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. An extended version of this information is provided with every glove purchase from WebBall.
(Also check our page on selecting the proper glove size.)

1 Use shaving cream with lanolin

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 on main surfaces only, not on lacing.

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 glove oil or even baby oil on the laces only to keep them supple.

3 To break in a glove, play catch

Your catching action is what will determine where and how to mold 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 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.