BIFL Work Gloves

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M
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BIFL Work Gloves

Post by M »

So - I keep destroying work gloves. I seem to go through a couple pairs a year and I'm not even a heavy user.

I normally have rubberized textured mechanics gloves for working on the car and then leather gloves for yard work.

Both of my gloves have giant holes in them. The thumb is about to fall off of the leather gloves.

Gloves need to be able to handle thorns and occasional hand saw blade impacts. :lol: Hopefully that doesn't happen again...

Any ideas? Or should I just live with buying new gloves all the time?

I suppose I could try sewing the leather back together, but not sure if I can sew rubber back together.

ertyu
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by ertyu »

rubber probably not, but you can absolutely sew your own gloves from leather of the desired quality. You'll also have leftovers for knick-knacks like sclass' swiss knife holders and the like.

jacob
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by jacob »

For the car, the keyword is "rubber coated gloves". They look like knitted gloves where the palm and fingers have been dipped in a thick layer of rubber. I do mean thick.

For the yard/saw, the keyword is "pigskin gloves".

BIFL would be a stretch, but they should last a few years.

Hristo Botev
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by Hristo Botev »

The Growing Resilience podcast guys had a rather extended glove-related discussion starting at minute mark 1:30:00 on their thrift episode (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t ... 0569157496) that you might find helpful.

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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by Hristo Botev »

ETA: This is the glove company in that podcast that the SME, Todd Dwyer, couldn't remember the name of at the time.

https://www.geierglove.com/

The 430s are elk hide and apparently very tough. The 230s are deerskin soft but still durable.

M
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by M »

Hristo Botev wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 10:16 am
ETA: This is the glove company in that podcast that the SME, Todd Dwyer, couldn't remember the name of at the time.

https://www.geierglove.com/

The 430s are elk hide and apparently very tough. The 230s are deerskin soft but still durable.
These look like good gloves. Unfortunately there are no stores anywhere near where I live that carry them. There are a handful of things I don't buy online and gloves are usually one of those things. I like how they have very detailed specifications.

I listened to that podcast and generally agree with their sentiment. When I was younger it seemed like I was much rougher on gloves and used them more and they seemed to last longer. I'm older now and do less physical labor but it seems like the gloves just fall apart. I almost wonder if some of these gloves are actually made out of real leather these days.

Anyway I think I will look for some pigskin gloves and rubber coated gloves the next time I am at the hardware store as Jacob suggested.

Thanks

Edit: I was examining old leather gloves that are destroyed and pulled them in half. Not at the seams, either. It seemed to take slightly more force than ripping paper but slightly less force than ripping cardboard. I'm not a strong person ... I don't ever recall being able to rip leather apart before. Very strange.

shaz
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by shaz »

Is it possible your leather is drying out? It gets prone to tearing if it dries out or if it goes through too many wet/dry cycles without being treated.

M
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by M »

shaz wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 9:21 pm
Is it possible your leather is drying out? It gets prone to tearing if it dries out or if it goes through too many wet/dry cycles without being treated.
This is possible. I bought my current pair in the spring I think...or maybe last fall. It has been less than a year. I have used them maybe a dozen times but store them in an unheated garage in an area with real winters.

Some things it is hard to find products that last a lifetime. For example, I like wearing tennis shoes instead of boots. I walk/run at least 7k steps a day. I expect 10-20 dollar shoes to fall apart after a year. My current new balances were 60 dollars and 3.5 years old now and just now starting to fall apart in more significant ways. E.g. I have worn through the rubber sole now and walking on the cushion material. I have zero traction but the upper part of the shoe has held up very well though. I am planning on replacing these when my sock starts hitting the ground. :lol:

Often in the cheaper shoes it is the opposite - the upper part of the shoe blows out/becomes detached from the sole. I used to glue the soles back on the tennis shoes but this only resulted in extending life by 3-4 months or so.

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Sclass
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by Sclass »

M wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 5:55 pm
I almost wonder if some of these gloves are actually made out of real leather these days.
Yes. But gloves are a lot cheaper than they used to be. I get these big packs of work gloves from Harbor freight tools for $7. Leather. They self destruct after a few days of work. They’re made of really low quality leather. It’s either a cheap inner split or it isn’t tanned properly. Or both. I think they’re made of the leather equivalent of chip board. But the gloves cost $2 a pair so I don’t care.

M
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by M »

Sclass wrote:
Sat Sep 24, 2022 6:48 am
Yes. But gloves are a lot cheaper than they used to be. I get these big packs of work gloves from Harbor freight tools for $7. Leather. They self destruct after a few days of work. They’re made of really low quality leather. It’s either a cheap inner split or it isn’t tanned properly. Or both. I think they’re made of the leather equivalent of chip board. But the gloves cost $2 a pair so I don’t care.
Well - I'm glad other people are seeing this also. :lol: Your glove buying philosophy sounds similar to my previous shoe buying philosophy. Buy cheapest pair at Wal-Mart/garage sale, run into ground, repeat.

