and the ankles plus they were easily scrubbed.  

I'm surprised. I thought that such a hard sole would be tough on your feet over a long day. Concrete floors themselves are notorious for people standing for long hours, and you can even buy padded mats to stand on at work stations for precisely that reason.

What makes the soles so comfortable, given that they don't have any natural softness?

I don't know what Paul's opinion is, but I've never had a problem with hard floors. I worked in a concrete floored warehouse for a couple years with no issues, and spent many years standing behind a hotel reception desk. We had one of those padded mats at the hotel and I had to move it at the start of every shift because standing on something soft totally changed my balance and hurt my back.

I have a theory based entirely on my own feet that I've unfairly extended to everyone else. I think if you start life out wearing shoes with arch support and soft insoles and whatever else people do to take care of their feet, your feet become reliant on these things. If you have hippie parents who let you run around barefoot your entire childhood and never give you the idea you shouldn't walk a couple kilometres down the street to your friend's house sans footwear; and an even hippier grandmother who purposely takes you on barefoot walks along river rocks the size of your head because she thinks it's good for you, your feet will be well equipped to handle a variety of surfaces.

Jan White wrote:

Paul Fookes wrote:
The walking bit is really easy for me.  It is sort of a gliding step (similar to a military slow march) so the sole of the foot remains parallel to the floor.  It actually is a light heel down first step rather than a hard heel down step. The ankle remains "unlocked" until the "toe off" This, for me, allowed less knee and hip strain.  
I had a look at my clogs, they have a 3 mm (1/8") white rubber type sole on the heal and then on the centre of the sole portion.  It is lightly hatched but not remarkable.  The concrete floor had a welded vinyl cover which was not slippery.

The toe off part is the bit I can't figure out. I'm used to walking in thong sandals or other very unrestrictive footwear, so not being able to bend my toes in that toe off phase of the step seems impossible. I don't walk much on my heels, either. My klompen are just smooth wood on the soles. Yours sound safer, although the whole point of wooden shoes for me was to get away from materials like rubber! Thanks for the walking tips. I'll dig out my klompen and try again.

Think about it as the first step in a waltz, with the slightly pointed toe but with a loose ankle.  It is easy once mastered, you may experience a little tendonitis or muscle pain until you are in the swing of it.  Crocs are a similar walking style but plastic and i use them as footwear 90% of the time for gardening as well as general yard work.

I think that leather uppers must make them a lot more comfortable otherwise they wouldn't be able to do this!



I think some of the morris dancing groups use clogs too.

Sorry,getting a little off topic now. Apparently my father in law wore clogs as a child in Lancashire (1940s?)- I'll see if I can pick his memory....

There was a time when I was teaching at three different places, and I teach on my feet, I don't sit. After about a month I went to the local good shoe store and asked what kind of shoes chefs come back and buy again and again. It wasn't crocs, it was clogs with a wooden sole. They were heavy, with a steel toe and a leather upper (industrial staples holding it on). It took me about a week to get used to them and I wore them every day until I quit teaching. They were fabulous, and my feet do not put up with much silliness. I think they were called Sven clogs, and the internet indicates they still exist. They didn't have much arch support, the "anatomical" business was just a hint of contouring. But amazingly comfortable when you're on your feet from 7 to 9 every day.

Nancy Reading wrote:I think that leather uppers must make them a lot more comfortable

Yes, I think that would make all the difference. Your feet can actually flex and move then.

Every man and his dog wears "wood shoes" round here, Most of them are not actually wood anymore but they have an inflexible base with a rubber coating and then a leather upper. Go to any farm and you'll find a pile by all doors (including mine) go down the harbour and there's a heap outside every cafe.

Walking in them you keep them flat to the floor and land with the heal  gently, the only flex is from the upper part. You can rock forward onto your toes as they have a slight curve there to allow it but the entire foot comes along as well. I never ever thought I would end up liking clogs but I do, they are perfect to slip on when you just need to run out to the bin or fill up the furnace or shut the chickens in.. my father in law and husband wear them all the time for all farm chores, I prefer boots as I dislike wet ankles.

Well I wore my klompen for two or three hours last night while doing dishes and organizing stuff. Using Paul's tips, I had a much better experience!

It's a very different way of walking for me, though. I usually walk mostly on the front part of my foot and bend my foot around a lot. So this new way of walking feels very strange. I'm holding my whole body differently and I can only walk fairly slowly at this point cause I have to concentrate on my movements to get them right. I could see it working, though.

I'll have to see how they are outside once the snow's gone. We don't have much flat or even ground here, and I'm skeptical about walking on that stuff without being able to curve the bottom of my foot around the obstacles like I usually do. I'll have to glue some rubber on the bottoms, too. The slipperiness of these things really is suicidal.

One bonus is that when I go on my tip toes to reach upper shelves in the kitchen, I can go right up almost on the ends of my toes like a ballerina, and the pointy wooden toes give me a couple extra inches of height 😁