Built-in metal tips.

Why would you have metal plates fitted to the tips of your shoes?

Three reasons:
- To reinforce the tip. Very effective for those people who wear out the tip of their shoe first.
- To compensate for the stiffness of double and triple soles. As the shoes are not so pliable, the tip is worn out faster.
- For the pleasing sound. Some people like the characteristic noise the metal tips make.

Why does Baltayan not recommend nailed-on metal tips?

- For a single sole: if the shoe should come into contact with water, the water enters through the nail hole and your feet might get wet.
- For a double sole: as the nails are not flush with the metal base, the plate will be subjected to repeated impact and will fall off.
- For all soles: The head of the nail will wear out and the metal plate will fall off.

Thus built-in and screw-in metal tips were developed:
- No longer a risk of losing the metal tip. The flat head screw wears out at the same pace as the plate.
- The screw prevents water entering the shoe.
- The flush fitting is pleasing to the eye, doing away with the excess thickness at the tip of the shoe.

The solidity of the screws in built-in metal tips

Screwing into leather is a tricky job. It is essential you use very good quality screws if you do not want them to break.
This is why Baltayan, always seeking perfection, works with steel screws from Japan. These are extremely solid as a result of the purity of the products which are used to make them.
Brass screws, which some people like for their golden colour, are used only to screw into an original sole which is less solid than the leather used by Baltayan.

For further information on built-in metal tips, please consult the "Trépointes" nš 19 article in our press-book.

We would be happy to reply to any questions you might have.

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