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Originally posted at our blog, www.thehangrychaps.blogspot.com
So I've been thinking about getting some new gloves and kind of like the Motostuka Shank Gloves. The price tag is kind of high, $75 I'm perfectly willing to pay for quality, until I found out that, by the company's own admission they are repurposed store bought gloves.
This got me to thinking that if all they are is a set of hardware store gloves with the cuffs cut and restitched and waxed with some kind of waterproofing, why couldn't I do that?
I went to Tractor Supply and picked up a pair of of deerskin gloves and a can of mink oil for under $17. I think the Motostuka's are cowhide, but I liked the softness of the deerskin better so I chose those.
(Optional)
I soaked the gloves in a bow of warm water for about 10 minutes, wrung out the excess water, and proceeded to wear them around the house for a few hours like a creeper until they dried. (I actually cheated a little and put them on the top of the grill as it was cooling from dinner to speed up the process.) This step really isn't necessary but it helps to give the gloves a more custom fit, especially if they are a bit tight to begin with.
Next, take a seam ripper or a sharp knife if you aren't as fancy as me all all pull out all the stitching out of the lower cuff. There should be two different seams you need to get out, but in the end you should have something that looks like this.
To stitch the cuff, the Motostuka's use waxed thread. Now you might wonder where you are going to find that, I say check the bathroom you crafty motherfucker and find some dental floss. Not only is it waxed, but it's durable as shit. The stitching process on mine wasn't pretty because I didn't have a good leather needle or a way easily push the needle through, but in the end I got it to work.
I just folded the cuff over to the length I wanted and did a simple loop stitch. After I got all the way around, I ran the thread around each stitch twice as I went the fold. I'm sure there is a better way to explain this, but I'm not really experienced in this.
After the stitching was done I used a heavy coat of mink oil rubbed into the leather with a focus on the seams.
With both gloves stitched and oiled, I thought I was done until I noticed how oily and sticky they were even after trying to buff them with a horsehair brush. After doing a bit of internet research, I found that baking mink oil into boots with the kitchen oven was a common practice.
I set the oven at 170 and put the gloves on aluminum foil for 20-30 minutes.
The final result was a pair of gloves that are soft, short and hopefully waterproof, all for under $17.
So I've been thinking about getting some new gloves and kind of like the Motostuka Shank Gloves. The price tag is kind of high, $75 I'm perfectly willing to pay for quality, until I found out that, by the company's own admission they are repurposed store bought gloves.
This got me to thinking that if all they are is a set of hardware store gloves with the cuffs cut and restitched and waxed with some kind of waterproofing, why couldn't I do that?
I went to Tractor Supply and picked up a pair of of deerskin gloves and a can of mink oil for under $17. I think the Motostuka's are cowhide, but I liked the softness of the deerskin better so I chose those.
(Optional)
I soaked the gloves in a bow of warm water for about 10 minutes, wrung out the excess water, and proceeded to wear them around the house for a few hours like a creeper until they dried. (I actually cheated a little and put them on the top of the grill as it was cooling from dinner to speed up the process.) This step really isn't necessary but it helps to give the gloves a more custom fit, especially if they are a bit tight to begin with.
Next, take a seam ripper or a sharp knife if you aren't as fancy as me all all pull out all the stitching out of the lower cuff. There should be two different seams you need to get out, but in the end you should have something that looks like this.
To stitch the cuff, the Motostuka's use waxed thread. Now you might wonder where you are going to find that, I say check the bathroom you crafty motherfucker and find some dental floss. Not only is it waxed, but it's durable as shit. The stitching process on mine wasn't pretty because I didn't have a good leather needle or a way easily push the needle through, but in the end I got it to work.
I just folded the cuff over to the length I wanted and did a simple loop stitch. After I got all the way around, I ran the thread around each stitch twice as I went the fold. I'm sure there is a better way to explain this, but I'm not really experienced in this.
After the stitching was done I used a heavy coat of mink oil rubbed into the leather with a focus on the seams.
With both gloves stitched and oiled, I thought I was done until I noticed how oily and sticky they were even after trying to buff them with a horsehair brush. After doing a bit of internet research, I found that baking mink oil into boots with the kitchen oven was a common practice.
I set the oven at 170 and put the gloves on aluminum foil for 20-30 minutes.
The final result was a pair of gloves that are soft, short and hopefully waterproof, all for under $17.
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