Boots

Sneakers and street shoes are not sufficiently safe footwear for welding shops and work sites. An appropriate work shoe should be leather or another approved site material and may have a safety or composite toe to prevent impact injuries. When welding you want to ensure that your pants cover the top of the boot to prevent sparks and debris from falling down the top of the boot. Pant legs should never be cuffed around the boot to prevent sparks from catching in the crease pocket.

Toe Protectors

Toe protectors like leather spats are designed to cover the gaps and spaces in work shoes and boots where molten steel and slag can drip and get caught. These are often seen draped or tied over the area of the boot laces where sparks are more of a safety risk to the welder. The use of leather spats can also protect the boot laces from melting, as well as the thread used to stitch the boots together.

Attributions

1. Figure 3.14: image released under the Pixabay License