Mickaël Toudic is a craftsman and more precisely a clog maker. He is the last to practice in Finistère.
It is a tradition that is being lost in Finistère. At the heart of the department, there is only one clog maker left. France 3 Bretagne went to meet Mickaël Toudic, in Saint-Pol-de-Léon, the ultimate artisan who still practices this profession unlike any other in the region.
To do this, each unit requires working a four-kilo piece of wood using two particularly old machines.
“These are machines that date from 1920. (…) You also have to pay attention to lubrication and sharpening, and that’s all that will ensure the longevity of the machine,” explains Mickaël Toudic on France 3 Bretagne .
These two machines each play their role. The first is a pantograph. Its movable keys allow it to sculpt the very particular shape of the clog. Then, it's time for the digger which, as its name suggests, will allow you to dig the inside of the hoof.
Six months of waiting
Once the hoof is “cut”, it must be treated naturally so as not to suffer the ravages of time and above all not to allow the attack of worms or fungi. To do this, Mickaël Toudic uses the technique known as smoking, like cooking a fish. Then a long drying period of six months. An essential step so that the hooves are completely dry.
All that remains is to varnish and decorate the clogs. And the customers are there. More and more of them are buying them and Mickaël Toudic assures that they are also “increasingly younger”.
“Trying them is adopting them,” says the clog maker.
Mickaël Toudic and professionals like him are particularly rare. There are only around ten left in France. To perpetuate this craft, the clog maker hopes to be able to pass on his passion for woodworking to young people.
Pierre Fougères (6Medias)
France
