What Are Steel Toe Boots?

Many of us own a pair of steel-toed boots. Whether we have to have them for work, for hiking, or any number of uses, they’re in our closet or sitting on our shoe rack waiting for work tomorrow. But have you ever wondered, what are steel toe boots?

Or what makes them so popular? How long have they been around? There’s a lot that we don’t know about these popular boots, once you start thinking about them.

Steel toe boots, though commonplace, are anything but new, and in this article, we break down the history and origins of this sturdy footwear and help you figure out if a pair of steel toe boots is right for you.

The Origins and Purpose of the Sturdy Footwear

Steel toe boots are a type of footwear designed specifically for labor and outdoor activity. They feature a steel case around the toe section of the boot. This sturdy, steel cap is a safety feature that makes your boots both more durable, and protects your toes from injury as a result of falling debris or equipment that one might encounter on a job sight.

When asking, “What are steel toe boots?” It may seem obvious. They are boots with steel toes. But there is more to this pair of sturdy, rugged footwear than merely that. These boots are made by a variety of manufacturers to fit a wide range of specifications and safety standards. Steel toe boots are made with built-in protection from electrical shock, static shock, and chainsaw damage, making them a legal requirement in many fields of labor in which workers operate such machinery or expose themselves to electrical hazards.

The History of Steel Toe Boots

Steel toe boots are a safety innovation that dates back to the turn of the previous century, when the industrial revolution was coming to fruition and a large percentage of the world’s proletariat population was employed in dangerous work environments with little to no oversight or job safety laws in place. With workplace injuries skyrocketing during these formative years, people began to grow concerned over how to increase their level of safety in the workplace.

Despite the rampant injuries suffered by many turn of the century workers, steel toe boots did not come onto the scene until the decade preceding the Second World War. By the time outbreak of said war, however, they were a common item among the gear given to incoming GI’s. About fifty years ago, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, otherwise known as OSHA, passed a law requiring laborers in many fields to wear this sturdy, protective footwear.

In modern days, many people find themselves wondering about what steel toe boots are, including people who might not necessarily need them for their workplace safety requirements. These boots have become a cultural staple in many American cultural scenes, most notably becoming a popular feature in the American punk rock scene, as popularized by bands such as Minor Threat, Black Flag, and the Subhumans.

Still though, despite the rise of this iconic implement of safety in the footwear industry as a badge of fashion and culture, many people find themselves in need of a pair of footwear that will keep them safe and insulated from dangerous environments, and they still turn to steel toe boots to ensure that they will go home from their job sites with all ten toes still firmly attached to their feet. But as we mentioned earlier, these boots are more than just a steel cap to prevent the amputation of your toes. They provide a wide range of safety features and apparatuses to ensure the safety of the wear.

Electrical Safety

By wearing steel toe boots, workers provide themselves with a bit of insulation from electrical shock. Depending on your job or your contractor, electrical hazards can be present at a job site in a myriad of different ways. The classic rubber sole, while also preventing you from slipping on the job, is rated to protect users, in their strongest form, from up to 200 joules of energy input from an electrical shock. This is roughly equivalent to the shock distributed by the strongest of defibrillators, and, unless one is experiencing a heart attack, will certainly do some damage.

Impact Safety

Another answer to the question of what are steel toe boots must include their rugged and durable ability to protect the bottoms of the wearer’s feet as well as the tops. Their rugged design prevents sharp objects from puncturing the surface, protecting your feet and keeping you on your toes!

​Weather Resistance

Another crucial aspect in the essence of steel toe boots involves their insulation and their ability to keep out the elements. Though they are manufactured in many different ways, most manufacturers create rugged footwear they understand will be used in adverse environments.

Whether you are drilling oil in the Texas deserts or working on a construction site in Minneapolis, steel toe boots are a vital part in keeping your feet from falling victim to the hazards of weather. They keep water out, and they will prevent heat from leaching out of your feet.

What Are Steel Toe Boots Doing to Keep You Safe?

Though many people believe the misconception that steel toe boots can lead to the amputation of the wearer’s toes in the event of a catastrophic workplace accident, this is not a likely occurrence, and it is in the worker’s best interest to keep in mind everything that steel toe boots do to prevent the crimping of the toe cap that many people believe to be responsible for toe loss.

The design of the steel cap embedded into the toe of steel toe boots prevents this common misconception from becoming a reality. By modeling the shape of the cap after that of an archway, steel toe boots ensure that pressure applied to the top of the boot will be funneled down the legs of the arch-like shape and safely into the ground. This design structure actually prevents the boots from crimping because force cannot be leveled against the top of the arch; such force will inevitably be diverted over the arch and into the ground.

What To Do To Increase Their Longevity?

Manufacturers of steel toe boots, most notably Timberland, design their toe caps to be constructed with a coated alloy, preventing them from rusting or corroding after many years of heavy use. That is, in many ways, the key feature of these rugged, sturdy footwear icons. If the cap were to be compromised, your safety would be compromised as well. But with a corrosion- and rust-resistant cap, you can rest assured knowing that, no matter how many years you beat up the same pair of footwear, you will be just as safe using them as you were on day one.

Many companies use aluminum alloy and this particular type of metal is rated as being military-grade, often protecting its users from lightweight machinery malfunctions and other on-the-job hazards.

What Are Steel Toe Boots Doing to Stay Current?

Great news for frequent flyers out there, nowadays one can purchase “steel toe boots” that are not actually steel at all. They are comprised of a composite polymer that offers all the protection of traditional steel without setting off metal detectors at the airport, or conducting extreme cold for those who live in less-than-tropical environments. These new composite toe caps are much lighter than traditional steel, and will increase your endurance as you work tough jobs.

According to Timberland’s company website, the safety toe boots they manufacture are not only rated to meet all impact and compression safety standards, but also to withstand as much as fifty pounds of dead weight dropping from eighteen inches off the ground. That is equivalent to 2,500 pounds of pressure diverted safely away from your toes!

​Conclusion

In conclusion, we would just like to point out that the question, “what are steel toe boots,” can be answered in more ways today than it could have been almost one hundred years ago during the earliest days of the sturdy footwear. With technological advances of the previous century, steel toe boots are now so much more dynamic than they ever were before, with the composite, alloy, and traditional steel varieties all improving to bring safety to all workplaces across the world.

So what are steel toe boots? Steel toe boots are peace of mind when you are at work, when you have more to think about besides just your personal safety. Steel toe boots are an investment in your own health and safety and by using them, you can remain safe while keeping up with the rigorous demands of the industry you work in.

Remember, when someone asks you what are steel toe boots, you can answer them honestly saying that steel toe boots are your feet’s first line of defense against crushing, against electrical shock, against slips, trips, and falls, against so many hazards in a dangerous work environment. By wearing steel toes, you can ensure your employer, your insurance company, and most importantly, yourself that you will be leaving the job with the same number of toes you showed up with.

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