The plastic thingie on the tip of your shoelace
January 12, 2005 10:46 AM   Subscribe

What's the plastic wrapper thing on the end of a shoelace called? Usually the first thing to go and almost always requires buying new laces. Is there a company that provides JUST those things?
posted by omidius to Grab Bag (17 answers total)
 
I think they're nibs
posted by willnot at 10:48 AM on January 12, 2005


They're called aglets.
posted by teg at 10:50 AM on January 12, 2005


It's called an aglet.

Believe it or not, there is an Aglet Repair web site.
posted by enrevanche at 10:50 AM on January 12, 2005




Take a bic lighter or anything else...carefully burn the extremity of the shoelace were the aglet is missing. Done.

Most of shoelace I used were partially synthetic so they burned and melted nicely togheter...no need for aglets replacement.
posted by elpapacito at 10:56 AM on January 12, 2005


You can also use scotch tape to make your own aglets.
posted by CunningLinguist at 11:13 AM on January 12, 2005


"Okay, okay! That's plenty! Alright, now it's time for Final Stand-Up & Win! And the Final category is: "Oprah". And the Final question is: "Oprah - What is the Deal With Her?" Okay, while you're thinking it over - Larry, tell us what our winner gets."

Announcer: He'll get a year's supply of those things that are at the end of your shoelaces! What are those things? They don't have a name!"
posted by thirdparty at 11:16 AM on January 12, 2005


Ah, from Repossessed:

Frieda: What does the name 'Aglet' mean anyway?
Braydon: Well a long time ago 'Aglet' meant 'He who puts those tiny little plastic things on shoelaces' you see a long time a go a mans' name was his profession.
Frieda: Oh so a man named Fred Carpenter would build houses and John Baker would make bread
Braydon: Exactly
Ned: So what did John Hancock do?
posted by icontemplate at 11:18 AM on January 12, 2005


Yes, Aglets.
posted by TheDonF at 11:23 AM on January 12, 2005


I've also dipped the ends of the shoelaces in melted candle wax and drawn them into a point with my fingers so as to make a "new" aglet.
posted by Lynsey at 11:33 AM on January 12, 2005


I tied a little knot in the end of the shoelace that was beginning to fray.
posted by seawallrunner at 11:56 AM on January 12, 2005


Dip the tips in superglue.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 12:39 PM on January 12, 2005


I think there was a movie or a book where the hero's family had made his fortune off of thinking up the design for these and patenting it. Made a fortune. May have been fictional, though.
posted by onlyconnect at 1:16 PM on January 12, 2005


Surely it's a flugelbinder? ;-)
posted by benzo8 at 2:08 PM on January 12, 2005


Benzo8 - you beat me to it!
posted by floanna at 4:26 PM on January 12, 2005


You can use narrow shrink tubing to cap off the ends of your showlaces. There's even a brand of boot lace that includes this stuff, so you can cut the lace to length, then put the shrink tubing over the end, and heat with a match or lighter.

If you want to go fancy, you can use whipping to keep the ends of your laces from fraying.
posted by jimfl at 6:41 PM on January 12, 2005


........ Or you could just buy some new shoelaces.

Is there a shortage going on I don't know about?
posted by webmutant at 1:29 AM on January 13, 2005


« Older Songs stuck in your head   |   Civil Service Exams Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.