WebBall.com - Glove Care

How to break in & care for your glove

If you want a glove to perform well, work it in properly and then treat it right. (See also our page on selecting the proper glove size.)

1 Use shaving cream with lanolin

The lanolin is good for your skin and good for the leather.
Spray it on perhaps once a month in season and rub it in over the palm pad and other surfaces.
You could also use just pure lanolin from a pharmacy or farm supply depot but in that case use the pure stuff only on large surfaces, not on lacing. (Let them tell you the number one use of pure lanolin.)

2 Be careful with glove oils

Some glove oils do have lanolin.
But many have oils that saturate the leather and make the glove heavier and eventually dry it out.
Your could use a little glove oil or even baby oil on the laces only to keep them supple, especially if they are dyed a dark color.

3 To break in a glove, play catch

Your catching action is what will determine where and how to mould the pocket.
Even if you drop balls initially it is the best way.
Or just sit and throw into your glove yourself.

4 Know what to avoid.

Avoid heat treaments, driving over your glove, or wetting it.
You could place 2-3 balls and tie them in between use but only if those balls are positioned where and how you catch balls - not way up in the webbing.

5 Cleaning is okay

Gloves do get dusty and dirty. It's okay to clean them at the end of the season.
But use an oil soap or upholstry cleaner, and then only apply the suds - not the water.

6 Check your laces

The easiest repair for any glove is a new set of laces.
The easiest source is to take the glove to a shoe repair place
Shoemakers are used to working with different leathers.
They can also check and re-sew seams if necessary.