When it was dark in the shop the “shoemaker’s globe” was a useful aid. Filled with water, the globe gathers the light from the window or from a paraffin lamp and directs it to a specific point.
In the corner behind the bench there is a shelf full of lasts, the foot-shaped wooden moulds that determined the shape of the shoe. A large shoemaker’s shop could have several hundred lasts, often a pair for each customer. The shoemaker’s most important tools were knives, pliers, awl, hammer and rasp. There was a special knife for cutting the leather for the uppers and another one for trimming the soles. The knives had to be kept very sharp and were honed on a leather strap
attached to the bench. The various parts of the shoe were sewn together using waxed thread.
For a long period shoemakers were the most numerous craftsmen in Stockholm. The craft is an ancient one and the tools and techniques have changed little over the years.
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