What substance goes in the palm between shell and liner?

[502 to Right]

I have a couple of older gloves where the waxy substance between the shell and liner in the palm has dried out and now I have some puckering. What is that stuff? It looks like some kind of wax but I have no idea exactly what it is or where to get it. I can do all kinds of relacing but have never run across this "substance" before.

Thanks.

[crackofthebat]

Supposedly, the substance is some kind of a beeswax product. I have a small amount left from the infamous Dick Stump. I have taken samples to a number of bee keepers in New England, but none can identify the substance or reproduce it for me. It does have a lot of oil in it which tends to darken some leathers.

[softball66]

It seems I vaguely remember glove makers using this type substance to secure padding in place and it is applied between the lining and shell inner surface as an adherant. It shouldn't ball up like that. I can ask the folks at Nocona.

[502 to Right]

Nope, it hasn't balled up--it dried out. When I close the fingers down it causes the shell to pucker out a little. Before it was stuck to the liner so there was no puckering.

[burker72]

I have a related issue. I just bought a nice Bob Bowman Rawlings model on eBay (the Doak looking model). The glove is solid inside and out, it displays great. But when I squeeze the glove it makes a crunching sound, as if it is stuffed with bits of styrofoam. I'm going to open the glove up today (hopefully it will reveal to be stuffed with old $100 bills), but was just wondering if anyone else has had a similar condition.

[wbunnell]

I had a conversation a few months ago with one of the better known glove repair guys. He said some glove repair guys will use the wax from a toilet bowl wax ring between the inside liner and outer shell. He also mentioned that he uses some type of grease but didn't elaborate on what exact kind. I'll ask for some clarification and hopefully be able to post a follow up.

[502 to Right]

It is amazing to me that such a common element in baseball gloves is so mystifying. You'd think we were talking about how to split the atom.

[JC]

I tried the toilet bowl wax on a glove last night.

I used a spatula to scoop up some of the wax. I warmed up the wax with a space heater to make it soft, then used it to adhere felt padding to the inner layer of the glove.

The stuff is really sticky, and it seems to be holding well.

My only concern is if the wax will bleed through the face of the glove.

Time will tell...........

[BretMan]

JC:

We've all probably seen cases of a relatively mint condition older glove, one that apparently was never used, yet the palm area is very darkened. It is my understanding that this is evidence of the wax bleeding through the leather.

My guess would be that this "bleed through" would be affected by several factors- the age of the glove, the thickness of the leather and, possibly, if the glove was stored in warm conditions (such as an attic) that would allow the wax to remain soft and gooey over an extended period of time.

The more common experience we've all probably had is to open up an old glove and find the wax dried out and crumbling off in chunks, sort of like an old, dried up glue.

We need to find out what that stuff really is!

[502 to Right]

JC - What is toilet bowl wax? Does it have a brand name?

Any results so far on how it works?

A year or two ago I used some dental wax (its wax people use to cover sharp portions of braces) and it was ok. You can find it at drug stores in the toothpaste section. It worked best in warm weather--I'm sure what would happen if it was cold out and hardened up.

[BretMan]

When a toilet is installed, there is a wax ring fitted where the base meets the plumbing at the floor. It acts as a seal or gasket. You could find one at pretty much any home improvement or hardware store for a few dollars.

More Than You Probably Wanted to Know About Wax Toilet Bowl Rings

[JC]

The toilet bowl wax ring was $2 at my local hardware store.

With the amount I used for one glove, I would guess that one ring is enough wax for at least 50 gloves!

I used the wax to adhere some felt padding to the interior of the palm of a glove.

I then used a hair dryer on the outer palm to soften the wax while I used a glove mallet to shape the pocket and adhere it to the wax and padding.

So far so good.

I am going to play catch with the glove tomorrow (even though temperatures are in the 30s) to see how well the wax has adhered.

[JC]

I just noticed that the toilet wax is bleeding through the leather in my glove.

The inner lining is getting sticky, and I am getting some staining on the catching surface of the glove.

I really didn't use much of the wax, so over-application is not the issue.

I guess this stuff is not the "miracle wax" that I was looking for.

Oh well, the search for the elusive palm wax continues!

[BretMan]

I wonder if a product like this: Leather Cement would be a viable alternative?

The fact that it is supposed to remain flexible would seem to fit the bill, as you wouldn't want a stiff, unbendable bond.

Or, how about maybe this? Tandy Beeswax

[softball66]

Rob at Nocona tells me that they use cosmoline for their "packing" in the padding, adhesive. Cosmoline is what the military has used for years to pack and store military weapons, a vaseline type substance. (Yep I've cleaned a little cosmoline off an M1)
This might not be true with other manufacturers especially glove makers of the past who might have used, as mentioned, beeswax or other substances.