Ian's Shoelace Site - Shoelace Tips = Shoelace Ends = Aglets

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Shoelace Tips = Shoelace Ends = Aglets

Many people search for "Shoelace Tips" because they want to know the name of the plastic or metal bits at the ends of shoelaces. They're called "Aglets", and you can find out more about them here.

The Humble Aglet

What is an Aglet?
An "aglet" (sometimes spelt "aiglet") is the name given to the plastic or metal tip on the end of a shoelace. Despite their simplicity, aglets perform several functions:

They stop the ends of the shoelaces from unravelling;
They make it easier to hold the ends of the shoelaces when lacing;
They make it easier to thread the shoelaces through the eyelets or lugs;
They may also provide a colorful or decorative finish to the laces.

Because the word "aglet" is not well known, it makes a popular question on trivia quizzes and crossword puzzles. If you were one of those people searching for the name for the tip of a shoelace, you have your answer. If you'd like to find out more about aglets, read on!

Where does the word "Aglet" come from?
Origin of the word 'aglet'

The word "aglet" (or "aiglet") originates from Old French "aguillette" (or "aiguillette"), which is the diminutive of "aguille" (or "aiguilee"), meaning "needle". This in turn comes from the original Latin word for needle: "acus". Hence, an "aglet" is like a short "needle" at the end of a shoelace.

Note that the name "aglet" has also been given to a class of Java programs, and in that context is derived from the words "agent" & "applet". For details, see: http://www.trl.ibm.com/aglets/spec10.htm

How are Aglets made?
In the past, most aglets were made of metal, and were created by either rolling or crimping a small piece of metal directly onto the shoelace.

Aglet machine in G.A. Dietz factory. Photo by Rico Gerstner.

Aglet machine in G.A. Dietz factory. Photo by Rico Gerstner.

Nowadays, most aglets are made of plastic, and are formed directly onto the raw shoelace using a large, expensive "shoelace tipping" machine. A typical clear plastic aglet starts as a thin plastic tape, twice the width of the required aglet, which is wound around a section of the uncut shoelace. Carefully controlled heat, and often a solvent such as acetone, is applied at the same time, which just melts the tape directly onto the shoelace as well as bonding the aglet material onto itself.

When cooled, the shoelace is cut through the middle of the coated section, leaving half on each side of the cut. This single operation creates two aglets: One on the end of the cutoff section of shoelace, another on the start of the uncut section of shoelace.

Where can you buy Aglets?
Antique aglet maker, as used by shoe repairers. Photo by Barry H.

In the days when aglets were made of metal, most shoe repairers were able to supply and fit replacement aglets using a crimping tool of some sort (as shown at right). With most aglets nowadays made of plastic and formed directly onto the raw shoelace, they're not really a replaceable item.

The closest I've found has been large metal aglets, which are used for corsetry:
Lacis Web Site - Corsetry.

How else can you replace Aglets?
To replace aglets, following either loss or damage or after shortening shoelaces to length, see my Aglet Repair section, which contains several different methods for creating replacement aglets.

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