Breaking in a glove

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Jan 20, 2016
67
6
I just bought my daughter the Rawlings Liberty Advanced catchers mitt and the Rawlings shut out series fielding glove. What’s the best way to break them in? Steam? Oil and mallet? What process/method do you recommend? TIA!!


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MTR

Jun 22, 2008
3,438
48
I just bought my daughter the Rawlings Liberty Advanced catchers mitt and the Rawlings shut out series fielding glove. What’s the best way to break them in? Steam? Oil and mallet? What process/method do you recommend? TIA!!


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Everyone has their own "best" method.

Mine was to always use Neat's Foot oil and using a the back of a spoon, apply a liberal amount into every part of the glove you can get to and rub it in with a spoon. Lightly wipe off any excess, wrap and secure (with string/twine) the glove around a ball, place in a brown paper bag and leave in the closet (or some place not hot) for a couple days. Take it out, have a good catch as nothing works as well as use. After a few days if you think it necessary, repeat the process.

My source is my father working in a tannery for over 45 years. He knew leather and the proper care. I'm now 65 and have had a total of 3 gloves in my lifetime, the last being a Rawlings that has been around nearly 30 years.
 
Oct 1, 2014
2,218
113
USA
DDC just got a Rawlings Liberty Advanced Mitt as a backup about a month ago. Break in for this mitt has been relatively easy (vs the Vinci's in the house) and it's basically ready to go. She's played catch, caught her sister and several others at pitching lessons with it. We've worked the leather and laces with a back and forth "shoe shine" motion, folded it at the breaks and beaten it a bit with a softball mallet (homemade version = ball & handle) and wrapped it up at night with a ball in the pocket. After about 3 weeks we very lightly oiled it focusing mainly on the pocket, laces and the hand/finger stalls) and set it aside in a plastic bag for a couple days (again with a ball wrapped in the pocket). We have some leather conditioner leftover from Vinci and also some Obenauf's LP both work great.
 
Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
Don't do anything to the Rawlings Shut out except just play catch and just shape it with your hands, that's it.

On the Liberty, no steam, no oven, no microwave, NO heat! And it really doesn't need any conditioner/oil/shaving cream or any other product on it right now, that glove already has plenty of oil infused in it from the tanning process. BUT, as #7sDad said, a little Nokona NLT or some Lexol definitely won't hurt.......but applied very lightly. With Summer coming I'd be more worried about the lining/hand stall/finger stalls than I would be about the shell or pocket. Sweat is a glove killer so I'd go ahead and apply some Vaseline, or beeswax.....either Jobsite or Obenauf's to anywhere inside the glove her hand will touch. On this mitt, a ball mallet, or dumbbell to work on the break points and just play good old fashion catch.

Honestly, the slower the break in process is, the longer the glove will hold it's shape and the longer it will last!
 
Jan 20, 2016
67
6
Don't do anything to the Rawlings Shut out except just play catch and just shape it with your hands, that's it.

On the Liberty, no steam, no oven, no microwave, NO heat! And it really doesn't need any conditioner/oil/shaving cream or any other product on it right now, that glove already has plenty of oil infused in it from the tanning process. BUT, as #7sDad said, a little Nokona NLT or some Lexol definitely won't hurt.......but applied very lightly. With Summer coming I'd be more worried about the lining/hand stall/finger stalls than I would be about the shell or pocket. Sweat is a glove killer so I'd go ahead and apply some Vaseline, or beeswax.....either Jobsite or Obenauf's to anywhere inside the glove her hand will touch. On this mitt, a ball mallet, or dumbbell to work on the break points and just play good old fashion catch.

Honestly, the slower the break in process is, the longer the glove will hold it's shape and the longer it will last!

Thank you so much! Would you recommend putting the oversized plastic ball and wrapping it when not being used?


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Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
Thank you so much! Would you recommend putting the oversized plastic ball and wrapping it when not being used?


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When you say oversized, is it larger than a regular 12" softball? If so, then no! All of my gloves sit palm down in the open position resting on the thumb & pinkie, now I know this is hard for players always transporting their gear from place to place, Anna keeps a 12" ball in her Heart of the Hide wrapped with one of the velcro Mizuno glove wraps and placed inside of her helmet, seems to work great and stays put inside of her bat bag. She always takes the extra 5 seconds to do it right, that way she don't have to hear my mouth:rolleyes:
 
Jan 20, 2016
67
6
When you say oversized, is it larger than a regular 12" softball? If so, then no! All of my gloves sit palm down in the open position resting on the thumb & pinkie, now I know this is hard for players always transporting their gear from place to place, Anna keeps a 12" ball in her Heart of the Hide wrapped with one of the velcro Mizuno glove wraps and placed inside of her helmet, seems to work great and stays put inside of her bat bag. She always takes the extra 5 seconds to do it right, that way she don't have to hear my mouth:rolleyes:

Rawlings has a kit you can buy that has the oversized plastic ball, wrap and oil so I was going to use the ball and wrap when she wasn’t using it. Since she is in 10’s do you recommend putting a 10U ball or a 12U ball to leave in there when she isn’t using it? Sorry for all the questions. I just don’t want to screw the glove up


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Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
Rawlings has a kit you can buy that has the oversized plastic ball, wrap and oil so I was going to use the ball and wrap when she wasn’t using it. Since she is in 10’s do you recommend putting a 10U ball or a 12U ball to leave in there when she isn’t using it? Sorry for all the questions. I just don’t want to screw the glove up


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Don't buy anything, just use an old 11" softball.
 

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