Hi All,
I picked up a neat Warren Spahn "Snatcher" the other day on Ebay. It has the the Big Thumb and Over-sized Padded Pinky Finger (Sorry, there is probably more technical sounding nomenclature I could have used). It was darkly colored, looked grimy, but one could see hints of the original leather underneath (primarily in deeper creases and in-between the fingers. Since I am new to glove reconditioning, I thought it would be a good glove to practice on. Alas, when it arrived I suspected something wrong. The glove was very heavy, had almost a water logged feel to it. There was also an odor. I can't quite place it, but it seems petroleum based. The darkness of the leather is not old dirt and grime, but perhaps some kind of dye or other product that has saturated the glove and darkened it and made it so heavy. Lastly, the leather has been left very soft, almost clammy. There was a fair amount of white residue in crevices. I have read that might have been the result of saddle soap.
I decided to use Fast Orange since it is supposed to be pretty aggressive and known to dry the leather out some. However, at this point I have stopped, because the leather seems almost too "soft and wet" to safely work on. I don't want to take the risk of abrading the leather.
So, does anyone have a clue what might have been done to the glove? Is it most likely ignorance or is it possible someone treated it for deceptive purposes (to hide underlying flaws)? Has anyone had experience with similar characteristics? And, most importantly, any tips on how to proceed moving forward?
Could I put it in the oven to help dry it out? It sounds crazy, but I really have no idea. As it stands, I don't think it will "dry out" on its own for 25 years.
Lastly, I just noticed... when you put your finger inside one of the finger tunnels and push out hard with you fingertip the glove appears to regain its original color at the the very spot the pressure is being applied to. As soon as the pressure is released it goes back to the very dark color. What is causing this phenomenon? Perhaps this provides a clue to how the glove was treated.
Thanks!
Ted