I would recommend buying some higher quality socks, I have started ordering Darn tough and they are holding up well, I hit 10K steps everyday and not a single one has had any indication of anything like this happening yet. meanwhile I would have gone through a few set of cheap socks.
I have almost exclusively darn tough socks now and have for over 15 years at this point. I do eventually get worn areas in them but I never let them get anywhere near this bad. A small section of padding worn out is enough for DT to replace them for me. My main hobby is backpacking though so they get used hard and often. I would guess they last somewhere around 500 miles per pair for the micro crews. The business socks are also nice but wear out faster.
+1 for Darn Tough. I go through a lot of socks but my two pairs of Darn Tough socks are still going strong, despite one of them having a hole melted through it by?? a spark from a campfire?? I thought it would be the end for that one but it's barely noticed.
Gotta love manual labour. One of the things you don’t realise until you do it is just how much you end up spending on socks - this shit is incredibly hard on your feet and what you wear on them.
I spent slightly more than I usually do for some copper threaded compression socks.
I don't give a damn about the pseudoscience bull about copper relieving pain; but I figured it's stronger than cotton and it hasn't let me down in the wear and tear department.
Wool socks. They're worth it. Keep your feet feeling dry (even when they are literally soaked). Fewer blisters if your feet do get wet. My feet are warmer in winter and cooler in summer with wool. They seem to last much longer and wear better too. My older wool socks have just worn to confirm better to the shape of my feet.
I will NEVER wear cotton socks to work outside again.