Frayed shoe lace fix

Frayed tips on shoe laces is about as annoying as things can get. Forcing the little ends of the shoe lace through those tiny holes can sometimes feel hopeless when everything is coming apart and bunching up. I've found a pretty effective and simple fix that takes a few a minutes and costs just a couple dollars.

Step 1 Gather materials

To fix the shoe laces I needed a lighter, a scissors and some heat shrink tubing. I bought an assortment pack of heat shrink tubing and ended up using the ones that were 3/32" in diameter. You might want to pick up some bigger or smaller tubing depending on how frayed your laces are and what size they are.

Comments

[mikesty]

Aglets, how awesome! There was an article on Digg about "33 things you never knew the name of", and this was the first one.

[bo88y]

"Aglet" is a subspecies of the broader and slightly more familiar category, "ferrule." Damned useful things, in any case.
Did your Digg article mention "philtrum"?

[dsadinsky]

only costs a couple bucks? shoe laces only cost 99 cents. talk about missing the big picture...

[structuresound]

I think that's actually only about a nickel or dime worth of heatshrink. A couple of bucks if you don't already own a hairdryer or bic lighter.

[noahw]

I am part of a "shoelace collective" if you will, and some of our laces cost a bit more than 99 cents - but, if buying new shoelaces brings you happiness than by all means go for it! I had some attachment to these laces so I wasn't ready to part with them just yet.

[Merteuil]

Waxed laces for dress shoes--along with fat laces--tend to cost a lot more than 99 cents. When did he last buy some? The eighties? Today, if we were to buy some, there's no way that they would last Long enough to consider repairing even te frayed ends... Awesome and direct instructable. Thank you!

[Creaturiste]

Looks very neat, I must say. Very prscytical if you already keep shrink tubing in your inventory. Yet, for those who don't, we can fuse the ends of shoe laces very cheaply and quickly with hot glue. Apply to and around the tip of the frayed lace, then quickl;y roll it more precise with moist fingers that have been dipped in water.

[zanfar]

Add some Paracord/550 Cord http://www.supplycaptain.com/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=19 and you have yourself a complete DIY shoelace that will last for years.

Note: if you use paracord, you can dispense with the shrinkwrap, paracord fuses on it's own when subjected to high heat. It won't look as good, however, so I would do both.

[Oryctolagus habilis]

ALso, it would give a bit of a stiff end for going through the eyelets. I found that when I fused nylon laces to fix them that I had to slightly melt about 1/2" up from the fused end just to stiffen it, but this would be nicer.

[Patented]

Thx my hockey skates laces were like this this trick help me alot!

[blodefood]

Very neat! I shall pass this on to my friends at Shoelace CollectiveShoelace Collective. This totally fits in with the purpose. When you really need to keep a pair of shoes on your feet, a pair of shoelaces kept in good repair will go a long way to get you where you are going!

[koolmuffin13]

if its nylon you can just use the lighter

[armoty1]

perfect idea , in egypt we call it "selk mecrona" (the shrink tubing) 3DC EJC1HFG

[hollasch]

I also use fingernail polish to cure frayed ends; works just as well. Let some of the polish wick into the lace for a very firm end. They'll never fray again after that.

[TheCheese9921]

shhhwwweeeet but what are those thingys called?

[CementTruck]

Flugelbinders! - According to Tom Cruise, in the movie "Cocktail. That's probably what they're called on his planet. :)

[LasVegas]

AGLETS :)

[.happy.hippie.]

i was wondering if i was going to be the one to tell everyone they're called aglets

[PeterTheUnGreat]

What a good idea! I have lots of annoying laces and lots of heatshrink - time to get them together and make swwet music. Pete