Reef Posted October 17, 2008 Posted October 17, 2008 hi there is it normal for standard plastic heel tips to wear out after a day or two ?? or am i just too heavy on my feet ? any ideas
admirer5577 Posted October 17, 2008 Posted October 17, 2008 hi there is it normal for standard plastic heel tips to wear out after a day or two ?? or am i just too heavy on my feet ? any ideas I'd say it depends a lot on the surface you're walking on. Marble floors inside malls make the tips last forever, tarmac on the outside sidewalks and they can be worn out in no time.
hhboots Posted October 17, 2008 Posted October 17, 2008 As admirer said, the surfaces you walk on can make a big difference, but two other factors can apply. Primarily, it has a lot to do with your walk. Pay attention to your step, if you can step cleanly without scraping your heel, then you are doing fine, if you can feel that your heel is scraping as you step, then you are probably dragging your feet a bit and/or putting too much of your weight on the heel. Try to put more of your weight at each step to the front of the foot. The heel is mainly for balance and stability (especially in stiletto heels), not supporting the bulk of your weight. The other factor is the shoes, others have stated it, and I tend to agree, that men probably should not be in stiletto heels, unless they are thinner and/or can pull it off gracefully. I always wear a thicker heel, and never have a problem with the heel wearing down at all. I think a block or chunk heel just looks better on a man. Don't get me wrong and I hope I don't offend anyone, because many of the men here can and DO pull off a stiletto just fine. I have a few pairs of stiletto heels, and I can walk in them fine, but don't wear them out. Anyway, if you are not an advanced heeler, or might be a larger male, stick with the thicker heels. Just my 2 cents.
shoerepairer Posted October 20, 2008 Posted October 20, 2008 Reef, quite often manufacturers use low grade, low quality heels during the production of the shoes. When you have them replaced your repairman will enviably be fitting a better quality heel. two factors cause excessive wear. the quality of the plastic/rubber of the tip & the shape of the head of the metal pin it is molded around. some heels can be twisted of the pin quite easily. Your other option is to have a metal tip fitted, whilst these make more noise they last a great deal longer. Lee Repair Reuse Recycle. Cobbler it.
alicia Posted January 4, 2009 Posted January 4, 2009 Got few pairs of new boots from the xmas, but they are plastic heel tips, which are no good for dancing. Just wondering if the heel tips can be replaced with metal one? Boot me up, Boot me down
jmc Posted January 4, 2009 Posted January 4, 2009 Alicia, I hope you don't mind -- I merged your posting into this existing thread addressing the same subject. The issue of plastic heel tips vs. metal tips and replacing worn tips comes up a lot around here and you will get more views and responses here. In fact, your answer may already be here -- look around this "Shoe Repair and Modifications" forum as there are a couple of other threads about heel tips. I know heel tips can be replaced by any competent shoe repair shop (although in some areas these are getting a little bit hard to find). The job is not even difficult if the original tips are not overly worn, if you can get the new heel tips you can do it yourself. One potential source that gets a lot of mention is http://www.stiletto-heel-tips.co.uk/ . Look around in here and you'll get some ideas. Have a happy time!
