Breaking in a New Glove ???

[jdn4891]

Hello all. I'm breaking in a couple of new gloves and I have a while to do it. Aside from throwing with someone, or just throwing into my glove, in terms of conditioners/softeners--

What is the best glove conditioner I can use to help facilitate the break in process?

[JTODAD]

I have used regular Barbasol shaving cream and beat the heck out of the glove with a bat.

[Chris O'Leary]

Hello all. I'm breaking in a couple of new gloves and I have a while to do it. Aside from throwing with someone, or just throwing into my glove, in terms of conditioners/softeners--

What is the best glove conditioner I can use to help facilitate the break in process?

Anything with lanolin.

Nothing else (e.g. no oils, Vaseline, or water).

[Rufus67]

This site is great from glove repair to advice on techniques/products to break a glove in. The site author is also a member of the forum.

http://home.earthlink.net/~glovemedic/index.html

[The Glovedoctor]

I think the best way to break a glove in (right, for the longest life) is to ......wait for it.......play some catch.

A few things I think help along the way:

*Pound the pocket with a glove mallet, weighted ball, fist, etc. to form a pocket to your liking.

*Put a baseball, or softball, in the pocket and stick your glove under your mattress when you sleep. Tie it up with a rope or rubber band.

*Lightly condition the pocket only with a lanolin based cream. I like to use "GloveStuff" available at the "Sandalady.com" website.

A few things that won't help:

*Submerging your glove in oil, water, etc.

*Cooking your glove.

When I get a glove, sometimes I will relace it so that the "fingers" have about a half inch to an inch of space between them. If you think about it, it will spread the glove out and give a bigger area of glove - an advantage! I also adjust the pinky/thumb loops.

Hey - I have a website too! Haven't updated it in a while, but it is purely for information and not really profit....

http://www.glovedoctor.net

[Coach45]

Nothing else (e.g. no oils, Vaseline, or water).

More than a few pitchers have used Vaseline on their gloves. Somehow it also ended up on the ball. :)

Lexol works really well, but I've used bag balm too (lanolin).

[The Glovedoctor]

I like Lexol too, but it kinda leaves a funny pattern on the leather when you spray it directly on. Do you spray it on a clothe and rub it in or something? How do you apply it?

[LAball]

There has been many post about breaking a glove in. What I have read and works for me is dunking it in water, or a bit less drastic is gettting the pocket and web area wet. Pounding a pocket with a hammer, I use a golf club. Wrap the head with a towel so you dont scratch the leather. Then dry it and oil it. Some say it ruins the leather, but I say it doesnt. You and also wrap a softball inside the glove while still wet but it wont form a deep pocket.

[The Glovedoctor]

How long has your glove lasted?

[Chris O'Leary]

How long has your glove lasted?

Excellent question.

Some pros use water and other strange things, but often they change gloves every month.

I use lanolin-based products on gloves that I want to last a number of years.

[The Glovedoctor]

The reason I asked is because I lubed up a glove real good back in HS, and I still have it.

The leather isn't too bad - on the outside. The palm pad on the inside looks like a dried up lake - all cracked and useless. Not to mention that leather WILL shrink up over time when made wet.

I'm not saying that you will definately ruin your glove if you dunk it. I'm saying that your glove will be useless much faster if you dunk it. It's punishment. You punish you body with bad stuff (alcohol, smoking, etc) and it isn't going to last too long. It will work great for a while, but you get it.

Basically I take gloves a little too seriously!

[LAball]

How long has your glove lasted?

I dunked a 15 year old glove in hot water and bleach because it still has mildew in it. I've been using it to play catch for the past 2 years. I dont actually play in games and would proly get a newer one if I did. But thats just pride. But if I was a kid with no money I would use my mildew bleached glove.

I broke in my kids new 1 week old catchers glove with some water in the pocket and web area only. And started breaking in my sons out field glove. The outfield glove is 1 year old now and was already broken in, in that is open and closes easily, but it doesnt have a "pocket"

Forming the pocket is more important in gloves with closed webs IMO. I couldnt get the a good pocket in the field glove after a year, but after some water and pounding it out, it came in about 3 days work.

[Coach45]

I like Lexol too, but it kinda leaves a funny pattern on the leather when you spray it directly on. Do you spray it on a clothe and rub it in or something? How do you apply it?

I use it straight from the container without a sprayer. (Don't buy the spray bottle, it's expensive and unnecessary.) The key to getting a more even appearance is to use enough to coat the surface and allowing it to penetrate for 10-15 seconds and then wipe it down.

Here are the labels from the two different products I've used:

51871 51872

The leather dressing only slightly darkens even a blond glove, and the leather conditioner darkens it more. Depends on what you like. It beats rubbing in lanolin (which I always used to heat SLIGHTLY with a hair dryer). I think the key is using enough to penetrate the leather. I use my catcher's mitt at least 2-3 hours a day and recondition the glove maybe once every couple of months.

Back to the original question: play a lot of catch to break the glove in and it will last a lot longer; gotta be patient. In my experience anything else softens the leather too much and you end up wearing a floppy rag at some point. Mallets and weighted balls are OK but water, etc, ruins the leather for the long haul.

[korp]

MC Sports sells some thing called Dr. Glove .. kinda like shaving cream and works decent.

[glovemedic]

This site is great from glove repair to advice on techniques/products to break a glove in. The site author is also a member of the forum. http://www.glovemedic.com

Thanks for the plug. Like Glove Doctor and others on the site I reccommend the Lexol products for keeping your glove in awesome playing shape. There is no substitute for playing catch and letting the glove conform to your hand over time. The biggest mistake I see folks make is being impatient with the "process" of breaking in a glove. I am working on an HOH catcher's mitt right now that I began using 3 mos ago. It is still stiff as plywood, but the ball is mostly begining to stick in the pocket. I catch my son with it for his general bullpen and warm ups, and switch to my well broken in Gold Glove mitt for his location work because I can hold the pitch so he can see it. Many times I have suggested to HS players that they purchase 2 gloves, one in softer leather that breaks in quickly for game ready play, and the other in better quality "pro-grade" leather for break in as an eventual gamer. I think this takes the preassure off of trying to break in a new glove too quickly using some of the "quick fix" methods that will shorten the use life of the glove.

Scott Carpenter made the point on his site that glove leather has changed in modern times due to the ways cattle hides are now produced and sent to market. His comments make sense and imply that players need to accept they will use more gloves now in their playing careers than in previous years. I also want to add that the demands of competitive baseball are also harder on gloves and shortens their use life in this modern era. The reality of all this (a) lighter grade leather, (b) more games/harder use, is that once you get a gamer ready its time to begin breaking in a replacement. I find it amusing that folks will readily spend $300 on a new bat with the current years' graphics but balk at the idea of spending a couple bucks on some good leather or expect that the glove purchase is a lifetime investment.

Good luck on the new glove purchase. Take care of it, play catch lots, and be patient with the break-in process.