Lacing

Please share your knowledge on how to keep your vintage gloves in great shape and looking sharp.

Lacing

Postby opticsp » October 29th, 2008, 5:40 pm

I have read several of the posts about finding good rawhide and Tanner's seems to be the best place. However, has anyone bought from them without opening up an account.

Also, what are the differences in the laces for a glove? Do the laces on the thumb and pinky take a smaller width than the fingers and web? What are the sizes?

Also, I need about 144" worth of laces. Tan colored. Does anyone on the forum have extra they would like to sell?

Thank you.
opticsp
Veteran Glove Poster
 
Posts: 193
Joined: February 6th, 2008, 11:20 pm
Location: Brooklyn, New York

Postby wjr953 » October 29th, 2008, 6:54 pm

Opticsp,
What width are you looking for? I might be able to help you out with that. I have both Tanner's & Triple C in tan, 3/16" x 72". If that's the size that you want, send me a PM with your address and I'll try to get them out for you tomorrow via UPS.

br
wjr953
 

Postby BretMan » October 29th, 2008, 10:42 pm

Bill,

A couple of questions about Triple C:

- When you ordered laces from them, did you have to order in quantities of 100?

That's what the brochure they sent me said, but other people have said that they will accept smaller orders.

- Did you specify what weight of leather you wanted the laces cut from?

My understanding on leather "weight" as it relates to thickness is that one ounce equals 1/64" thick. As much as I love Tanner's laces, sometimes they are almost too darn thick for some gloves, or in places like the palm or places where the lace goes through one hole twice.

It would be interesting to compare different laces from different companies. Even if two different laces are advertised as 3/16" wide, that is just a nominal size and not a precise measurement. Add to that the difference in weight that the laces are cut from and there can be a significant difference from one lace to the next. I'd like to use a micrometer to find out the "real" size of some of these laces.

One more note on Tanner's: The most recent batch of laces I bought from them seem to be just a little bit less thick. I don't know if they have reduced the weight of the leather they use or if this was just a natural variation in the raw material.

I was relacing a nice old Rawlings XFG-12 tonight and used the newer Tanner's laces on the entire glove without much problem. I was down to just having the thumb and pinky laces left to do, so I grabbed the remnants of a lace that came from one of their earlier batches.

This lace was noticably thicker and almost impossible to pull through the holes where the lace goes through twice. I actually had to pull with all my might just to get the lace started through the hole, then grab the end of the lace with a pair of pliers and give it everything I had just to get the lace through!
Click to Visit >> The Glove Shop On-Line
User avatar
BretMan
Hall of Famer Glove Poster
 
Posts: 886
Joined: May 17th, 2006, 9:27 pm
Location: Columbus, Ohio

Postby wjr953 » October 30th, 2008, 12:30 pm

Bret,
Yes, they did explain that they prefer lace orders in minimum quantities of 100 pcs. I didn't really challenge them on it, but I'm sure that they would work with someone if they wanted to order less. I believe what they're trying to avoid are piece meal customer orders along the lines of "2 of these, 6 of those, 12 of these, 19 of those, etc.". I can see where that could become very confusing, especially if they're producing rawhide lacing in great quantities. I don't have a real problem with the min. order quantity because I will use all of that rawhide up.

No, I didn't get into specific weight for what I ordered. According to the chart on the back of their sample card, (if I read it correctly) 3/16" x 72" = 12 oz. I will weigh up a piece of Tanner's 3/16" x 72" tonight to see what that weighs by comparison.

I have to agree with you on the thickness issue. My last order from Tanner's was several months ago. In addition, I had won several bundles of 3/16" x 34" about a year or so ago, when Tanner's was selling bundles of them on eBay. (Not an ideal size to be sure but I've found that size helpful when doing thumb/pinky pad runs, and/or finger runs that don't run through the web coil.) All of those laces are very thick and have caused some problems for me in the past. Most recently that Wilson ACH2170 that I have posted in Glove Pictures. With the Tanner's 3/16", the heel pad run was an absolute nightmare because of the closeness of the lacing holes going into and out of the palm area. When I finished, I literally could not close the glove properly, the rawhide was too thick and too stiff in the hinge area. I ended up re-lacing that section with the 3/16" from Triple C and it came out so much better. The hinge is still a little bit stiff, but that's just because it's new lace and needs to be broken in again. I decided to re-do the rest of the glove with Triple C lace, and I was much happier with the final product after the rework. I don't know what the thickness is on the newer runs of Tanner's that you're getting now, but if you want I can send you a piece of the older Tanner's stuff that I have, along with a piece of the new Triple C stuff, and you can do a comparison on them.

I know exactly what you mean about the work needed to pull those thicker laces through where they don't really want to go. I always prep my new laces with VPJ before I put them in so they'll slide better and I can tell you this, on that Wilson glove I had a workout that beat any weightlifting or treadmill session that I've done in the last two years! lol I was sweating and swearing and when I woke up the next day, my hands hurt like hell (arthritis) and my arms and shoulders were aching. That was hard work, let me tell you. Even using the "U" wire, (of which I've become more and more appreciative as a lacing tool), it was still a very, very difficult task getting those laces to pull through. For my money, glove re-lacing should never ever be that hard to do!! lol

Let me know if you want me to send those sample pieces along.

VBR, br
wjr953
 


Return to Glove Conditioning and Restoration

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests