The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1889-02-23
ABOUT BOXING GLOVES.
Shere ana How They Arc Made a-,s, In
Whom They Are Solid

Nhere and How They Arc Made and tn
whom They Are Sold.
"Ihe making of boxing Gloves said
Hoboken manufacturer, sis a limited
industry, and there are few in the bust
ness. know of but two makers be.
sides myself in this section of the eoun-
try. Most of our goods are sold d.
rectly to the big sporting goods houses.
and by them are distributed all over
the country, the bulk of them going
West. The ordinary big soft gloves,
or pillows as they are often facetiously
called are made from imitation channels.
or American iiesher' as it is termed.
This is the split skin from the under.
| side of sheep, and is almost univer-
! sally used n making the cheap grade
OF glove. the cheapest glove is the
| boys glove, which is made from this
skin, stuffed with hogs hair mixed
| with vegetable fiber TO hold Ii
together, and costs about S1.50 pair
at retail. The best gloves are made
from what is called real channels (aI.
though the leather merchants in the
swamp will tell you there is no susl
thing in the market) or kid, and arc
filled with the best curled horse hair.
The best skins are all imported. In my
place L cut them myself, and the sew.
ing is done on machines.
1T is curious fact that many of the
professional fighters are}not parss5,,2Ia.s;
about their gloves. Take Billy Dacy.
for instance; he uses the cheapest kind
OF a boys glove. which he buys at some
small shop on the Bowery. But Sullj-
van and Dempsey are very particular,
and as much care has to be taken in
fitting their gloves as a fashionable
shoemaker has to exercise in fitting
the shoes of Il society belle.
LAS ! have said, in making the best
boxing gloves we use channels skin,
kid, and sometimes lamb skin, accord.
ing to the fancy of those ordering. The
softer skin is used on the outer or strik
ing portion of the glove, and the harder
on the palm. Professional boxers viii
not have the usual ventilation eyelets
in the palm, but instead we cut out .
star-shaped hole in the leather, which
serves the same purpose. Any metal.
you know, is apt to work loose and cut
the skin, and professional boxers dc
not care to have their faces cut OF
scratched if they can avoid it. A glove
which is quite popular is an ordinary
kid glove, with stuffed pad seWed or
to the backs of the fingers. ] cannot
see that it possesses any advantages
| over the ordinary glove, but some eX-
perts say that, as the fingers are sepa-
rated more, the hand can be more
! tightly closed.
There are comparatively few gloves
sold in New York, the ma ority of them
as l have said, being shipped West.
| Of those sold here. the best are tlket
| by the richer athletic and sporting
clubs, and the poorer qualities by the
west side associations, the membership
of which is largely recruited from the
ranks of the butchers, car drivers
| truckmen and mechanics. II is queer
| fact that more gloves arc sold III retail
| by the pawnbrokers of the city thar
even by the sporting goods houses
Every pawnbrol1er keeps them in stock.
and many people buy them thinking
they are getting a bargain, when the
are paying the same price as they
would in a regular store. There is one
pawnshop on the Bowery where
dozen sets of gloves are sold every
Saturday.
What do ! think about the light
weight gloves that lighters use? Well,
| can tell you that d kid glove soaked ir
water is the wickcdest thing to strike
blow with there is. Such a glove does
not bruise: it cuts like a razor, and yor
will find that prize fighters prefer tc
battle with the bare fists every time
rather thar use the apparently harm.
less kid. N. Y. Sun.