Traditional Swedish Woodworking: Clogs, Spoons and Chairs

This is a video shot in 1923 for Swedish television, or at least featured there, which films several people working on different woodworking projects with simple hand operated tools.

[@Seanoooog]

Thanks to you and thanks to the internet, we can watch these old films that would otherwise be collecting dust in some forgotten archive. Thanks again.

[@peterharris2421]

What a fantastic little film! I work with hand tools yet I've not ever seen a good many in use in this film.

[@goognamgoognw6637]

I nearly fell off my chair when that guy chopped and pared an artistic looking spoon out of a piece of fire wood in minutes without a vise after having just watched a 45 minutes modern video on how to carve a wooden spoon. Immense skills and rugged guys with amazing concentration, not afraid of the blade because they had mastered the skills and were honest workers, not working by the hour but by the piece. Not for someone else, for their own account.

[@tedcushman3209]

They were way ahead of us.

[@birdsadventuresinwoodandmusic]

This might be my favorite video on youtube yet!!

[@gordonclark7632]

Brilliant workmanship. And, no power tools!

[@redflag71]

De va de jävligaste ja sett, har aldrig längtat ut i snickarbon så mycket som nu

[@blackwolf1066]

Loved this video! Tough old boys with huge skill levels. Love the old tools fare more useful and better made than modern homogenized, built in obsolescence crap. Which are lucky to last out the warranty.

[@goognamgoognw6637]

True story : There was a very old firestation i think it was in San Francisco around the turn of the century where one day the main garage light bulb broke. Nothing special except they realized the bulb was made in 1917 and had been working for well over 80 years. Now, motherfucking GE and electrical companies produce lightbulbs designed to fail after 1 year. Big corporatism greed has destroyed affordable quality. Now they built junk in the millions and decent quality products is limited to space exploration. Banksters, wall street lazy parasites, hedge fund speculators, usury malefactors, federal reserve crooks, all these people are not useful to society and are the curse of modern society. The guillotine needs to be re-instated to take care of the part of society who produce nothing, exploit others and are responsible for the stagnation of society. Banking is no longer an honest occupation where they participate in the risk taking of funding new small enterprises, instead they milk the system, invent their own 'financial' instruments to make money on the back of the multitude at no risk to them and collude with the fed money press production. The government has failed to disciplinate and regulate the banking industry back to a honest occupation instead it is a club of priviledged who don't support the back bone of society but only their interests. The time for people to take matters back into their own hands is not far off. It is the duty of the people when the government fails to take power back and rid the society of profiteers and idle usury lenders. They've been a constant problem as far back as tsarist Russia exploiting the farmers and doing no useful work themselves.

[@OmmerSyssel]

@@goognamgoognw6637 Capitalism has its flaws. What you, and many other ignorants, fails to observe is the amount of wealth & living quality provided to millions of people.. Guess how your life would be in these poor men's harsh living conditions.. Look at the latest development in China where millions of very poor people has gained access to basic necessities you take for granted. Half of your family would have been dead before 5, the rest handicapped from harsh living and work conditions. Notice the amount of Birth or Child death along with the immense risks for women giving birth to child number 5, 8 or 10.. Living length ~ 40 years with outworn body & years pain from work & life related damages. Deal with the all present deadly risk of polio, tuberculosis, influenza or simple cut leading to deadly blood poison because of all present dirty infected living conditions. Toilet paper or even a toilet? Imagine the smell.. And rats, mice & lice. Three generations ago artificial teeths were common gift by confirmation. You were considered adult with 14! & had to work 10-15 hours a day. Starting at 5 or 6 never mind weather or sickness. Sleeping in straw next to someone else in a cold, damp or frozen room. Cut off power, heating, running water including acces to toilet & bath a week, and tell us how you experienced that reality. Run barefooted & only clogs without stockings when decency demanded footwear. Reality for millions of people were way more basic, harsh & down to earth than you spoiled leftist city dwellers can imagine.. Count your blessings 😉

[@bono894]

@@goognamgoognw6637 It's the Jews you're talking about. Capitalism and communism are two sides of the same Jew coin.

[@goognamgoognw6637]

​@@bono894 Exactly right, and they're censoring my detailed reply to you right now. They deleted it and I don't know if you'll get this one. This is how critical the situation is in 2020.

[@mamanourse6038]

wonderful!! Hope some people will continue to entertain more and more this memory...

[@thatsmethistime]

This is beautiful

[@schpoingle]

their clothes are almost as interesting as their work. the chair maker's hat is just unbelievable.

