I've owned three different combination of buckles and buckle shoes, and none ever seemed to work! Yes, you read the instructions and watch the videos, and walk away wondering how our fore bearers could ever have been so silly as to use buckles to secure their shoes! I've never been able to get the hook part of the buckle to hold fast, and have usually given up and just folded the lower flap over and gluing it permanently in place! Definitely not the period method.
But not these buckles! These actually work! The trick is that the hooks are not just flat (in the same plane as the rest of that loop) like all my other buckles, but are angled up to assure a firm grip. Brilliant! Additionally the tongues on these are just the right length, and not sticking out like daggers (as they are on other models).
Now I can put on my shoes and buckle them in proper 18th century style!
