Okay. For me, this is a matter of personal history. I have socks, and lots of them. Some of them have travelled with me across the world. Others have been in my sock drawer next to my Batman Underoos for six months. Some of these socks have holes in them. But they are good boot socks–socks worthy of serving until the end.
Now, I’m not talking quarter sized holes where your toe sticks through and it’s uncomfortable. I’m talking about a tiny little hole about the size of a Dope smiley on your screen. Anything bigger, and then I even I admit, my feet get a little uncomfortable, so I will transfer them to the Rag Corps.
Alas, I now have a fiancee hellbent on removing any and all socks with even the tiniest speck of a hole in them: toe, heel, or anywhere in between. She claims:
Socks with holes are just socially unacceptable. Consider this picture of the now ex-bank-guy Wolfowitz.
Socks with holes will immediately spread, and allow funky stuff into my feet.
I’m a big boy, and ought to go out and buy more socks.
To wit, I respond:
Socks with holes are only socially unacceptable if I take off my boots. If it’s to the point that someone has to take my boots off for me, then I am probably unconscious or am headed into surgery, and thus have much bigger problems in life.
Socks with holes do not always spread. Besides, there’s more to socks than just the toes and the heel. Socks provide cushioning all around the foot: the heel, the arch, the instep, the ankle. There’s no good reason to sacrifice the whole foot just because of one little spot.
Yes, I’m a big boy, but I ought not have to replace socks all willy-nilly. Hell, my socks are expensive (they’re boot socks for Og’s sake). I like 'em, and they still work. I’m thinking of maximizing my sock usage per dollar here. I’m a thrifty big boy.
So, my debate revolves around the acceptability of small holes in socks. I say small holes are fine. My better half says they are to be purged like rats.
I mend small holes in socks. This keeps small holes from becoming large ones.
I admit that if my household were more affluent, holey socks would probably go in the trash. But mending isn’t difficult, and it can significantly extend the lifespan of a pair of socks.
I appear to have the Calcaneus of Death, which decimates the heel counter of every pair of shoes I buy and likewise destroys the heels of socks. If I had socks with holes in the toes, I’d keep them. But the ones with holes in the heels are downright painful to wear. They do not keep the Calcaneus of Death from rubbing against the shredded heel counter. So out they go.
Simply by replying I realize I run the risk of bringing off-board stuff onto the boards, so I’ll keep it hypothetical. (And he knew it, too, the stinky buttface punk, whom I love.)
If I had socks that I thought were expensive at $3 a pair, :rolleyes: I would mend them if they wound up with a hole. I wouldn’t keep wearing them, making the holes bigger, while promising to mend them and then just wearing them instead. Especially if I had a hawk-eyed fiancee who thought more of my foot health than I did and is the one who does most of the laundry, including when I’m not around.
You all must know that if I were able to replace the holey socks, I would but they’re stinking military issue and I can’t buy from the BX 'cause I don’t have a dependent’s ID yet. mutter mutter mutter…
Holes in heels are okay with me.
Holes in toes, even teeny holes, will grow. (Don’t kid yourself, Tripler, all holes will get bigger, that’s what they do.) Eventually one of my toes will stick through that hole and could be choked to death. So holes in toes are no go, while holes in heels are good to go for awhile. (Whew! Say all that five times fast.)
I’m gonna clarify here, because even I have my limits.
I’m not talking socks that are so holey they’re about to be beatified. I’m talking socks that have a tiny little hole in them, like, they said a Hail Mary or something.
Tripler
Maybe a quick ‘Stations of the Cross’, but it’s not like we’re going to martyr a tube sock to the dryer here.
But eventually holes grow, babe, it’s the nature of holes. Except when you are responsible for digging one, in which case random dirt will be carried by faeries and gnomes to fill it back in while you sleep. Sock holes, however, grow and grow and grow.
Socks get tossed soon as there is a noticable hole in them.
Noticable as in, when I put them on they feel weird because of the hole.
If it’s a teeny one, that I don’t even notice… well by the end of the day it will probably be driving me up the wall because it grew and it will be tossed out.
Grandma taught me to darn socks, but they would always end up in my drawer, unworn.
As soon as I see a hole in a sock it’s into the trash, the reason is once a small hole starts it grows. Also by that time most of the ‘loft’ or what ever is a good term for the thickness of the sock is pretty much shot. My socks usually don’t usually get holes in the tow area, so if needed I can wear them a bit.
Aside: So you guys throw out the socks? What about the rag bin? If they’re all (or mostly) cotton, they make fantastic cleaning rags - the nubbly sort of inside is good for scrubbing.
And to answer the OP - once I notice the holes, into the rag pile the socks go. Unless they’re the nylon trouser socks, in which case they get trashed.
'im indoors is also the “buy 40 pairs at a time” guy. He bought a huge quantity of identical pairs of black socks from a market stall in Antwerp when we lived in Belgium. Now every time we go and visit, he insists on going back to the market to make sure the sock man is still there.
Since he buys socks all at once, they do tend to wear out around the same time - no surprises there! Usually it’s me that sorts the laundry so I bin the really holey ones and salvage what I can. After all, they’ve got to last until our next trek to Europe!
F it. Keep them until the holes are big and tell your fiancee she’s gaining weight to keep the heat off your feet. Unless she’s actually overweight, in which case you can tell her her teeth are starting to stain.
Been there. Am there. Can’t keep the toe hole sox, though, because I also have very dry cuticles. Anything rubbing on them and I get hangnails. Yes, toe hangnails.
Happily, holed sox are ideal for polishing things like shoes and silver.
Flexitol much? It helps for me. That and semiannual trips to the podiatrist.
By the time socks are worn enough to have holes in them, they’ve lost that softness and smoothness that I wanted them for.
I just bought some new ones last week, and the difference between those and the ones I’ve been wearing for a couple years is amazing. And I remember buying them for how cushy they were. Repeated washings and friction from my sneakers have caused them to pill and get rough.
So, I tossed them. I think I’ll buy a new set every year from now on. There’s nothing like new, soft socks.