From what I see in the photograph it IS through the steel toe cap. If you happen to notice the texture of the leather changes at the end of the cap, this is typical of most used steel toe boots. After a fair amount of use, they will show the demarcation quite well. This shows the rediculous nature of part of the masses, in thinking a government mandated item has lots of safety/security involved. Steel toes don’t protect from large force. Years ago I saw a boot, actually it was passed around that had been involved in intentionally attempting to stop a piece of rolling pipe, it severed the foot at the end of the cap, about the front 1/3. Leather wasn’t even torn. They shouldn’t be trusted to stop much more than a dropped hammer.