How To Stiffen Up A Baseball Glove To Use For A Long Time

When someone is using baseball gloves for a long time, the gloves might be floppy and loose. Before deciding to throw away the gloves, one should know how to stiffen up a baseball glove for use again.

When my parents decided to admit me to baseball game coaching, I became so excited. I started to visit the baseball playing field and tried to observe the practice of my seniors. 

Once, my father came to me and gave me a box. I opened the box and saw a Wilson A500 Series Youth Glove 11″ pair. I was so happy to see them. But I became worried that I didn’t know how to stiffen up a baseball, break them in, or use them for a long time. 

I began practicing with an experienced coach. But I noticed one day that my gloves were flopping. I went to my coach and showed him my gloves. He instructed me how to stiffen them up.

Then, he gave me some crucial advice that I still use to keep my baseball gloves in good shape.

Now it’s time to reveal to you what my coach’s instructions helped me fix the floppy gloves to Stiff gloves and use them for a long time.

What Does “Stiffen Up On Baseball Gloves” Mean? 

If you are a beginner in baseball, some questions might come to mind: What Are Stiff Baseball Gloves? Or What Does “Stiffen Up On Baseball Gloves” Mean?

Let me explain to you from my experience…

It can be floppy and loose after using baseball gloves for some days or months. The gloves may seem to you unusable, as I thought. But believe me, there are several ways to tighten up and reuse them. 

However, to stiffen up baseball gloves means tightening up the gloves if they become loose and uncomfortable because loose gloves never help grab the bat or catch the ball during games. 

After reading above all, I think you can now understand the meaning of stiffening up baseball gloves. But do you know when you will purchase the gloves that are already stiff?

After getting a new baseball glove, you will immediately notice that it is not soft, hard (stiff), and maybe uncomfortable to use. So, you will need to make the gloves smooth and usable. That is called ‘Break in a baseball glove in the Baseball Gloves.’ It is also a process of making the gloves soften. Let’s look at how you can soften the new gloves before stiffening up the old ones.

• Take some hot water, not more than heated in 150-170 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• Pour the water on the new gloves.
• Wipe the extra water with a towel or cotton cloth.
• You can take a slight drop of glove oil or condition on a sponge and apply it to the gloves. But you have to use a glove oil that’s safe for leather. Because cheaper oil might harm your glove rather than soften it. That was a mistake I made as well. Within a week, I noticed the tint of my gloves had faded and that they had begun to split up the laces.
• When the gloves absorb the oil, you will need to twist the fingers with the gloves’ palm. It will make your gloves soft and usable.

Easton is a famous baseball equipment manufacturer. If you don’t know about them, we read our article on Easton baseball equipment manufacturer.

Reshaping The Baseball Gloves Vs. Stiffening Up A Baseball Glove 

Sometimes, people make a mistake by thinking that reshaping baseball gloves is like stiffening up. Actually, not. There are many differences between these two processes. 

Baseball gloves must have a curve in the front form to catch a ball. This curve helps the fielder catch the ball immediately, but use it for a long time; it might bend backward. But stiffening up is essential when the gloves become floppy and loose. 

So, to reuse them in the games, there are some processes to get back the curve. This process is called reshaping the baseball gloves.

Let’s talk about the process of reshaping to clear your idea and confusion about breaking in, reshaping, and stiffening up your baseball gloves.

Such as:

• As the breaking in baseball gloves process, first, you will need to apply the glove oil to the gloves. But don’t use the oil directly, please. Take a piece of cloth, spray the oil on the cloth, and then apply the oil on the gloves.
• If you have used a baseball glove, you already know that there is a pocket in the middle of the glove’s palm. Now, you have to keep a ball in the pocket and tie the ball with the gloves tightly by a rubber band or thin rope.
• Wait for one day to dry the oil, and after the day, you will get the previous shape of the baseball.

After doing all these you can get back the real shape and curve of your baseball. Therefore this is different from stiffening up of baseball gloves.

How To Stiffen Up A Baseball Glove 

You already know stiffening up means making the baseball gloves tighten from the floppy condition. Not only does more extended use make the gloves floppy, but sometimes new gloves also become floppy.

Like the breaking-in process, you will also need to stiffen up the gloves before using them. But most of the time, you will need to be concerned after using it for a long time.

Tightening the laces of baseball gloves is the best way to stiffen up a baseball glove. But your old laces need to be in good condition. If they are not enough to support the gloves.

Here are laces tightening processes:

• First, you need to make sure that your old laces are in good condition. You’ll need to replace the laces if they aren’t strong enough to support the gloves.
• Now take your gloves and untie the laces from your baseball gloves’ knot to get an answer on how to stiffen up a floppy baseball glove.

• Then Grip the first portion of the laces at the other end of where they knot, where they meet like an X. To compress them, try pulling them together.
• To tighten the laces, grab the area directly below the first one and pull carefully.

• Repeat the technique until each part is securely bonded. Re-tie the knots and put the glove back on your hand. Glove will be ready if it suits you. If the gloves still need to be fitted, continue the procedures until it fits perfectly.

Read our reviews on some excellent baseball gloves:

• Wilson A1K DP15 Review | All you Need to Know
• Wilson A1000 VS A2000 | A Side By Side Comparison
• Easton Force Catchers Gear Review | Learn Every Parts Of The Set

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are The Most Sold and Used Glove Oil? 

Oiling your baseball glove will further help you overcome hardness faster by smoothing the material, and it will also keep it lubricated and prevent it from peeling.

There are many more glove oils, but some oils are most used by top players and sold in the market. Therefore, the most sold glove oil is:

• Sarna Glove Leather Conditioner.
• Pecard Glove Conditioning Kit.
• Hot Glove Cream Conditioner.

What Can Be Used Instead Of Glove Oil? 

Baseball oil can be substituted with petroleum jelly or Vaseline. It softens and stretches the glove. Besides, mink oil or neat’s-foot oil, linseed oil, tanner glove oil, saddle soap, shaving cream, and other products can be used as substitutes.

Are Reshaping and Stiffening Up Baseball Gloves Similar?

No, they are not similar because reshaping refers to the process of correcting a glove’s backward bending issue. It is uncommon to have such a kind of problem with a fresh glove. So, new baseball gloves don’t need reshaping. But when the new gloves are loose, then they will require to stiffen up. 

How Can I Tighten My Baseball Glove? 

If the original laces are in good condition, just adjusting them will be normal enough. Over wearing, the laces extend, allowing everything to relax and become loose. Thinner laces, such as those seen on less costly gloves, will loosen the most.

Can I Break In a Baseball Glove With Shaving Cream?

You can, and in certain situations, it may be preferable to other methods because shaving foam is less harmful. It will, however, have little effect on how “broken in” your gloves are. Read how to break in baseball gloves properly.

Conclusion 

Regular practicing can sometimes damage baseball gloves, and that causes the practice to be interrupted. But there’s no need to be concerned.

I tried to explain to you how to stiffen up a baseball game. By reading the above, I hope you understand what you need to do if your baseball has become loose or floppy.

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