Is there a difference between metal and brass shoehorn with a real shoehorn?

[lee_44106]

some items of personal accessories only serve to provide the wearer with personal pleasure. Real shoe horn is one of those.

You can also ask why alligator belt when a rope or calfskin will do. Why a $450 Briggs umbrella when a $35 Nike golf umbrella will most surely outperform it in any test.

 

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by lee_44106

some items of personal accessories only serve to provide the wearer with personal pleasure. Real shoe horn is one of those.

You can also ask why alligator belt when a rope or calfskin will do. Why a $450 Briggs umbrella when a $35 Nike golf umbrella will most surely outperform it in any test.
I agree. Some items are just nice to enjoy.

 

[johnny_flapjack]

Originally Posted by mg428

Is there a difference between metal and brass shoehorn with a real shoehorn? Of course, aside from what they cost...

Do you own a real shoe horn and really see a difference with the cheaper brass or metal ones that would worth the big price difference?

I bought a shoehorn made of horn during the BB sale, so I was able to pick it up at about 35% off. I spent the # on it because I like it. It pleases me. It's a purpose-specific piece of craftsmanship that I enjoy using. Does it do the job any better than the $2 long plastic one you can buy at Nord Rack? Maybe not, but I like using it more.

Originally Posted by Skyler

The only difference is between a sensible man and a foolish one.

So you carry a velcro wallet and drive a used Yugo or Metro then, right? Buying anything that is a better version of the product that will do the job at the lowest possible cost is the measure of a foolish man? You might be in the wrong company on this forum if you hold that view.

In your opinion, which is more foolish; a $60 shoehorn or a $3,500 suit?

 

[JayJay]

...

 

[Tarmac]

metal probably works better, but it has a slightly higher chance of scraping your insole leather. I have seen these scrapes on shoes at places like Nordstroms where the shoes have been tried on.

I have the BB real horn and it's great.

 

[grimslade]

I've scraped up the sockliners of a number of my shoes with metal horns, but it's not one of those things I'm prepared to spend any money on. At least, not right now.

 

[Skyler]

Originally Posted by johnny_flapjack

So you carry a velcro wallet and drive a used Yugo or Metro then, right? Buying anything that is a better version of the product that will do the job at the lowest possible cost is the measure of a foolish man? You might be in the wrong company on this forum if you hold that view.

In your opinion, which is more foolish; a $60 shoehorn or a $3,500 suit?

One doesn't drive a shoe horn, wear it on one's person, employ it to keep rain off of one's head, nor clothe oneself with it as one would w/ a fine suit.

A shoehorn is simply a tool to assisting one dress himself in the morning.

Your analogies therefore are meaningless - and not a little silly.

A shoehorn is a shoehorn, is a shoehorn, is a shoehorn, is a shoehorn.

 

[RJman]

There are good tools and bad tools, and tools who post on message boards.

 

[teddieriley]

Originally Posted by RJman

There are good tools and bad tools, and tools who post on message boards.

are you one of them?

 

[lee_44106]

Originally Posted by Tarmac

metal probably works better, but it has a slightly higher chance of scraping your insole leather. I have seen these scrapes on shoes at places like Nordstroms where the shoes have been tried on.

I have the BB real horn and it's great.

If you have to worry about the insole liner being scraped, then perhaps the shoes is too fragile/valuable to be worn. It should probably be relegated to those items that appear on the shoeporn posts.

Originally Posted by Skyler

One doesn't drive a shoe horn, wear it on one's person, employ it to keep rain off of one's head, nor clothe oneself with it as one would w/ a fine suit.

A shoehorn is simply a tool to assisting one dress himself in the morning.

Your analogies therefore are meaningless - and not a little silly.

A shoehorn is a shoehorn, is a shoehorn, is a shoehorn, is a shoehorn.


You completely miss the point of this forum.

 

[Skyler]

Originally Posted by lee_44106

You completely miss the point of this forum.

I may very well "completely miss the point of this forum" (though after browsing it almost daily for over 2 years I doubt it) but the original question of the thread, as I understood it, was whether or not there was practical difference in using an expensive shoehorn versus a cheaply made one.

Having tried everything from the finest horns made w/ genuine horn to the cheapest metal ones provided with some crappy Johnson & Murphy shoe, my experience is that there is little practical difference. They both do a fine job of getting one's foot in the damn shoe.

The question was not about the pleasures or the aesthetics of nice shoe horns but about their practical use.

If I'm wrong about what the intentions of the original poster's thread, I invite other sensible readers to correct me.

 

[Tarmac]

there's a difference. It looks nicer.

 

[globetrotter]

I use a horn one, I don't see a practical difference.

 

[Max Inseam]

There are times when a man needs a horn to feel like a man. Putting on one's shoes is not such a time. However, if you like the aesthetic, go for it. As indulgences go, it is rather small.

 

[sanrensho]

Originally Posted by mg428

Do you own a real shoe horn and really see a difference with the cheaper brass or metal ones that would worth the big price difference?

Originally Posted by Skyler

The question was not about the pleasures or the aesthetics of nice shoe horns but about their practical use.

If I'm wrong about what the intentions of the original poster's thread, I invite other sensible readers to correct me.

Regardless of what the original poster may have meant, "difference" seems to be left open to interpretation.

I was at Tokyu Hands in Shinjuku a few years back, and there was a section dedicated to shoe horns. They must have had two dozen variations - long, short, cheap plastic, solid brass, plated steel, wood, horns with sculpted handles, and of course real horn. My first thought upon seeing all this was "why???"

But after joining this forum, I realized that I really do need a genuine shoehorn to go with my MOP buttons, Brooks Brothers collar stiffeners, Tiffany cufflinks, $100 handmade leather pencil case and of course my 5 pairs of burgundy shell cordovan shoes. And, my wife will be very happy to hear me agree that she really should have a $50,000 Lexus instead of a near identical Toyota.