Guy N. Heels Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 As admirer said, the surfaces you walk on can make a big difference, but two other factors can apply. Primarily, it has a lot to do with your walk. Pay attention to your step, if you can step cleanly without scraping your heel, then you are doing fine, if you can feel that your heel is scraping as you step, then you are probably dragging your feet a bit and/or putting too much of your weight on the heel. Try to put more of your weight at each step to the front of the foot. The heel is mainly for balance and stability (especially in stiletto heels), not supporting the bulk of your weight. The other factor is the shoes, others have stated it, and I tend to agree, that men probably should not be in stiletto heels, unless they are thinner and/or can pull it off gracefully. I always wear a thicker heel, and never have a problem with the heel wearing down at all. I think a block or chunk heel just looks better on a man. Don't get me wrong and I hope I don't offend anyone, because many of the men here can and DO pull off a stiletto just fine. I have a few pairs of stiletto heels, and I can walk in them fine, but don't wear them out. Anyway, if you are not an advanced heeler, or might be a larger male, stick with the thicker heels. Just my 2 cents. DITTO on HHboots comments, but I would also like to add my 2 cents worth. It took me a little while before I finally figured-out why my wife was going through shoes so often. Then I noticed how she has/ had a tendency to drag her feet and especially her heels (I'm talking about low heels). Just take it from me, unless you put your shoes in a meatgrinder, nothing will wreck a pair of shoes quicker than dragging one's feet; and this is especially true of high-heeled shoes (stilettoes). Then too, the surfaces where one walks makes a great deal of difference! So let's be sensible here, high heels are basicly intended to be worn indoors and so any kind of street wear is sure to have some adverse effect - especially rough pavemant, concrete, cobblestones, etc. Given the fantastic cost of some high-fashion high-heeled shoes, many women take the sensible precaution of removing their heels when going outdoors, and putting on something else. Since some High Street shoes sell for upwards of $500, who can blame them? Then too, there is the matter of quality as well. Some mfgrs use top quality materials, even on the tips, which they know will wear out, and so they tend to last longer; where some mfgrs don't concern themselves with the quality of the tips and so, naturally, those tend to wear out early on. Grant you, metal tips will last longer than plastic , leather or rubber. But some businesses won't allow metal-tipped shoes on their floors, and who can blame them? I have seen signs in businesses requiring high-heeled shoe wearers - particularly metal-tipped heels - to remove their shoes. Then there is the safety issue or loss of traction with metal heel tips. The simple fact is that metal tips do tend to slide around a bit, particularly on hard wet surfaces. If you happen to have major medical insurance this might not be such a big concern, but I don't! Therefore, for all of the issues above, I would never buy shoes with metal tips without immediately having some plastic tips installed over the metal tips first - certainly before wearing them. Also, as has been mentioned, this topic has been pretty thoroughly thrashed-out around here, so do take the time to read up on this topic and take a look at the previous discussions. But one thing that may not have been examined very closely is the fact that men walk differently than women. Not only are we males constructed differently, but also, we are heavier and tend to strike the pavement much harder with our feet than women do. So regardless of what he'd like you to believe - Gordon (and none of the other men) are nearly the lightfeet that they'd have you believe. Ask any cobbler and they'll tell you all about how male shoes wear quite differently than women's. Women tend to dance their way through life while men hit the pavements with hammer-like blows; and it does show-up in the way our shoes (and heels) wear out too. So, given all of the above, I hope you'll find an answer to your question Keep on stepping, Guy N. Heels
shoerepairer Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 they are plastic heel tips, which are no good for dancing. Just wondering if the heel tips can be replaced with metal one? alicia you didn't actually say what style your boots where, the only plastic heel tips that can be replaced with metal ones are those on a stiletto style heel block. As a "general" rule of thumb these have a heel area of ½" (13mm) or smaller. if your heel tips are larger than this then they may not be able to be converted. Lee Repair Reuse Recycle. Cobbler it.
Bubba136 Posted January 6, 2009 Posted January 6, 2009 My gosh! Where's BZ heels when you need him! Being mentally comfortable in your own mind is the key to wearing heels in public.
shoerepairer Posted January 6, 2009 Posted January 6, 2009 My gosh! Where's BZ heels when you need him! As a Relative new comer here, and a member that only frequents the "Shoe repair & Modification" forum, who's BZ heels ( I did a member search & couldn't find him) & why do we need him? Lee Repair Reuse Recycle. Cobbler it.
Bubba136 Posted January 6, 2009 Posted January 6, 2009 As a Relative new comer here, and a member that only frequents the "Shoe repair & Modification" forum, who's BZ heels ( I did a member search & couldn't find him) & why do we need him? Lee BZ heels (I can't recall his real name) used to be a frequent visitor in Jenny's high heel chat room back when it was a popular meeting place for members of this community. He manufactured sets of metal heel tips for high heel shoes. He had all different shapes and sizes for most heel styles. And, most of the women chatters there knew about his heel tips and/or used them. His name comes up every now and then. However, that was about 10 years ago. Perhaps TomNL can remember if he ever posted comments oh this form. I can't recall. Perhaps a subject search of the archives will find something. Being mentally comfortable in your own mind is the key to wearing heels in public.
Recommended Posts