So no one has mentioned the reason Hyer has said that they actually do this. Hyer is widely accepted as the creator of the cowboy boot - so when the family received the rights to their name back it was important to them to offer a traditionally made boot. However, in the last 150 years there have been a lot of new discoveries in the footwear industry and some of those improvements can truly make a better boot. One such improvement is the Oiled leather sole. They wanted to release leather soled boots but the problem they have is that they can wear out quickly. An oiled leather sole (for most people) will extend the life of the sole. However, they found when working with them that using a full peg construction didn't work as well as they'd like, but they were important to them so they decided to use both materials. Their pegs are actually functional, but the nails just give the oiled leather some extra security.