For practical, durable and quality made products that are made to last.
for future wool sock purchases, check out "Darn Tough". They claim to have a forever warranty in which anytime that happens, so long as you have both socks, you can send them the pair and they'll give you a new set for free.
https://darntough.com/pages/our-unconditional-lifetime-guarantee
Came here to recommend them myself, I've tried lots of different socks trying to find something that was on par with the old Smartwool socks (new ones are shit by comparison) and Darn Tough is the only brand I've found to me worth the cost.
For the price they're asking I actually expect them to stand by their product like that. Might give a pair a try. If I don't like them then it's more scrap cloth for me to make patches out of.
I spent a lot of money on 10 pairs of darn tough socks years ago and haven't paid for socks since but have replaced almost every pair for free! Except the cost of postage, but that's cheap.
I'm not a fan of how they fit or their toe seams.
Does anyone know a good European brand for socks?
I recommend Minus33. Seriously high quality stuff (especially socks) that are made in New Hampshire, USA. They don’t offer Darn Tough’s warranty but the socks cost half as much when I last checked.
Disclaimer: I know the family that runs the business. I also know they actually take care of their employees.
The elastic still held up really well
You could also try to repair them. If you still have the elastic grid as a base, it should be really easy to do with a piece of thicker yarn and a needle. There are plenty of nice tutorials out there. ;)