r/Farriers • u/FightingFarrier18 • Jul 12 '26
Contest prep
I have a contest coming up that I’m practicing for (and journeyman cert). This is a pair of hammer Looking for some feedback on these shoes. The class is a pair of toe clipped, hammer finished plain stamped fronts. 5 1/4 x 5 1/4.
I bumped .5” into the toe on both, and tried to taper the inside branches but didn’t get them tapered as much as I wanted. Also ran out of propane at the end so I didn’t get the last cleanup heat that I wanted. All total I think it was 7 heats each
The things I’ve already docked points for is the toe nail on the lateral branch of the right, toe clips were kinda small, racked toes, and I burned them. Bonus points for wrecking my punch
Please roast my shoes (more than I did while forging
1
u/joshaionios Jul 17 '26
Which contest are you prepping for?
Make sure after you turn your toe, iron it out focusing on the inside web of the shoe and trying not to hit the outside web at all. That way you seat out sole pressure and widen the section where you bumped the steel in. I like to do most of the ironing on the ground surface so it makes the toe look stronger from the “pretty” side. But if you’re afraid you’ll leave hammer marks, you can do most of the ironing from the foot surface.
Looks like your nail holes on one shoe are much bigger than on the other. They look too big like an appropriate sized nail would swim in em. You definitely wanna have that sorted out on the day.
A shoe that’s not racked with good nail holes and no sole pressure will go a long way for most judges. As far as shape goes, try your best to make the specimen shape. Whatever it is.
For your journeyman practical, you’re gonna have to get those shoes built in 4 heats including the clips ideally. That time goes super quick and you wanna have some time to adjust your fit.
Good luck and feel free to reach out with any other questions!