comments:
Same. For the past three decades, almost exactly the same timeline as your seeing. I was doing daily repair work on industrial tires from 10" forklift steer lugs all the way up to massive 25.5x25" loader tires. Same as your carpentry, constantly on knees. All day every day. Any new pair of boots I purchased, no matter the brand/features, would be worn through to the steel toe and then they would just unravel backwards from there and over time. About 10 years ago I discovered KG's Boot Guard, probably very similar to the already mentioned Tuff Toe. It's essentially, paint-on liquid carrier material filled with extremely hard/coarse chips of some other little bits, after drying, it quite literally hardens into a sort of bedliner material for your boots. These are my current WorX branded RW's that are about four years old at the time of the photo. I had just finished with a typical, annual saddle soap scrub down and rinse. --> At AMaZoN Sans the use of Boot Guard, any pair of steel toe work boots I bought would be done in less than a year. $12 life insurance policy. After discovering the Boot Guard material, it was a zero-day install for any new pair of boots I bought, which is really on these since my first application of Boot Guard was on a pair of boots already beginning to wear through the toe, same as yours. You can still put the stuff on your current boots, BTW; you would just have to clean them very good, let dry completely, mask off the toe area (typical masking tape), paint on a good layer of the BG material, let dry, then repeat over the next few nights. About three solid coats would work to bind the surrounding leather edges in place and also neatly cover the already exposed metal. Best of luck...
KG's Boot Guard mang. Probably the same as the mentioned "tuff toe" but I've only used Boot Guard. Shiza. For my Red Wing WoRX boots, it's essential as I'm also kicking stuff and down on my knees all day. Without the Boot Guard, which is essentially like bed liner material, any work boots I've owned will start tearing at the toe and then just erode backward ... When the boots are brand new or after a very good wash and dry cycle, I use masking tape to isolate just the steel toe area (toe box) then paint the Boot Guard material on, let it dry over night and then put another coat on the next night. Random picture from an Amazon review; this is exactly what mine look like after masking them off and applying the material. Stuff stays on for a very long time. I do two coats: BTW: I paint the stuff all the way down over the welt and onto the sole material. If you did your boots, just paint right over and fill those scuffs. Not the most attractive result but highly effective. Absolutely great product: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008SK1A30?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1 Best of luck.