Sunken Toe Plates or Nails?

[jonathanS]

Hey everyone:

I was just wondering what your thoughts were on this question: Are sunken toe plates or nails on the toes to help against unnecessarily quick wearing of the toe better?

Sunken Toe Plate


Nails


I am trying to decide whether or not its worth it to swap out the nails & put in the sunken toe plate. The sunken toe plate (above) was added to a pair of Edward Greens, the nails are came with the shoes (preinstalled) by Cleverley.

I did a quick search for this but didn't peruse carefully, so I apologize in advance if this has already been asked & answered.

 

[BigBadBernard]

You want to walk around sounding like Roy Castle, you go for it...

Personally I would stick with a plain leather toe and suck up the repair costs.

 

[ter1413]

To answer your question...yes...they are put there to prevent wear.

I don't use either on the toe of my shoes. I use standard plastic/rubber on the back. Never metal.

 

[jonathanS]

You want to walk around sounding like Roy Castle, you go for it...

Personally I would stick with a plain leather toe and suck up the repair costs.

what about fred astaire?

I think I wrote my question rather confusingly, I was asking thoughts on which was better - sunken toe plates or nails?

 

[daizawaguy]

In my experience either works quite well, but obviously the metal is stronger. The downside to the metal is the noise, wear ( they wear down quicker than rubber), and the fact that they do eat up a lot of leather in changing them. Some rust too. Plain old leather just curls up and hardens at the front, and frankly can last a very long time. But a few nails will help with longevity.

 

[BigBadBernard]

To which my response was 'neither'.

 

[ter1413]

Neither is "better" if you don't have an issue with the fronts of your shoes wearing down.

If the nails and plates are pre-installed, just keep them. No need to swap anything.

 

[circumspice]

Toe plates make almost no sound. They keep the toe looking cleaner. If I were to mto something where is is an option, I'd be inclined to pay extra for it

 

[jonathanS]

Neither is "better" if you don't have an issue with the fronts of your shoes wearing down.

If the nails and plates are pre-installed, just keep them. No need to swap anything.

I think my problem is that when I walk I have a tendency to wear down the toe of the shoes (I am not sure why this is exactly, but I do know that on all my shoes the toe is significantly more worn down than the rest of the sole. I generally get them added to shoes with leather soles, although it all adds up. With these cleverleys, the question was really more if the nails were good enough or whether if I should have the nails taken out & a sunken toe plate put in; I'm thinking of just wearing them and seeing how it goes - then if necessary, I can get the toe plates added.

Toe plates make almost no sound. They keep the toe looking cleaner. If I were to mto something where is is an option, I'd be inclined to pay extra for it

You can have sunken toe plates added to the shoes after you buy them. The picture above (initial post) is an edward green that I added the sunken toe plates to. I think B. Nelson does it in NYC but I had it added in the DC metro area - Sky Valet and AH One Shoes (the younger brother from Sky Valet) offer the service.

 

[chogall]

Check the shoe care or shoe construction threads where these issues were debated.

Sunken toe plates barely makes any sound.

Toe nails don't really protect toe wear, IMO. And on the other hand, sunken toe plates might hurt your inseaming but that is debated.

 

[jonathanS]



Check the shoe care or shoe construction threads where these issues were debated.

Sunken toe plates barely makes any sound.

Toe nails don't really protect toe wear, IMO. And on the other hand, sunken toe plates might hurt your inseaming but that is debated.

What do you mean by "hurt your inseaming"? What's the point of the nails in the toe if it doesn't help prevent wear? I guess that kind of answers my question on whether or not I should keep the nails or replace them with sunken toe plates. I quite like the sunken toe plates on the shoes I have them on already - I was wondering if the nails were good enough but I'm getting the sense the answer to that question is "no."

 

[ThatGuy]

Sunken toe plates get the girls

 

[GBR]



You want to walk around sounding like Roy Castle, you go for it...

Personally I would stick with a plain leather toe and suck up the repair costs.

+1

 

[GBR]



Neither is "better" if you don't have an issue with the fronts of your shoes wearing down.

If the nails and plates are pre-installed, just keep them. No need to swap anything.

To answer your question...yes...they are put there to prevent wear.

I don't use either on the toe of my shoes. I use standard plastic/rubber on the back. Never metal.

+1

 

[SW1Y]

You want to walk around sounding like Roy Castle, you go for it...

Personally I would stick with a plain leather toe and suck up the repair costs.

The sunken metal plates, more commonly called "lulu" or "Berluti" tips over here in the UK, do not make any sound at all (unless you decide to scrape the pavement with them).

I would advise against as it will allow for water to penetrate into your shoe more easily, due to the cobbler having to cut out a part of your sole. That said, if you are very heavy on the toes of your shoes, definitely do have them installed. People who tend to "roll" their feet as they walk, generally wear out the toe area of the shoe much quicker than any other part of the sole. To prevent a split between welt and sole, or god forbid, damaging your shoes' upper, it would be in the interest of said people to have a metal reinforcement in place. Avoid rubber on the toes, if it rains your feet are wet as soon as the first drop hits the ground.