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The Two-Handed Hoof Cleaner: A Curved File Between Two Handles
Forge

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Forge

28. September 2026NO
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The Two-Handed Hoof Cleaner: A Curved File Between Two Handles

Hard matter packs in between the frog and the crust of a horse's hoof, and in 1888 it was sometimes softened by burning. Joseph W. Faestl of Troy, Wisconsin, received US 490,474, dated 24 January 1893, for a hoof-cleaner "specially designed for cleaning hard hoofs, and by its use I do away with the injurious practice of burning a hoof in order to soften the accumulations that get in between the frog and crust": a curved back-piece with a wooden handle at one end and a bent hand-grip at the other, holding a curved file between two lips, one fixed by a set screw so a worn file can be changed. This rung works out the curve that fits the sole, then bends a two-handled back-piece from flat bar and clears clay from a shod test board with an abrasive strip held under its lips.
Intermediate
About 4 hours

Instructions

1

Radius of the back-piece

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
2

The cutting part

The embedded blueprint explains a file's teeth. Faestl's tool is a holder that curves a file to the hoof and lets it be changed when worn.
3

Read US 490,474

"Referring by letter to the drawings A represents a curved back-piece that is preferably made of malleable iron and reduced at its rear end to form a shank B for a wooden handle C". "Should the file L break, or be worn out it is only necessary to detach the lip H in order to remove said file, this operation being very easily effected." "The operator uses the tool with both hands and said tool being curved all parts of the hoof between the frog and crust can be acted upon and thoroughly cleaned."
4

Bend the cleaner and clear a shod board

Measure the chord and depth of the curve you want on the test board and run the notebook. Cut 40 cm of 25 × 3 mm mild steel flat bar. Heat the middle with the torch and bend it over a steel tube in the vice to the notebook's radius. Bend the front 8 cm up and outward into a hand-grip. Cut a thread on the rear 5 cm with the die, push it through a drilled hardwood handle and hold it with a nut, as Faestl held his. Cut two short lips from the same bar. Bend the fixed lip and screw it near the handle; drill and tap the other for a machine screw near the grip. Slide a strip of emery cloth under both lips so it lies along the outside of the curve, and tighten the screw. Nail a horseshoe to a hardwood board, pack its inside with modelling clay and let it stiffen for a day. Hold the cleaner in both hands and work the clay out; time it and note how many times the strip has to be changed.

Materials for this step:

Mild Steel Flat BarMild Steel Flat Bar1 piece
Hardwood BoardHardwood Board1 piece
Hex NutHex Nut1 piece
Machine ScrewsMachine Screws2 pieces
Emery ClothEmery Cloth1 piece
HorseshoeHorseshoe1 piece
Horseshoe NailsHorseshoe Nails4 pieces
Modeling ClayModeling Clay1 piece

Tools needed:

Propane TorchPropane Torch
Bench ViseBench Vise
Mild Steel Round TubeMild Steel Round Tube
HacksawHacksaw
Tap and Die SetTap and Die Set
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
HammerHammer
Hoof RaspHoof Rasp
StopwatchStopwatch
Leather Work GlovesLeather Work Gloves
Clear Safety GlassesClear Safety Glasses
5

A cleaner that skids, slips its strip or will not reach

Two-handed hoof cleaner troubleshooting.

Flow

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6

History and honest limits

**Joseph W. Faestl** of Troy, Walworth County, Wisconsin, filed US 490,474 on 24 May 1888; it is dated 24 January 1893. He signed it at Eagle, Waukesha County. He preferred malleable iron for the back-piece and added a strengthening rib on its rear side. **Honest limits.** A strip of emery cloth stands in for Faestl's curved file, and mild steel for malleable iron. The notebook treats the groove as part of a circle. Sizes are examples; your clearing time is the result.

Materials

8

Tools Required

12

CC0 Public Domain

This blueprint is released under CC0. You are free to copy, modify, distribute, and use this work for any purpose, without asking permission.

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