# old shoes, toe curl



## boatshoe (Oct 30, 2008)

I couldn't find any answer to this question by searching the forum. (I honestly wasn't sure what exactly to search for since it's an odd question.) Anyway, I recently acquired a pair of old Florsheim longwings. They look very nice but unfortunately the toe of the shoe seems to curl upwards. For instance, when I am not wearing the shoes, there is a fairly sizable gap between the bottom of the toe and the floor. I know that a little gap isn't unheard of. But this just seems unusually large. Any suggestions on how to close the gap? Would a resoling help bring the toe down to earth? Thanks.


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## trolperft (Feb 7, 2007)

Did you buy used shoes? If so, the problem is probably due to poor maintenance by previous owner. I'm sure he didn't use shoe trees to keep them in good shape.


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## rebel222 (Aug 20, 2008)

boatshoe said:


> I couldn't find any answer to this question by searching the forum. (I honestly wasn't sure what exactly to search for since it's an odd question.) Anyway, I recently acquired a pair of old Florsheim longwings. They look very nice but unfortunately the toe of the shoe seems to curl upwards. For instance, when I am not wearing the shoes, there is a fairly sizable gap between the bottom of the toe and the floor. I know that a little gap isn't unheard of. But this just seems unusually large. Any suggestions on how to close the gap? Would a resoling help bring the toe down to earth? Thanks.


Shoes trees would help. A resole would close the gap as well.


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## Doctor Damage (Feb 18, 2005)

Your feet curl as you walk, so it's only natural that shoes used for walking will curl too. As has been said, excessive curl is caused by not using shoe trees, which will reduce this effect even on old shoes, but it's not really a problem per se. If you look at the boots worn by Foot Guards soldiers in the UK, which are triple soled, you will see they are seriously curled up at the toes. This is because the soles are are so stiff you could not walk in them if they were not pre-curled. It's a mistake to think shoes should be flat (unless you sit on your backside in an office all day...).


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## boatshoe (Oct 30, 2008)

Doctor Damage said:


> YIt's a mistake to think shoes should be flat (unless you sit on your backside in an office all day...).


Haha, true. I just thought the curl on these seemed a little excessive. I just want the shoes to look nice and not like I stole extravagant shoes from some Russian mafiosi (no offense to Russian mob members). I'll give the shoe trees a try.


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## Doctor Damage (Feb 18, 2005)

boatshoe said:


> Doctor Damage said:
> 
> 
> > It's a mistake to think shoes should be flat (unless you sit on your backside in an office all day...).
> ...


One of my older pairs of brogues had curled toes, since I never used shoe trees. But I started using the trees recently in that pair and the curl has disappeared. So with quality shoes it's an easily correctable condition.


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## srivats (Jul 29, 2008)

Doctor Damage said:


> If you look at the boots worn by Foot Guards soldiers in the UK, which are triple soled, you will see they are seriously curled up at the toes. This is because the soles are are so stiff you could not walk in them if they were not pre-curled.


Indeed: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Guard.mounting.buck.palace.arp.jpg


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