[@purpleturkey11]

nice, would have loved to have sat and talked to the old clog maker. that spoon drill was unbelievably sharp

[@314194]

I love watching these old world craftsmen and how they worked with a minimum of tools and fuss. Every time I am in my workshop with all my electrical gadgets, I have wood chips and sawdust from arsehole to breakfast not like these guys. Hats off to them.

[@Rudecheers]

awesome display of woodworking techniques, thanks for the share, much appreciated!

[@chapiit08]

This footage is a monument to skills that once where quite common among folk. It's a good thing that someone back then realized that the then new art of moviemaking could be put to good use to create this real forlk ar heirloom.

[@fdc313]

fantastic film that wasn't lost in time

[@gogetyourowngear4251]

true craftsman. amazing talent to be able to carve like that.

[@mauertal]

THAT is professional timbersport!

[@icedcoffeeandbrumous]

Wow!! :) Lovely woodworking!! Thank you!

[@srdesch]

Thanks Stephanie! That was really cool! Steve Deschenes

[@herbivore2732]

Masters of their time! What i would give to bring one of them back and show them Harbor Freight

[@TombstoneHeart]

As the grandson of an old "hands-on" type of tradesman, a carpenter, I was always fascinated by the vast array of strange looking tools in his little backyard shed and wondered at what they could be used for. Well, Grand Dad is long gone now, but I must have got something from him, because I love being able to make something out an object that others would throw away. And when they ask me why I don't just go and buy a new one at the store, I tell them 'because it makes me feel good.'

[@bentyreman5769]

they certainly worked fast back then, it's impressive

[@simonmountford4291]

So that’s how a brace is supposed to be used 🧐 excellent 👌 video.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Great Video, really liked the story pole around 10:20 Thanks for posting.

[@jamesiec61]

Brilliant, historical record. Essential viewing.

[@brethenia]

That was an awesome display of skills with a hatchet. If I tried the I would be minus a few fingers, if not all.

[@mikechartier1766]

1923 is 20 years before TV.

[@shamrock4500]

amazing to watch, thanks for sharing

[@arbonac]

That could be my very own Farfars far!

[@arbonac]

Sarano TSM

[@OmmerSyssel]

Træskomager...

[@ianryan5727]

Bloody amazing!

[@hugoakerlund5114]

now that is skills. Good practical skills

[@fortune300]

They had film in the 20:ies. Whitout sound of course.Like the one you had i photo cameras for years ago.

[@MarcWitteveen]

Ikea, the start up days

[@hallonhasch]

You can see how the cameraoperator asked the woodworkers to display their tools to the camera at a few times, very nice! Wish I lived in an age of quality insted of quantity.

[@bertroost1675]

I noticed how men back then wore comfortable pants. Wide man spreading crotches

[@MarsanAlpin]

It’s a golden treasure. Save!

[@flatpicker1234]

Incredible!

[@RossGilmore]

@AhnkoCheeOutdoors :) good point. It is good they had the forethought to document it.

[@tehtapemonkey]

I love modern technology, am fascinated by cell phones and programming and day trading and so on and so forth... but I look at these old timers doing their thing and I just think, "Man, I want to be like that."

[@diresplong]

This was a lot of fun to watch. What most people don't realize is that this video isn't sped up; people just move that fast in Sweden. A translation for the subs can be found online by Googling "Täxlan". It's in the comments section of the first result.

[@jimhyslop]

wellll... actually it is faster than normal. If you look at the clip of the chairmaker cutting the tops of the legs starting at 12:10 or so, the sawdust falls unnaturally fast. Silent films were shot at 18 frames per second. When sound films came in, they were shot at 24 frames per second, and once they became widespread nobody bothered with projectors or telecine equipment that could display 18 fps. So when this film was transferred to video, it was transferred at 24fps. To view it at the "natural" speed, set the playback speed to 75%. Having said that, though, they are still moving very fast!

[@watermain48]

Wow, just wow...

[@Boudico]

Pure beauty!

[@janycemackenzie2160]

It would have been nice to have subtitles.

[@mrbluenun]

Many thank's for this intriguing video. I have not seen clogs made. I think the maker has made a few pairs in the past eh? d-)

[@MANOSW]

muy bueno gracias

[@thxmateoli]

Looks like he's making some disco dancing shoes for the old man.