Some things are so cheap these days I struggle to justify buying the more expensive/durable alternative or repairing things. Especially when work time is $75 /HR it's like - does it really make economic sense to spend 30 minutes repairing $2 dollar gloves?

I have never heard of $2 dollar gloves..wow that is cheap. The gloves I bought that fell apart were $15 dollars.

There is a harbor freight in my area. I may check them out as well - thanks for the tip.

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Sclass
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by Sclass »

These. Yes they suck and I feel bad treating them like disposable gloves. But they get the job done.

I get it. BIFL is a pleasure to use. Disposable makes me feel cheap.

https://www.harborfreight.com/safety/gl ... 66291.html

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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by jacob »

I'm 80% sure that the "rubberized gloves" I'm talking above is something like this: https://www.fullsource.com/mcr-safety-9760/

ffj
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by ffj »

Yeah, the BIFL hope is a bit of a fantasy.

Even top of the line very expensive firefighting gloves only last so long. Every glove has a shelf life whether it gets used much or not. I treat them as disposable commodities that will have to be replaced every so often, and places like Harbor Freight as Sclass suggested will give you a decent price point. Just don't go so cheap that they are worthless, such as nitrile gloves that rip while putting them on.

Which reminds me that I need to go to Tractor Supply today to replace my insulated winter gloves. . .

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Sclass
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by Sclass »

ffj wrote:
Sat Sep 24, 2022 9:23 am
Just don't go so cheap that they are worthless, such as nitrile gloves that rip while putting them on.
Oh my goodness. That’s the blue harbor freight nitrile 5 mil gloves. I discovered the 7 mil ones shelved right next to them and they’re much better. They cost more but I can use a pair many times before the thumb and index finger blow out.

M
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by M »

Update - I went to Menards looking for pigskin gloves. Did not find any. Lots of synthetic gloves, winter gloves, cowhide gloves, deer skin gloves, some goat skin gloves. A lot of gloves like the previous gloves I bought labelled 'leather' with no indication of type. This is normally where I buy gloves. Disappointing.

Gave up and went to Harbor Freight to find cheap gloves. Sure enough there are a few different styles of work gloves for $2 dollars a pair in packs of 3 or 5. I looked at them some. Honestly they looked like decent quality for $2 dollars.

That is mind boggling. How they can pay a person overseas to make a pair of gloves, pay someone to put it on a truck and take it to the port, put it on a boat and ship, ship it to a US port, put it on another truck and ship it to a warehouse, then put it on another truck and ship it to a store, then pay a cashier to check you out all for $2 dollars a pair, and still make a profit...that boggles my mind.

In an ironic twist harbor freight also had pigskin gloves for $4.50 a pair. I bought several pairs of pigskin gloves for less than price of one pair of my old gloves.

They also had various rubber coated gloves. I don't do car work often, since I don't drive often, so will buy those at a later date.

I also bought watermelon while I was out. The watermelon was $7 dollars - more than three pairs of el cheapo harbor freight gloves.

Mind boggling...

Toska2
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by Toska2 »

I use ATG maxiflex and maxicut gloves. They last 3-5 longer than anything at harbor freight while fitting better. Not as grippy as some rubberized gloves. I deal with highly abrasive rough cut wood, logs and punky osb so this isn't an issue.

Fastenal has them but 30% more than Amazon.

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Sclass
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by Sclass »

M wrote:
Sat Sep 24, 2022 11:04 am


That is mind boggling. How they can pay a person overseas to make a pair of gloves, pay someone to put it on a truck and take it to the port, put it on a boat and ship, ship it to a US port, put it on another truck and ship it to a warehouse, then put it on another truck and ship it to a store, then pay a cashier to check you out all for $2 dollars a pair, and still make a profit...



I also bought watermelon while I was out. The watermelon was $7 dollars - more than three pairs of el cheapo harbor freight gloves.

Mind boggling...
I’d tell you how but this thread would get locked down for being political. :lol:

Hint, if you don’t want to pay $7 for watermelon, go check out how far your $7 goes on pineapples and try to understand why.

shaz
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by shaz »

The best leather gloves I have found are bison hide. They will wear out in 4 or 5 years of nearly daily use for barn chores and horseback riding. I prefer unlined ones. I'm not sure if I have ever tried pigskin. Bison hide holds up better for me than deerskin.

ETA: I treat them several times a year with leather conditioner. If you are looking for a great leather conditioner, I highly recommend Skidmore's.

Salathor
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Re: BIFL Work Gloves

Post by Salathor »

I find that the $6 leather gloves from Home Depot give me the best combo of reliability/longevity/dexterity. I like them much better than the $3 ones and I think they're probably just as durable as the $20s.

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