Japanese Wooden Rubbing Forms

Also from Japan are some wooden rubbing forms, as Marcell Mrsan calls them.

Mamoru sells 3 versions:

For Women: 馬・紳士用 (株)マモル・オンラインショップ
For Men: 馬・紳士用 (株)マモル・オンラインショップ
For Boots: 馬・ブーツ用 (株)マモル・オンラインショップ

The ones I have differ slightly from the measurements Mamoru provides.

I’ll give measurements following:

Length x Thickness x Heel Hump Height


The left one is the oldest one and is similar to the Mamoru Women:
24.9 x 2.6 x 6.5 cm

It has a lot of use which has deformed the wood, leaving cavities. I filled the cavities with cork.


The middle one looks like new and is similar to the Mamoru Men:
26 x 3.2 x 6 cm

I had seen this black material used on rubbing forms in Ken Kataoka videos and was curious what it was. It is layers of leather, skived at the ends. It is very stiff and does not compress.

The third form is also like new and is similar to the Mamoru Boot:
38 x 3 x 7 cm

It is massive and only really useful for really tall boots.

Here is a closer look at the black leather used to prevent damage.

If anyone has any questions or wants more measurements I’d be happy to share. I’d also be willing to loan them to someone if they want to get it 3d scanned or something like that.

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I expect these are made by cutting a 2D profile out of surfaced boards, then using a router bit to curve the working edge. Freehand, the edge could be rounded with a spokeshave.

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so I assume these are for flattning the heel seam?

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You are correct. Some people add glue to the sides of the seam then use the peen side of a hammer to flatten the sewing allowance. I believe Marcell’s pattern book talks about these.