[@SergioGattaArtist]

Ti faccio i miei più grandi complimenti, e un documento importante che vorrei fare conoscere qui in Italia, Ho acquistato asce Svedesi che sono favolose, ma prima di utilizzarle con l'abilità di questi nonnini passerà ancora un po di tempo. - ciao

[@leifforrest]

The clog makers type of work bench is called a clave.

[@PaulKrzysz]

there is video of the battle of the Somme in 1915 i think, by any rate the first world war. so camera had to exist.

[@jensejense]

tack

[@hantzel1]

inspiring!

[@horsitotraviesoalvarado2256]

Todo hecho usando todo su cuerpo fantásticos!!!

[@AhnkoCheeOutdoors]

Awesome handiwork, the accuracy of repeat hits is amazing. I wonder if they even make some of these cool hand tools anymore. Technically video cameras nor television existed in 1923. Educational movies I'm sure. Thanks for sharing.

[@Si-Al-Ti]

+Ross Gilmore if you want i could make som english subtitles for this. you seem to get quite a lot of views :)

[@martinchambers8090]

That would add a lot to an already great video

[@danestolthed6383]

Great video Ross, where the heck did you find this gem?

[@AhnkoCheeOutdoors]

Sorry but you missed the whole point of my original post. I was VERY specific to VIDEO CAMERA and TELEVISION CAMERA which are a specific technology which did not exist in 1923. They did not start coming into use until the late 1940s when television first came into vogue. Portable camcorders did not come into regular use until the mid 1980s. Of course moving pictures were around before this actually since the 1890s but that was not the point. I still stand by my original comments.

[@maisetas]

priceless

[@deezynar]

Ya, I guess you can whack the thing w/ an axe to remove some big chunks if you've been doing it for years and have the skill. I'd imagine they probably did their first projects like you describe but got more confident as time went on.

[@JLHewey]

google translate:...Forest village west of Boras carried on wooden handicrafts in many parishes...has specialized on the production of chairs...a special carpentry cottage....Bollebygds parish in Alvsborgs County has long been the seat of the one in which general pursuit woodwork...products are simpler furniture, casks, also minor handicraft products...farm typical of the area...carpenter's cottage.such is found at the fiesta farms in the parish...goods driven past the suburbs to [place of sale]

[@tonverheijen8415]

Fantastic. But what is nowedays left from the Swedisch clogs and clogmakers?

[@BestefarFissk]

There are some traditional clog-makers still. But there's no demand for them.

[@jotica54]

I sorry but you are wrong about existence of video cameras, then what kind of cameras where used to mak espichless movies??

[@JuryDutySummons]

Just have your local blacksmith make them for you. :)

[@teddylilley]

2 man planing-never heard of that

[@cyclea2b]

How's it Made 1923! :-)

[@norbs]

You can't get a ready made customized pair of shoes nowdays

[@torbjornlundmark9799]

Den gubben hade nog fler "SKILLS" än nån nuvarande gubbe kan uppnå, cred som vi plägar säga!

[@uo_wizard]

No 1080p HD :(

[@hobbyelectronics7600]

And no colors ;(

[@concepcionm.borders3290]

The good news is you possibly can build project yourself even born with ten thumbs

[@jotica54]

have you ever heard about specheless movies? Movie cameras exist since 1890´s just make an easy consult go to Wikipedia

[@FEST1964]

Thanks that was good to see some skills and the people using them. 🙏 🍃 >> 💺

[@Ahzid]

This is the early IKEA ;D

[@Bergred]

birch?

[@OmmerSyssel]

Or Poplar

[@renter6]

@AhnkoCheeOutdoors Agreed - this is straight up ethnology. Probably a nationalistic film (in the good sense), already nostalgic for this craft in the 1920s!

[@davidmunch9257]

Hi, does somebody know, wich wood they are useing? I wonder if it is wet or dry wood... Thanks! :)

[@eiseklompstra]

+David Münch Probably different for each project, but i'm betting the clogs and spoon are poplar.

[@yannisrouen4448]

+David Münch For that part of Sweden between Jönköping and Gothenburg it was very common with oak and pine. The harvests yielded not so much why the farmers where allowed by the Swedish king to travel across the country to sell the woodworking and handcraft.

[@christoffercornelius3398]

+David Münch The clogs were made from alder, most likely somewhere between green and lightly seasoned. The spoon was birch, again, most likely greenwood and the chair was probably birch as well, a very common type of wood used all over Sweden for both carving and carpentry, both now as well as then.

