# Size difference between 10 and 9.5? 1/8 inch?



## //Michael (Jul 29, 2008)

*,,,*

.....


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## Checkerboard 13 (Oct 6, 2009)

Try the shoes on!


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## 127.72 MHz (Feb 16, 2007)

The difference between "just right" and this:





 (ugly stuff!)

But serioously, accordning to my Brannock device one half men's American size is just under 3/16th of an inch or, (as nearly as I can tell 4cm)


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## Orgetorix (May 20, 2005)

Shoe arcana you only pick up on these fora:

Shoes are sized using an archaic British unit of measure, the barleycorn. It dates back to pre-Norman days. IIRC, one (whole) size difference=one barleycorn=1/3 of an inch. So a half size would be a difference of 1/6 of an inch.

I'm almost embarassed I know that.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
Well, I for one am impressed (and enlightened regarding the history of measuring our feet to the right shoes!). LOL, Don't feel embarrassed...for, in many of our eyes, you have just become legend!


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## Corcovado (Nov 24, 2007)

Yes, you might have to change your screen name to John Barleycorn.


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

Orgetorix said:


> Shoe arcana you only pick up on these fora:
> 
> Shoes are sized using an archaic British unit of measure, the barleycorn. It dates back to pre-Norman days. IIRC, one (whole) size difference=one barleycorn=1/3 of an inch. So a half size would be a difference of 1/6 of an inch.
> 
> I'm almost embarassed I know that.


You must have a copy of *The Encyclopedia of Men's Clothes* (if you do not  it's easy to get one just see below! :icon_smile_big where there is a detailed (yes, more than anyone needs to know) account of the history of shoe measure and where it's stated:
Each full size, up or down, is equivalent to 1/3 inch, and each half-size is only 1/6 inch. Plus different styles and different manufactures can make a big difference in shoe size.​and
The Brannock Device is based on "*barleycorn technology*" first developed in 1324. 

Barleycorn kernels (the grain of barley) were used as early as Roman times as a unit of measurement since the seeds were uniform in size. In 1324 *King Edward II of England* (King 1307 - 1327, House of Plantagenet) wanted to create a standard system of foot measurements to reduce the amount of time needed to make shoes.

He ordered the largest foot he could find measured with barleycorn. England's then-largest foot was 39 kernels long, (12 inches!) and because three barleycorns fit into one inch, Edward divided 39 by three and decreed that the result, 13, would be the largest shoe size, and that all other sizes be measured in third-inch increments down from size 13. This also established the measurement of a foot equal to 12 inches.

British cobblers adopted the measurement method and begin to make shoes in standard sizes. Each full size, up or down, is equivalent to 1/3 inch, and each half-size is 1/6 inch. So if your foot is 11 inches long your shoe size is ten.
​


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## GentlemanGeorge (Dec 30, 2009)

*US sizing*

Then how did US sizing end up starting at 14? Just to be different?


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