A shoe horn is a spoon-shaped tool that facilitates the process of putting on a shoe, and it reduces stress on the back of the shoe. The wearer holds the tool over the back end of the shoe, keeping the shoe open while sliding in the heel of the foot. Commercial shoe horns come in a variety of materials such as metal, plastic, bone or wood. You can use a common handkerchief as a shoe horn in any situation.
Step One
Pick a block of hardwood. This is a great project for scrap wood because you only need one small board. I generally make them about 20” long, but the one I have crafted here is about 30” long simply because that was the size scrap that I had handy and it was a nice piece of quarter sawn white oak that I had been saving for a special project. Choose a relatively hard species because the tip will get pretty thin and a softer species will be prone to cracking. I have made these out of maple, walnut, cherry and oak and these all work great. When I make them I just eyeball everything, but to get you in the ballpark you will want to start with a block of wood that is a minimum of 15” long by 3” wide by ¾” thick.
Step Two
Sketch a shape. The flute that will be inserted into the shoe should be at least 6-8” long to allow it to gently taper to a thin tip that can be easily inserted into the shoe. I typically make this at least 10” or so. Other than that, the shape itself is not critical as long as you make the sides as symmetric as possible.
Step Three
Sand out a flute. Using a coarse grit (36-60 grit or so works well) on a belt sander rough out the flute. With 36 grit paper I can perform this task in only a couple minutes. Work slowly using the nose of the belt sander, moving it gradually across the length and gently rocking it back and forth to make a smooth flute. Taper it to a thickness of approximately 1/8” at the tip of the shoe horn. You will refine it further later, so don’t try to go too thin in this step. Once the desired thickness is reached, sand with progressively finer grits until most of the deep sanding grooves are gone. Take it to about 120-150 grit in this step.
Step Four
Put it back together temporarily. Tape the off-cut piece back onto the shoe horn to provide a stable surface for cutting the top profile.
Step Five
Cut the top profile on a band saw. Cut around the perimeter, again leaving a small amount of materials outside the line.Drill a hole for hanging the shoe horn near a door.