Choosing the Right Leather Work Gloves

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So you have a dirty or tough job to do and need a pair of good leather work gloves to do it.  Different leather gloves work best for different jobs, so here's a quick run down of a few different styles to help you find the right glove for your needs.

Leather work gloves are great for jobs where you need to be able to move your hands easily, but still need protection from abrasion.  They are durable, tough and resilient, providing great protection to your hands. Leather work gloves are made with many different types of leather, each of which has its own characteristics. Here are a few different types:

Cowhide Work Gloves

Cowhide leather work gloves are tough and durable, and resist cuts well. If they get wet, they will dry hard, which may be a consideration if you plan on using them in wet conditions. Cowhide gloves are flexible, however they are stiffer than most other kinds of leather gloves. If you need high flexibility for a job you may want to consider a different leather.

Pigskin Work Gloves

Pigskin work gloves offer great durability, resist cuts well and are more flexible than cowhide gloves. Additionally, unlike cowhide work gloves, they will remain soft after being wet.

Deerskin Work Gloves

Deerskin work gloves dry soft and are extremely flexible, making them a good choice for working in wet conditions that require great flexibility. They are, however, less durable and don't resist cuts as well as either cowhide or pigskin gloves. They are also typically more expensive than other leather work glove options.

Goatskin Work Gloves

Typically goatskin is used for welding gloves. The goatskin leather can either be thick or thin, depending upon the purpose of the glove.  Goatskin is great for protecting your hands from heat and won't easily catch fire. While called welder's gloves, these gloves can also be used for any task where you will be working with high heat such as around a stove or kiln. Welder's gloves almost always have gauntlet style cuffs which helps to protect your forearms along with your hands.

Cuff Styles

There are three basic styles of cuffs on leather work gloves, each of which is suited to different purposes. Which style you choose will depend upon how much protection you need.

• Gauntlet cuffs go partway up the forearm, providing great protection for both your forearm and your wrist in addition to your hands.
  
  
• Safety cuffs are a bit shorter than gauntlet cuffs, and just provide extra protection for your wrist.  They usually have a slit up one side that helps with quick removal of the gloves.
• Knit cuff gloves don't provide any extra protection for your wrists or forearms, but typically have the snuggest, most comfortable fit and don't slip or move as much as the other styles.

How Do You Know What Size Leather Work Gloves to Get?

To get the most from your work gloves, it's important that they fit well. When measuring for fit, always use your dominant hand, so for instance, if you are right handed you would measure your right hand to get your size. To get your measurement, hold your hand out flat and wrap a measuring tape around the widest part of your palm, just below the base of your fingers. The orange line in the diagram below shows where you should wrap the measuring tape around on your own hand:

Once you have your measurement, you can use the following size chart as a guideline for choosing work gloves that will fit you.

Women’s Measurements	Men's Measurements
S = 6 ½”  M = 7”  L = 7 ½”  XL = 8”+	S = 7 ½-8”  M = 8 ½-9”  L = 9 ½-10”  XL = 10 ½-11”  XXL = 11”+