Spread-resistant metal toe for safety shoes

Claim 1

In a safety shoe having a welt and having a toe portion with a strong rigid metal toe piece therein and having upper material covering said metal toe piece, with the lower edge of said covering material secured to the welt near the inner margin thereof, said metal toe piece being shaped to cover the toes of the user and having downwardly extending, spaced-apart side portions, the lower edge of both side portions being generally downwardly directed and positioned over the welt and being normally separated from the welt by the thickness of the upper covering material of the shoe, said lower edges of the metal toe piece near the rear ends thereof having teeth cut therein and directed in the same direction as said lower edges of the metal toe piece, said teeth at their lower pointed ends being substantially the same plane as the remainder of the lower edges of said toe piece so as to be normally separated from the welt by the upper covering material of the shoe so as to be normally inactive, said teeth being of such length and so positioned and directed as to dig through the upper covering material of the shoe and into the welt only when the metal toe piece is subjected to a spreading force from a blow, and having sufficient length to dig into the welt and prevent spreading tendency of the metal toe piece when such blow of sufficient force occurs.