I'm just starting to make my own shoes, and a freind of mine showed me a way to measure the foot to get the correct shoe size. wouldn't you know I forgot. Anyone care to share how they size the foot?

I'm not completely sure but-

tape measure around foot - -2" for creased
-1.5 for concave or plain stamped

ruler heel to diagonal toe - +1.5 for creased 3/4 stock +1 for 1" stock
+2" for plain stamped or concave

For 3/8 x 1 I think its length of foot x 2. Under 12 draw over 12 bump.

I can never remember how to measure but this ought to get you in the ball park.

Many methods, I'm short on time now, but my preferred one is Eric's first. Measure heel to heel around the foot (I like a dressmakers tape for this, it's more flexible than a steel tape) and subtract about 2 inches depending on your forging and the stock width. Using 3/4 inch wide stock, I subtract about 2 inches for a creased shoe. i.e 11 inches of 3/4 wide stock gives me an 0 size shoe.

Heel finish, bumping the toe, hemming, creasing, sweetening etc all influence it. Just make some shoes your way and compare your bar length to your finished shoes to get what's right for you. Add 1/4 inch to the the amount you subtract for each 1/8 inch increase in stock width.

Here is a chart that I made up a while ago;

Remember it is only a guide and it may very for you.



You can also find it HERE

Go ahead and copy it and print it if you'd like.

Here It Is As A PDF Doc

go down to your local supply and buy a w-brand horseshoers ruler it has all the info you will need inprinted on the back.

After all the tapes and charts, I found that if you make a bunch and a bunch it sorta comes natural.
I look at the foot think about what size it is and look at the back of the W Brand ruller and make it a bit smaller or longer. I may have to sweeten a branch or make Mr. Grinder work real hard. For a while I had some shoes made with the length of the stock marked on them, but they got used.
I saw Chris Gregory trim a foot, look at it and say "That looks like it should be about 11 3/8", cut the stock, made the shoe fit perfectly.

I've seen Craig do the same, but I'm not that good. I still need to measure.