Tongue Depressors to Stiffen Fingers

[DT]

So I'm trying to keep from retiring my Nokona AMG 1150 MT. When I'm playing 2nd base, I feel it's a better fit than my PRO12TC. But the Nokona has gotten a little floppy. If I could just stiffen the fingers it would be perfect again.

I read Brooks Robinson used to put tongue depressors in the fingers of his gloves. Has anyone ever tried this? How'd it work?

I'm thinking the tongue depressors would only last a few games at best. So - crazy idea - I'm thinking maybe some Ace combs might work better. I might be able to heat them up and put a little curve in them before I put them in the glove.

Anyone else have any other ideas?

[BretMan]

How are the laces in that glove? A lot of people complain about their glove becoming "floppy". I have yet to see a glove that couldn't be stiffened up to just about like-new by having the laces replaced.

In fact, on some of the gloves I've relaced the owners complained that they were too stiff! It's not uncommon at all for a glove with new laces to need a short break-in period- just taking some throws or working it by hand- to get things loosened up a little bit.

I've always heard that story about Brooks Robinson and wondered about that myself. Short of just sticking the tongue depressors up into the finger stalls, it seems like adding them to the fingers would require some major surgery. You would have to disassemble the glove, unstitch the padding from the fingers to get access to the space between the padding and the lining, then sew the whole thing back up. I could easily see someone with the know-how and equipment charging $100-$150 to do it that way.

[candlestick]

i have heard that nokona will put in stiffeners (sp?) but i would call patty at nokona (repairs) to confirm. i have heard of people putting in plastic inserts themselves - everything from pieces of milk jugs to whatever is handy around the house. a comb is a new one but it might work. how much stiffening will determine what you want to use. i have always thought that a tongue depressor would probably work pretty well as they are flexible but stiff and they will bend quite a bit before breaking. add the additional support from the glove itself and i do not see them breaking unless you fall on the tips of your glove.

anyone else with actual experience plastic inserts or otherwise?


my 12.5" glovesmith has plastic stiffeners in both the thumb and pinky. they may actually be a source for stiffeners or be able to make a more informed suggestion on what to use.

[DT]

I do keep the laces tight, I don't think a relace would help.

I'm just going to try shoving some tongue depressors up into the fingers and see how it works. I'll let everyone know.

[dodgerblue]

never tried t-depressors , but have used abs plastic cut to shape and then sanded round for most of my gloves ,usually just the thumb and pinky ,when i was 14 i made good use of my mothers aluminum letter opener with a little help with popps belt sander shaped it and used in the thumb of my old floppy glove , not a great idea but worked well and still have my digits , i have looked for a shop in the us that can cut and sew in new wool-etc. padding for the fingers and thumb with no luck , shigeko at www.us-sports4world.com mentioned he can cut and sew new padding for the thumb and pinky at his shop wich i intend on doing with my old mzp-82 after i recieve my custom mizuno , im still hoping to find a us shop that does so .

[candlestick]

came across this while looking for something else http://www.thesportsdoctor.com/Pastime% ... tions.html he charges $35 to replace plastic inserts, i doubt it would be any more to install new ones. felt padding preplacing/stuffing is $50 but i bet that is for the entire glove not just the pinky/thumb.