No, not your damned ones,

the ones on the bottom of your shoes.

Do you need to?
Besides the lumps(maily food) that come off, and the wet patches
Do they need to be cleaned?

what should they feel like to touch.
Soft and fluffy, smooth, shiney?

I want then to work good, and last, and tips would be good.
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MonkeyBoy

but how do you know when its needed,

When its all matted togather or when it is badly discoloured?
And Can you clear the discolouration out of them with a wire brush?

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MonkeyBoy

Monkey if your slide becomes noticebly different either too much or not enough take the brush to them.  If your slide doesn't change then you don't need to worry about them.  I bowl on wood typically which slides well but they are fairly dirty so usually the more I bowl the more lane cleaner/trash I get on my shoe and the more they actually slide(yes they slide more) so I brush them off to get them back to slide that i like.  Its like a black film mostly that gets on my shoes and i just lightly brush it off.
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I should just quit bowling, oh wait I already tried that.
Now that I am back and my Saws are sharp again, I am ready to cut some wood.