# Shoes For The Shop



## Grandpop (Feb 11, 2016)

Read the swarth thread with interst, but didn't want to hijack it. 

Some background. 20 years ago I was a 4th generation tool & die maker, worked in shops 20 years before leaving the field. Back then everyone wore Knapp shoes, they had soles that hardly ever had the chips imbed to where you needed something to pull them out. Knapp is long out ofbuisness today.

Today I have a hobby shop in garage attached to house. I had a pair of new Knapp shoes saved all these years just in case, but the soles had dissentegrated, so mostly wear casual shoes with soft soles or old dress shoes in the shop. Other night I was milling up a riser block after welding. The carbide cutter made a lot of chips on the floor, which stuck in soles of shoes especially bad. Took about 1/2 hour to get them all out.

So was wondering what kind of shop shoe, or what kind of sole you have found to work well today wehen walking or standing on chips?


----------



## RJSakowski (Feb 11, 2016)

My old Red Wing boots served me well.  They had a relatively smooth hard sole which resisted embedding or trapping chips and wiped clean when leaving the shop.  The 10" uppers protected my feet and ankles from those hot bits when my jeans are pulled over (many years ago , I used to tuck them in and I found out that doesn't work when welding metal).  I have been wearing the same style for more than forty years. Unfortunately, the boot that I bought is no longer available in black.  It still is in tan though; their model 1155.


----------



## planeflyer21 (Feb 12, 2016)

I like the Navy surplus boots.  Hard oil resistant soles, no tight tread to pickup chips.  They have multiple options on height and fastening.  You can even get liquid oxygen boots (LOX) like a big fancy slipper.


----------



## stupoty (Feb 12, 2016)

I'm wearing a pair of trendy style safety boots lable'd up as stirling (think it a generic brand) they are quite comfy, their substantially lighter than my brother Dikies safety boots which I quite like but the fabric nature of them is probably less hard wearing than the leather ones.

It's handy when I drop stuff on my toes 

Stuart


----------



## Tony Wells (Feb 12, 2016)

I've been wearing Red Wings for years also, but the lace up style for ankle support. I've tried a couple of different sole materials, but only one of theirs is one they will recommend for machine shop. Model number is 2238. I have them on right now. They are steel toed, and not cheap unless you consider how long they last. Then they are very reasonable.


----------



## stupoty (Feb 12, 2016)

Tony Wells said:


> I've been wearing Red Wings for years also, but the lace up style for ankle support. I've tried a couple of different sole materials, but only one of theirs is one they will recommend for machine shop. Model number is 2238. I have them on right now. They are steel toed, and not cheap unless you consider how long they last. Then they are very reasonable.



Them Red Wing boots look nice(just had a google) loads of them came up as non metallic safety boots, hows that work?  (what is it insted)

I was recently doing some work in the Netherlands and was trying to convince my colleagues that we should start wearing clogs as our official company safety boots.  (clogs are safety rated)   they weren't having it unfortunately. booo.

Stuart


----------



## planeflyer21 (Feb 12, 2016)

Polymer composite toe versus a steel toe.


----------



## BGHansen (Feb 12, 2016)

Wear a pair of Rocky chucka boots in the winter.  My old work Sketcher shoes when warmer.  No problems with chips making it in the house.  Happy wife . . . .

Bruce


----------



## Tony Wells (Feb 12, 2016)

Non metallic toes work great. They are noticeably lighter, but still pass OSHA requirements. Not sure the exact composition, but seems like some kind of carbon fiber material. You can get sneakers with it and mess with the HSE people on the jobsites too, but you better have some documents with ya.


----------



## Surprman (Feb 12, 2016)

I have a pair of hard, rubber-soled shoes I have dedicated to the shop.  I don't even like entering the shop with any other shoes (even though I am pretty OCD about sweeping and keeping the place clean).  One thing you do not want to wear when chips are flying is a pair of crocs - holes in the top and rubber that acts like a chip magnet.  Not a good combination


----------



## ARKnack (Feb 13, 2016)

I to will vouch for Red Wngs. Since I discovered them 15 years or so back that is al I every buy. Only shoe I know that has a label ASTM F 2892-11EH. These are not steel toe either. Made in USA. Not cheap but worth it. ~$200 for a pair. Last 2-3 years waring them all he time.


----------



## Uglydog (Feb 13, 2016)

All I ever wear are slip on boots.
Well, occasionally sandals to the mail box.
On ambulance I prefer Danners.
In shop I'm wearing through my second pair of Gravel Gear (Northern Tool $90).
Casual boots are low end Red Wing 5years with alot of miles and hiking.
I've made the decision that I'm going to Red Wing for shop boots protective toe, with non slip soles.

Daryl
MN


----------



## Terrywerm (Feb 14, 2016)

I've been wearing Red Wings for years, but with my current job have to wear the puncture resistant with steel toe, model 3505. They are overkill for the shop at home, but my employer gives me $150 per year for safety footwear, so I take advantage of it and buy a new pair each year. The pair I am currently wearing is two years old and I have a brand new pair still sitting in the box.

Anyway, these seem to do a pretty good job of rejecting the chips. Since I am moving my shop to the basement, my plan is to have one pair of boots just for in the shop. When I go in, the boots and the safety glasses get put on. When I come out, they get taken off and left in their proper place. That way, even if some chips stick in the soles, they don't get carried out into the rest of the house.


----------



## TommyD (Feb 14, 2016)

I've got an old pair of sneakers I use almost exclusively in my shop. They used to squeak as I walked with them on so it was a no brainer for me. They WERE decent kicks when I bought them, one day in the gym I heard the familar squeak and as the gentleman walked by I saw he had the exact pair of sneakers on.

When I come in the house through the the cellar they are taken off and placed on a shoe tray.

I warn the students when we are in the shop wprking the equipment about chips embedding in the soles of their shoes, I wonder how many check before they walk into their parents house.


----------



## Silverbullet (Feb 21, 2016)

I too use to wear and sell Knapp shoes, It paid to wear them and show off how well they were made. I really liked the models you could get the double cushion in. They had a sole garrantee that couldn't be matched the uppers had to wear out before the soles. Sold lots of those shoes but they were worth the money , like red wings now are worth the money. If your on your feet for eight to twelve hours a day you deserve comfort and good support for your feet. I put a lot of time putting seventy hour weeks in hot and cold shops. never worked in one air condition I now like the six inch farmer style work boots the cork rubber soles do pretty good. Unless the chips are really hot they just seem to roll out of the sole.


----------



## Ebel440 (Feb 22, 2016)

I had a problem with red wings soles coming unglued due to coolant getting on them. It took over a year to start though and that was working in them every day.  And most home shops won't have coolant all over the place so it shouldn't be a problem at a home shop. Besides that they were pretty good.  It was more of a sneaker then boot though.


----------

