Guest Canthar Posted February 27, 2002 Share Posted February 27, 2002 Anyone have any information or know of a good source where I could find some good instructions or recommendations for how to go about this. Not going to be something I can accomplish anytime soon but woud like to read up on it. Thanks in advance for anyhelp.. Canthar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Black Posted February 27, 2002 Share Posted February 27, 2002 The only article I know of on horseshoe bending is by John Brookfield in the March 1997 issue of Milo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Canthar Posted February 27, 2002 Share Posted February 27, 2002 Thanks for the info will order that one once money allows.. Canthar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Canthar Posted February 27, 2002 Share Posted February 27, 2002 Computer glitched sorry for the dbl post Canthar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryduty Posted February 27, 2002 Share Posted February 27, 2002 Canthar, I don't know if this will help you with your technique, but here's a pic of someone bending a horseshoe: http://www.sandowmuseum.com/page62.html Train smart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Canthar Posted February 28, 2002 Share Posted February 28, 2002 Everything helps, thanks alot. I'm quite far from being able to actually perform that feat but throwng in an attempt every now and then to change things up until I reach that level I believe will help, it can't hurt anything.. Canthar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarBender Posted February 28, 2002 Share Posted February 28, 2002 That photo is actually of little help. I may be missing something here but it appears that the bodybuilder is simply posing with the horseshoe. He is in a poor position without leverage and appears to be trying to straighten the shoe which John Brookfield stated to be humanly impossible. The horseshoe must be twisted as opposed to being pulled straight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Black Posted February 28, 2002 Share Posted February 28, 2002 The leverage angles are a key point of horseshoe bending. When speaking with Slim the Hammer man Farman last June he showed me exactly how he held a horseshoe for bending (without actually having a horseshoe to bend). Barbender is right about the picture, but it’s close enough to use as a starting point. First, a shoe cannot be pulled apart in the manner shown, thus the left hand would have to be lower and the shoe held more parallel to the benders face. The force would be applied down on one end of the shoe and pulled up on the other, making it spin if you do not hold it strongly, which is why it is so hard to do. Bracing as shown is also not the most effective means. Slim bent over quite a bit more, and spread his legs out more (obviously using leg power in some way, although not immediately evident). The shoe would almost have been placed below the thigh. There’s a good chance that Slim’s hands were reversed as compared to the picture, that is, his right hand was on the left side of the shoe. I believe the crossed hands may provide additional stabilization of the shoe by having the wrists touch. Slim did the maneuver so fast I didn’t have time to snap a picture- I wish I had. The good news is that I have a picture of Stanless Steel bending a horseshoe (from Muscle and Fitness) and I will check it tonight. Stanless had nearly the identical bent over approach to the bend, and I think the same cross over hand placement. I’ll check Brookfield too, but I believe he did not show the hands quite the same way. There is also a picture of the Mighty Atom bending a horseshoe in the March 98 Milo (not sure if that’s the issue) but I believe he is using pipes to make the leverage better (give him a break he was in his late eighties at the time). By the way, my guess for the person in the photo in the above link is a young picture of Thomas Inch, it reminds me of another picture of Inch when he was young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woody36 Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 Tom, Any idea on the thickness/size of shoes being bent by Farman etc, and have you tried this yourself? Regards Ray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Black Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 I have reviewed pictures from the John Brookfield article and the article on Stanless Steel (March 1996 Muscle & Fitness). I was incorrect above in stating that there wrists were crossed during the bend, but Arne Persson just sent me a picture of John Grünn bending a shoe in which his wrists are somewhat crossed. I think I’ve seen the picture somewhere before and it must have been in my mind when writing the post above. Grünn doesn’t seem to bend over as much as Brookfield, Stanless and Slim, but the picture is somewhat posed. Woody, I can’t do it, but it seems like a real leverage problem to me, when I try I just can’t get my full power into the bend. Farman mentioned that the Mighty Atom could bend “Grade 5” horseshoes, which I believe are mighty big. Interestingly, the Atom recommend to Farman that he not bother with this size because the audience doesn’t know the difference between this and the “easy” ones. I did once put a horseshoe in a vise (which was just sitting on the floor, not bolted down) and grabbed it barehanded and bent it a good 4-inches. Thus, I know that I have the strength to bend one, but just can’t get my power into it with the “proper” way to do it. There is a picture here on my website of Grünn "bending" a shoe, but it's really not during the bend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Canthar Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 Thanks for the discussion and yeah leverage is the real kicker trying this. Once I find place to get some horseshoes will see what I can manage. Doubtful that I have the strength to bend it yet but will see if I can get a good feel for leverage as I work toward having that strength. Canthar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Uberman Posted March 2, 2002 Share Posted March 2, 2002 Canthar, I will help you if I can with shoe bending. I have been working on bending shoes for awhile. Thanks to the help of Tom Black who was nice enough to help me by sending pics and some ideas quite a while back. Thank you Tom. First let me say I have not bent a brand new shoe yet. I get mine from stables and they are worn, some alot(good for technique practice) some not much at all. I have bent one with not much wear at all, but have had trouble with some that looked pretty worn. Shoe are not standard different sizes, metal and metal shape(some wide and not very thick others are almost square) Second as far as strength I'm not near as strong as some of the guys on this board. For reference I have pinched 75 lbs,am a fraction of an inch from the #3 Coc, sledge hammer levered a 12 lbser(kind of sloppy,10lbser pretty good), plate curl 35 for several reps but no 45 yet. Again I say this as a reference only. I do it much like the pic that Tom put a link to in his last post, the one of John Grunn Marx. Differences are shoe turned 90 degress so it isflat against thigh. For right side bend left hand is thumb up on side next to body. Right kind of between cupped over top of side away from body and thumb down. squat some, bent over quite a bit,pull shoe into the side of thigh with left hand push away with right hand. I use wash cloth to pad hands. Also to let you know I bruise up thighs with this technique. This is a long post, so I'll end here, but if you what I can write how I have broken some shoes. Anyway I will help with any question you have. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Canthar Posted March 2, 2002 Share Posted March 2, 2002 Excellent Mike, thanks alot for that will hopefully be able to get my hands on some used shoe's soon and try it. That combined with the pictures is a wealth of information and help I really appreciate it. Canthar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarBender Posted March 2, 2002 Share Posted March 2, 2002 Many of your best horseshoe benders also excelled at strand pulling. I have been doing some serious strand pulling for several months now and feel that this sort of training gave me the edge that I needed to break two horseshoes recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Canthar Posted March 3, 2002 Share Posted March 3, 2002 You'll have to forgive my ignorance but I don't know what strand pulling is offhand... Canthar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarBender Posted March 4, 2002 Share Posted March 4, 2002 Joe Bonomo's Cable Course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest baldy Posted March 4, 2002 Share Posted March 4, 2002 Barbender, congrats on the broken horseshoes. That is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.