Laces?!?

[dwknowles]

Here is my deal. I have heard people throw out some ideas but none seem to work out for me. I am looking for laces for my older gloves mostly with narrower lacings and darker brown in appearence, and a few 50-60's' gloves with a tan type color (in particular a childrens model Maris spalding trapocket). I wouldn't be using the gloves, so appearence is more important than durability. I need to figure out where and what I need. Where is a good place to buy, what size etc. Here is what I have gathered and worked at so far..

Triple C leather company - has failed to send me a sample card. I have contacted them 3 times. I will keep it up but not sure what is going on.

Tanners - I have read that they carry mostly thicker laces and that works better for more modern "gamer" type gloves

Tandy - I looked online and they sell the laces by the spool, but I really couldn't tell if they were the type I could use in an older glove. Unfortunatly the nearest Tandy is about 2-3 Hours away so checking them out in person isn't exactly handy.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Brennerbaseball]

At a local flea market I found a dealer that sold long raw hide laces in various sizes and thickness although they were brand new and had that "new leather" look. To age them, I took "clean" dirt and olive oil and rubbed them down individually in a small bowl. Experimenting with different amounts of dirt and olive oil I was able to match the color of the raw hide with the gloves very closely.

Alex

[crackofthebat]

I'm surprised about Triple C Leather. I have dealt with them for over 15 years and they have always responded very quickly to any request. Did you call or email them? I've found that companies do not respond to emails at all . You are always better with a phone call.

[Mike**Mize]

I like to pick up beat up 40's base mitts or trappers and scavenge them for lace. Sometimes they can be had for very little. I simply pull the laces out of the glove and plug them into the one I'm working on. I just did this with Goldsmith Frank McCormick I wanted to re-lace. I found a Gil Hodges glove that was otherwise shot and had lots of good thin lace. I'm pretty sure I was the only bidder. As long as the old lace isn't rotten, you can't beat it.

[dwknowles]

When I called the first time Triple C was finishing a big order for Nocona, and was curently out of sample cards.

The second time the guy that I need to talk to was out, but I left a message.

The third time I was told they would ship one out, still nothing.


I plan on calling again, and what size would work best.


as far as scavanging old gloves, the ones I find that have decent laces, are usually in good enough shape that I hate to tear them down.

[Number9]

I know what you mean. I pick up "donors" all the time and i don't have the heart to kill them. I just end up making repairs to them and holding on to them for too long.

If you have issues with the thickness there are two things you can do. Either find a company that will skive the thickness down to what you require when you place your order, or thin them out with a rolling pin. I like to work them over until they are essentially broken in. This also helps to make them look older. A little conditioner and a lot of time works well. Then I roll them out if I need to. I also dye them before lacing them through. Any patina that you want to add can be done with shoe cream once they are installed. Buff it up and you're good to go.

[Mike**Mize]

When I said scavenge, I didn't mean destroy. I've taken laces out of old gloves when I've needed them for something extra special. I'll put the glove pieces away and put them back together with other laces at a later date. I just think you can see the difference between vintage lace and lace that's new but has been dyed or soiled to achieve a certain look. I like the real old lace much better. No big deal, though. We all have our different ways.

[Number9]

Point well taken. I completely agree with you about new laces. New piping or linings usually bother me too. Sometimes however, it's the only way to go. If you're good with your hands, which anyone repairing a glove is likely to be, a good fake job is usually not too far out of reach.

[crackofthebat]

For lace sizes I usually buy the 3/16" width, but I have a tool that I can cut them narrower if needed. Make sure you request 3 to 4 ounce laces otherwise they will be very thick. Triple C's #50 Cougar Oil Tanned Alum is my favorite lace to use. They can be aged with just about any good leather conditioner. As mentioned in an earlier post, it is a good idea to roll the laces and stretch them before using so they become soft and supple.

[BretMan]

I'm always on the lookout for good laces! Here are a few things I've experienced:

Triple C: I emailed a request for their sample card back in November or December and did actually recieve it, though it took about 2 months before it arrived.

The samples they send you are fantastic and you can get their laces in just about any size or color. One drawback- the literature they sent me says that the minimum lot size you can order is 100 laces. The price is great for those quantities, about a buck each. Unless you are ready to spend in excess of $100 plus shipping for laces, they might not be your best option.

But the laces are beautiful and the Cougar Oil Tan looks super on old vintage gloves, as evidenced by many of the photos posted by Brett and Fred.

I have considered posting here to see if anyone would be interested in splitting an order, and the cost. Anyone interested?

Tanner's: Great laces and not bad prices. As noted, these laces are thick and strong and best suited to relacing a modern-type glove. These are all I have been using on my modern and "gamer" glove repairs.

They sell laces in lots of 25 and, depending on the width and color, 72" long lace will run you about $1.35 apiece that way. They have two widths- 3/16 or 1/4 inch- various lengths and a wide variety of colors.

For modern or gloves being actively used in games, these are the way to go.

Tandy: I am fortunate to have a huge leather supply store just minutes from my house, and they carry almost everything available through the Tandy catalog and website.

But when it comes to laces, there isn't too much there suitable for ballgloves. Some of the lacing they sell in spools have a nice color, but they only sell them in 1/8" or 5/32" width and they just seem a little too narrow to me. Still, you can find some of their laces that might work on smaller gloves or different areas of a glove. This is where I buy the thin laces like the ones found around the finger hole on a fastback glove.

The place near me does carry every kind of leather working tool, cleaner, conditioner, dye or polish that you can imagine, so it's a nice resource to have "just down the street".

They also have a bulletin board where various leather crafters can post business cards or flyers. There are about 50 different contacts there and I am considering looking into having some of them do some leather work for me.

[Cowboy7130]

I once stole my dad's boot laces (real leather!) for a quick, simple repair on a glove.

I haven't been shopping for laces, boot or glove, for a long time. Do they still sell leather boot laces for work boots? Seems to me those would work pretty well, too ....