Glove maintenance question (...Bretman?)

[obbay]

DD just started in an indoor league that plays once a week. I just noticed her glove is getting a little too soft and needs some conditioner. I'm wondering if I should do it with vaseline or with the lanolin-based "Glove Stuff".

When the girls (used to) put away their gloves in the fall, I would use Vaseline on them. I'm thinking where she will be using it again in a week, that would be too heavy. but the glove doesn't need anything to soften the leather.

any recommendations?

 

[BretMan]

Petroleum jelly works well on leather and you can avoid the "heavy" feeling by using the smallest amount you can to coat the glove. That's a good practice with any conditioning product. I liken it to waxing a car. Use a small dab of the conditioner, then spread it out over as much area as possible before moving on to the next section. A little goes a long way!

After applying, let it absorb a day or so then wipe off any excess (if you used the smallest amount you could, there likely will be little or no excess to wipe off). If you leave any excess on the surface, it is likely to attract dust and possibly transfer to the ball. Leaving the glove in a warm place can open up the pores of the leather and help the conditioner absorb. Putting it in the car on a warm sunny day will help, or you can run a hair dryer over the glove for a few minutes.

While petroleum jelly will work, I have found the results I get from lanolin-based products more satisfactory. It seems to absorb better, adds less weight and gives the leather a "grippy" texture- not "sticky" or "gooey", but it seems to raise the natural grain of the leather to produce a dry texture that has more friction on the ball.

Either will work, but if I had to chose one or the other I would probably go with the lanolin conditioner because I like the overall results better.

Now, I have to admit that I'm a little puzzled by your post. If your daughter's glove is getting "too soft", applying any conditioner to the leather is likely to make it get even softer. If her glove is "floppy", that is usually an indication that the laces are stretched out and might need tightening (if they're in good shape) or replaced (if any are damaged). Tightening or replacing laces will almost always restore a glove back to the shape, form and stiffness of a new glove. Applying a conditioner will normally soften dried, hard or new leather, while tightening or replacing the laces will stiffen up the glove.

 

[obbay]

Hi Bret- It just seems a little too soft/floppy. there's a fine line between the glove that "fits like a glove" and is perfect for your use and one that has gone too far. it holds it shape, just looks like it could be a little stiffer. It's my DD's SSK that you tuned up for us a little ways back, I didn't think it needed that kind of attention yet. If so, she will have a month off around Christmas and I could send it then.
thanks!

 

[BretMan]

I'm kind of surprised that glove would ever get floppy! That custom SSK was one of the thickest, heaviest gloves I've ever seen- built like a tank. If I recall, your daughter plays a lot of softball and it's been over a year since I worked on her glove. It is normal for laces to stretch with use and, when they do, your glove gets floppy. It's not unusual for a glove that sees heavy use to need the laces tightened once or even twice a year, depending on how the player wants her glove to feel.

Another option, besides tightening all of the laces or replacing them all, is to replace only the laces in the weakest areas, like in the web or fingers. Those seem to be the laces that take the most abuse and contribute to a glove getting "floppy". Just replacing those two laces would cost about half of a total lace replacement and give you almost the same results.

 

[obbay]

Maybe "floppy' was too strong a word....it has a good pocket and it's easy for her little hands to operate. It looks very dry and I thought maybe too loose. I may send you the glove before the Christmas break and see about tuning it up. In the mean time I have done her glove with the Lanolin-based stuff and we'll see how that works.

I didn't realize it was that long ago you did our gloves. I really love that Rawlings trap-eze you did for me. In fact I haven't used my Mizuno ever since- and I loved THAT glove!

QUESTION- Youngest DD has one of those Mizuno "Jennie Finch" gloves (mostly black with some pink). I think it's made of leather but it doesn't feel the same. Are they all leather and do you condition them the same way? I rubbed the conditioner into it anyway, but I was curious. It was pretty much ready to use right from the git-go, so I assume it will have a short life.

 

[MTR]

DD just started in an indoor league that plays once a week. I just noticed her glove is getting a little too soft and needs some conditioner. I'm wondering if I should do it with vaseline or with the lanolin-based "Glove Stuff".

When the girls (used to) put away their gloves in the fall, I would use Vaseline on them. I'm thinking where she will be using it again in a week, that would be too heavy. but the glove doesn't need anything to soften the leather.

any recommendations?

Not really disagreeing with BretMan, but I have always found Neatsfoot Oil to be the premier product for conditioning and maintaining most leather products especially those with a lot of use, like a glove. This is what is used in leather tannary. Grew up in one as my father worked there 45 years. Only had 3 gloves in my 50 years of playing ball.

Some of the man-made products work well, though I would never use any type of gel or other product which may build up and clog the pores. And don't think for a minute that you are going to completely wipe it off the hide.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Yep, just gotta be carefull about not overdoing it with oil or the glove gets heavy real quick.

 

[obbay]

Yeah the heaviness is something I have to be careful with-I've ovedone that before. The lanolin based stuff works pretty good. I have heard neatsfoot oil recommended highly but just haven't tried it myself. I think Bret's response was only considering the two choices I mentioned.
thanks!