[@nuttiBONG]

clog is alder and spoon is birch. chairs are pine. im certain

[@krmgky]

people of Africa and Asia work still same way produce to ''survive'' today in MODERN times. and no one says about them ''they are real people'' with nostalgic words. sad.

[@legoclone0101]

Stealing peoples wallets isnt like this at all

[@christopherphillipskeates290]

he just did that for his chair .. skeatesy

[@rz257]

this how they make ikea furniture

[@OmmerSyssel]

Notice today's production level, quality & efficiency in Sweden. Then look at the chaotic Middle East where glorious Islam influences everything.. Guess where this sort of simple craft is still necessary providing primitive footwear to loads of poor people who can't afford quality footwear, or anything else good for that sake..

[@alvarogarcia350]

cord last tools

[@franciscoluna9596]

6:22 😆😆😆

[@VseDoFeNi]

И без всякого электроинструмента!

[@xxx35493]

o problema ai deve ser os calos que deve dar rsrsrsr

[@truebluekit]

Considering the low quality stuff Ikea peddles nowadays, you just insulted those craftsmen. They might have passed a long time ago, but please respect their devotion to their craft.

[@OmmerSyssel]

As experienced & highly qualified craftsman in Stainless Steel production & Boat building I can inform you that IKEA actually provides well designed & good quality products. You are spoiled & clueless. I bet you wouldn't have bought or even considered wearing those clumsy uncomfortable clogs. If you want luxury products go to a carpenter or cabinet maker. Bet you will not pay there price...

[@criticviking]

they probably still are made by blacksmiths!

[@EdwardoNorton]

The Swedish people must have had some mighty stout arches in their feet to wear those clogs. I'm sure they weren't really good in the winter. You'd stay permanently on your ass in the snow. No traction. But interesting to see how they were made with some relic tools.

[@Spender604]

They were obviously not the only shoes people wore.

[@hauksgardchatelaine7427]

Clogs are meant to be worn with thick socks and a liner. Their purpose is to protect the feet from wet & muddy ground, kind of like rubber boots are used on a farm now.

[@loril.sotelo1877]

For over 5 years, I waste money and time purchasing woodworking ebooks, blueprints but many of them left me much more question than solution.

[@loril.sotelo1877]

All I need is a in depth woodworking guide like the one beneath, hope it help: help1.info/wood-working-blueprint

[@heliumannen96]

Raske

[@weegiewarbler]

This is what KZbin's all about!! Fantastic!

[@louishampton9532]

I`m retired and have a small shop where I perform woodturning, create musical instruments, and some cabinetry. I have a shelf full of woodworking textbooks - but I found this woodworking guide, *TopFineWoodworking. Com* . The comprehensiveness of this book is surprising. It has decent coverage on every topic.?

[@samluke8121]

This is the only functional purpose of KZbin. An instrument for videographic education.

[@SkillCult]

So many great lessons in there, especially on versatile knife use and creative holding methods. truly excellent stuff, thanks for posting!

[@thewoodworkingmetalhead2712]

Knew I would find you here!

[@roamingbritain9484]

Ray Mears...Eat your heart out, Those two guys with the double hand plane were quicker than my power tools : (

[@oldtimer4567]

Roaming Britain yep, big difference between bushcraft & craftsmanship

[@mikakumpulainen7433]

wow isn't this a gem

[@VicariousReality7]

There is something oddly satisfying about drilling or whittling wood

[@Tributorious]

This video is a treasure

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Nearly a century old and magnificent! Thank you for uploading. Greetings from Greece.

[@armanotube]

*Like many other jobs, planning is of utmost importance for woodworking tasks. Woodcutting always demands careful planning and step by step approach towards the ultimate goal.*

[@OmmerSyssel]

I'm pretty these experienced men didn't care much about "planning".. They learned by doing, not by academic attitude. If something failed it went to the oven & another piece of wood was taken.

[@ErikAnderson1]

Great archival footage of our Swedish snikera ancestors. Thanks!!! I am sharing this with my father and a few good woodworking friends.

[@cod2510]

Old school Ikea ;)

[@berniesr]

It really is fantastic like a time machine.

[@OmmerSyssel]

Spoon drill shown is capable of making curved holes.. A detail our modern drills can't deliver. Vikings used it building their impressive longboats.

[@RobertNims]

Nice work, nö Sound , but very good.

[@bushcraftwildsintra8264]

Amanzing work , thank you for share

[@ivan55599]

l don't know why, but l feel that Undertale: Ghost fight theme suits as background music.