Improvements in the Manufacture of Boot and Shoe Tips or Toe Protectors.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Oct., 1893-Accepted, 2nd Dec., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by THE AMERICAN SHOE TIP COMPANY, of
Hartford, County of Hartford, State of Connecticut, United States of
America.]
Improvements in the Manufacture of Boot and Shoe Tips or
Toe Protectors.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent
Agents 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Shoe tips or toe protectors are commonly made by skiving the edge of a piece
of leather, then folding the skived edge on itself, and cementing it down prior to
forming or moulding the tip in the machine which is employed for this purpose.
The upwardly projecting portion of the tip which protects the upper is subjected
to the severest wear and the front upper part of this upwardly projecting portion
is apt to be the first part of the tip to wear through. Since the upper edge of
this upright portion is formed by folding upon itself the skived edge of the
original piece of leather from which the tip is made, when substantially one-half
of the total thickness of the tip is worn away, it is worn through to the fold, and
leaves this edge in a ragged and poor condition, giving the shoe a shabby
appearance.
My invention has for its object to provide a tip of improved construction which
shall obviate these objections, while at the same time possessing other advantages,
and it consists in a tip made from a piece of material which has been prepared in
the manner hereinafter set forth, the said tip having in the upright portion
thereof substantially the full original thickness of the material retained in front
of the turned-over flap, thus substantially increasing the wear of the tip all as
hereinafter described.
In the accompanying drawing to which reference will be made in the following
description,
Fig. 1 is a perspective, and Fig. 2 is a vertical section, of the toe, of a shoe
showing a tip in position,
Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a piece of leather such as is employed in making a
tip embodying my invention, and
Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a finished tip embodying my invention.
Referring to the drawing A is the upright portion of the tip which stands in
front of and protects the upper at the toe of the shoe. B is the inwardly
projecting flange which lies between the upper and the sole when the tip is in
position and serves to secure the tip in place. The upper of the shoe is shown at C
and the sole at D. The upper front portion of the part A which protects the
upper of the shoe is commonly subjected to the greatest wear. In the construction
of my improved tip, I employ a strip of leather or similar material which is skived
at the edge on the unfinished side of the stock to form a shoulder and a gradually
tapering flap of reduced thickness f which extends from the said shoulder b, as
shown Fig. 3. This leaves substantially the full thickness of the stock on and
behind the shoulder, and forms a thin skived edge in front of the shoulder which
serves to fold over against the rear or unfinished side of the strip to give the
desired finish to the edge of the upright portion of the tip. When the strip of
leather prepared by skiving in the manner herein set forth is folded to form the
edge of the upright portion of the tip, the parts assume the position shown Fig. 4,
that is, the flap of reduced thickness is folded over against the rear side of the
upright portion A of the tip, and the body of this upright portion is preserved in

page_text: its original thickness from its base near the sole of the shoe to the top or upper
edge. The full thickness of the material is used for the upwardly projecting
portion of the tip and remains in front of the line which separates the body of the
upright portion from the flap thereof. A tip formed in this manner may be
finished under greater pressure, thus increasing the solidity and density of the
stock in the upright portion thereof and rendering it more durable and the full
thickness of the stock is preserved for wear, while there is no increase in the total
thickness of the upright portion, so that the neatness and beauty of the tip is
preserved. It is also to be noted that the flap f which is folded over against the
rear side of the upright portion is so reduced in thickness as not to be liable to
crack under the pressure of the moulding machine, so that the number of tips
damaged in manufacture is comparatively few. A shoe tip made in accordance
with my invention is much easier to manufacture in that the skived edge is easily
and accurately folded over the shoulder b, the shoulder serving as a guide
determining the line of the fold when the flap is turned back, thus securing greater
uniformity in the finished article.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. A shoe tip or toe protector having a flap extending from the edge of the
upright portion thereof, said flap being turned over against said upright portion,
and having the full original thickness of the material retained in the upright
portion in front of the turned-over flap, substantially as described.
2. A moulded shoe tip consisting of a strip of material which is formed with a
shoulder on its rear side and with a flap of reduced thickness extending from said
shoulder to one edge of the strip, said flap being turned back on the main thickness
of the strip on the line of fold which is determined by the said shoulder and the
tip being moulded into shape by pressure, substantially as set forth.
3. The process of manufacturing shoe tips which consists in first forming a
shoulder on one side of a strip of material and skiving the said material from the
said shoulder to one edge of the strip, then folding the flap of reduced thickness
thus formed over the shoulder on a line which is determined by the said shoulder,
and finally moulding the tip to shape under pressure, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 31st day of October 1893.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.