All right for scratching someone's eyes out if you are angry. Or nice for colouring with nail polish and growing long so that you can admire them. And for digging out things from inaccessible places. I am sure there are many more uses.
But if they were to protect the ends of your fingers, shouldn't they actually be over your finger tips, but then they'd crack, wouldn't it then be best to have them on the opposite side of your fingers?