The Story of Jörnkängan

The foundation of Jörnkängan was laid in the 1950s when brothers Randolf and Kurt Lindblom began repairing shoes and eventually bought a shoemaker's shop with an attached shoe store in Jörn. Without any experience in shoe manufacturing, they started to learn and worked very meticulously. They drew on their experiences from the time they worked in the forest when developing the shoes and also used their former colleagues to try out the products. Kurt and his wife managed the shop while Randolf and his wife Ann Marie worked in the factory.

After trying out different models, during the 1960s, primarily cell rubber boots with high leather shafts were produced, and the Jörnkänga was born. The boots were made with a toe to fit ski bindings and were adapted for everyone who worked outdoors in winter. Among the first customers were forestry workers and reindeer herding Sámi. The military also discovered the advantages of the boots, and they began to be manufactured with a square-cut sole and a cable attachment at the heel to fit the soldiers' ski bindings.

After a feature in a hunting magazine in the early 1960s, demand increased, but the brothers kept the company small and produced as much as they could. In the 1970s, the brothers received support from Anders Dernebo, who started as an intern, secured an apprenticeship, and in 1987 became his own boss and began building a better workshop with proper extraction. Randolf had suffered injuries from glue and solvents and withdrew from shoe manufacturing, but continued to craft in the form of knife making, where he became the Swedish champion in 1995..

Anders has been running the company in the spirit of Randolf since 1987. The machinery has been improved, but the production is still artisanal on a small scale with a focus on quality. Some changes have been made to the boot, primarily the material in the sole has been replaced with a sole that is lightweight and has excellent insulation. The standard model remains available in various versions and with modifications based on functionality. The Jörn boot is still (in 2019) very popular, especially among hikers and others who have high demands for quality. It is sold in a few places, and there is a waiting time to receive your boot. Some selected military units use the boot in their equipment.

Information obtained from a compilation by Anders Dernebo, stored in the Skellefteå Museum archive, as well as a report in the magazine Västerbotten no. 2 2009.

(https://samlingar.skellefteamuseum.se/individuals/c61-8639/)